High School DxD-Volume 16 Chapter 1

Life.1 Occult Research Club, to Romania!

We, the Occult Research Club, Sona-kaichou, Vice Student President Shinra, and the Heaven side (Sister Griselda-san and Joker Dulio) are having a meeting within the VIP room located on the highest floor of the Hyoudou residence.

Romania—. We have an open channel directly from Azazel-sensei who went to visit the main headquarters of the Carmilla faction.

We all get shocked immediately after hearing the situation from Sensei who has his image displayed from the magic-circle.

“—Rias and Kiba have been what!?”

Sensei nods at my words filled with shock.

[Yeah, apparently there was some kind of huge movement from the Tepes side. Both the Tepes and Carmilla, and the boundary line within their territory, have become covered in a state of confusion. You can presume that there was a coup d’état on the Tepes side. There’s a high chance that Rias and Kiba got mixed up in that. They have most likely been caught. I can’t contact Rias from over here. Isn’t it the same over there?]

[…………]

Everyone became silent at his sudden report. Akeno-san tries to communicate with Rias by making a small magic-circle……but there is no response.

“Coup d’état......”

Koneko-chan mutters.

……A coup d’état. For such a thing to happen when Rias and Kiba are over there!

“…………Auu, n-no……”

Gasper who is right beside me has a frozen face.

To him, it’s his precious homeland. He must be feeling uneasy. It happened right when he decided to head there to save his saviour.

Sensei continues with his report.

[According to the higher-ups on Carmilla’s side, apparently the one who lead the Tepes has been replaced after the coup d’état.]

[—!?]

Everyone's expressions change after hearing that!

……So their leader changed! That means everything has already ended!

“T-That surely is an absurd thing going on over there!”

Sensei sighs at the words I expressed due to shock.

[……Right now, it seems like the Head of the House of Tepes, who is the King of the Tepes faction that favours men over women, escaped from his capital.]

“……For the King of Tepes to flee alone proves that something has happened that would make him take that action.”

Akeno-san mutters while twitching her eyebrows at Sensei’s report.

Sona-kaichou says while putting her hand under her chin.

“Most likely the Khaos Brigade intervened due to the incident related to the Holy Grail. —you can assume that the Tepes faction is being controlled by the Khaos Brigade from the shadows.”

As long as the Evil Dragons are with the current the Khaos Brigade being led by Euclid Lucifugus, I was informed previously that there is a high chance that they are connected with the Vampires (Tepes faction) that have the Holy Grail that symbolises the principle of life with them.

In other words, the Khaos Brigade confronted the Vampires and obtained the power of the Holy Grail. They must have resurrected the dead Evil Dragons using it—that’s the conclusion Sensei, Sona-kaichou, and the leaders from each force share.

[Yeah, the Khaos Brigade must have helped them from behind the scenes. The Carmilla faction also shares the same opinion as me regarding this incident.]

Sensei says that as if bored and continues.

[……Originally, the Vampires that consist of both the Tepes and the Carmilla side avoided contact with other forces and managed their own domestic affairs. Because of that, there was a slight opening for the Khaos Brigade to slip themselves through. There’s at least one group in every force that is alienated from the current political power. After they heard the rumours of the Holy Grail, they must have used them to consume their power from the shadows.]

“So the current government didn’t get any help from the other forces even if they knew the actions of the extremists from the anti-government group huh.”

That’s what I said. Unless you’re really stupid, you can easily grasp hold of suspicious actions of the extremists. They should have asked for help before they came near the King, but the Tepes, the Vampires didn’t do that.

Sensei then says.

[……This must be the result of those who position themselves high and put their pride as their priority. They didn’t want to seek for help even if they were to die. Or they didn’t want the existence of the Holy Grail leaking outside. Something along those lines I guess. Anyway, I’m concerned about the Tepes’s headquarters. I’m planning to head there from the Carmilla’s base.]

Sensei’s image looks around at us.

[—Looks like I’ll be in need of all of you here. That’s why come here right now. We must investigate the movement of the Tepes faction while we reunite with Rias and Kiba. All of your strengths will definitely be needed. After all, there’ll be someone even more dangerous than the extremists from the anti-Tepes government involved in this.]

—so that’s how it’s going to be! I was waiting for you to say that!

I respond back to him by hitting my left hand against my right fist!

“Of course! It’s the responsibility of the servants, no, it’s the responsibility of the Occult Research Club to protect Rias who is our master! Right, everyone!?”

[Of course!]

All of Occult Research Club members respond back to me! Saving Rias who is our club president makes us the Occult Research Club! Though I’m concerned about the person who is more dangerous than the anti-government group that Sensei just mentioned.

[But we can’t concentrate our forces just over here. You guys were assaulted over there once already. It will be enough for just the Gremory group and Irina to come here. The Sitri group, Griselda, Joker, and “Slash Dog” Tobio should remain on standby over there.]

This town was already assaulted the other day just like Sensei mentioned. We started to put barriers around the town and became very cautious towards those who will enter and exit this territory from our alliance to make sure something like that won’t happen again.

Sensei must be worried to have not just the Gremory group but also the Sitri group sent elsewhere.

Sister Griselda replies to Sensei’s command.

“Understood. Dulio, I’m sorry for having you do this even though you just came to this town, but we’ll have you focus on defending here.”

—Dulio then raises his hand.

“You know I can just head to the Tepes’s town and shut them inside by causing bad weather~.”

……Dulio says while tilting his head. I’ve only known him for a very short time but I understand that he’s more of a natural airhead than Irina.

He just said something very insane, but he must be joking in his own way. Though, it feels like he will actually fly there and freeze the Vampire’s town if he is given an order to do so……

Sister Griselda hits Dulio’s head.

“Are you trying to make the relations between Heaven and the Vampires worse? Geez……”

You seem to have lots of difficulty, Sister Griselda……

Sensei continues while smiling.

[This side is certainly important, but that side is also important. Since we have several Longinus possessors, it’ll be better if we split them between both sides.]

—! I’m curious about what Sensei just said.

“Is there perhaps a Longinus possessor on our side over there?”

Sensei nods at my question.

[Yeah, Vali has sneaked into the Vampire’s territory. Joker and Slash Dog will be over there while the Two Heavenly Dragons will be over here. It’s improper to say this at a time like this, but as a Sacred Gear maniac, I’m just filled with interest since this is just too gorgeous.]

