"True Dragons are an incredibly ancient, intelligent, reptilian mortal race whose forefathers lived many thousands of years before even the Elves set foot in the lands of Abeir-Toril or Deus-Thelos.
True Dragons are generally primarily divided into two big groups.
The Metallic Dragons and Chromatic Dragons.
Metallic Dragons were a type of dragon typically distinguished by the color and composition of their scales, which was like that of various metals, hence the name. They were generally good, altruistic, and righteous creatures. Despite their relatively benign nature, Metallic Dragons were also aggressive when threatened or challenged. They usually worshiped Bahamut, whom they regarded as their king.
Chromatic Dragons were a type of dragon distinguished typically by a solid, non-reflective coloring of their scales, hence the name. They were generally evil, greedy, and predatory, and usually worshiped Tiamat, whom they regarded as their queen.
Dragons are one of the most commonly seen species in the Abeir-Toril or Deus-Thelos, but they can also be found in other places across the Astral Plane, like the Netherworld, where large numbers of Chromatic Dragons and corrupted Metallic Dragons gather.
- True Dragons of the Forgotten Realms
***
It was pretty unfortunate that both Deities were pretty poor... but that was because they were forced to escape from their home in the Pandesmos and wander through the Avernus and Pandemonium, which were not the best areas for the Gods like them.
They didn't have many valuable things on their person, which was an immeasurable disappointment for Sirzechs, who was an eager robber and scavenger of anything that was precious and valuable.
Sirzechs heard that in the past century, Gods like this would become food for Tiamat, who had her Lair on the 1st Layer Avernus. A place that was avoided even by the most powerful of the God Kings, because the Chromatic Dragon Queen was extremely powerful.
She was ancient bbeing by any standards and was probably the most powerful dragon in the entire Draconic Deus Segment. Of course, if one didn't account for the other two members of the Draconic Pantheon, Asgorath and Ophis.
Both of those entities were so powerful that a single casual move from them could obliterate entire Star Systems without blinking. They inhabited the Astral Sea, which surrounded the Earth in the Prime Material Plane, and were rather peaceful.
Though Asgorath the World Shaper has long ago vanished, its Avatar, Great Red the Dream Shaper, has remained in the Astral Sea and often clashed with the Infinity Dragon God Ophis.
Even without them, the Dragons were still the most powerful species in existence, together with the Gods.
Just Tiamat alone was enough to scare away all hostile God-Kings from Avernus when she was angry, and the Devils living in there had a somewhat cordial relationship with the Dragoness.
The strength of the Dragon Queen of the Chromatic Dragons was around the stronger Primordial Gods, which was more than enough to safeguard the Avernus from the Pantheons that would want to conquer the Netherworld for themselves.
Not like anyone wanted this dammed realm with all of the Abyssal Daemons now invading here. If not for that, he could imagine how many Pantheons would be interested in invading the Netherworld, especially when they discovered that Yahweh was deceased...
Probably?
That one was rather complicated, because his grandfather stated that beings like him couldn't be really killed that easily.
Sirzechs looked at the two Divine Sparks that he had obtained from killing Kurtulmak and Kuraulyek. He seriously pondered what to do with them, because he was still very wary of assimialting those Divine Sparks.
Nevertheless, for the time being, he stored the Divine Spark together with their corpse or at least what had remained from them, because only the corpse of Kurtulmak remained, as the God of Kobolds was a Lesser God.
Though it would be more prudent to say that some parts of the corpse remained because most of the things were destroyed by the Power of Destruction. He spread his wings and flew away, he would decide on what to do with the Divine Sparks at a later date.
Right now, their mission was clear: to clear the surrounding areas of the Jingling Vale of the power enemies and threats that could pose a threat to their development in this region.
Sirzechs was also wary of a possible Fallen Angel incursion into this place, because the Frontier Domain, created through the expansion of the Netherworld, was relatively close to the Domain of the Fallen Angels.
Which was certainly problematic, because Grigori was barely a faction and more like a loose coalition between various Fallen Angel Warlords, Cadred, and Fallen Angel Warbands that banded together under Azazel's protective umbrella.
The might of the 12-Winged Fallen Angel was no joke, and even though Azazel was a rather chill dude from Sirzechs's interactions with the man... he was still one of the most powerful beings in the world.
Despite his laid-back and cheerful behavior, Azazel was stronger than some God-Kings and Major Combat Gods that were as powerful as God-Kings. All 12-Winged Archangels were extremely powerful entities, even though there were not many of them in the first place.
But each one was as powerful as a God-King, and Zekram often told him that Michael and Azrael were as powerful as Primordial Gods. But that was only logical, considering the personal power of Yahweh and the creation of the Angels.
Among the Three Factions, Heaven was by far the most powerful one because it was the one that was personally led and commanded by Heavenly Father.
***
He didn't know if they were lucky or not, but after encountering Kurtulmak and Kuraulyek, there were no other notable threats in the vicinity of the fortress that they built in the valley, which was named Jangling Hiter.
Ajuka and Falbium were doing a rather good job in the construction efforts, and when they had returned back, Sirzechs noticed that Ajuka was already placing down a teleportation array, leading strength to the Devil Domain.
With the direct teleportation array to the Devil Domain, they would have much greater mobility and could move the troops and resources to the Jangling Hiter as was needed.
Fortunately enough, the teleportation within the same Layer was still possible, which was their only saving grace; otherwise, they would need to move on foot. Still, despite that, even with that being said, one needed to be at least a High-Class being to be able to teleport properly across the Layer within the Netherworld.
They had Ajuka with them, who was laying down the teleportation array, which was being combined with the Hextech for the increased efficiency and stability of the teleportation.
"You are back much sooner than anticipated."
Ajuka commented with a bored voice as he looked at Sirzechs because he was more focused on the Teleportation Magic Array that he was crafting than on the fact that Sirzechs had returned.
"Well, aside from the two Gods that we encountered, there were not many other threats in the vicinity of the Jangling Vale."
The valley was given the name Jangling Vale, with the fortress named Jangling Hiter... possibly in the future, it would become the frontier city of the Devil Species because of its good location for the future city.
