"And who the hell are you?"
Brynhildr shot an openly suspicious look at Azazel for intruding on the call.
"Azazel, Governor of the Grigori, the Watchers of God's Children." As soon as he introduced himself, Brynhildr snorted with contempt.
"So you're the boss of those filthy Fallen Angel crows... Hmph. I'd love to interrogate you about how you plan to take responsibility for this failure, but unfortunately, we're short on time. Listen well. Odin-sama is currently resisting the Curse with his own immense divine power, but it won't hold for long. A day at most. We do have a means to heal him, so bring him here as fast as possible. ...Is what I'd like to say, but as things stand, even that's become difficult."
"What? Something happened?"
Just when they were given a sliver of hope, 'what a goddamn letdown.'
"Moments ago, Loki announced Odin-sama's death and simultaneously raised a barrier across the entirety of the Norse realm. The realm is now in a complete lockdown; no one can leave, and no one can enter."
'The hell!?'
"Can't you disable the barrier?"
"Difficult. Even for all that, Loki is still a high-ranking god. A barrier created by Loki himself... The only ones capable of breaking it would be Odin-sama or perhaps Thor."
"Can't you ask Thor to cooperate?"
"That one belongs to the 'Neutral Faction' and is Loki's sworn brother. Unless something truly drastic happens, we won't be able to secure his help."
'What a fucking disaster.' At this rate, the old man Odin was going... Just as Azazel sank into despair, Kazuki spoke up.
"Azazel-sensei... What if I used my Guyver's dimension ability? Could I slip through the barrier and get inside?"
"That trick you pulled against Diodora! With that, it might actually... it might just be possible!!"
He did a rough mental calculation: it had the highest probability of success. It would mean saddling Kazuki with yet another crushing responsibility, but it was a role only he could fulfill.
"Will you go, Kazuki?"
Shaking off the turmoil in his heart, Azazel asked.
"Yes."
Kazuki's reply was short, but resolute…
With a glimmer of hope now visible, Azazel explained to Brynhildr that Kazuki would be coming and ended the communication.
He then contacted Sirzechs and Michael, reported the situation, and obtained authorization to dispatch Kazuki as a special envoy to the Norse realm.
All that remained was deciding who would accompany him. The "Chrysalis" could carry four people, including Kazuki. Rossweisse was set as the guide, but as for the rest...
"There's no way I can let Kazuki go alone—I'm going!"
"I can't let Senpai keep throwing himself into danger alone—I'll go too!"
"I am Kazuki's Queen. If my King goes, so do I."
"Azazel, this is my responsibility. Let me go!"
Rias, Issei, Artoria, and Baraqiel all stepped forward at once.
"First off, Artoria is decided."
"Naturally!"
Artoria puffed out her chest with pride. In terms of both position and combat ability, she was beyond reproach. Hers was, in a way, the obvious selection.
That left just one more spot…
First of all, Rias was out of the question. Her magical reserves were heavily depleted. If they dispatched her and the unthinkable happened, the Gremory peerage would collapse, and more than anything, Sirzechs terrified him.
Issei was fine in terms of combat power, but he was even more drained than Rias. Even if he went, he likely wouldn't be able to fight at full capacity, and they risked being mistaken for an invasion by the Red Dragon Emperor.
Baraqiel was entirely out of the question. He had only just managed to stand after receiving treatment from Asia, and even now, he was upright solely through sheer force of guilt. He was in no condition to fight.
'At this rate, should I just go myself?'
Just as Azazel considered that, a magic circle blazed to life on the ground.
'Whoa now, that crest is…'
"Yoo-hoo~! Is everyone doing well?"
"Se-Serafall-sama!?"
Indeed, the one who emerged from the magic circle was none other than one of the Four Great Demon Lords—Serafall Leviathan.
"It's been a while, Kazu-kun! Honestly, even though you come down to the Underworld pretty often, you never show your face to me... Onee-chan is very huffy about it!"
"It's been a while, Sera-nee. Sorry about that, but why are you here?"
As soon as she appeared, "Sera-nee…" Satan Serafall Leviathan—latched onto Kazuki in a full-body embrace. The sudden arrival of a Demon Lord had left not only Kazuki but everyone else utterly bewildered.
"Hm? Why, to accompany Kazu-kun, of course!"
"Eeeeeeehhh!?"
The abrupt declaration of her intent to join them drew a collective gasp of shock from everyone, Kazuki included.
"Hold up, Serafall. What do you think you're doing, going yourself, a Satan? Worst case, they could mistake this for an invasion by a Devil King, you know?"
"It's exactly the opposite, Azazel-chan. It's precisely because of this situation that I have to go."
Serafall's earlier smile faded as she addressed Azazel.
"Whatever the reason, failing to protect Odin-ojichan was a failure on the part of the Biblical Factions—on our side. The one who can take responsibility for that isn't Kazu-kun. It has to be someone higher up. So, as the head of foreign affairs, I'm the one who has to go. ...Even if the worst happens and Ojichan passes, to make sure the pipeline with the Norse realm doesn't close forever."
The sheer gravity of Serafall's words silenced everyone. She was explicitly taking the blame for this incident upon herself as the head of foreign affairs, offering to shoulder responsibility in their stead.
"But, Serafall-sama—!"
"No can do, Rias-chan. Your failure was on the field level. I'm going there to address things on a much higher, diplomatic level."
Rias, who had tried to speak up, fell silent. When Serafall put it like that, there was nothing Kazuki could do.
"Come on, don't make that face. It's okay, Kazu-kun. I'm used to this sort of thing."
As Kazuki grimaced in bitter frustration, Serafall stroked his cheek and smiled.
In the face of whatever insults, abuse, or impossible demands might await her, she could still smile like that—the sight stirred a deep sense of respect within Kazuki. No matter how much she played the fool normally, in moments like this, he truly felt that this woman was a Demon Lord.
----------
Comment, Review, Power Stones if you love the story.
20 advanced chapters with pictures available at: ko-fi.com/supreme_king
20 advanced chapters available at: patreon.com/c/Mike_Kun
You can read all 20 advanced chapters ahead of the webnovel by joining the Silver Tier now.
📢: Artoria, Serafall, and Rossweisse lemon chapters are now on Kofi.
Rossweisse Lemon Arc Begun on Kofi and Patreon.