POV: Rossweisse
[February 5, 2006]
6:30 PM
"Is everyone ready?" Rossweisse asked, carefully examining the group she had been entrusted to lead.
"Let's go, we're ready," Tobio Ikuse, who had now become her king's only Knight, replied with a determined expression etched firmly onto his face.
They were good people, Rossweisse thought with quiet satisfaction as her gaze moved across each of them one by one.
She looked first toward Kouki Samejima, who had been reincarnated as the Queen piece of the second prince and who, much to the amusement of nearly everyone in the group, had spent the last several days relentlessly teased by Lavinia and Natsume for receiving such an excessively feminine piece. Even now, the boy was biting his lip in anticipation while trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.
Her eyes shifted toward the remaining three, and the contrast between their expressions spoke volumes. Natsume looked visibly nervous, which was entirely understandable considering she had only learned about the supernatural world barely a month ago and was now preparing to infiltrate the hidden stronghold of an organization composed of murderers, cultists, and mad scientists.
Leonardo, meanwhile, looked completely unconcerned, casually sucking on a lollipop with the same detached expression he always wore, as though this entire operation were nothing more than a mildly entertaining game to him. Kuroka appeared equally calm, although unlike Leonardo, her composure carried the sharpened confidence of someone who had survived far worse situations before and no longer allowed fear to show on her face.
"Remember what we discussed," Rossweisse repeated once more, her voice turning noticeably firmer as she looked directly at each of them. "The moment we reach the Agency's main base, you will witness things far worse than anything you can presently imagine. What those people have done to their victims goes beyond simple cruelty. Many of the captives have suffered for weeks, perhaps even months, under experimentation and torture carried out by men who abandoned every shred of morality long ago. Some of what you see may anger you. Some of it may horrify you. You may even encounter friends or loved ones in conditions that test the limits of your composure."
She paused briefly, ensuring every single one of them was listening carefully before continuing.
"However, you cannot allow yourselves to lose control. Panic, rage, grief, all of those emotions will only make you hesitate at the worst possible moment. If you wish to save your friends, then you must remain levelheaded no matter what happens. Every plan we have prepared during the last several days depends entirely on your ability to think clearly under pressure. If any of you lose yourselves in the middle of the operation, then all of our preparation will amount to nothing."
They nodded gravely at her words. Rossweisse liked them immensely, which honestly did not surprise her in the slightest. How could she not admire people willing to risk their lives for others?
She had been raised from childhood as a Valkyrie of Odin, molded beneath the ancient ideals of Norse honor, camaraderie, and the sacred duty shared between warriors who fought side by side. From the moment she could walk, she had been taught the ideals of camaraderie, sacrifice, courage, and honor. The halls of Valhalla were filled with stories glorifying warriors who died protecting their comrades, and young Valkyries like her had those ideals carved deeply into their hearts until they became inseparable from their very identity.
Even now, despite everything she had witnessed throughout her life, some part of her still clung stubbornly to those romantic images of what a true warrior ought to be. A protector. A shield for others. Someone who endured hardship so that others would not have to.
Perhaps foolishly so.
Those same principles had ultimately led her to sacrifice herself during that disastrous mission, throwing her broken body against impossible odds merely to buy enough time for her comrades to escape. She still remembered the agony vividly. She remembered the sensation of her limbs being severed. She remembered lying helplessly upon the frozen earth, unable to move, unable even to scream properly anymore as death slowly crept closer with every passing second. She had not feared death in those final moments because she believed she had fulfilled her duty as a Valkyrie properly.
By all rights, she should have died there. If not for the coincidental arrival of her king, she would have faded away as nothing more than another forgotten Valkyrie buried beneath the snow.
Even now, Rossweisse still struggled to fully understand why he had bothered saving her at all. Meruem had come there originally to claim the inheritance of Satan Beelzebub. She had been utterly worthless in that moment. Broken. Defeated. A mutilated woman barely clinging to life. Yet her king had used his [Queen piece] without the slightest hesitation, reincarnating her as she lay limbless and dying before him. A Queen piece is the strongest and most valuable piece in an Evil Piece set. He had spent it on someone as insignificant as her despite gaining absolutely nothing from doing so. That single action had changed her entire life.
However, her virtuous and chivalrous upbringing did not mean she was naive enough to ignore the ugliness of the world. Rossweisse was not blind to the darker aspects of her king's nature.
Even if she had once possessed any lingering delusions regarding the morality of devils, the sight of Meruem burning Dimora and the traitors alive would have shattered them instantly. The screams of those men still lingered vividly within her memories. The sheer brutality with which her king dealt with betrayal had revealed a side of him that was terrifying in ways words struggled to properly describe.
A person's true nature revealed itself most clearly in how they treated those who opposed them, especially defeated enemies who no longer possessed the power to resist. By that measure, Meruem could never be called a good man in the conventional sense. There existed something deeply monstrous within him, something violent, and profoundly demonic that surfaced whenever he was pushed far enough.