Suddenly, at the mention of Gods, Ajuka perked up because Gods were rare in the Netherworld, and since the Planar Laws of the Netherworld started changing and getting stronger, inhabitants of the Netherworld couldn't even leave the plane easily like before.
So Gods become even rarer in these lands... especially after the Dusk of the Gods that happened in the Pandesmos.
"Whom did you encounter? Judging on the fact that you are unharmed, it should have been some low-ranking Gods, probably only Minor Gods or Lesser Gods... mainly some weaker Major God."
Sirzechs just nodded when he heard the analysis of his friend because it wasn't that surprising. Ajuka was always smarter than the other people, and he was probably the smartest person that he knew.
Well, he almost singlehandedly created the Hextech with little to no help, so Sirzechs wasn't really surprised that he managed to figure out what kind of Gods they must have encountered.
"We were pretty lucky and managed to encounter Kurtulmak and Kuraulyek, who were wandering through the wastelands of the Frontier Domain."
There were several types of Gods in the Draconic Deus, but the main division was into the Innate Gods and Ascended Gods. Of course, each of these categories also had some subcategories under them.
Innate Gods were the ones that were born Divine, and they were Gods in the first place without being something else. Innate Gods also included the Gods that could Ascend to the Godhood on their own because of the racial predispositions, like the Aesir and Vanir of the Nordic Pantheon, or Dragons.
Ascended Gods were the ones who rose from the worship of the people, and they were originally usually born mortal and not Divine. The Ascended Gods were, on the other hand, divided into the Native Deities and Interloper Deities depending on whether they were native to some world or not.
"So that we have one Lesser God and one Demigod... you were pretty lucky. What are you planning to do with their Divine Sparks?"
Ajuka asked as he looked at the Divine Sparks that Sirzechs took out while Ajuka studied them curiously. He was very knowledgeable about the Gods that inhabited the Netherworld, though there were not many of them in the first place.
Both of them were Ascended Native Gods, and they were also Racial Gods because they were being worshipped by their entire species. In the Draconic Deus, Kobolds were considered a pretty weak species; in many regards, they were even weaker than humans, but that was only because they were still a very primitive race.
Nevertheless, Divine Spark was Divine Spark.
Even though one was only a Demigod-ranked Divine Spark.
Demigod was a special Rank among the Gods, because it was the "Transitionary Rank" where the person was in the middle of the Ascension to the Godhood. Demigods had a variety of abilities of Gods, albeit to a lesser degree.
They had some sort of Divine Resistances and everything, albeit much weaker than that of the Gods themselves.
A Demigod had complete immunity against acid, cold temperatures, and electricity. Unlike Quasi-Gods or Divine Descendants, a Demigod was completely immune to disease, poison, and other problems like stunning, paralysis, or being put to magical sleep.
It also became impossible to kill a Demigod right away with Magic or by disintegrating it unless the Magic or Ability was something that was capable of bypassing the Divinity itself or was stronger than the Divinity on a fundamental basis. In fact, altering the form of a Demigod became only possible if the Magic originated from the Demigod or another Deity of equal or stronger power, or someone capable of utilizing the Magic Rules.
"Do you want to study them before I do something with them?"
Hearing his friend's question made Ajuka nod his head, because he could rarely get his hands on the rare items like this one.
Sirzechs actually planned to assimilate the Divine Spark of Kurtulmak at a later date, so he could ascend to the status of a demigod. Because Devils were created with the Genome of Demons and Yahweh himself, they had a predisposition for both Magic and Godhood.
Kurtulmak possessed Divinity over the War, which was somewhat compatible with the Destruction Magic Rule.
Unfortunately, because Sirzechs wasn't Kobold... which was actually pretty fortunate... or the fact that he didn't have any Draconic Blood, Divine Spark of Kurtulmak, who was the Racial God of Kobolds, would have greatly diminished its effects when he assimilated it.
But that was actually a good thing for Sirzechs, because he would obtain Demigod Status, and he could develop his Divinity later on by himself. He was aware that the opportunity before him was unique because of the scarcity of Divien Sparks in the Netherworld.
And because the Divine Spark he planned to use was only that of the Lesser God, otherwise the situation would be much more problematic.
"Well, this is a rather unique opportunity... I will take them to my laboratory when we return to the Devil Domain to conduct some Analysis Spells on them and run some experiments. Afterward, you can have them."
Ajuka said as he was pretty eager to study the Divine Sparks.
Lesser Divine Spark would be used by him and Demigod Divine Spark would be given to his grandfather Zekram, who either sells it or exchanges it for some resources in his place.
Because it was only a Demigod-ranked Divine Spark and the one that belonged to a Racial-Type Demigod, as Kuraulyek was a Demigod of Urds, its uses were rahter highly limited, and it would require a really special kind of person to buy something like this.
Regardless of its type or anything, it was still a geniue Demigod-ranked Divine Spark, so the thing was extremely valuable, but at the same time, its uses were highly restricted. If it came to the worst, he could simply drain the Divine Spark of its Divine Force to strengthen his own Divinity in the future.
The Demigod-ranked Divine Spark would yield some amount of Divine Force if nothing else, so there was some use for it either way. He also decided he would need to consult his parents, as they had already used the Divine Spark they had obtained, and both were Demigods.
While being a Demigod didn't provide either of them a significant boost in terms of raw power, just the benefits in the number of various Resistances toward the things and having partial acess to the Divine Force was something that was putting them at the forefront of the Devil Race when it comes to heavyweights.
Unfortunately, among the Devils, few managed to become Deities, generally, or to obtain Divine Sparks and extract some of their power. The Gods that dared to live in places like Netherworld were no weak ones and ordinary Gods.
All Gods that were in the Netherworld, either permanently because they lived there or had their Divine Kingdoms there, were top-tier combatants and fighters. Which wasn't really true for most of the Gods across many Pantheons.
It was rather common knowledge that the majority of the Minor Gods and Lesser Gods absolutely sucked at combat or even using their Divinity or Divine Authorities if they had one.
This resulted in rahter peculiar situations: while the Minor Gods and Lesser Gods often wielded considerable raw power, even someone much weaker would be able to beat them despite everything.