……So that guy Vali is over there. Why? Is it related to the Holy Grail? Maybe he got lured there by following the smell of the Evil Dragons. It’s possible if it’s him.

I started to think like that, but I catch a glimpse of Sona-kaichou who has her hand up.

“This is a good occasion. Can you please take my two new servants too?”

“Bennia and Rugal-san?”

I ask in such a way. Kaichou nods.

“Yes, both of them are still inexperienced to battle as a Devil. Also there’s a high chance that their powers will become very handy for this incident.”

Hmm, so something like building up experience for them? And both of their abilities will be handy for this Vampire’s incident? I know Bennia is a Grim Reaper, but Rugal-san’s ability is still a mystery.

Sensei puts his hand under his chin and shows a sign of approval by nodding his head.

[You’re right about that. Especially since Rugal seems like he would become an additional asset if something were to happen. If you’re planning to send him, then it’s not a bad thing……]

“Then please do take them with you.”

So Bennia and Rugal-san are also going to participate in the battle at Romania.

Sensei looks at Ravel.

[You stay there Ravel. This incident will be too harsh for you to come along since you are a guest. Even if you are Ise’s manager, we can’t have you come to a place where there may be terrorists hiding themselves. You can understand that, right?]

Ravel also nods at Sensei’s words.

“Yes. I am indeed worried about this, but please leave the Hyoudou residence and the Kuou academy to me.”

She’s really an obedient girl, she really is. She responds without complaining.

Ravel certainly does support me and the Occult Research Club in many ways, but she’s not someone who we can take to a crucial scene. We are looking after this girl on behalf of the House of Phoenix. We can’t take her to dangerous places like that.

……W-Well, she does get dragged into it quite often….. I can’t help but feel sorry since my Dragon trait plays a big role in that.

Sensei looks around at us again.

[I’ll speak about the specific details once all of you get here. —Alright, once all of you are prepared, teleport to this place. I’ll make a teleportation magic-circle for your arrival within the Carmilla’s side. Alright, start moving.]

[Yes!]

Everyone responds. —It’s our call to break into Romania. The members heading there are the Occult Research Club members, plus Bennia and Rugal-san. The other members will be on standby.

Rias, Kiba, please be safe until we get there!

“—A coup d’état huh. I wonder why the Gremory group is dragged into so many events.”

I mumble to myself in my room.

After that, the meeting was over and all of us separated to get ready for it immediately.

I’m also preparing for this journey in my room. I put the minimal things I will be needing inside the travelling bag.

But a coup d’état…… For that to happen in the Vampire’s side when we were about to negotiate with them.

We seriously do attract weird things. ……Though I don’t know what to say since it seems like it has to do strongly with me……

I make a sigh. Then someone knocks on the door.

The one who enters my room is—Saji! It’s rare for him to come.

“Oh, Saji. Did you come to send me off?”

Saji nods by saying “Yeah”.

He puts on a confused look after sitting on my chair that comes with my desk.

“……For the Vampires to start a coup d’état. Seriously, lots of things sure do happen.”

“That’s what I just thought too. For this to happen while Rias is over there.”

“She went to ask about Gasper-kun’s secret right?”

“Yeah, though it seems like it’s not the right time now.”

From Rias’s report, it seems like her negotiation with the House of Vladi was progressing accordingly……

“Putting us aside, what’s going on with the Sitri group? For example Bennia and Rugal-san.”

I ask. Since they have new members, there must be some changes.

Saji says while resting his chin on his hand on the desk.

“In terms of the new formation, it’s almost completed. Well, something more important than that is actually happening within the Sitri group.”

“Hmm, what would that be?”

“The establishment of the school that Kaichou invested in. It’s decided that it’s going to be built officially next time.”

“School? You mean the one for the Rating Game? Amazing! If I’m right, it’s the one where any Devil can enrol regardless of Low-class or High-class, right?”

Yes, the Sitri group—to be accurate Sona-kaichou, her dream is to build a Rating Game school that anyone can attend. Becoming a teacher for that school is Saji’s dream.

“Yeah, the first one is finally progressing. Even Boss Sairaorg helped out, that’s why the plan has made big progress, you know?”

So Sairaorg-san helped Sona-kaichou. Oh yeah, Sairaorg-san’s mother was under the care of the hospital within the Sitri territory, so it won’t be weird for him to give his full support to Kaichou’s project.

“Though it seems like the establishment for the next school after that would happen very far from now…… Even so, we already started recruiting children regardless of their status, and we started to take in children with poor demonic powers as well. The parents already brought their children and are asking us to take them in.”

Even though Saji said that happily, I can’t feel any energy in his words.

Saji continues while sighing and putting on a complicated expression.

“……You know how I said my dream was to become a teacher? I started to feel scared since that dream will turn out to become a reality…… I’m sceptical if I can even become a proper teacher once that school gets built…… They say that I can’t attain the licence to become a teacher over there until I become a Mid-class Devil. But I’m still a Low-class Devil……”

That’s a weak thought coming from the Student Council member Saji Genshirou who is always running around the school in high spirits.

Saji narrows his eyes while resting his chin on his hand.

“Rather, I don’t even know what to teach the kids. Boss Sairaorg is in high spirits and is saying that he would be teaching martial arts to kids who have poor demonic powers. I......don’t know what to teach them……”

Saji who is in deep thought looks at his own palm.

“Even in the joint training with the Longinus possessors, I……was so pathetic that I couldn’t reach Balance Breaker.”

……Just like Saji said, we started training right away with Joker Dulio and Slash Dog Ikuse Tobio.

Dulio and Tobio-san who are veterans showed us their power which was beyond what we heard from rumours, so even I had a really hard time. Rather, we knew that we wouldn’t finish the training safely if we fought seriously, so we determined that we needed to alter our training.

For the training with Kiba, we both know our potential, so it was easy for us to maintain our training. If we are to train with those two from now on, we probably need to discuss this area together.

Saji also trained with us, but he couldn’t reach Balance Breaker.

“We just started. Don’t become so negative.”

I say that to Saji. He did seem like he was having a hard time training with the Longinus possessors but that will depend on how he does it in the future.

Saji bows his head down.

“……Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry; lately I’ve been rushing things. Sorry for making you listen to weird and gloomy things.”

I did hear about Saji’s concerns from Sona-kaichou.