At times, Rossweisse genuinely believed her king stood perpetually balanced upon a razor-thin line between becoming a great man or a complete monster. And yet, despite all of that, she could never bring herself to fear him completely. Because she had also seen the man hidden beneath those darker instincts.
Meruem constantly walked a narrow line between his demonic nature and the better person she knew he was capable of becoming. The tragedy of it all was that the world rarely allowed him the luxury of remaining that better man for long. Circumstances, enemies, betrayal, and the endless violence surrounding him continuously dragged him toward brutality, forcing him to embrace the very monstrosity others already believed him to be.
Still, she had seen undeniable proof of the goodness that existed within him. She saw it when he saved her life despite gaining absolutely nothing from doing so. She saw it again when he rescued Kuroka from the miserable existence of a stray devil hunted endlessly by the Underworld, offering the nekoshou a home and protection when nobody else would.
She saw it when he stood before Sirzechs Lucifer himself and argued on Kuroka's behalf simply because he had promised her safety. She saw it when he freed Valerie Tepes from an eternity of imprisonment and isolation, then went far beyond simple obligation to ensure the lonely vampire girl felt welcomed, comfortable, and loved within their household.
Of course, Rossweisse was not foolish enough to believe her king acted out of pure altruism. Meruem always has an ulterior motive. There was always another agenda hidden beneath his actions, another scheme quietly unfolding behind his composed smile.
But his ambitions never benefited him alone. Those who served him gained protection, purpose, strength, and belonging in equal measure. Meruem invested himself completely in the people he considered his own, and Rossweisse knew with absolute certainty that her king would stand behind every member of his peerage no matter the cost. Whether facing devils, fallen angels, gods, or the entirety of the Underworld, Meruem would never abandon them. That unwavering certainty was precisely why her loyalty toward him had become so absolute.
Her gaze drifted toward Leonardo, and she suppressed a small wince. The boy appeared entirely unaffected by the nervous atmosphere surrounding them, lazily twirling the lollipop between his fingers with infuriating nonchalance. Anyone observing him from afar would struggle to believe they were preparing to infiltrate a facility filled with human experimentation, torture victims, and dangerous extremists.
Rossweisse disliked him immensely, and despite her repeated attempts to be fair toward him, she simply could not bring herself to trust him. There was something deeply wrong with Leonardo.
The wielder of [Annihilation Maker] possessed almost no restraint whatsoever, and the way he casually discussed horrifying subjects made her skin crawl at times. Rossweisse feared that his influence would encourage her king to embrace the more violent and predatory aspects of his nature. Leonardo never seemed disturbed by cruelty. If anything, he often appeared fascinated by it.
And Rossweisse was far from the only person uncomfortable around him. Kuroka also was also visibly wary whenever Leonardo lingered nearby, although the nekoshou usually tried hiding it behind her playful demeanor. Valerie, meanwhile, treated him kindly just as she treated everyone else in the household, though that honestly meant very little considering Valerie seemed fundamentally incapable of disliking another living being.
That was precisely why Rossweisse had been so relieved when her king chose to reincarnate Tobio Ikuse and Natsume Minagawa. They were good-hearted people. Decent people.
The kind of people who would naturally pull Meruem toward the better version of himself that Rossweisse desperately wanted to believe in. She truly believed the people surrounding a person eventually shaped them over time, and so she prayed that individuals like Tobio and Natsume would help tilt the balance within her king's heart further toward compassion rather than cruelty.
Meruem undoubtedly possessed some deeper agenda here, one Rossweisse herself still could not fully comprehend, but even so, the simple fact remained that he had chosen to help these people when ignoring them would have been far easier. To Rossweisse, that alone spoke volumes about the kind of man he truly was beneath everything else.
"I will activate the teleportation circle now, alright?" she asked gently, offering the group a reassuring smile.
After confirming that everyone was prepared, Rossweisse began casting the teleportation spell beneath their feet.
Kazuhisa Doumon had revealed an enormous amount of information regarding the Agency and its operatives during his interrogation. According to him, the organization's primary headquarters existed within a massive pocket dimension hidden somewhere deep inside the Dimensional Gap, which further reinforced the likelihood that at least one high-ranking Fallen Angel was directly involved with supporting the Agency from the shadows. Doumon had also informed them of the locations where the majority of the Agency's military forces and the followers of Mikaboshi's cult were stationed throughout the pocket dimension.
Fortunately, the central research facility housing the Utsusemi project was positioned a fair distance away from the Agency's primary defensive forces.
Because of that, Meruem had divided their forces into two separate groups in order to maximize efficiency during the rescue operation. Rossweisse had been assigned command over this team tasked with infiltrating the research headquarters and rescuing the captives, while her king, accompanied by the Witch of Grauzauberer and Valerie Tepes, would directly engage the main combat forces of the Agency alongside the cultists loyal to the dark god.