Of course, this wasn't true for every Pantheon, because Sirzechs knew that it wasn't true for the Nordic Pantheon, but, on the contrary, the Greek Gods were famous for being a hedonistic, lazy, and arrogant bunch.
After speaking with Ajuka, Sirzechs went to personally check on the state of the troops and speak with Jabberwock, who was in charge of extermination surrounding the Jangling Vale.
On the other side of the Jangling Vale, where the provisional tents and accommodations for the troops were built until proper ones were constructed. When Sirzechs arrived there, it was busy around the place, because everyone was doing something.
As they were establishing their presence within the place, there was a lot of work to do on securing the entire Jangling Vale. Jabberwock Behemoth came from the lineage of the House Behemoth, one of the Extra Devil Clans, who had a much stronger part of the Demon Blood in them.
Mainly because their founder, Behemoth, married a female Demoness named Laymia... both of them were powerful enough to be ranked among the limits of the High Ultimate-Class, though nobody was sure of Behemoth's strength.
Jabberwock was thus born as something akin to Incomplete Super Devil.
"How is the training going?"
Sirzechs saw that the Jabberwock was once again conducting drills on the troops, especially on those from the Gremory part, because this was also part of Sirzechs's and Zekram's scheme.
"Boring... but at least they are not that pathetic. Many show rather good promise on the battlefield..."
This was because, actually, within the troops dispatched from both Gremory and Bael, there were a lot of other kinds of Devils aside from the Pure-Blooded Devils.
Aside from the Pure-Blooded Devils, the Devil Race also had a good number of the Mixed-Blood Devils and Half-Devils, or how their race was more commonly called, Tieflings.
Tieflings were essentially hybrids between the Devils or Demons and other species... predominantly mortal species. Sometimes also called Planetouched, native outsiders infused with the touch of the fiendish planes, most often through descent from Demons, Devils, Evil Gods, or similar beings who bred mostly with humans but also with other races.
The Gremory Clan was gathering a large number of Tieflings through the years, because there were a lot of them, although the numbers have decreased greatly because the Devils cannot go to the Earth anymore.
Still, there were a lot of descendants from the humans, elves, Yokai, and many other races that were conceived before things became more complicated. Many of these Tieflings were even descended from one of the Pillar Clans, Extra Devil Clans, or other Devilish Aristocracy.
During the first invasion of the Abyssal Daemons, most of the Tieflings were expelled from Earth by the various Pantheons to the Netherworld to fight against the Abyssal Incursion... which happened many centuries ago.
This, in turn, led to a larger Tiefling population in the Netherworld, since Tieflings didn't face fertility issues like their Devil or Demonic ancestors. This was specifically true for the Tieflings who were descended from humans.
"Well, that's certainly a plus."
Like Sirzechs said to Zekram...
Devils had serious problems with their fertility, and if they didn't have greater numbers, it would be far more problematic to become a powerful faction in the future. This was problem that Demons were not really having due to various reasons...
But the thing that Devils were artificially created species had its flaws, and one of such flaws was in the fertility issue.
At the same time, the large Tiefling population that was living in the Devil Domain was already reaching more than several million. In a century or so, it would certainly be more than a hundred million, which was actually pretty good for them.
"Most of the Tieflings are hybrids with humans... but it seemed that long centuries of being exposed to the Netherworld's environment have pushed them much closer to their Devil side as their Devil part is much more dominant."
Tieflings procreated far faster than Devils or other long-lived species. On average, the Tieflings lived up to 150 years, but could extend it with Magic. After living in the Netherworld for several generations, their maximum natural lifespan was pushed to something around 250 years without any additional enhancements.
"Of course, the greatest downside of the hybrids is that they have problems reaching higher Classes... so far, only a handful of them reached the Ultimate-Class, and even those were the ones that are part-Devils and part-Yokai or other species aside from humans."
Jabberwock remarked that while their species had many positives, there were also downsides, which acted as a balance mechanism for everything.
"That is more than enough... the true worth of their race is to be bulk of the military and work force... nobody is expecting powerhouses popping right and here, aside from the Higher Tieflings..."
Sirzechs said because he never expected this collective of species to give birth to anything beyond the Ultimate-Class, minus the Higher Tieflings, which were standing on the same level as the Higher Devils or Higher Demons.
Many of the Higher Tieflings had solid potential of reaching the High Ultimate-Class, especially the ones that were descended from the Pillar Clans or powerful Demons.
There were some powerful Hybrids among the Tieflings and many were considered to become the Clan Heads of the Pillar Clans of the 72 Pillar Clans and Extra Devil Clans that were extinct during the Great War and Abyssal Incursions.
***
Jangling Hiter, Frontier Domain, Ten Days Later
Ten days have passed since the death of the two native Deities at the Frontier Domain, and Sirzechs, together with Serafalla and Ajuka, were preparing to leave. Sirzechs wasn't keen on remaining here anymore because there was nothing much to do, while Serafall was going naturally with him, and Ajuka was leaving because his work was done.
Falbium remained here to command the fortress together with Jabberwock as they waited for reinforcements from the Devil Domain that were coming today. The last message that he got from his father was that several Gremory Legions were already in the Frontier Domain and were close to the Jangling Vale.
Not to mention, the Teleportation Magic Array was already finished, and they were taking the Teleportation Magic Array back home to the Gremory Territory. Soon enough, the entire place would be swarming with tens of thousands of Devils.
Unfortunately, the Teleportation Magic Array wasn't created to allow for the Mass-Teleportation like many would have wished, but even that would come true in the near future once the space stabilized around this place enough.
The teleportation to the Gremory Territory was rather swift, and soon enough, they were in the capital city of the Gremory Territory, Minauros. Within the Devil Domain, each of the Pillar Clans had its own territory, which they ruled with an absolute iron fist.
The one belonging to the Gremory Clan was enormous; if put on earth, then it would be bigger than the whole area of Russia. The territories of the various Devil Aristocrats were huge, mostly as a result of the aftermath of the empty land that was created after the Great War and Abyssal Incursions, together with the expansion of the Netherworld itself.
It was noted that the Territories of the Devil Aristocracy were predominantly empty, and aside from a few population centers where citizens lived, the only inhabitants of these vast lands were Demonic Beasts and other creatures that lived there.