[Saji is looking at your growth with envy, Ise-kun. So he can’t help but to compare himself to you who became a Devil at the same time as him and is starting to lose confidence…… Maybe the fact about wanting to become like you but can’t is cornering him little by little.]

……Saji, I can’t say things to you lightly, but be proud of your own strength. You have your own strength.

I shake my head to the side and continue to talk.

“No, even I saw the areas I needed to improve on with the training with Dulio and Tobio-san. It’s just started. And I’m glad I heard about the school.”

I’m honestly happy that the ambition of the Sitri group is progressing well.

“Yeah, come and check out the school with everyone next time! By the time you guys come to visit, the construction of the school would have progressed even more.”

“I’m looking forward to it. ……I’ll definitely come with everyone.”

“Yeah, so bring Rias-senpai back. And also find out about Gasper-kun’s power.”

“Yeah, of course.”

—Then Saji half-closes his eyes and points at my luggage. It’s a porno magazine.

“That……isn’t needed over there, is it?”

“Eh? But I can’t survive without this……”

It’s just one porno magazine so please let me off the hook!

The members that will be heading to Romania gather at the centre of the magic-circle located under the Hyoudou residence.

Ravel, Sona-kaichou, Saji, Sister Griselda, Kuroka, Le Fay, and Ophis came down to the basement to send us off.

The destination of this magic-circle will be within the Carmilla’s territory. Apparently, Sensei prepared a teleportation magic-circle in their territory so we don’t have to go through the complicated route.

……To be honest, it makes me think that they should have done this before Rias and the other two departed…… They did arrive there using aeroplanes and such after all.

Oh well, this is an emergency summon. The Vampires allowed us to head directly to their main headquarters as an exception because they are feeling threatened.

We are dressed in a fashion where we are wearing warm clothing over our uniform. It’s apparently colder over there than the current Japan. It’s the right decision for us to wear it.

“Then we’ll be heading off.”

“Yes, we’ll be waiting to hear good news from you. Bennia, Rugal-san, I will entrust their support to you two.”

《Roger that.》

“……Sure.”

Grim Reaper girl and Rugal reply back to Kaichou.

Ravel who is my manager takes a step forward and puts on a worried face.

“Ise-sama……”

“Ravel, don’t worry. I’ll definitely come back with everyone—”

I was thinking of patting her head, but—

“Do you have your handkerchief and tissue? You may be asked to sign a document or a signboard, so please keep a pen in your pocket. And please make sure you can use a breath care and toothbrush anytime. Teeth are important for celebrities! The Sekiryuutei has a hard schedule, so please use your time wisely. And also—”

She starts to tell me things in detail about my appearance like how a mother would!

“It’s fine! I’m fully prepared to go! You sure are a worrisome girl, Ravel……”

Hahaha, it’s sure like Ravel. —Then Ravel passes me a single parcel.

“This is the Phoenix’s tear that was sent from Onii-sama. Apparently there are three of them inside. He sent it right away as soon as he found out you would be heading off to Romania, Ise-sama.”

“Eh, from……Raiser……-san huh.”

……Oioioi, shouldn’t he send these things to Rias? No, Rias isn’t here right now….. But why did he send it to me! I don’t know why, but why are the guys that I know trying to raise my impression of them……? Please stop!

I shake my head to get my mind straight and move my gaze to Kuroka and Le Fay.

“Kuroka, Le Fay, I’ll leave this place to you.”

“Nyahaha♪ Well, I’ll protect this house at all costs just for you -nya.”

“Please say hello to Vali-sama and Onii-sama if you were to meet them over there.”

“Yeah.”

I nod my head and then look towards Ophis at last. The Dragon God-sama who has Rasse on her head.

“Ise, the Evil Dragons are persistent.”

……Maybe Ophis somehow has a prediction of us encountering an Evil Dragon. I also have the same feeling.

“I know.”

I simply tell her that and say this to the members remaining here.

“Now then, the Occult Research Club will be heading to Romania!”

The teleportation light of the magic-circle Akeno-san is controlling grows stronger and flashes.

The destination we are heading to is Romania! So let’s go and have an extracurricular lesson!

The place we arrived at after the flash faded is—a spacious area we haven’t seen before.

“Hey, you guys are here.”

When I look at the direction of the familiar voice, there is Azazel-sensei standing there.

Sensei says while walking towards us.

“Sorry to say this since you guys just arrived but we are moving away from here. I’ll explain it in detail inside the vehicle. Elmenhilde, I’ll ask you to guide us.”

“Very well. Everyone, glad you could come. —Though the only one we needed was Gasper Vladi……”

She looks at us as if we are a nuisance. Her sharp attitude and tongue never changes.

She continues bluntly without any concern about what’s going through our minds.

“I’m very sorry for asking you to do this even though you just came, but let me take you to the vehicle.”

After saying that, we leave the room we teleported into and walk up the stairs. Apparently, that room is located in the basement. I have felt the coldness ever since we arrived. That’s how I feel even while wearing warm clothing, so the temperature here must be quite low. We walk through a building constructed of rocks and arrive outside.

—It’s late at night when we come out. And the scenery is simply filled with snow.

So it’s already snowing here huh. Even though Romania follows the same season as Japan, this place is still much colder. And the territory of the Vampires is located in the depths of this mountain which is away from the human’s village. It’s only natural for this place to have a really low temperature.

Elmenhilde doesn’t even breathe out any white breath. Maybe she doesn’t feel cold since she’s a pure Vampire. While our Vampire-kun on the other hand is……

“I-It’s cold~……”

He’s shivering so much. ……Maybe the difference between pureblood and half-blood is displayed at times like these.

“Oh my……”

Asia releases a voice of amazement. I turn towards where she’s looking—and the scenery that spreads out in front of my eyes is the view of a castle town. The buildings are built in a way where they surround the splendid looking castle positioned in the centre.

Amazing, I never imagined such a splendid castle town would exist in the depths of the mountains. And I can even see modern looking buildings as well. Vampires may also be influenced by the current civilisation of the humans.

Xenovia mutters while looking at the white castle town.

“So that’s the base of the Vampires that the Church has been looking for all these years. I didn’t even find a clue for this place back when I was a warrior of the Church, so I never even imagined coming to this place after turning into a Devil. It’s quite ironic.”

Well, that shows how much the relationship between each force has changed since back then.