They arrived at their destination as the star of Beleth slowly faded from the teleportation circle surrounding them, the golden light dissolving into countless particles of demonic energy before disappearing entirely into the air.
Rossweisse felt the strange texture of the pocket dimension pressing against her senses at once. Artificial dimensions always carried an unnatural sensation that differed greatly from the natural world, though this particular one had been crafted with considerable care.
Towering trees stretched endlessly across the landscape around them, their thick emerald canopies intertwining high above like a vast green ocean suspended over the earth. Countless flowers of every imaginable color bloomed beneath the trees in carefully maintained clusters, their sweet fragrance drifting softly through the cool evening air. Crystal clear streams wound through the forest floor while rays of artificial sunlight filtered gently between the leaves, bathing the entire dimension in a tranquil golden glow. The scenery looked almost painfully picturesque, resembling the idealized paintings nobles loved displaying in their estates.
That peaceful beauty only made the reality hidden beneath it feel far more grotesque. A place dedicated to torture and human experimentation should not have looked this serene.
Kuroka immediately stepped forward and cast a concealment spell over the entire group, layers of carefully woven senjutsu spreading around them like an invisible veil before blending perfectly into the surrounding environment.
Rossweisse felt the quality of the spell instantly and gave a small nod of approval toward the playful nekoshou. Kuroka far surpassed her when it came to stealth and concealment techniques, especially within natural terrain like this, so Rossweisse entrusted the matter entirely to her without hesitation.
"Is that their headquarters?" Kouki asked quietly, pointing toward the massive structure looming in the distance.
"It must be," Rossweisse replied as she began walking toward the building with measured steps. "Kazuhisa Doumon described it as the tallest white building in the entire pocket dimension, a massive facility resembling a hospital complex surrounded by several smaller buildings. This is the only building here that matches his description."
The headquarters towered over the forest, its polished white exterior standing in stark contrast against the sea of green surrounding it. The main building possessed a cold and clinical design, with enormous reinforced windows covering its surface while dozens of smaller buildings surrounded it in a circular formation like defensive outposts protecting the center. The entire thing looked like a medical research facility designed by someone completely devoid of warmth or humanity.
"The smaller buildings are probably where their emergency combat forces are stationed," Natsume said nervously while eyeing the surrounding structures.
"There's no doubt about it," Kouki replied as he hurried after Rossweisse. "By the way, is it really alright for us to speak this loudly?"
"Don't worry about it nya~" Kuroka answered proudly while placing her hands behind her head. "Nobody here is going to see through my concealment techniques. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, so keep your voices down a little alright?☆ "
The group nodded in agreement before continuing forward in silence.
They entered the massive building without attracting attention, slipping past the front entrance unseen while the guards remained completely oblivious to their presence. Rossweisse immediately frowned the moment they entered. The security was far lighter than she expected.
For one of the Agency's primary facilities, especially the building supposedly responsible for conducting the majority of their experiments, the internal defenses felt strangely insufficient. There were guards stationed throughout the corridors, surveillance systems hidden carefully within the walls, and magical formations engraved subtly into the floors and ceilings, yet none of it approached the level of paranoia Rossweisse would have expected from an organization involved in crimes of this magnitude.
The realization unsettled her greatly…
Perhaps they believed the pocket dimension itself served as sufficient protection and therefore saw little need to waste manpower on internal defenses. The location certainly would have been impossible to discover under normal circumstances without information from an insider like Doumon. Even so, Rossweisse disliked the feeling immensely.
Something about the atmosphere felt wrong. The sterile white hallways were too quiet. The guards appeared too relaxed. The entire facility carried the eerie stillness of a predator pretending to sleep while waiting for prey to lower its guard. Every instinct developed throughout years of combat and survival screamed at her that something was off.
Eventually they arrived at the stairwell.
Using the elevators would have been idiotic since it could immediately reveal their location through the building's monitoring systems, so the group began climbing the endless flights of stairs in tense silence. Their footsteps echoed softly throughout the enclosed stairwell as floor after floor passed beneath them.
The climb itself posed no physical challenge due to their supernatural bodies, though the atmosphere steadily grew heavier with every passing minute. Natsume's nervousness became increasingly obvious the higher they climbed, her breathing turning slightly uneven despite the lack of physical exhaustion. Kouki remained tense and alert, constantly glancing around as though expecting enemies to burst through the walls at any moment. Tobio maintained his composure far better than the others, though Rossweisse could still sense the anxiety hidden beneath his determined expression. Leonardo, meanwhile, looked bored.
After several minutes of climbing, they finally reached the eighth floor. Rossweisse raised a hand, silently signaling everyone to stop before carefully examining the state of her companions. As expected, none of them appeared physically tired in the slightest. Devil bodies possessed stamina far beyond ordinary humans. The psychological pressure filling the air was another matter entirely.