The city of Minauros was one of the biggest in the entire Devil Domain and was home to millions of Devils and other species that lived within the Gremory Territory. The Gremory Clan was one of the richest and most powerful Devil Clans in the entire Devil Domain.
Since the intrusion of the Abyssal Daemons into the Netherworld, the Devils whose Clan Traits could either effectively banish the Daemons or permanently kill them have been in the highest order of prominence.
Bael Clan, Gremory Clan and Lucifuge Clan stood at the forefront of the Devil-Deamon Wars.
Even the Clans like Phenex with their Hellfire, Abaddon with their Clan Trait Hole, or Belphegor with their Crack rose into prominence and power due to the many Daemons they were able to kill with their Clan Traits.
And killing Daemons meant not only destroying the dangers to the Netherworld and Devil Race, but also obtaining Hex Crystals, and Hex Crystals were money and power. Thus, anyone who could kill Daemons more effectively than the other person was at an advantage.
"Well, now that we are back in the Devil Domain, I will take my leave to study the Divine Sparks. I will return them back as soon as I am finished with my experiments."
Ajuka said as he then teleported away to his laboratory, though nobody knew to which one because he had many of them. Sirzechs already suspected that Ajuka wanted to obtain Divine Spark on his own, mostly one that was related to the Divinity of Wisdom or something like that.
Most probably the ones that would make him even smarter.
"He seems to be pretty eager about the Divien Sparks."
Serafall remarked as the duo of Devils flew to the Gremory Castle, which was located in the center of the Minauros. The Gremory Castle was a magnificent castle that was the central hub for the entire Gremory Territory and the seat of power of their Clan.
When they landed, they were welcomed by the Household Guards of the Gremory Clan, which was an elite part of their Legions tasked with the protection of the castle and the other premises where the Gremory Clansmen were staying.
"You are back earlier."
Suddenly, they were greeted by someone who looked like a much older, more mature version of Sirzechs.
"Something unexpected happened father."
It was his father, Duke Zeoticu Gremory. He had the appearance of a middle-aged, handsome-looking man with long crimson hair that was tied in a loose ponytail with a black hairband. He had bright blue eyes and also had a short, red beard with protrusions similar to fangs or horns.
"The good ones or bad ones?"
His father asked, but judging by their relatively good state, it should be something good.
"I encountered two homeless Deities wandering through that newly expanded landsmass of Pandemonium. God of Kobolds Kurtulmak and God of Urds Kuraulyek, Lesser God and Demigod, respectively."
Sirzechs said, and his father could guess that both of them were already dead. He, like most of the older and experienced devils, knew that weaker Gods were primarily dangerous within their Divine Kingdoms...
Without them, they were not that much of a threat, aside from being a pain in the ass to deal with.
But with Power of Destruction, it was nothing complicated.
"Are you planning to use the Divine Sparks to attain the status of Demigod?"
Zeoticus asked because he could guess what his son planned to do. Since Sirzechs was born, the boy had been almost obsessed with growing ever more powerful; he trained harder than anyone, and his innate talent was probably the highest recorded in the history of the Devil Race.
Even when he was born he was born with Pseudo Ultimate-Class... at least in the aspect of the Demonic Energy. He spent more than ten years training his physique to withstand the overhelming power of the Power of Destruction.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have achieved his current level of power like right now. Even though becoming a Demigod wouldn't provide Sirzechs with any overwhelming power, it would tremendously increase his survivability and versatility in combat.
Zeoticus knew it firsthand because it wasn't long since he and his wife became Demigods.
Powewise, Demigods were High-Class beings, but among all High-Class beings, Demigods had a wide repertoire of abilities, especially the ones in the auxiliary department, which made them hard to deal with.
The long list of various Immunities and Resistances was only a further added bonus.
"Yes... But right now, I want to rest, and it seems that Sera-tan is also tired."
Sirzechs said as Serafall was oddly silent for the time being, which could be a blessing or a bad omen for something. She was notoriously known to be totally unpredictable, so seeing her silent like this either meant that she was scheming something or she was feeling bad.
Otherwise, there was no other explanation for this odd behavior.
"Alright... your mother would want to speak with you at a later date after you are rested. And, someone from the Nebiros Clan arrived this morning and told us that the plan is ready and we could start any time."
After his father said his piece, he left, though Serafall now looked at Sirzechs with a rather distraught and angry expression.
"Don't tell me that you are going to proceed with that mad plan of yours, Zechs-chan?"
The temperature in the room dropped considerably when she said that.
"For the starters... it's not that mad actually... with my Clan Traits and Super Devil Evolutionary Stage it should be possible. And can you imagine how much more powerful we would become if it succeeded?"
Sirzechs asked because he, Ajuka, Mephisto Pheles, Zekram, and Zaorama had come with rather insane plans, but if they succeeded, it would be an immense boon to the Devils and almost guarantee that Sirzechs would be unparalleled among the Netherworld powerhouses.
"Then what the fuck would you call fusing yourself with the Incarnate Anthem Longinus, you idiot!"
His girlfriend yelled at him, as the entire area where they were standing started freezing, and anyone who was close wisely decided to leave unless they wanted to be turned into an ice sculpture.
Their plan was to capture Host of the Incarnate Anthem, extract the Sacred Gear, modify it, and sever the connection ot the Heaven's System and fuse it with Sirzechs.
Sacred Gears.
The God's Artifacts.
They were created by Yahweh as part of his System and distributed to the Humans and Human Hybrids on a random basis. All Sacred Gears appeared randomly in humans and, in some cases, in half-humans; most people who had Longinus barely managed to live past their fifties or sixties, and many of them died even sooner.
Sacred Gears vary from the common Twice Critical to the rare Sacred Gear Twilight Healing, with the only exception being the Longinus, which are all unique in their own way.
Humans or Human hybrids are the only species able to be born with Sacred Gears; however, if the Sacred Gear is extracted from the Host and infused into the Non-Human, then the Non-Humans are able to use the Sacred Gear as well, if they are compatible with the thing.
"..."
Sirzechs actually stood there and watched his girlfriend giving him a good scolding, but he knew that she was actually highly worried about him.
