— — — — — —
BOOOOM!
Massive explosions rang out one after another as the ground shook violently.
Inside the Bael family's territory in the Underworld, every pure-blood devil and servant was struck by indiscriminate attacks, their faces filled with shock and horror.
As the dust cloud thinned slightly, Sairaorg Bael shoved aside the enormous chunk of rubble pinning him down and looked up toward the sky.
"Why are angels in the heart of the Underworld?! Didn't we already sign a peace treaty?!"
Angels appearing in the Underworld at all was abnormal. It symbolized war.
For them to appear deep inside devil territory, attacking the lands of House Bael no less, was practically a declaration of war itself.
Sairaorg silently thanked himself for sending his mother, who suffered from the Sleep Disease, to House Sitri's territory beforehand. Otherwise, this attack would've been an absolute nightmare for him.
Still, there was no guarantee the Sitri territory hadn't also come under attack. If even the Bael family had been targeted, then families like Sitri certainly wouldn't be safe either.
Even worried sick about his mother's safety, Sairaorg knew that as the next heir of House Bael, ignored by the elders or not, he had to step forward now.
Grinding his teeth, he roared, "Damn it! Everyone regroup and prepare to counterattack!"
The surviving devil servants nearby crawled out from the rubble and gathered behind Sairaorg, forcing themselves to prepare for battle.
But just as Sairaorg was about to lead the charge, an enormous pair of wings of light unfurled across the sky.
Power resembling endless waves of flowing water swept over the battlefield.
"Water power…?"
Sairaorg stared upward in shock. "The one attacking us is one of the Four Great Seraphs?!"
That flowing holy light was the symbol of the Archangel Gabriel. Her power possessed extraordinary healing properties.
But to devils, whose attributes fundamentally opposed holy power, that same "water" was the deadliest poison imaginable.
Because of that, many in the Underworld privately referred to Gabriel as the Poison Angel or the Angel of Calamity to vent their fear of her.
Sairaorg himself wasn't as terrified of Gabriel as others were.
But he understood immediately. This battle was already over.
The moment Gabriel expanded her Domain of Light, the devils present were effectively drowning in a sea of lethal poison. Survival was impossible.
Meanwhile, angels fighting inside that domain could barely even be injured. Any wound would be healed by Gabriel's power before it could fully form.
"It's over…"
Bathed in that watery light and beginning to cough up blood, Sairaorg slowly gave up resisting.
Then Gabriel flapped her radiant wings overhead and spoke with an oddly apologetic expression. "The head of House Bael colluded with Erebus in an attack upon the Devil Council, attempting to assassinate the Great Satans. Sirzechs Lucifer was gravely wounded, and over one hundred council members were killed or injured. The crime is unforgivable."
"At the request of Satan Ajuka Beelzebub, and in accordance with the treaty, our forces are carrying out a complete purge of the Bael family."
"Please cease all futile resistance. This cleansing operation targets only the principal offenders. Continuing to resist will only worsen your crimes. Please understand."
"..."
"The family head joined outsiders to assassinate the Satans?"
The struggling Bael servants were utterly dumbfounded.
Even Sairaorg, who knew the old bastards in his family disliked him enough to wish he'd disappear, looked completely stunned.
How drunk did those old fossils have to be to cooperate with Greek gods and assassinate a Satan?
And if you were going to assassinate one, at least finish the job instead of dragging the whole family into the grave with you!
Did the family head not have a brain?!
The devil servants exchanged looks, none of them able to process this development.
"Is this actually true…?"
"No idea…"
"Then are we really supposed to keep fighting?"
Most people had already lost the will to resist.
Aside from a handful of family retainers raised by House Bael itself, the majority were merely servants of the family. Throwing their lives away to shield the Bael family from disaster felt completely pointless.
One after another, they turned toward Sairaorg.
He was the highest-ranking person left here. Only he could decide what to do.
"I…"
Sairaorg looked conflicted.
If only the main culprits were being punished, then he personally should be safe.
But what if this was just an angelic trick? A ploy to make them surrender?
Before he could decide, the ground began to tremble faintly.
In the distance came the shrill cries of warhorses.
"The Satans' army from the neighboring cities has arrived!"
Several hidden devils immediately lit up with hope.
Then that hope turned to despair in the very next second.
"...They're surrounding us!!"
Faintly, angry shouts could be heard from the opposing army.
"By order of Lord Beelzebub, surround the entire Bael territory! Do not let a single criminal escape!"
Seeing this, Sairaorg finally understood.
The accusations were real. Or at least, the higher-ups had already decided they were.
After a moment of silence, he was just about to speak when a cold snort echoed from the sky.
"Sirzechs and Ajuka really have become quite capable."
Sairaorg froze and looked upward.
Less than fifty meters above him stood an elderly man with white hair and luxurious robes, his face cold and severe.
"The First…"
Sairaorg inhaled sharply.
First Generation Bael.
Or rather, the "Great King" Bael, one of the rare beings whose status rivaled that of the original Great Satans: Zekram Bael.
Rumors had always claimed that this ancient ancestor hadn't actually died in the Three Factions War, but had instead hidden himself within the territory to recover.
Still, this was Sairaorg's first time seeing the legendary First Bael, the monster who once stood against God himself.
So he really was still alive…
Then the First Bael Zekram glanced down at Sairaorg and slightly raised a brow.
"So you're the descendant who failed to inherit the Power of Destruction? I assumed you were just worthless trash, but it seems your courage is decent enough."
"You managed to withstand Gabriel's pressure without surrendering. I acknowledge your qualification to become the next family head."
'What the hell is this old man talking about?'
Sairaorg's brain nearly stopped functioning.
'I wasn't refusing to surrender. I just didn't get the chance yet!'
'Wait a second, why would the First Bael say something like that right now? Is he trying to get me killed?!'
'The Bael family is about to be wiped out and now you want me to become family head?'
As Sairaorg's mentality crumbled internally, Zekram raised his head and stared coldly at Gabriel. "Angels should've stayed hidden in Heaven. Yet you dare act arrogantly in Bael territory? Do you think this is still the era when God was alive?"
Gabriel didn't respond.
She merely traced a cross over her forehead before clasping her hands together.
"May the Lord be with me."
Seeing that, Zekram sneered even harder. "Borrowing the System's power within the Underworld? Even if you can, how much can you possibly draw upon? God is dead. Besides—"
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes slowly widened.
From Zekram's perspective, Gabriel's face began to blur, hidden beneath layers of mist and holy radiance.
Clear and resounding hymns echoed through the surroundings.
Warm holy light spread outward, so gentle that even devils felt no pain from it.
Yet that indistinct, sacred presence made Zekram's entire body tremble violently.
He roared in disbelief, "Impossible! You should already be dead! The intelligence reports only said you were close to reviving! How are you already alive?!"
"That's impossible! Impossible!"
.
.
.