"Is everyone clear regarding the details of the plan?" she asked one final time.
They had spent the last five days planning and preparing for this operation relentlessly, though Rossweisse still wanted absolute certainty before proceeding. Her king had entrusted this mission to her personally, and she would deliver nothing less than perfection.
"Leonardo will quickly destroy the Utsusemi monsters using his creatures," Tobio answered immediately. "While he's doing that, you will create a direct portal capable of transporting the victims somewhere safe the moment their bonded monsters are eliminated. Kuroka, Kouki, and I will intercept anyone attempting to interfere with the evacuation process, while Natsume stays by your side to protect you while you maintain the portal. Once the civilians are evacuated safely, we destroy the entire facility."
Rossweisse nodded in satisfaction. The plan itself was relatively straightforward. As her king repeatedly stated during their preparations, there was little value in creating overly complicated strategies dependent on countless unpredictable variables aligning perfectly. Simple plans that can be adapted were far more reliable.
The truly difficult aspect was the evacuation itself. Devil teleportation circles only functioned for members connected directly to the House of Beleth, which meant transporting potentially hundreds of ordinary humans required an entirely different method. Fortunately, Rossweisse's heritage as a Valkyrie and half-god granted her access to divine transportation magic capable of temporarily bridging dimensions. However, maintaining a portal large enough to evacuate over five hundred non-magical humans would require her complete concentration, leaving her almost entirely defenseless throughout the process.
"And you, Leonardo," Rossweisse said while turning toward the silver haired boy. "Your task is simple. Destroy the nuclei of the Utsusemi creatures as quickly and precisely as possible. The core is located either within the heart or the brain depending on the mutation stage of the monster. Focus exclusively on the parasites themselves and avoid harming the human hosts under any circumstances. The moment the parasite dies, the host body will lose consciousness naturally. Understand?"
"Stop nagging me already," Leonardo complained irritably while glaring at her. "You've repeated the exact same thing for five straight days. I'm not an idiot. If you keep treating me like one, I might start doing the opposite purely out of spite."
Rossweisse remained silent. She did not truly fear that Leonardo would intentionally kill the victims. The boy feared and respected Meruem far too much to directly disobey an order carrying this level of importance. That did not mean he was harmless.
Leonardo possessed countless ways to create unnecessary suffering if he truly became irritated enough, and Rossweisse desperately wished to avoid that possibility. As second in command of the peerage, maintaining discipline among the members fell partially upon her shoulders. Failing to properly control someone as volatile as Leonardo reflected poorly upon her leadership.
"Guys, this isn't the best time to argue," Tobio said nervously while forcing out an awkward chuckle after noticing the tense silence between Rossweisse and Leonardo.
"You're all unbelievably annoying," Leonardo muttered while staring at each of them without the slightest trace of intimidation. "Actually, I'm already tired of climbing stairs. I'll just fly the rest of the way."
Without waiting for permission or any response, black wings erupted from his back before he immediately shot upward through the stairwell.
"Wait!"
Rossweisse and Kuroka shouted simultaneously.
Too late.
BEEP!
A deafening alarm suddenly exploded throughout the entire facility as crimson warning lights flooded every hallway and corridor.
Rossweisse froze in disbelief for a brief moment before frustration surged violently through her chest.
Unbelievable!
Five days of planning and preparation went down the drain in a blink of an eye because a spoiled boy incapable of accepting being told no decided to throw a childish tantrum.
This exact scenario was why Rossweisse originally wanted either Valerie or Lavinia assigned to her group instead of Leonardo. She already knew he would never properly listen to her authority no matter how reasonable her instructions were. Her king, however, had insisted upon placing Leonardo within her team due to the necessity of [Annihilation Maker] for the operation.
Rossweisse had truly tried her best to be fair toward the boy despite her personal feelings. In the end, it accomplished absolutely nothing.
Leonardo simply did whatever pleased him. Her frustration burned intensely within her chest as the consequences of Leonardo's recklessness unfolded around them almost instantly.
Hundreds of doors throughout every floor burst open simultaneously as heavily armed personnel flooded the hallways in perfectly coordinated formations. Mages, mercenaries, and modified soldiers rapidly surrounded every possible route while magical weapons of countless varieties activated throughout the building.
Rossweisse's expression darkened further when she noticed black feathered wings filling the air outside the stairwell windows.
Fallen Angels…
And not weak ones either. There were dozens of them. More importantly, she counted at least six individuals possessing six wings each, which meant six high class combatants with natural racial advantages against devils.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Doumon never mentioned Fallen Angels being stationed directly inside the main headquarters itself, let alone operating openly alongside the Agency's personnel. Rossweisse's mind immediately began piecing together the implications.
Despite the cynical opinions her beloved king voiced regarding Azazel, Rossweisse knew Meruem deliberately exaggerated the Governor General's flaws in order to distance Tobio and the others from the Grigori's influence. Azazel possessed many questionable qualities, but he would never permit Fallen Angels under his command to openly participate in operations like this.