It seems like the building we exited out of is a tower meant for surveillance which is located within the corner of this territory. A tower meant for noticing the intrusion of enemies from the outside. And they activated the magic-circle in the basement of that tower.

We left the tower and got into the two station wagon vehicles. The ones driving them are Sensei and Rossweisse-san. By the way, Rossweisse-san has a driving licence.

“…………I can’t come to understand the taste Devils have.”

Not just Elmenhilde, but the reaction the Vampires showed when they saw Rugal-san is that of shock. That’s because all of them are showing signs of hatred and fear. What on earth is Rugal-san exactly……?

Despite things like that happening, we parted ways with the Vampires from the Carmilla faction and left. Sensei then explains to us the situation inside the car.

“—! The new leader of Tepes is……Valerie!?”

I scream out due to the shock inside the car.

Of course. Even if there was a coup d’état, I never expected for the leader to be Gasper’s saviour!

“……V-Valerie……”

Gya-suke panics hard. Of course. Since the half-Vampire girl he’s been trying to save is the Head of Tepes. He probably never predicted it.

“For the leader of the Tepes faction that puts men above women to be a half-blood and furthermore a woman…… It’s clear that something quite dramatic is going on over there.”

Akeno-san says.

Yeah, I have the same opinion. There’s no way that the Vampires who serve the pureblood ancestor would choose a half-blood girl as their King. I know so much ever since I met Elmenhilde in Japan.

—That’s because they believe that in this world there are only pureblood Vampires and other beings.

Sensei says.

“The Khaos Brigade must have guided them from the shadows and created this situation. And the ones that allied with the Khaos Brigade is the anti-Tepes government group. They were blinded with their dissatisfaction towards the current government and the desire to lose their weakness by the use of the Holy Grail. That’s probably why they fell to the terrorists’ sweet words. The ones that sent the powered up Vampires towards the Carmilla faction were them as well.”

……If such a thing happened, won’t it be quite messy within the Tepes castle? Sensei then says, while my concern over Rias and Kiba increases.

“Looks like even the Tepes’s government side also couldn’t handle the anti-government group that teamed up with the terrorists which led them to seek help from the Carmilla faction. It must be a situation where Carmilla can’t ask for more since she can make the Tepes’s King indebted to her.”

Sensei continues with a sigh.

“And like I told you before through the communication, I decided to go to the Tepes’s side since I’m concerned over there as well. And it’ll be too much for me to handle alone. So I summoned all of you right away as well as bringing back Rias.”

Sensei says while scratching his head.

“I’m sorry, all of you. Looks like it’ll get quite messy. I’m planning to talk to them but keep in your mind that we may have to battle. After all, even the Carmilla’s side are planning to settle down this coup d’état as well. Carmilla’s side are also willing to do this since they now know who they must give their retribution towards. The agents from the Carmilla’s side are being deployed so they can surround the Tepes’s town. So we are basically going inside such a place. We’ll grasp hold of the information from the inside and must break through to the centre of their base if the situation arises. ……If that guy is actually involved in this, then there’s a high possibility that this won’t end pretty.”

……Well, I kind of predicted that this will happen. Though the “guy” Sensei mentioned with disgust is really making me feel nervous……

I laugh while sighing.

“I kind of predicted that this will happen by the point when you summoned us here. We have a hundred percent encounter rate for getting involved in such situations. —Everyone came here prepared.”

The other members also strongly nod their head to my words.

Sensei smiles fearlessly when he sees that.

“Geez, I don’t know whether to feel reliable or feel sorry for you guys for getting used to such situations. –We will join up with Rias and Kiba, and if we can we will take Valerie with us. The current government of Tepes and the Carmilla’s side will deal with the rest.”

“……I will definitely save Valerie……!”

Gasper who is right next to me has eyes filled with strong determination.

I then say to Gya-suke while resting my hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t get so worked up. We can save her together.”

“Ise-senpai…… Yes!”

Alright, you sure have become a strong boy!

I’m in joy to see how my junior has grown. The station wagons pass over the big bridge that connects the Tepes’s territory and Carmilla’s territory.

The journey while transporting in the car ends after two hours, and we arrive at a gondola station that is located halfway up a certain mountain.

A gondola lift appears from the other side of the snow as we wait at the station.

Sensei says after confirming the door for the gondola lift opens.

“This is apparently one of the routes towards the Tepes castle town that the Carmilla faction was able to obtain. And it seems that the Tepes’s castle town is on the other side of this lift. …… And this gondola lift happens to be something special the Tepes faction prepared in order to the pass through many layers of barriers.”

We got into the gondola lift that came down.

The gondola lift starts to move and climbs up the snowy mountain late at night. There are only snowy mountains when we look out the window. Even with the eyes of Devils that work at night, there’s no point using them if the scenery doesn’t change at all.

Each of us is on standby within the gondola lift, but my eyes catch the sight of Xenovia who is taking a suspicious action.

She takes out a vocabulary notebook and starts to look through it.

“……Xenovia, what are you doing?”

Xenovia explains by showing me the vocabulary notebook when I asked.

“Huh? Oh, this? This is a vocabulary notebook. It’s something I’m using to learn difficult Japanese symbols and kanji.”

It really is. There are symbols and kanji written in the vocabulary notebook.

“Hmm. I never thought you would study using a vocabulary notebook. Were your test marks that bad?”

“I’m bad with Japanese language but I always get above the average mark.”

If I remember now, the members of ORC always get good marks. Even warriors such as Xenovia and Irina that are not familiar with society are passing their studies without much difficulty.

Xenovia says while flicking through the vocabulary notebook.

“I’ve found something I want to do. And in order to accomplish that I need knowledge. So I’m in the middle of studying hard.”

Something she wants to do? And she needs knowledge? Well, Xenovia is just new to society, but she is managing her studies at school…… So I tilt my head in wonder.

Asia who is sitting next to her tells me quietly.

“Xenovia-san became very keen in school events…… So she wants to enjoy her current situation as a student.”

That’s a really interesting story. If I think about it, Xenovia always participates in school events while having fun. It seems like she enjoyed the sports festival and the school festival to the fullest.

Irina appears and then tells Xenovia.

“Ufufu, if you are okay with me, then I can teach you Japanese language.”

However, Xenovia shows a sign of declining that offer by putting her hand in front of her.

