"…The administration did what?"
"Yeah. I thought it would take a bit longer, but they threw in the towel faster than expected."
"What's the move, Diehauser? Are you going to talk to them?"
Half a day had passed since the strike began in the Underworld. In terms of hours, it wasn't long, but for the participants, it felt like the longest stretch of their lives. From performing for the administration and servicing fans to back-to-back television interviews, speeches to the players, and outlining the future of the Rating Games—the Emperor was besieged by a relentless avalanche of attention. He was, in every sense of the word, the man of the hour.
As a Devil, his physical stamina was immense, but the mental toll of such unfamiliar tasks was beginning to show. Still, he continued without a break. The administration, accused of corruption, remained in a state of total chaos, and the pressure from the public and players only intensified. Being in the Agareas territory, the Archduke's servants visited frequently, bowing profusely as they tried to grasp the situation. Even Bidaze Abaddon was seen handing out boxes of sweets to the Archduke's subordinates, muttering, "Sorry, the Emperor is... well, he's like this," shifting the entire blame for the chaos onto Diehauser.
In the middle of this frantic strike, the first sign of a breakthrough appeared. A communication reached Bidaze and Roygun Belphegor from the Old Devils. They wanted to set up a private, behind-the-scenes negotiation with the Emperor. Diehauser rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. He had started the strike specifically to force the Old Devils to the table. If they were asking for it now, things were progressing.
"…No, let's wait a little longer," Diehauser decided. "Send a message back to the administration: 'Sincerity is not found in backroom deals, but in public apologies for your deception. We see no reason to accept such a request.'"
"Wow... you're really sending that?" Bidaze made no effort to hide his grimace, imagining the reaction. "I can already see the future. They're going to scream, 'How dare he be so arrogant when we've humbled ourselves?!'"
Bidaze mimicked the typical administrative arrogance. He knew they weren't capable of actual reflection. Diehauser and Roygun shared the sentiment, letting out deep sighs. Even though the administration was the one backed into a corner, they maintained a bizarre confidence that their authority was unshakable. After all, the history of Devil nobility spanned thousands of years. They believed it wouldn't collapse so easily.
"But even the 'Satans,' the very symbols of Devil nobility, change with the times," Diehauser noted. "I can't have them keeping that attitude forever. Add this to the message: 'It seems you still haven't reflected on your actions. Perhaps the next piece of video evidence I leak should be the scene where you all laughed and mocked the Satans' sister-obsession, sneering at them for causing an uproar over mere siblings.'"
"Don't. That'll actually work on the Old Devils," Bidaze groaned. "The sound of their screaming would probably damage my eardrums. ...Wait, why do you even have evidence like that? That has nothing to do with the Game."
"It was mixed in with the other evidence I received. I kept it thinking it might help win the Satans over to our side. It's one of my trump cards."
It was a prize even Ajuka Beelzebub had given his seal of approval. The fact that two of the Satans were obsessed with their sisters had been common knowledge throughout the Underworld since the day Rias and Sona were born. Grayfia's role in stopping their rampages was truly legendary.
"How is a video of people mocking sisters a 'trump card'?" Roygun muttered, exasperated.
"What are you saying, Roygun?" Diehauser, the man who had just thrown the Underworld into chaos for his own cousin, tilted his head in genuine confusion. "If someone mocks your sister, you get angry. That's just natural. I don't think there's anything more terrifying than the rage of an older brother or sister."
The weight of the words coming from a man who would turn the world into his enemy for his family was different. Even Bidaze couldn't find a sarcastic retort in the face of such sincerity.
Because of their low birth rates, Devils rarely had siblings. When they did, a several-hundred-year age gap was the norm. To them, the cuteness of a younger sister toddling along and calling out "Big brother!" was—apparently—Satan-class in its power. The two of them simply nodded in silence at the Emperor's dead-serious explanation. They were rapidly gaining the experience points needed to know when not to argue with him.