The political consequences alone would be catastrophic if discovered…Which meant only one possibility remained.
Someone within the Grigori was operating independently behind Azazel's back. And for that individual to disregard the risk of discovery so casually, they would need enough personal power and authority to not fear Azazel's retaliation even if exposed.
Azazel himself was a twelve winged angel, being a former Seraph before he fell. There was only one other Fallen Angel in existence who shared that status. Rossweisse's stomach tightened immediately upon reaching that conclusion. Around them, hundreds of weapons were raised simultaneously while the Fallen Angels formed attack formations overhead, each gripping brilliant spears of holy light capable of tearing through devil flesh with terrifying efficiency.
In the middle of it all, Leonardo floated calmly in the air while lazily staring at the armed forces surrounding them as though none of this chaos had anything to do with him.
"What do we do now?" Tobio asked seriously while his shadow expanded beneath him, allowing the black hound to emerge with low growls rumbling from its throat.
"We have been expecting you," a voice suddenly echoed throughout the building from hidden speakers embedded within the walls. The voice sounded calm, cultured, and deeply self assured. "I would strongly advise against making any reckless movements. My personnel have been ordered to attack immediately if any of you attempt resistance. Stand down peacefully, and the people you came here to rescue will remain unharmed."
"Who said we came here to save anyone?" Kuroka asked with a playful grin.
"Let us avoid wasting time with childish games," the voice replied smoothly, sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "Did you truly believe we would fail to discover your identities, Tobio Ikuse, Kouki Samejima, and Natsume Minagawa? You appear surprised. I assure you, our organization conducts its research very thoroughly. I imagine you must be very curious regarding the current condition of your friends and perhaps even more curious about how exactly we learned you were coming here in the first place."
Rossweisse remained silent while carefully analyzing the situation. The others, with the exception of Kuroka, appeared visibly shocked that the Agency knew their names at all.
Foolish children. Why were they so surprised that they knew their names? It would not have been remotely difficult for an organization with the Agency's resources to connect the disappearance of several students from a cruise incident with the handful of surviving individuals now moving suspiciously afterward. Investigating their identities would have been trivial. Their knowledge remained entirely within reasonable expectations. The truly important detail was what they did not know.
Whoever was speaking clearly did not know her identity. Nor did they recognize either Kuroka or Leonardo. That omission revealed far more than the threats themselves. Their enemy possessed information regarding Tobio's group due to their connection to the cruise incident, though they clearly lacked detailed intelligence regarding Meruem's peerage.
Which meant the Agency still did not fully understand who they were dealing with.
"I admit I am somewhat curious," Rossweisse replied calmly while buying time to think.
"Excellent," the voice answered pleasantly. "Then I assume you're not opposed to accompanying us peacefully so that we may discuss matters properly like civilized people?"
Rossweisse slowly glanced around the stairwell. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded them from the lowest visible floors all the way to the upper levels, every single one prepared to attack instantly at the slightest sign of hostility. Holy spears illuminated the air while magical targeting arrays locked onto their positions from every direction.
A tired chuckle escaped her lips. "This is your idea of a peaceful discussion?" she asked with faint amusement.
"To be fair, you did attempt to infiltrate my facility," the voice replied with an amused tone of its own. "Surely you understand why my personnel might feel somewhat nervous under the circumstances. Nevertheless, you seem far more reasonable than most devils I have encountered, and I would sincerely prefer avoiding unnecessary bloodshed tonight. Therefore, I propose a simple compromise. Come upstairs willingly so that we may speak face to face. You have my personal word that none of you will suffer harm during our discussion provided you refrain from suspicious behavior."
Rossweisse narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. The repeated emphasis upon her identity as a devil revealed quite a lot.
Whoever this man was, he clearly did not wish to risk killing devils whose affiliations remained unknown. Organizations like the Agency survived through secrecy above all else. Accidentally murdering devils connected to one of the major noble houses of the Underworld could potentially attract scrutiny from powers vastly beyond their ability to handle.
This invitation therefore had very little to do with genuine diplomacy. The man simply wanted information before deciding whether killing them was worth the risk.
What should I do? Rossweisse silently examined the overwhelming forces surrounding them. Do I truly need to use that?
The mere thought made her stomach tighten. Using that technique inside the facility would annihilate everything within the surrounding area instantly, including the very civilians they came here to rescue. Even her own allies would struggle to survive the resulting destruction. Kuroka and Leonardo might possibly endure it due to their abnormal abilities, though relying upon that possibility would be dangerously irresponsible.
Which meant she had little choice except to cooperate for the moment. Rossweisse glanced briefly toward the clock attached to her wrist - 6:39 PM.