Incinerate Anthem was a Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear.
This class of Sacred Gears was specifically named after the True Longinus, the first and most powerful. Unlike other Sacred Gears, which have more than one of the same type, the Longinus are utterly and completely unique, and only one of each may exist at a time.
Incinerate Anthem was a Holy Relic among the Longinuses, one of the most powerful ones, and allowed its Host to use Holy Fire, which is deadly against creatures of darkness, being almost a theoretical instant kill for beings like Devils, Demons, and Daemons.
From there stemmed its other name, Chief Mourner's Crucified Stand of Purple Flame.
Holy Fire was a type of fire, one that combines the elements of Light and Fire together. It was a very lethal power against Devils and other creatures, as due to the Light Element, which is a fatal weakness of Devils, Demons, Daemons, and other creatures that were standing on the opposite elemental specter to the element of Light.
Holy Fire was known to be able to incinerate most weaker dark beings with ease, as even Super Devils like him could be injured by it.
When he noticed that she even started crying, he erected a Bounded Field as he looked at her seriously. Sirzechs knew that Serafall must be worried about him and what they were going to attempt to do, and she wasn't really wrong to worry about him in this regard.
"It will be alright... in fact, we have a Devil Contract with 'Him' that 'He' will allow us to use the Incinerate Antem in exchange for signing the Covenant and aiding 'Him' in Resurrection."
Suddenly, Serafall looked at Sirzechs with a combination of shock and dread... because she knew very well who he was talking about.
"Imp... how?"
She knew that 'He' was supposed to perish a long time ago during the Great War when those idiotic Satans released the Beast of Apocalypse.
"Do you think that it's that easy to kill an Aspect? Even if his physical body was destroyed, his Existence is very much alive."
From his grandfather, he knew that above the Primordial Gods were Aspects. Aspects are theoretically unkillable and tremendously powerful, because even under the strict Planar Rules, they could unleash their full might.
The Draconic Deus Segment of the Realms had only a few Aspects.
Ophis the Infinity Dragon God, Io the Great Red, Trihexa the Beast of Apocypse, and Yahweh the Heavenly Father. Aspects were almost impossible to kill through normal means, and even people of the same Class as them would have serious problems in an effort to kill fellow Aspects.
"I... understand."
Serafall, in the end, relented, and she was the first person to whom he had spoken about the fact that Heavenly Father was in the process of resurrection. This effort to the Covenant was a joint effort of both Devils and Heaven, because nobody wanted to wage war between each other in the face of the greater threat.
Abyssal Deamons.
And then there was another thing.
Pandora's Box was opened.
Aside from the Abyssal Daemons, there were other threats out there across the Astral Sea or Elemental Chaos.
Many more threats.
From the Abyssal Daemons, they have learned threats of the other kind that roamed the Astral Sea and Prime Material Plane, like Mind Flayers that tended to invade worlds and planes to esnalve the population and drain the resources.
"So, who is the current Host of the Incinerate Anthem?"
Serafall asked when he dispersed the Bounded Field, and they headed towards his chambers within the Gremory Castle.
"Immortal Witch by name Augusta... solid Ultimate-Class Witch who is the leader of the Wizards of Oz. Fortunately enough, the woman is far more greedy than she is cautious, and we managed to prepare a solid trap that would lure her into the Avernus, where we would ambush and capture her."
Serafall has heard about the Wizards of Oz. They were a group of various Magicians of all kinds that originally existed on Earth, but later relocated their headquarters into the Astral Sea, where they found an unoccupied minor plane.
Their group was obsessed with reaching the root of all Magic, and they were some of the foremost researchers and Magic Scholars on the Astral Sea.
"For a human, that's pretty impressive."
Humans in the Draconic Deus Segment existed and lived only on the whims of more powerful beings, be they gods or other supernatural races.
If one were human with Sacred Gear, powerful inborn Magic, or something else, then there was a big chance that one would be enslaved by Devils, captured by Fallen as an experimental subject, captured by Gods as a slave, or just eaten by some monster out there.
The humans on Draconic Deus were indeed the race that was the weakest of all... the racial limits they had were very severe, limiting their growth to High-Class maximally and no more, as it was their Peak Limit.
Only a few selected could, through special limits, reach Ultimate-Class by breaking their Limits, but only to Ultimate-Class and no more. There were no humans who had ever reached High Ultimate-Class, and even those who managed to reach the Ultimate-Class would reach only the lower ends of the Ultimate-Class.
Of course, this was primarily true for the pure humans.
"That certainly is..."
In the history of the Dracnic Deus, the number of people who achieved the same feat as Augusta could be almost counted on one hand. However, it was hard to tell whether she reached the Ultimate-Class by her own effort or through the use of the Longinus.
That was much harder to tell.
Still, it didn't change the fact that humans of Earth were not Magical and their capabilities to use Magic were shit.
"Now that the cat is out of the bag, do you wanna join? Ultimate-Classes are always welcome..."
In fact, the entire part of capturing August would be done by several High Ultimate-Class beings, and more than ten Ultimate-Class beings... nothing was left to chance, so they decided to come there with overwhelming power and numbers.
Witches like Augusta were cunning and treacherous, so it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Will they be there?"
Serafall asked in a grim voice, as the cheerful Sera-tan was done and her voice had reached a frightening level of malice. Usually, Serafall was cheerful, friendly, and possessed almost a childlike personality.
Sirzechs knew that she was one of the kindest devils that ever existed, which was probably the reason why he loved her so much.
Yet...
"Well..."
His words stopped in his throat when he noticed her look and the fact that his clothes were covered in freezing pieces of ice. Serafall wasn't just an ordinary female devil... she was an incomplete Super Devil who was an extremely jealous and possessive woman who hid it behind a cheerful and bubbly personality.
They were together for several years and had known each other since they were kids.
He knew her the best and knew how much nuts she was deep inside...
She was the prime definition of being yandere.
Especially when it came ot her rivals in love.
Ryogun Belphegor and Grayfia Lucifuge.
And much to Serafall's disappointment, both of them were strong female devils, so she couldn't scare them away or make them disappear. She seriously needed to compete with the two women, which was really problematic considering their powers as well.