"Well, let's put that aside for now," Diehauser continued. "The timing for the negotiation is what matters. The strike can only last until the 'Ten-Match Series' begins. I doubt we'll settle everything in the first session, so we need at least three or four meetings. We can't afford to be too late."
"Lord Asmodeus made a broadcast to the Underworld a bit ago," Roygun added. "We should assume the other Satans are moving behind the scenes too."
"Right. They won't let the Emperor and the administration negotiate alone," Diehauser said. "It'll take a Satan standing between us as a neutral party to make any real progress. ...In fact, they're probably already in the Agareas territory. There are only three ways into Agreas."
They continued to refine their plan. While they had the public on their side and a mountain of evidence, they couldn't afford to be careless. This strike would dictate their future activities, and they had to give it everything. For the players using 'King' pieces, they were viewed as traitors by the administration. With no bridge back, they couldn't afford a single misstep.
While they gathered opinions from other players participating in the strike, the final decisions were left to these three. Diehauser was currently playing the role of an Emperor driven to a "righteous rampage" by the administration's corruption. While he wanted the negotiation, agreeing too quickly would contradict his current "angry" persona. He had to make them wait, claiming he needed time to cool his head.
"The first negotiation is vital. Even if we wait until we gather more voices from the players—"
Diehauser stopped mid-sentence as a magic communication reached him. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he suppressed his emotions. Why now? he wondered. He sensed immediately that something had happened.
"Diehauser? Is something wrong?"
"No, sorry. It's... a message from my mother. She's probably worried. Do you mind if I step away for a moment?"
"Just hurry up," Bidaze said. "Listening to family talk is a pain anyway."
"My apologies."
Diehauser felt a pang of guilt for using his mother as an excuse to the other two, but it was the only natural way to excuse himself. Bidaze and Roygun had already accepted that the Emperor was a family-obsessed Devil, so they didn't even question it.
Diehauser stepped into a private room and immediately erected a barrier to prevent eavesdropping. Since the entire room was already under a large barrier, a small additional one wouldn't be noticed. Once he confirmed he was alone, he raised a hand to his ear.
A green magic circle—the mark of Ajuka Beelzebub—manifested. Ajuka was supposed to be in Auros with the other Satans. They had agreed to communicate only once every twelve hours to avoid suspicion. Since Diehauser had just sent his report a short while ago, this immediate contact meant trouble.
"Lord Beelzebub, is there a problem?"
"I'll be blunt; we don't have much time. The situation has moved. And unfortunately, not in a direction we like."
"..."
Diehauser frowned. Given Ajuka's lack of greetings and concise tone, he was likely calling while evading the eyes of the other Satans and the Great King. Ajuka's private agents had been gathering information that even Diehauser couldn't reach.
"I need to confirm something... Did you just receive a request for negotiation from the administration?"
"Yes, just now. If you're calling to confirm that, I assume it means the administration hasn't given up, but rather... they've actually secured a bargaining chip to use against me."
"I'll give it to you straight. But first: do not lose control."
Diehauser's face darkened at the warning. If a Satan felt the need to caution him like this, the bargaining chip the Old Devils had prepared was guaranteed to touch his "Reverse Scale." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to settle his emotions. Then, he prompted the Satan to continue.
"…Cleria Belial has been taken by the Church. Based on the timing and the fact that she hasn't been killed, it's the work of the Old Devils. To get leverage over you, those fools have involved the Church."
"————"
For a moment, Diehauser's world turned blood-red. Even the bitter tone of the Satan's voice suggested this was unexpected. It was absolute madness. They were in the middle of a strike, a situation that could be settled by simply apologizing to the citizens and relinquishing control over the Game. Instead, they were so desperate to protect their authority that they had involved a hostile power like the Church.
If Devils had taken her, Diehauser's or the Satans' own peerages could have gone to the rescue. They could have buried the incident behind a dozen excuses later. Handling internal affairs internally was Ajuka's specialty.
But the Church was public. If another faction was involved, the situation became paralyzed. If the Devils went to save Cleria, it could cause a rift with the Church. Most importantly, it was out in the open. You can fix things in the shadows if they happen in the shadows. But if it's on the surface, someone has to be held accountable.