Her master should have already finished eliminating the Agency's primary combat forces by now…
After making her decision, Rossweisse silently activated the emergency mental signal specifically designed for situations exactly like this and sent it directly toward Meruem.
"We accept," she said calmly while placing absolute faith in her king's ability to resolve whatever obstacle stood before him.
"Wonderful," the voice replied cheerfully. "Takumi, please escort our honored guests to me."
A group of twelve masked soldiers approached them shortly afterward, surrounding them carefully in a tight formation while one of them, seemingly the leader, stepped forward slightly before motioning for them to follow without speaking another word.
Rossweisse quietly observed the others as they complied without resistance. Even Leonardo followed calmly without the slightest trace of fear or concern visible upon his face, which honestly only irritated her further considering the current situation existed entirely because of him.
The soldiers escorted them deep into the facility through a series of heavily guarded hallways before finally arriving before an enormous metallic door large enough for a giant to pass through comfortably. Several magical formations glowed faintly across its white surface while layers upon layers of sealing techniques covered every inch of it.
One of the guards stepped forward before slicing his finger open carefully.
A single drop of blood fell against the center of the gate. Immediately the entire door glowed crimson as the magical formations activated simultaneously, the massive structure trembling slightly before slowly opening inward with a low mechanical groan.
The moment Rossweisse stepped inside, her eyes narrowed sharply.
The chamber beyond was huge. An immense white hall stretched endlessly before them, its polished floors reflecting the sterile light pouring down from the ceiling above. The walls were equally pristine, so unnaturally clean that the entire room resembled a surgical chamber designed by someone obsessed with perfection. Hundreds of soldiers filled the massive space in organized formations, many of them the very same personnel who had surrounded them earlier throughout the building.
But they were not the only ones present.
Scattered throughout the chamber stood numerous young men and women dressed in ordinary student uniforms, each accompanied by gigantic monstrous creatures standing silently beside them. Some resembled grotesque beasts assembled from mismatched animal parts while others looked vaguely humanoid with distorted limbs and unnatural eyes glowing ominously within the white chamber.
Rossweisse turned toward Tobio, Kouki, and Natsume and immediately saw all three clench their fists tightly upon seeing the students. The expressions upon their faces made it painfully obvious that they recognized them. Those students, however, merely stared back at them emotionlessly with hollow eyes devoid of warmth, standing beside their monstrous companions like puppets whose strings had long ago been cut.
A suffocating wave of bloodlust filled the chamber. The killing intent radiating from the countless Utsusemi creatures, Agency soldiers, and Fallen Angels pressed heavily against the air, creating an atmosphere so tense that it almost became physically difficult to breathe.
Standing calmly at the very center of the chamber, surrounded protectively by the six six-winged Fallen Angels from earlier, was a middle-aged man dressed immaculately in a black three-piece suit beneath a pristine doctor's coat.
"Welcome to the headquarters of the Utsusemi Agency," the man spoke smoothly, and Rossweisse immediately recognized him as the same individual who had been speaking through the intercom system earlier. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Himejima Hanezu, current director of the Utsusemi Agency."
Click!
One of the six-winged Fallen Angels, a voluptuous woman with dark hair and a mocking smile, casually clicked the pen in her hand with deliberate obnoxiousness, repeatedly pressing it in the same irritating manner delinquent students used to disrupt classrooms intentionally.
"Sae!" Tobio suddenly called out in shock. "Sae, it's me! Tobio!"
Rossweisse glanced toward the girl in question carefully. The girl had a brown hair and striking green eyes while several Buddhist prayer beads wrapped around one of her arms. Standing beside her was her bonded Utsusemi creature, which took the form of a gigantic black-maned lion whose glowing eyes remained locked onto Tobio with predatory stillness.
"She can't hear you, Tobio Ikuse," Himejima Hanezu replied casually. "Or perhaps I should say Tobio Himejima?"
Click!
Rossweisse blinked in surprise. The boy was a Himejima?
Her king had not informed her of that detail.
"It's rather fascinating, isn't it?" Hanezu continued pleasantly. "Your grandmother, Aega Himejima, was exiled from the clan for practicing Buddhist magic, an unforgivable blasphemy according to the standards of the Five Principal Clans. And now here you are, her grandson, born carrying a Sacred Gear, a divine artifact originating from an entirely different pantheon altogether." His smile widened faintly. "According to the standards of the clans, you are doubly tainted. Twice rejected. Tobio Himejima, how does it feel to be condemned for circumstances entirely beyond your control? How does it feel knowing your own blood discarded you before you were even given the chance to choose your path?"
"Nothing," Tobio answered fiercely without hesitation. "My name is Tobio Ikuse, not Himejima. I don't care what those people think about me." His eyes narrowed sharply. "Is that why you're doing all of this? For revenge?"
