Chapter 177: Azazel
Before losing consciousness, the trench coat-wearing, sunglasses-clad Dohnaseek glared resentfully at Amano and the other two. "Impossible... you've all reached A-rank?!"
After betraying Amano, he fully absorbed all the resources he had obtained, successfully reaching the peak of B-rank.
His talent was clearly lacking, as the bottleneck to A-rank remained as immovable as a mountain. No matter how many methods he tried, he had yet to break through.
Amano had no intention of offering guidance to the one who betrayed her. If not for Rias's command, she would have sent him to meet the god who abandoned them back when Dohnaseek launched his attack.
"Miss Gremory, Lord Azazel is in the reception room."
The fallen angel handling the aftermath snapped out of his shock, secretly grateful he had followed Lord Azazel's instructions.
"I'll lead you there..."
Upon hearing Azazel's name, Amano froze for a moment, instinctively turning to Haruto for help.
Haruto responded with a reassuring look and interrupted the fallen angel dressed as a priest, saying, "No need. We know the way."
The fallen angels glanced at Amano and the other two, wisely lowered their heads, gave a slight bow, and retreated.
Compared to these newly arrived fallen angels, Amano and her companions were far more familiar with this area.
In fact, even Haruto knew this underground region better than they did.
Creak—
Haruto pushed open the door to the reception room. Though underground, the room was brightly lit, the dazzling lights causing Rias and the others to squint uncomfortably.
For fallen angels, they certainly love brightness... It really doesn't match their racial vibe.
"Oh ho, are these cute girls today's guests?"
Azazel's eyes lit up, adopting the expression of a lecherous middle-aged man as he teased Rias, "This beautiful red-haired lady must be the princess of the Gremory family. I am Azazel. I look forward to your kindness in the future."
Though his hair wasn't yellow, it wasn't a particularly dignified color either—especially since Haruto knew Azazel had become a fallen angel by following his inner desires to pursue relationships with women.
Haruto maintained a neutral expression, but inwardly he grew wary of this frivolous, disheartened uncle-like behavior.
Rias and the others had never dealt with this fallen angel governor before, but they had heard of his reputation.
Azazel's demeanor was far from what they had imagined, making it hard to believe this disheartened and lecherous middle-aged man was the renowned fallen angel governor.
Amano, in particular, fell into deep self-doubt.
There was a time when she had admired the mature, stern-faced Lord Azazel so deeply that no matter how diligently she completed her tasks, she could never earn even a smile from him.
Of course, this was because Azazel never saw her as noteworthy. Though Amano was beautiful and had a good figure, in his eyes, she was just average.
With his power and status, he could summon beauties with a mere snap of his fingers, and his subordinates would handle the rest.
Amano, with her mediocre status and strength, held no value in his eyes. He paid her no attention, finding even a fool like Dohnaseek more amusing.
At least such fools were convenient to use.
Even after Amano and the other two became Rias's servants, Azazel merely glanced at them before disregarding them entirely.
Rias quickly composed herself, adopting the authoritative demeanor of the Gremory family's next head. "You jest, Governor. This is Gremory territory, and I don't recall inviting any Fallen Angels as guests."
"Now, now~ Don't say that. I'm not here to cause trouble this time."
Azazel remained completely unfazed by Rias's imposing presence. Though both Rias and Haruto were powerful, they were still far beneath his level.
"Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink? I have both beverages and alcohol prepared."
The members of the Occult Research Club exchanged glances before Rias nodded. "No need for trouble. Please state your business first. Depending on what you say, I may need to report to the higher-ups of the devil race."
By "higher-ups," she naturally meant her brother, one of the current Satans, Lucifer.
The Fallen Angel Governor's power was beyond their ability to challenge. If something were to happen with his sudden appearance here, it would be beyond their capacity to resolve.
"I already told you, I'm not here to cause trouble."
Azazel scratched his head with a helpless expression. "By the way, I've resigned from my position as Governor. That should put you more at ease, right?"
"Resigned?" Rias gave the disheveled-looking man a strange look. "So you're here in a personal capacity?"
"Though I'm no longer the Fallen Angel Governor, I'm not here purely privately either. After receiving their support for so long, even after stepping down as Governor, I still need to do something for the organization."
Seeing that Rias and her group truly didn't want drinks, Azazel poured himself a cup of sake. Taking a sip, he continued, "The leaders of the three factions have decided to hold peace talks. You should receive official notification soon."
"Peace talks?"
Amano and the other two were taken aback, not quite understanding what this meant.
Rias nodded. She had indeed heard some rumors, being both the Satans's younger sister and the next head of the Gremory family.
"The war between devils, angels, and fallen angels ended long ago, but we remain opposed to each other. Currently, all factions are struggling, and if we continue this internal conflict, there will be no winners."
Azazel proactively explained, "So the leadership of the three factions has decided to exchange resources and prevent meaningless internal consumption. Thus, a peace treaty has been proposed. The specific contents are still being discussed, and the signing date hasn't been determined yet, but this will happen eventually."
Hearing this, Haruto already understood Azazel's purpose for coming.
"You're seeking reconciliation, correct?" he spoke for the first time since entering the reception room.
"Correct." Azazel smiled. "Since we'll be cooperating in the future anyway, there's no harm in starting a bit early. This would be mutually beneficial."
"I don't think so."
Haruto walked to Rias's side and looked into her eyes. "President, let's go. There's no need to waste any more time here."
Rias glanced at Azazel and nodded. Before the peace treaty was signed, she didn't want to get too involved with fallen angels, especially not someone with such a sensitive position.
Azazel's eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of killing intent passing through his heart.
He was aware of Haruto's background. If Rias weren't present, he would definitely teach the young man a proper lesson.
"Miss Rias..."
"Please address me as Gremory. We're not familiar with each other."
Rias coldly interrupted Azazel, "Regarding this matter, I will inform the Satan. I hope you can behave yourself during this period and not make things difficult for me."
Azazel could no longer maintain his calm expression. He didn't understand why things had developed this way—it was completely different from what he had imagined. There were still many things he hadn't had the chance to say.
Seeing Akeno already preparing a teleportation array, he quickly called out, "Wait! How about hearing my conditions before making a decision?"
Rias signaled for Akeno to pause. Azazel's strength was too formidable—she had to give him this much face. If he became enraged, she might be fine, but her subordinates might not be so lucky.
Azazel's power was conservatively estimated at SSS-class. Fallen Angel executives generally possessed this level of strength, and as their Governor, he would only be stronger, not weaker.
Haruto really didn't want to continue negotiations, but it wasn't appropriate for him to keep objecting at this point. That would be overstepping his bounds and appear too deliberate.
Seeing Rias turn back, Azazel's expression improved considerably. He had no intention of keeping them in suspense any longer and spoke rapidly.
"I can represent the Fallen Angels in not pursuing the matter of Raynare and the other two. Moreover, I can mentor you all to rapidly improve your strength."
"What do you want in return?"
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Rias knew the other party must want something in return.
Under the glaring lights, a strange glint flashed in Azazel's eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, but he quickly restrained himself.
No one noticed his momentary expression change except Haruto, who had remained vigilant toward him all along.