***
1st Layer of the Netherworld, Avernus
Avernus was the first layer of the Nine Layers of the Netherworld. The most likely beachhead for any attack by Daemon-kind, it was the primary battleground of the Devil-Daemons War: Legions of Devils marched across its plains in continual readiness to repel the hordes of Daemon invaders that sailed the River Styx into the Layer.
Avernus was the largest layer of the Netherworld and one of the most traditionally infernal—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.
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.
"I don't like it here... It's too hot."
Serafall complained when she and Sirzechs teleported to the 1st Layer of the Netherworld, because she hated this place very much. Avernus was the literal definition of hell, and it was extremely hot in here.
For someone like her who excelled in areas of Water and Ice, she was feeling pretty uncomfortable in the Avernus, which was the reason why she almost never went to the 1st Layer of the Netherworld.
And since Serafall started learning the Lore of Ice, which they obtained from the Astral Sea, she was becoming more attuned to the Ice and Frost. The Lore of Ice was also known as the Ice Magic that stemmed from the very specific usage of the Winds of Magic.
"You wanted to come here, Sera."
Sirzechs said, but he could understand that she was pretty annoyed... he wasn't in the best mood either. They just returned from the Frontier Domain and were in his chambers during the start of their...
Couple activity.
And then, suddenly, he got summoned to Avernus by Zaorama because it seemed that Augusta had initiated a contract and wanted to complete the deal with the Devil. The one who was in contact with Augusta was Mephisto Pheles, because among the Devils, he was known to be most knowledgeable about Magic.
Augusta, as greedy a witch as she was, wanted his Magic Lore at any cost.
"You are here, boy."
Zaorama Nebiros was a pretty ancient Devil, belonging to one of the 1st-Generation Devils that were created by Lucifer through the Book of Lucifer together with Lilith shortly after he had fallen from grace.
The first devils that Lucifer created were the heads of the Six Houses of Lucifer, Zekram Bael, and a few others. He was the head researcher of the House Lucifer for several thousand years, and he was entrusted with the most dangerous and sensitive things that Lucifer wanted to research.
Since the fall of the House Lucifer, Zaorama and the remnants of the Six Houses of Lucifer joined the new government that was created by Zekram Bael. Zaorama Nebiros was a fairly powerful High Ultimate-Class Devil, and he placed himself at the forefront of the Devil Scientists that ever existed.
"Why did that old woman need to call a meeting this fast?"
Sirzechs complained as people participating in the mission started arriving one after another, while he felt that it was a little bit of overkill for just one Ultimate-Class being. Nevertheless, the problem was that the Ultimate-Class being was a user of the Incinerate Anthem.
Which acted as an anti-thesis to the Devils and other creatures like them.
"Who knows... apparently, that woman encountered some problem and needs more power to overcome the threat."
Zaorama stated because when the woman contacted him, he noticed that she was rather distraught and in a hurry. He concluded that she was most probably facing some problems, which wasn't that much surprising.
Either the Wizards of Oz were facing some kind of external enemy, which was highly possible given their relentless pursuit of Magic, which often led them to stealing things from other Pantheons and factions, or she was targeted by someone from within.
Which was even more probable, considering the nature of the witchers.
Nevertheless, the result was the same as ever.
"Is the trap set?"
Sirzechs asked as he saw Ajuka and Mephisto Pheles preparing a trap in the distance for Augusta. Ajuka Astaroth was already pretty grumpy, because he had just returned to his laboratory to study the Divine Sparks that Sirzechs obtained, yet he was called back to Avernus because Augusta needed to come here just now.
Because the old woman was the Host of the Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear Incinerate Anthem, which was extremely deadly to the Devils.
Usually.
The devils had inherent weakness against two elements.
Light Element and Holy Element.
There were only so few methods of dealing with this weakness, with the most notable one being to obtain the Divine Spark and become a god. By becoming a Deity, the Devil in question would obtain a lot of Resistances and Immunities that would nicely cover the weakness to the Light Element and Holy Element.
While it wouldn't cover for the weakness entirely, it would make it so that the Light and Holy Elements wouldn't be so deadly to the Devils. Of course, aside from the Godhood, there were other means through Magic, but those ones were even more complicated and troublesome to attain than using the Divine Spark.
"Oya, is it you, Serafall? How is it that you are not already melting apart?"
Suddenly, a mocking voice resounded behind them, as Serafall's expression fell to below absolute zero as she turned around and saw the woman who appeared from the Magic Circle on the ground.
"So you are already here, Roygun... I would have thought that you were lost along the way... not like it would be any loss though."
It was Roygun Belphegor, the Heiress Apparent to the Belphegor Clan of the Extra Devil Clans.
She was a beautiful young woman appearing in her twenties with long, wavy, cherry blossom hair and two horns protruding from her head. She wore a high-cut formal dress with high slits and had a well-endowed bust and slim waist.
The Belphegor Clansmen were all Incomeplete Super Devil, which meant that they achieved Pseudo Partial Atavism. That explained the Horns and changes in appearance that were closer to that of the Demons than to the average Devils.
Their Clan Trait, Crack, was regarded as one of the most powerful Clan Traits among the Devil Species. It was a power that created a tear in things within the range of the User. It has high direct attack power, but if the User is skilled in its use, they can create a "Tear" in the attacks of others.
The Crack Clan Trait was one that was highly suitable for the Offensive, Auxiliary, and even Defensive means, giving the User a high degree of versatility while at the same time, giving them very high combat prowess.
"Fortunately, some people still can use their brains; not everyone is full of Magic Fairies or whatever you are playing at."
Sirzechs heard Roygun saying as the woman smiled sweetly when she stated that, though there was nothing sweet in her voice... He could see that Serafall had already created several icicles around her, and Roygun was also readying her Magic to counter her attack.
He already had a headache when he saw this, because it was always like this... they chose violence over anything and would always fight when they were arguing.
"Once again... It's always the same."
Suddenly, another female voice emerged as both Serafall and Roygun turned to the source, both with equally unpleasant expressions when they heard the cold and judgmental voice of the newcomer.
"Grayfia, you are already here."