"Do you know why we call ourselves Utsusemi?" Hanezu asked instead while calmly adjusting his glasses. "The term refers to the discarded shell left behind by a cicada, something hollow and abandoned after serving its purpose.Most of us gathered here were born into families possessing divine bloodlines and sacred legacies stretching back centuries. Yet we ourselves failed to inherit those blessings. According to the Five Principal Clans, individuals like us were never truly human to begin with. We were defective creatures. Failures. Heretics unworthy of acknowledgment."
"Isn't it amusing?" Hanezu continued softly. "The value of a human life is decided entirely by whether some distant indifferent god happened to bless you at birth with supernatural talent. Those who inherit power are celebrated while those born ordinary are treated as filth…We gathered here so that the Five Principal Clans may finally burn alongside the rotten traditions they uphold. Join us, Tobio Ikuse. Together we can destroy the same people who cast aside your grandmother and condemned your family."
"You seriously expect me to join you after what you did to my friends?!" Tobio shouted in disbelief. "I don't care about your revenge or your hatred toward the clans! You're no better than the people you claim to hate! The moment you started dragging innocent people into this madness, you lost any right to call yourselves victims!"
"A pity, that," Hanezu replied calmly, sounding entirely unsurprised.
Click!
"Hey, crow," Leonardo suddenly said irritably while glaring at the Fallen Angel woman. "Stop clicking the damn pen already. It's annoying."
The suffocating tension inside the chamber briefly faltered because of Leonardo's casual interruption. The Fallen Angel woman smirked openly at him.
"And what if I don't?" she asked wickedly while clicking the pen once more. "What exactly are you going to do about it?"
Rossweisse immediately felt dread settling inside her stomach. Once again, Leonardo's antisocial tendencies were threatening to ruin everything.
I am absolutely speaking with Master about this once this mission is over, she thought furiously. What exactly is wrong with this child? The moment her king is not physically present to restrain him, he immediately starts searching for excuses to lash out violently.
"Do it one more time and you'll find out," Leonardo replied coldly.
"Sabine, please refrain from antagonizing our guests while we are attempting to have a conversation," Hanezu stated more firmly this time.
Sabine merely smirked at him lazily, though she refrained from clicking the pen again for the moment.
"How did you know we were coming?" Rossweisse asked calmly while subtly giving Leonardo a warning glance demanding he stop provoking them further.
"We investigated, naturally," Hanezu answered casually. "Did you truly believe we would ignore an assault upon one of our facilities? Kazuhisa Doumon and the two Heaven Reavers assigned beside him vanished without leaving corpses behind, which meant the most logical conclusion was that they had been captured alive."
He folded his hands behind his back thoughtfully. "And if they were captured alive, then it naturally followed that information regarding this dimension might eventually be extracted from them despite our precautions. We simply prepared accordingly."
His eyes then shifted toward Leonardo.
"Truthfully, you may very well have infiltrated the building successfully had this young man not flown directly into the range of our detection systems. Still, your ability to enter the headquarters undetected until that point was truly impressive." His gaze shifted toward Kuroka thoughtfully. "I assume we have that yokai beside you to thank for that accomplishment."
"What makes you so certain I'm the one responsible?" Kuroka asked with a playful grin.
"Because our detection systems were designed personally by yokai allied with our organization," Hanezu explained calmly. "It utilizes Youjutsu-based sensory techniques capable of identifying any presence not registered as a member of the Agency."
Kuroka blinked in genuine surprise. "You actually got yokai to cooperate with you?"
"The Five Principal Clans have created far more enemies than most people realize," Hanezu replied pleasantly.
A tense silence descended afterward. Neither side seemed interested in speaking further while the atmosphere inside the chamber grew increasingly oppressive with every passing second. Rossweisse carefully observed the countless soldiers surrounding them from every angle.
If the Fallen Angels were absent, then she, Kuroka, and Leonardo could have annihilated everyone present with relative ease. Even the six-winged Fallen Angels themselves were not impossible opponents.
The problem was time. A single moment of distraction would allow the enemy forces to harm Tobio, Kouki, or Natsume before the stronger members of their group finished dealing with the primary threats.
Rossweisse quietly glanced toward Leonardo again in hopes that he would not do something unbelievably reckless. Unfortunately, his gaze remained fixed entirely upon Sabine, who was still holding the pen provocatively between her fingers.
Click!
The sound sliced through the suffocating silence like a knife through butter. Rossweisse immediately turned toward Leonardo with growing horror. He wouldn't fall for this obvious provocation right?!
Please tell me he was bluffing earlier! Surely nobody could actually be this absurdly short-tempered.
"I warned you," Leonardo said simply.
And then everything exploded into chaos. Rossweisse could not fully process what exactly triggered the next sequence of events because it all unfolded within less than a second.
One instant Leonardo stood there calmly. The next, twelve monstrous shadows erupted violently from beneath his feet like living nightmares crawling upward from the abyss itself. The creatures launched themselves toward Sabine with horrifying speed while chaos simultaneously erupted throughout the chamber.