“No, since you have shown that your knowledge of Japan is suspicious, Irina. It’s more certain that I would be able to learn more by studying by myself or asking Rias-buchou and Akeno-fukubuchou.”

Irina suddenly releases her displeased voice.

“W-What was that!? How rude!”

Xenovia says it while making a sigh.

“Last time you made a mistake in idiom compounds. “The survival of the fittest” is the right you have to eat barbequed meat regardless of being strong or weak, was it?—But apparently that wasn’t right, you know. There are similar words in other countries, but why did you make such a mistake in your own language……?”

T-That really is bad. Irina makes quite a big mistake because she has a weird misunderstanding about Japan.

Irina explains while looking away.

“Ugh…… I simply had a misunderstanding about that due to the parody with barbecue dishes!”

“……A self-proclaiming “raised in Japan” huh. I can only be amazed at you if you come this far.”

Irina has tears in her eyes and puffs her cheeks at Xenovia’s words.

“I-I’m not self-proclaiming! I was really born in Japan!”

“Yeah yeah, I got it. Ace of the Barbeque Dishes.”

“Ueen! Xenovia is picking on me, Asia-san!”

Irina cries on Asia.

“U-Umm……let’s study Japanese language together next time, Irina-san.”

“Why! Even you, Asia-san!?”

Irina gets even more shocked at Asia’s natural reply.

Hahaha, how should I put it, Xenovia and Irina’s quarrels make me smile when I watch them.

—I then ask Akeno-san who is gently laughing beside me.

“Oh yeah, Akeno-san, did you know about the school being built from the funds by the Sitri?”

“Yes, I have heard it from Sona-kaichou.”

Well, it’s natural for Akeno-san to hear it from Sona-kaichou.

Rossweisse-san joins our discussion.

“I’ve also heard about it. I even received an offer from Kaichou-san about becoming a teacher in that school.”

—! So she received an offer to become a teacher for that school huh!

“Seriously!? I-I didn’t know that……”

No, it’s plausible. Rossweisse-san is a magic user. It’s not weird for her to receive an offer from Sona-kaichou to become a teacher in her school to teach magic.

“And what kind of reply did you give her, Rossweisse-san?”

I ask. Rossweisse-san narrows her eyebrows while putting on a hard expression.

“I’m still thinking about it. I don’t have a reason to decline it after all. It’s true that I’m starting to enjoy teaching and being a teacher after becoming a member of staff at Kuou academy. So I’m planning to have a look at that school when it gets built. For that reason, I hope this incident gets settled smoothly……”

Yeah, in order to look at the school financed by the Sitri-group, we have to solve this incident first.

“Then after we return to Japan safely together, let’s go and have a look at that school.”

When I said that, Rossweisse-san nods with a smile.

“Yes, I would certainly love to do that.”

I’m finding it curious that Azazel-sensei who will usually join in such discussions is not joining this conversation—and instead is talking to Bennia and Rugal-san while looking out the window.

“—I see, so the realm of the dead is—”

《Well, it’s something my shitty father and Hades-sama would come up with—》

“—So, what’s going on in the industry of your world Rugal?”

“……I haven’t heard anything from them planning to do anything with this matter. Most likely, my clan is planning to keep quiet and observe.”

“I see, certainly your clan is—”

Hmm, I’m curious about what they are discussing, but they will end up explaining everything to me from the beginning if I join their conversation and slow down their discussion.

Maybe I’ll just ask Sensei a bit about it afterwards. It will be good if I have the opportunity, but it seems like things will happen when we get there.

Each of us relaxed in our own way before entering their country.

Thirty minutes after riding the gondola lift—.

The place we arrived at after passing several mountains is the gondola station close to the Tepes’s castle town.

Several Vampires appear as soon as we exit the gondola lift. They ask us a question after confirming our identities.

“Former governor Azazel and the Gremory group, I presume? We are the ones sent from the Tepes faction.”

We nod silently. So they already know us. Well, it’s not like we came into this country illegally. They ask this while acting politely.

“Please come this way. Rias Gremory-sama is waiting at the Tepes’s main base.”

They sure are letting us go through easily for a place that just had a coup d’état.

So Rias is at the main base huh. I heard that she was at the House of Vladi…… She must have been captured after being taken there.

Their motive of taking us there……must be Sensei’s knowledge about Sacred Gears. Or is it……

Without having any time to think about it, they take us to the wagon that is outside the gondola station. There are luxurious ornaments on them. I’m guessing this is used for the victors that are from a noble family then?

In other words it came from the castle. So they’ll be taking us to the castle with this huh.

……I then realise that Bennia and Rugal-san are missing. Akeno-san whispers in my ear after I look around me.

“……Both of them are acting separately. Apparently, they will be gathering information with their own methods. We need to have our own escape route after all.”

Seriously? They disappeared without making a sound! Even without letting the Vampires from the Tepes faction notice them……

The Vampires also showed signs of panicking because our numbers don’t add up, so they call their superiors. Maybe it’s because they were given the order to take us as their first priority, so they urge us to get into the wagon reluctantly.

We nod to each other and got into the wagon—.

……Rias, Kiba, we’ll be able to see you very soon.

The scenery we can observe of the town from the window during our journey makes it appear as if there haven’t been many changes.

The town is so quiet for a place where a coup d’état took place and the residents are walking within the town normally.

I thought there would be destroyed places within the town……but there isn’t a single sign indicating that.

Sensei says.

“They must have succeeded in the coup d’état with minimal movement and without making even the residents notice it. You can assume that the ones that rebelled already took care of the things within the government beforehand. ……They may have used the Holy Grail as the bait to take in several nobles within their group.”

……So they succeeded in the coup d’état quietly without making the residents notice it huh. So the King and those close to him had no choice but to escape.

……There must have been many traitors within their group. Or else the coup d’état wouldn’t have succeeded so smoothly and that is something even a high school student like myself can guess.

The wagon we are riding on passes through the town and is about to enter the Tepes castle.

The huge main gate of the castle gets lifted up and the wagon passes through.

The castle doesn’t even lose against the Gremory castle in terms of size. It has the old appearance of being made up of rocks, and it has the aura of evil beings residing in this castle.

When we exit the wagon from where it gets stationed, we get taken into the castle and now we are standing in front of the exaggerated double door.

……It certainly feels as though this is a double door that leads to the throne. There is a splendid looking relief of a monster carved into the door.