Sirzechs said with a sigh, as the woman in question smiled mildly. Among the trio, she was the only one who could calm down both Roygun and Serafall because of her Clan Trait, and she was actually the strongest of the three of them.
Grayfia Lucifuge of the House Lucifuge was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous body, appearing to be in her early twenties with waist-length silver hair that features a long braid on each side with small blue bows at the ends, while the rest is let down, which ends in twin braids and silver eyes.
She wore a black shirt with golden-caramel accents at the edges of the shirt and spread horizontally near the bottom, with two light golden trims going down the shirt; and the shirt split slightly above her stomach, exposing her midriff. Around her neck and shoulders was a long, cyan scarf made from light material that reached her hips.
"Ts..."
Serafall clicked her tongue as she dispersed the ciciels around her, and even Roygun dispersed the Magic Circle that she created. Both of them knew that Extinction was above their capabilities, especially if it was used by someone powerful like Grayfia.
Extinction was pretty similar to the Power of Destruction on many fronts, though, while the Power of Destruction could destroy everything in its path, Extinction worked differently.
It was the Clan Trait that specifically targeted anything that "Lived" in the broadest meaning of the word and made it extinct. The Clan Trait also worked on the Undead, which was even more problematic and made the Clan Trait even more powerful and versatile.
"Now, just for a moment, can we please be a little bit civil?"
Sirzechs asked, though he thought that this was a little bit more than some would admit or allow to exist. He just hoped that they would be able to cooperate in their capture of Augusta without any problems.
Everything else wasn't that important.
Even though many people were present, if the old witch were given time to activate the Incinerate Anthem, it would be bad for them... even worse would be if she were to use her Balance Breaker during that span of time.
"Perhaps... Juka-chan, are you finished with the thing already?"
Suddenly, Serafall's entire demeanor changed by 180 degrees and she returned to her bubbly, cheerful personality almost instantaneously.
"The process of creating Bounded Fields capable of nullifying Soul Gear is a rather delicate thing, young lady."
The one that asnwered the question wasn't Ajuka, but a middle-aged man with gelled hair, which is a mixture of red and blue. He has heterochromia; his left eye is blue, while the right is red. He also gave off a similar aura to that of Ajuka Astaroth... the one of scholar and hermit.
Serafall just tilted her head and stuck out her tongue at the ancient devil.
Mephisto Pheles was an ancient devil by any means, because he wasn't even originally a devil, but instead a demon who became a devil through similar procedures that Lucifer used to create the devil race.
Nobody actually even knew how powerful the ancient devil was, though many predicted that even though he didn't possess the raw power of the God-King, his magic certainly was enough to defeat many of the beings on the God-King Class.
"Why so?"
Serafall didn't really know much about the Sacred Gears and how they worked, though she understood that they were powerful and that many devils tended to stay away from the Sacred Gear Users if possible.
Especially the ones that were Hosts to the Longinus-Tier Sacred Gears.
Only aiming for the kill if it was possible, or attempting to extract the Sacred Gears.
"Because Sacred Gears are more problematic to deal with compared to the ordinary Soul Gears... they are imbued with the power of the Heavens themselves, and now that they are bugged... they are even more dangerous than they were originally intended to be."
Ajuka remarked as he continued placing down the wards, as several tens of green Magic Circles bearing his personal crest were around him while he was doing his job.
"What is a bug?"
Serafall asked with a completely confused expression, which Sirzechs actually found pretty cute because she wasn't really understanding what he was talking about. Truth to be told, the number of people who actually understood the Sacred Gears and how they worked could be counted almost on one hand.
"From the preliminary research on the Sacred Gears that we obtained, we managed to find a few interesting things about the peculiar devices. The first thing was that since 'He' had died, the bugs in Heaven's System had accumulated to such a ridiculous degree that the Balance Breaker appeared. From what we understood, the Balance Breaker should not exist and was unnatural."
It wasn't something that Yahweh planned for the Sacred Gears to have because it was lacking in the original designs after they took some of them apart, so he came to the conclusion that it was just some sort of mutation.
Basically, it's a bug in the System that was created from the utter neglect of Heaven's System, which didn't have an administrator, and the negligence of the maintenance of the Sacred Gears themselves.
Sirzechs knew this thing long ago, because he had heard a similar theory from his grandfather Zekram, but it was only thanks to the research of Ajuka and Zaorama that confirmed it.
"This leads us to the theory that continuous usage of abilities like Balance Breaker or, in some cases, Juggernaut Drive, was basically killing the user by either tremendously pressuring the Soul of the user or burning the Lifeforce. In the case of the Juggernaut Drive, both of them are together."
Basically, using the Balance Breakers or anything like that, essentially everything that wasn't included in Yahweh's original design, was severely damaging to the Host of the Sacred Gear; that was one of the reasons why the hosts, especially if they were humans, couldn't live long.
Zaorama Nebiros wanted to develop his own version of the Sacred Gears because that would increase the power of his faction several times. And he could fulfill his dream of creating weapons that would be immortalized in the annals of history.
"The Magic Circle is activated. She is arriving at the Avernus. Everyone assume the positions."
Suddenly, Mephisto Pheles said just exactly when Ajuka finished the wards against the Sacred Gears, as everyone got into position. The reason why there were so many of the Ultimate-Class powerhouses gathering here was because of the Magic Formation.
Traveling to the Netherworld was more and more problematic due to how strong the Planar Laws were becoming. Not to mention, the over-saturation with Mana was making everything far more durable and harder to destroy within the Netherworld.
For example, if Ultimate-Class Magician was put in a place where there were very lax Planar Laws and the place wasn't overly saturated in Mana, then the said Ultimate-Class Magician could easily destroy an entire mountain or two...
Perhaps if the Ultimate-Class Magician knew some pretty destructive Magic, they would be able to obliterate even an entire Mountain Range.
Yet in the Underworld?
Even destroying an entire city of average size would be hard if they were not freaks of nature like Sirzechs.
"Start pouring the Demonic Energy into the Magic Formation. Prepare the Sealing Spells and release them the moment she exits the Dimensional Pathway."
Mephisto Pheles directed the entire action as more than ten Ultimate-Class beings started mimicking the action and poured their Demonic Energy into the Magic Formation that would separate and render the Sacred Gear useless.