At the exact same time, screams erupted throughout the chamber. Rossweisse initially thought the soldiers were shouting battle cries. Then she realized the sounds were screams of terror. Because shadow creatures were emerging from their shadows as well.
Everything seemed to slow down around her. She watched in crystal-clear detail as black clawed limbs burst upward from the darkness beneath countless soldiers. She saw horrified expressions twist across their faces as monstrous jaws wrapped around throats and ripped flesh apart in sprays of blood. Some had their necks torn open instantly while others were dragged screaming into pools of shadow beneath their own feet.
The entire sequence unfolded within less than a heartbeat. Then the chamber erupted completely. Agency soldiers charged forward wildly with swords, spears, and magical weapons raised high while dozens of magic circles illuminated the air simultaneously before unleashing torrents of elemental attacks toward them.
One soldier beside Rossweisse attempted to raise his spear only for a shadow beast to emerge directly beneath him and split his lower jaw apart with enough force to rip half his face away instantly. Another mage began chanting a spell before black tendrils pierced upward through his chest from below, lifting him briefly into the air while blood poured endlessly from his mouth.
Sabine herself barely managed to react before three shadow monsters slammed into her simultaneously like starving predators.
All hell broke loose.
Attacks surged toward them from every direction at once.
Rossweisse instantly dodged a blade aimed directly toward her throat before casually slapping the attacker across the side of his head with enough force to sever it completely from his body in a single motion. Blood exploded outward across the white floor while additional soldiers rushed her immediately afterward.
Around her, Kuroka and the others immediately engaged the attackers as complete pandemonium consumed the chamber from every direction.
Leonardo himself had completely vanished from sight. Rossweisse tore through approaching attackers effortlessly while desperately searching the battlefield for Himejima Hanezu.
Eventually she found him.
The Agency leader stood calmly amidst the unfolding massacre with the same composed expression he had worn earlier, observing the carnage surrounding him with detached disappointment as though he were merely watching a failed experiment unfold before him.
"You violated our agreement regarding peaceful discussion," Hanezu declared coldly while screams echoed throughout the chamber around him. "Your deaths are now entirely your own responsibility."
Rossweisse regrouped quickly beside the others, all except Leonardo who remained missing amidst the chaos, while they formed a defensive circle with their backs pressed toward one another in order to avoid surprise attacks from blind spots.
Corpses already littered the pristine white floor in horrifying numbers. Blood spread endlessly across the chamber while mutilated bodies continued collapsing around them. And still the Agency forces continued advancing relentlessly.
Dozens of Fallen Angels suddenly launched enormous volleys of light spears downward toward them simultaneously, the glowing projectiles tearing through the air with terrifying speed while illuminating the entire chamber gold.
Rossweisse immediately prepared a defensive barrier spell. But she never had the chance to cast it. At that exact instant, something crashed violently through the ceiling above them like a falling meteor.
The upper floors exploded apart as concrete, steel, and shattered debris rained downward in every direction while the incoming light spears smashed harmlessly against the falling rubble instead of reaching them. The shockwave alone blasted nearby soldiers backward violently.
Rossweisse instinctively looked upward toward the newcomer. Then she frowned deeply. It was not the person she expected.
She had expected Meruem to arrive after receiving her distress signal. Instead, a blonde-haired woman wearing a witch's robe and large witch hat descended through the collapsing debris.
Lavinia Reni arrived first and she looked terrified. Rossweisse had not known Lavinia for very long, yet the sheer panic visible upon the witch's face immediately sent cold dread crawling through her chest.
Countless thoughts erupted through Rossweisse's mind simultaneously.
Why was Lavinia here alone? She had accompanied Meruem and Valerie earlier. They were supposed to remain together. Then why had Lavinia arrived first? Why had Meruem failed to respond personally?
And most importantly of all. And far more importantly, why did Lavinia look so terrified?
Rossweisse suddenly felt genuine fear gripping her chest for the very first time since entering the facility.
"Meruem is dead!" Lavinia shouted.
The words were so absurd, so utterly impossible, that Rossweisse could only stare at her in stunned disbelief.
"Abandon the mission immediately!" Lavinia continued desperately while genuine terror shook her voice. "I repeat, Meruem is dead! Retreat now!"
And with those words, the entire battlefield descended into complete chaos once more.
AN: Naturally, since this story won the Patreon poll, it gets an update! I've split this chapter into two parts for better readability, and I'll post the second part either tomorrow or soon after.
This chapter also gives us our first real glimpse into how Meruem's peerage sees him. Up until now, we've mostly experienced him through the eyes of people who only witnessed his worst sides, so it's refreshing to finally see him from the perspective of those who genuinely love, admire, and borderline worship him.
Advanced chapters are available on my Patreon. If you want to read ahead, vote on which story gets updated each week, or simply support my writing so I can focus more on it, you can check it out here: patreon.com/abeltargaryen?