“Please wait here for a short while.”

The butler who guided us here says that and leaves.

A few minutes later, we can hear a familiar voice while we wait in front of the door.

“Ise! Everyone!”

Hearing my beloved’s voice, I turn to that direction and see Rias who is having a maid escort her! Kiba is also escorting her while walking behind her.

“Rias! Are you alright?”

I approach her. She puts on a smile and nods when I asked her.

Ah, she’s beautiful like always! So cute! I’m so glad! That nothing happened to Rias!

“Yes, somehow. ……Looks like you noticed about the coup d’état, Azazel.”

Sensei nods at Rias’s words.

“Yeah, I summoned them here thinking that something may have happened and brought them here. You don’t have any complaint, do you?”

Rias responds to Sensei’s question.

“You’re right. Even I was thinking how I should call everyone here. Except, I was imprisoned within this castle and I was in a state where I couldn’t take any action. And I didn’t even get to meet the King despite being invited here. While I was waiting, one of them said to me, “Please follow me since the guests have arrived”……so I came here.”

So while the coup d’état happened, nothing much happened to Rias huh. I look at Kiba.

“Looks like nothing happened to you guys, Kiba.”

Kiba shrugs his shoulders.

“We didn’t even get dragged into it so it let me down. I guess they aren’t bored enough to lay their hands on us while they were having a war within their faction. At least till now, that is.”

Kiba looks at the double door while saying that.

……I see, so they are planning to meet us at once since everyone has gathered here.

The soldiers that are standing on both sides of the door who are equipped with armour and swords from an old era say after seeing us.

“Now then, please come in to have your meeting with our new King—”

While saying that, they open the giant double door—. The door opens while making a heavy sound.

Sensei walks inside first and Rias walks in after him. We walk in after them.

A spacious room. There is a huge red carpet placed on the floor, and there’s a relief of the same beast that was on the double door threaded into it which is shining in gold.

At the end of the carpet—there is a throne placed on the highest floor of this room.

The one sitting on the throne is a young woman. There is a young man present a bit away from the throne. The man has a beautiful face like that of a doll, but the reason why he doesn’t feel as if he’s alive must be because he’s a pure-blood.

Within the spacious throne room, there are unexpectedly few numbers of Vampires besides the woman on the throne and the man near the throne, such as several soldiers and several of those wearing noble attires. —And like I imagined, the nobles here also have an appearance of those from mediaeval times.

……I was preparing for there to be more Vampires here and then they would surround us……however it’s unexpectedly quiet in here.

I see, so that’s why the coup d’état went smoothly. They had dug deep within the government. It means that they were prepared in overthrowing the throne.

……The Khaos Brigade probably helped them, but I never thought that they were doing things like this at places where we can’t check.

No, since this is the base of Vampires that distanced themselves from the other forces, they were able to progress this far with their plan without any interference.

I’m already feeling disgusted at the act of the terrorist organisations, but I fix my posture due to being in front of the throne.

The one sitting on the throne is a woman with a strong trait of sand colour in her blonde hair and has her hair tied—. She’s wearing a dress which isn’t luxurious at all and she has a gentle smile on her face.

She appears to be three or four years older than me. A shapely face. You may call her a beauty. Instead of having a crafted beauty of that of a complete doll like Elmenhilde, she has a beauty of a human appearance.

……She probably carries both the beauty of a Vampire and a human since she’s a half-blood.

Except—. I may have shown a lecherous face in joy if she was simply a beautiful woman. However……

Her two red eyes—are shallow. Eyes that lost light……

The woman with shallow eyes greets us.

“How do you do, everyone. My name is Valerie Tepes.”

Her smile—carries emptiness and pitifulness.

“Ah, umm, it’s been decided that I would be the current Head of the House of Tepes as well as the Queen. Pleased to make your acquaintance from now on.”

……Her voice is very light. However……Her gaze isn’t so clear that she’s not looking at a particular person properly. She then catches the sight of someone she knows and directs her gaze at him.

“Gasper, you have grown bigger.”

Valerie who gives her words to Gasper. Gasper……puts on a sad expression seeing her like that. But Gasper forcefully puts on a smile.

“Valerie…… I wanted to see you.”

“Me too. I really wanted to see you. Please come a bit closer to me.”

Valerie makes him come closer to her. Gasper approaches her. The soldiers and Vampires around her aren’t even trying to stop Gasper coming close to her.

Valerie mutters while hugging Gasper.

“……I’m glad you are doing okay.”

“Yup, even though I became a Devil……I’m doing fine.”

“Yes, I have heard. It seems like they are taking good care of you over there.”

“Yup, I also made friends and seniors. I’m not alone anymore.”

Gasper looks towards us. Valerie also smiles when she looks at us.

“Oh my……so all of you are Gasper’s friends. ……Ara?”

When Valerie looks towards a different direction,

“————.————.”

She speaks in a language I never heard before and is talking to the space where there’s no one present.

……I, who have reincarnated to a Devil, can grasp hold of every language and hear them in a same language. But that’s not happening right now. She’s speaking in a language that I cannot think comes from this world.

The other members are also narrowing their eyebrows at the language being used. They probably can’t understand what she’s saying just like me.

She suddenly makes a bright face.

“Yes, you’re right. I also have the same opinion. Eh? …………But that’s still not…… ————. ————Is that true? Yes, you’re right…… ————.”

Gasper is showing a very worried face due to seeing his saviour talking to a space where there is nothing and no one present.

Sensei says it quietly.

“……Everyone, don’t look at that directly. You’ll get pulled away by the Holy Grail. Especially Asia, Xenovia, and Irina who come from the Church must look away.”

Maybe they realised what Sensei is trying to say immediately, so Asia and the other two look down to the floor.

I ask Sensei.

“What’s happening……?”

“……That’s the outcome of those being possessed by the Holy Grail. You’ll come to see things you should never see. I’ll explain it in detail afterwards.”

Then there’s a clap. The one who claps his hand is the young Vampire who is standing near Valerie.

“Valerie, it’s rude to be talking only to “those people”, you know? You must act as a Queen in a proper manner.”

Hearing the man say that, Valerie responds by saying “You are right” with a smile.

Valerie continues with a smile despite having shallow eyes.

“Ufufu, I’m very sorry, everyone. But it seems like I’ll be able to create a peaceful society for the Vampires as long as I reign as the Queen. I’m so looking forward to it. Even Gasper will be able to live here. No one will bully us ever again.”