At the same time, several of the Ultimate-Class devils present were already preparing their Sealing Spells that they would use on Augusta to seal her so the old woman could be safely transported into the containment facility.
Sirzechs admitted that if she possessed other Sacred Gear, then such an amount of preparations wouldn't be needed, but in regard to the Incinerate Athem, it was of absolute necessity.
Among all Sacred Gears, this one was the most dangerous if used against the Devils and other similar species. Suddenly, from the Dimensional Pathway connecting Netherworld and Astral Sea, one of many, in fact, a visage of an elderly woman appeared.
It was Augusta, the Witch of the East.
She was an elderly woman in her late sixties dressed in violet robes and a witch hat with a sharp glint in her eyes and an upright posture that appeared almost youthful. She wore a pair of earrings and multiple rings on her fingers and looked like a typical witch.
Fortunately, Mephisto Pheles's plan worked pretty well, as the Magic Formation that sealed the Sacred Gear was an instantaneous effect.
At the same time, Sirzechs, together with other devisl who were far more proficient in the use of Magic, released their prepared Sealing Spells, which hit Augusta before the Witch of the East could do anything.
Everything went so easily that it was almost suspicious... but considering that this was another of the Mephisto Pheles's schemes, it wasn't that surprising. The ancient devil was one of the most dangerous, not only because of his personal might, but also because of his cunning mind.
That was one of the reasons why many who had something in their brains actually would avoid making any deals with the powerful old devils. The chances of being scammed were actually too huge, and many people who went head-on and dealt with these entities didn't really end well.
All things considered, it wasn't actually anything surprising.
"Well then... everything proceeded rather well... just to be sure, I am going to completely seal her mind."
Her Magic was already sealed, and the connection between her and Longinus Incinerate Anthem was also sealed. Just to be sure, Mephisto also sealed her mind, inducing her in a specific form of Magical Coma where she wouldn't react to anything, even on the subconscious level.
The amount of Spells that were cast on the elderly withc was staggering, but nobody among the people present dared to be frivolous with their choices. It was more than clear that someone like Augusta was a dangerous person, even to the devils.
The fact that she came here, to the Netherworld, despite everything, was a clear testament to her desperate situation, which the Wizards of Oz were right now.
"Well, now it's done... we can transport her to the secured facility for further research, during which we can devise a plan regarding the Incinerate Anthem."
With everything done, the Ozher Ultimate-Class devils that were in the service of the Bael Clan, Gremory Clan, or affiliated with one of the participants in the projects started returning to where they came from.
"Do you know why that old coot was in such a hurry?"
Sirzechs asked as he arrived at the ancient devil with Serafall, Roygun, and Grayfia, while Ajuka and Zaorama transported the sealed Augusta to one of the secure facilities.
"It seems that their home plane, the Emerald Plane, is under invasion from Mind Flayers and some other plane that got connected to it through some Dimensional Pathway. All Witches are now in great distress and are seeing any means of increasing their strength. I am tempted to guess who would emerge victorious... be it the abominations or the traitors."
Mephisto said with a grin that told a lot... though neither of the younger devils who listened to him was that much pleased by the answer. They knew that the Wizards of Oz were created by a group of Magicians that split from the Grauzauberer some decades ago.
Grauzauberer was Mephisto's personal Magic Association.
Founded by Johann Georg Faust, a German Grand Alchemist, Astrologer, and Magician during the Renaissance, it became one of the leading Magician Associations in the supernatural world.
After Johann Georg Faust's death, his contracted Devil; Mephisto Pheles, took over leadership and remained the acting chairman of the association from that point on.
But the mention of the Mind Flayers almost brought them a heart attack.
If devils could actually have a heart attack.
"Mind Flayers were not seen in our Segment for countless millennia? Are they even sure it's the Mind Flayers and not just some Aberrations?"
Sirzechs, as he knew that if the Mind Flayers were in the question, it could get ugly.
Though at least the only saving grace was that the Netherworld was safe from them, as was Earth, because most of the Mind Flayer Fleets were not really powerful enough to actually threaten God-Kings or even factions overseen by High Ultimate-Class beings.
"No... Augusta was rather vocal in her description and was in desperate need of help to increase her power, though it seems that what is actually attacking them is just a small raiding fleet of a few Nautiloids."
Mind flayers, also known as Illithids, were sadistic aberrations feared by sentient creatures on many worlds across the Realms due to their powerful Psionic abilities. From their twisted lairs, these alien entities sought to expand their dominion over all other lifeforms, controlling their minds to use them as obedient thralls.
They consumed the very personalities of their victims by extracting and devouring their brains while they were still alive. Even the Abyssal Daemons had a lot of memories about the Mind Flayers, and they were indeed one of the most dangerous species in the Realms.
"If the Wizards are resisting them, it seems that their power is pretty limited... most of the Mind Flayers are not particularly powerful on an individual basis, right?"
Serafall asked with mild curiosity and disgust, because for her, the horror-like squid abominations were not cute at all.
"No... their Psionic Technology is what makes them more dangerous to us... Mind Flayers are not a centralized species as they congregate in various Enclaves, with each Enclave led by an entity known as an Elder Brain, which is generally at least a High Ultimate-Class being. I had the opportunity to study one Elder Brain in my youth, when a heavily damaged nautiloid carrying Elder Brain crashed in the Netherworld... many thousands of years ago. Shame that the fight between the Elder Brain and us destroyed much of the ship."
Right now, as the ancient devil was speaking, he was like an elder who reminisced about the good times to the younger generation, which seemed to be pretty funny from the outside point of view.
"Nevertheless, the appearance of the Mind Flayers needs investigation, perhaps even the Supernatural Council would be called to discuss the matter."
The Supernatural Council, which Mephisto Pheles mentioned, was something relatively new that was established after the first Abyssal Incursion. It was an event where all relevant supernatural factions of Earth, meaning those who had at least one God-King Class powerhouse or multiple High Ultimate-Class powers.
Of course, the devil race fulfilled both requirements, so they had a seat at the table.
All Pantheons had a seat behind that table together with some other factions like Vampire Court, Werewolf Tribal Council, Demon Dungeon City-States or Yōkai Faction.