If the Bael Faction—who had been negotiating with the Church—"saved" Cleria, they would become the heroes who rescued her from a scandal. They would use that as a leash to pull Diehauser's chain.
"They plan to use the 'rescue' of Cleria Belial—who they'll claim committed a scandal and was captured—as leverage to threaten you. If you refuse their terms, they'll let the Church 'process' her. Sirzechs and I will be there as witnesses. If you lose control and rampage, we'll be forced to stop you for the sake of the Underworld's order."
"B-But if they lose the hostage, they have nothing—"
"True. but they've reached a point of desperation where they might just commit mutual suicide. ...If they told you they would start cutting off Cleria's limbs one by one unless you complied, could you endure it?"
He couldn't. Even now, he was only holding back his boiling rage because Ajuka had warned him. If they hurt her, he would snap. He would forget the Underworld and the Game and become a beast of pure fury. Diehauser gripped his pounding heart with a trembling hand.
In the original timeline, there had been a ten-year gap after Cleria's purge. The cause and the culprit were unknown. Back then, his anger had no direction, and he could only mourn. He could only distract himself by trying to find the truth. But that decade had allowed his rage to cool and turn into self-blame.
But the current Diehauser knew everything. He knew the enemy, the cause, and where to point his fury. Knowing the truth had removed the safety switch that would have prevented a rampage. In his mind, he knew violence was a foolish solution—that it would betray Kanata, his family, and everyone who supported him. But he didn't know if he could stop himself when the moment came.
Cleria was a double-edged sword. She was a bomb that could cause the Emperor's rage to flatten the Old Devils. If the Emperor moved with force, those who supported him would follow. The Old Devils would be decimated by a violence that authority couldn't stop. And then the Satans would have to move to stop the riot.
It would be a civil war. A return to the era of the Old and New Satan factions clashing. A sea of blood.
"…Lord Beelzebub. I—"
"Emperor Belial, why do you think I gave you this information?"
"Is it... to stop me from rampaging?"
Diehauser felt sick at the thought of the disaster he might cause. He knew Ajuka realized he had started the strike for his sister's sake.
"No. It's so we can win against those Old Devils."
"What?"
"If they're going to play this dirty, we'll make sure they crawl at our feet. Think, Diehauser Belial. Is there really no other way to save Cleria?"
The one most furious about the Old Devils' move was likely the Satan himself, who had been running himself ragged in the shadows and taking stomach medicine for the first time in his life. The New Satans were those who had staged a coup to protect the Underworld. Yet, they had chosen not to rule through force. Because they had become Kings through violence, they chose to seal that violence away.
Ajuka had worked meticulously to filter information, give precise orders to his agents, and support the Emperor's strike while ensuring the Old Devils didn't take too much damage. If the power balance shifted too far, it would cause chaos.
He had fought for the Underworld to prevent another civil war... and the other side had just spat on his efforts. They had turned a controlled match into a winner-take-all battle for survival. Diehauser broke into a cold sweat hearing the irritation in Ajuka's voice.
"A way to save Cleria from the Church...?"
"Come to think of it, I didn't tell you. The one who told me Cleria was taken by the Church was the Director of the Grau Zauberer."
"Ah."
Diehauser's eyes widened. The blood-red rage began to recede as he remembered. He remembered the man his sister loved, and the boy he had entrusted with her safety.
'Can I leave Cleria and the others to you when you get back to Kuoh? She's a gentle person. She'll be worried.'
'I understand. Easing everyone's anxiety is the best thing I can do right now. Leave it to me.'
'Thank you, Kanata.'
"Masaomi... and Kanata..."
"It might be irresponsible to leave our failure as Devils to them. But they're the only ones who can move freely between the Church and the Devils."
"But regardless of Masaomi, Kanata is still a child of the organization. To ask him—"
"…Let me ask you this. Do you think he would let 'the organization' stop him from saving her?"