……Regardless of whose perspective it is, you can clearly tell her words aren’t coming from the bottom of her heart and is being controlled by someone else’s favour.

……Valerie is definitely being used by the ones that started the coup d’état. Both her heart and Sacred Gear have been—.

“……Valerie……”

Gasper can only shed tears at seeing the sight of his saviour.

Azazel-sensei glares at the young Vampire man.

“You sure did train her well. And you have a bad hobby to show that to us so boldly. What do you want to achieve by using her? Judging from how it looks, you must be the ringleader for this incident, right?”

The young man makes an evil grin with his doll-like face.

“If you are saying that I’m the ringleader, then I possibly may be. Oh, I still haven’t introduced myself. I come from the royal family of Tepes and am the fifth candidate to succeed the throne, Marius Tepes is my name. I am the mayor of the temporal government as well as the chief advisor for the Sacred Gear Research. Though the later one would be my main occupation……but I was asked by my uncle. So I’m acting as the mayor temporarily. I’m also Valerie’s brother in terms of pedigree and I want to see how my cute little sister who is saddened about the future of the Tepes would change the world of the Vampires by standing next to her.”

He says that in a light manner. So he’s from a royal family!

I can understand that the thing he said about Valerie is a lie. That’s how much evil his cold smile carries.

Sensei then says.

“……You do know that we have been in contact with the Carmilla’s side? Was it okay for you to invite us here?”

Marius shrugs his shoulder.

“The new government has the new slogan of wanting to form friendly negotiations whether it’s Carmilla or the governor of the Fallen Angels—. Well, half of that was a joke. No, to be honest I don’t actually care that much about politics. I will leave those to my comrades that agreed with starting the coup d’état. Except, Queen Valerie wished to meet all of you, and I’m also interested in all of you as well. After all, I heard lots of rumours about all of you from the ones who supported us.”

“Well, let’s leave those things to the side for now. –Then I’ll ask you this question since you are the one behind all of this. Why did you start a coup d’état? Was it that bastard’s idea?”

Sensei moves to the main topic. He sure does ask lots of things without mercy…… Even the Vampires that are present here are panicking due to their discussion.

Marius answers Sensei’s question normally.

“I want to prepare an environment where I can do whatever I want with the Holy Grail. Valerie’s Holy Grail is a masterpiece that I can never get bored of, so I did many experiments with it. Yes, that’s actually the only reason behind it. For that reason, the previous King who happens to be my father and my older brothers were a nuisance so I had them leave. And by that “bastard” you mentioned, are you referring to that person……? But this action was something we started.”

…………

…..What the.

So this country turned into a mess only for someone like him……!

Valerie simply puts on a smile even though she heard that. ……So he’s even controlling her feelings……!

Even the noble Vampires that are present here panic at his words.

“Your Highness, Marius! This is not something you should be saying here!”

“T-This is the audience room! E-Even if you are the temporal mayor of this country, we would need you to restrain yourself from saying anything more than that!”

“The ones you are talking to are the former governor of the Grigori and the heiress of the House of Gremory, so we will lose our place if they take your words as our whole standing!”

Those Vampires wearing noble attire start to panic and try to take back Marius’s bold words. Marius simply smirks and says this sarcastically, “I’m very sorry for that. I sure would love to have the role as a mayor taken away from me”.

What an attitude. And the situation where those around him can’t do anything after he showed that attitude isn’t normal either. Seems like this Marius is the one who has all the authority here after all.

I’m starting to burn inside due to my rage. Even my comrades are building hatred towards Marius and are glaring right at him.

“……This is horrible. This is too horrible.”

The kind hearted Asia starts to cry at this reality.

“……So you can’t release Valerie Tepes then?”

Rias asks, but Marius simply replies back by saying, “Obviously”.

“Trying to talk to him is useless, Rias-buchou.”

Xenovia puts on a cold expression she has never shown before and is trying to draw out Durandal from the different dimension. Xenovia is pissed!

“Let’s get rid of this guy and go home. This Vampire will only cause harm if we let him live.”

Xenovia doesn’t have a good impression towards Vampires. Her feelings must have exploded after seeing Marius’s true personality.

“Stop, Xenovia! ……He is a mayor after all.”

Rias calms her down.

Marius simply smiles naturally even though he is seeing Xenovia draw out her holy sword.

“I’m terrified. Then let me introduce all of you to my bodyguard. It’s also one of the reasons I can act so mighty.”

Marius clicks his finger. Then chills pass through my body!

——!?

It feels as though the pores on my skin opened, and I can feel the cold feeling running through my body.

The feeling of having something very powerful targeting me. The pressure I’m feeling is telling me the danger of the situation I’m currently in.

Not just me, but all of the ORC members look at one point with a serious expression.

When I look there—there is a single tall man wearing a black coat leaning on the pillar.

His hair that is a mixture of black and blond hairs. His unique heterochromia where his right eye is gold and his left eye is black. The man clad in black looks down on the floor after glancing towards us once.

Kiba says it with a stern look while sweating.

“……One of them clearly has a power in a different league. Judging from his presence, he doesn’t seem like a Vampire……”

So Kiba also feels the same huh. Yeah, me too. He is dangerous. If we have to pick the most dangerous person within this throne room, then that will be him.

His quiet aura around his body is condensed with an unreal amount of dense aura.

……Even I can tell since I have been fighting with only strong foes.

—He is a strong opponent who is among the monster class.

Even Xenovia says while wiping off her sweat from her cheek.

“If that man was involved in the coup d’état, then of course they would succeed. It even makes me wonder if there is someone who can even withstand that thing among the current Vampires.”

While everyone is feeling pressured by the man clad in black, Ddraig speaks to me from within me.

[Of course he’s on a different level to all of you. He is someone that none of you can currently handle.]

……Ddraig, you know him?

[Yeah, I knew it the moment I saw him even though he has the form of a human. —The Crescent Circle Dragon, Crom Cruach. The Dragon that was said to be the strongest among all the Evil Dragons.]

—!?

……For real? So that is……one of the strongest Evil Dragons, Crom Cruach……!

I gasp. Since I fought the Evil Dragon Grendel, I can tell that the aura around that man is even more dangerous than that crazy Dragon……!