Diehauser let out a short, startled laugh at Ajuka's dry tone. The answer was a simple no. If Kanata were the kind of boy who let rules stop him, they wouldn't even be in this position. The boy's absurd initiative was the reason for everything.
"I've confirmed it with Director Mephisto. He's providing support from the shadows, and some elite help is headed to Kuoh. They've already started moving. To save Cleria Belial."
"…Heh. I'm pretty pathetic as a hero, but... I'm glad I left her in his hands."
Cleria wasn't saved yet. He didn't know if they could pull it off. But Diehauser's heart settled, and his panic vanished. He felt a strange certainty that they would succeed. He knew he was putting them in danger, but a single tear of relief escaped before he could stop it.
Kanata had trusted the Emperor with the Underworld. Therefore, the Emperor would trust them. He was a flawed King, but he would stand as a hero nonetheless. That was the role of the man carrying everyone's dreams.
"Sorry for losing my composure, Lord Beelzebub."
"Don't worry about it. I was in a similar state."
A small chuckle came through the magic circle. The boy always crossed barriers and walls that should have been impassable through the most absurd methods. That was his power, and the power of those who supported him. They were all under his influence. It was almost funny.
"Now then, how shall we proceed? If they plan to use Cleria as a hostage, they'll move today. They know the risk of letting the Church hold a Devil for too long."
"Right. Cleria is their final trump card. What I need from you is to buy time before the negotiation."
"To buy time for Masaomi and Kanata to save her."
If they were going to use Cleria as their card, they would wait for the perfect moment. As long as they held that card, they would mistakenly believe they had the advantage. That was the opening.
"But don't buy too much time. If they realize she's been rescued before the negotiation starts, they might snap and do something desperate. The ideal scenario is for them to present the 'Cleria' card to you, and for her to be rescued shortly after. By then, there will be nothing they can do."
"I understand. And the Satans?"
"I'll pretend I heard from my agents that the administration wants to negotiate, and I'll tell Sirzechs and the Great King. The Great King will assume the administration finally folded and will start preparing the meeting. Then, as the Satans, we'll contact the Emperor and ask if he'll negotiate at a venue we've prepared."
The Old Devils were in chaos, and the Bael house was paralyzed. The Great King wouldn't have accurate information. Unlike Ajuka, he hadn't prepared for this, so he wouldn't be able to filter the truth. He likely just wanted this strike to end as soon as possible.
There was nothing for him to gain in this losing battle. Even if the administration lost, they'd just have to apologize and give up some rights. It wouldn't destroy the nobility's authority. If they wanted to negotiate, he'd support it—unaware that they were holding a hostage and playing with fire.
"The Satans and the Bael house want the strike over just as much as we do. Preparations will be done within thirty minutes. ...By then, things should be moving in Kuoh Town as well."
"Yes. ...Then, I'll be going."
"Time's up. It's too dangerous to stay connected. I'll see you at the negotiation."
Diehauser cut the connection. He let out a long breath and dispersed the barrier magic. In terms of time, it had been a conversation of mere minutes. But it was more than enough to realize the situation was shifting rapidly.
"…I thought I was used to being entrusted with things."
Born with Satan-class power, living as an Emperor of the Games and a King of his house, carrying responsibility was his normal. Because he could solve most things himself, he rarely had to rely on others. But now, for the first time, he was the one doing the entrusting. He was leaving his most precious person and his dreams in someone else's hands.
"To trust, to entrust. I suppose I need to get used to this as well."
He suppressed the heat in his chest. Cleria and Kanata had fought their own battles. If he acted recklessly now, he would waste all their efforts. He had to fulfill his duty as Emperor to save them all.
"Now then, time to prepare for the negotiation. If I stay here too long, Bidaze will start complaining again."
He could already hear Bidaze yelling, "How long are you going to talk to your mother, you family-obsessed Emperor?!"To Diehauser, it was a compliment, but he didn't want to ruin the man's mood. To discuss the future with his comrades, Diehauser slapped his cheeks to focus.
The Underworld storm was changing shape, moving toward what Kanata called the "Main Stage."
***
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