[Do not fight him at all costs. Even I thought you could fight the majority of enemies since you are still growing……but he’s a different story.]

……By the way, I want to ask but has he realised about us?

[Yeah, he must have understood that you are the Sekiryuutei.]

……I’m terrified. I need to hope that he won’t say “Let’s battle” afterwards.

How am I supposed to tell this to everyone else……?

Marius claps his hand once again.

“Let’s end here for today. We have your rooms prepared. Please stay here for a while everyone. Oh, that’s right. The current Head of the House of Vladi is also present at the basement of this castle, so all of you may want to meet him.”

The meeting ended there with those words of his, so we have no choice but to exit this room.

Marius Tepes—. I realised very well that he’s the ringleader of this coup d’état and that he’s a dangerous fellow within a few minutes of seeing him.

We left the throne room while having the man clad in black—Crom Cruach, within our sight—.

We are taken to the room they prepared for us after we left the throne room.

Sensei who is feeling unpleasant from his discussion with Marius mutters.

“……He’s a man that I find hard to believe is a Vampire.”

Rias also nods.

“Yes, you won’t find that many Vampires that will take action to satisfy his own greed over his blood and pride.”

Certainly that man called Marius is clearly different from Elmenhilde. I only heard him talk for a bit, but I did feel that he’s honest about his ambition.

Sensei narrows his eyes.

“That’s why fellows like him are dangerous. Since he can easily break the rules made by his clan after all. The coup d’état must also have started from there. And the one who went along with him were those nobles. Marius needed the cooperation of politicians for his own ambition. The politicians that agreed to his actions fulfilled the two desires of being strengthened by the Holy Grail and to get rid of the dissatisfaction they had towards the current government. It must have been easy for them to defeat the King’s side if they had the Evil Dragons that were revived by the Holy Grail with them. ……And the one who gave them such opportunity was “him”…… It’s something that was achievable with the terrorists and the rotten nobles since this country is shunned from the outside world.”

……A family feud that happened in the country that doesn’t have any contact with the other forces huh. And the terrorists got involved with them. And us that got dragged into it. Hmm, this is just filled with troubles!

I ask Rias while walking through the corridor.

“Where is the actual Head, the King of Tepes?”

I’m concerned to what happened to Marius’s father.

“…….He was fatally wounded and escaped from this territory.”

So he was wounded. It seems like there was quite a battle here. As long as that guy has that insanely dangerous Evil Dragon as his bodyguard, I can understand if the other side was helpless. I don’t know how strong the King of Tepes is, but they have no choice but to run if they had that thing as their opponent.

“Didn’t the King of Tepes’s side ask for any help besides the Carmilla’s faction?”

I ask just in case. Sensei breathes out as if he is grieving.

“Yeah, they probably haven’t. Since the Khaos Brigade was involved in the shadows, the other forces will strongly negotiate to allow themselves to come in to this country and that is something they don’t want right now. We were allowed to enter as an exception though.”

So they won’t ask for help from those besides the Vampires even if their country is at the risk of being in danger huh. I can only think that they are crazy if we come this far, but they may have their own kind of values…… So I don’t quite get them.

I then ask Azazel-sensei the question that bothered me in that audience room.

The thing about Valerie talking to the space where there was no one present.

“……Who was she talking to?”

Sensei says it while putting on serious eyes.

“……The dead from that world.”

The dead……huh.

“You mean……the souls of humans that went to hell, the realm of the dead, or the Underworld?”

The things I can only imagine are the souls of the dead…… Something like angry spirits and cursed spirits.

Sensei continues.

“If there are souls of humans, there are also souls of other beings……she was talking to beings whose origins you can’t tell nor what kind of state they were in.”

“I-I don’t get it……”

“Just think that she was talking to something you can’t really understand. …… Her mind has been contaminated quite a lot for overusing the Holy Grail,”

Her mind has been contaminated huh. I think I can understand that. ……She didn’t seem normal just from her look.

Rias nods at Sensei’s words.

“Yes, I realised that right away. –How Valerie Tepes’s heart and emotions weren’t normal.”

Yeah, I also think she was in the state as Rias described. Her eyes were shallow and her expression wasn’t natural.

“……What happened to Valerie……”

Gasper looks gloomy. The one who is the most shocked among us is him. He has been putting on a face as if he is about to cry ever since he saw Valerie’s face.

If it’s him from a bit before, then it won’t be weird for him to burst into tears in this situation.

Sensei then says.

“—It’s the Holy Grail. By being in contact with the principle of life, she is forcefully told about how the life and soul are made and what it really is, the more she uses the Sacred Gear. The information about life is so huge that we think it is endless. She takes in the mind and the concept of the dead, the living, and various other things as she uses the Holy Grail. Within her heart and soul that is. ……Many thoughts of other people come into her heart where corrosion occurs. ……It’s natural for her to become broken.”

……Thoughts of many individual coming into your soul…… My mind was about to go nuts when I was consumed with the rage of previous Sekiryuuteis. It felt as though I would be controlled by the negative emotion.

Valerie—has been forced to get in contact with something much more powerful than that many times. In my case it was merely the fragments of the past Sekiryuuteis thoughts, but in her case it was things much beyond what I went through and had those things come into her heart.

“Then she is……”

Sensei breathes out at Rossweisse-san’s words.

“She is no longer in a normal state. Having the dead talk to her is only one of the traits. Talking to them while enjoying it proves that the contamination of her mind has already reached a critical stage. Marius must have Valerie use the Holy Grail quite a lot. ……To the stage where she can revive the dead Evil Dragons to this world. There is a multitude of different ways of using it where it can be very serious and you can even abuse the power by using it.”

……In a critical stage huh. She did resurrect the brutal Evil Dragon Grendel and that Crom Cruach from before. I won’t even be able to imagine the environment she was in for being forced to resurrect Dragons of that calibre. So it won’t be weird if her mind collapsed by the end of all of it.

No, Gasper still came this far in order to save her. So we want to find a way to save her.

“Sensei, is there any way of saving her?”

I ask. Sensei puts his hand under his chin and starts to think.

“……First, we need to stop her using the Holy Grail itself and—”

Sensei stops saying it till there.

That’s because he sensed the person walking from ahead of us.

……A middle-aged man with silver hair appears from the end of the corridor. He seems to be in his 40’s.

—!

……I, no, we lost words from our mouth when we witness the clothing that man is wearing.

—That’s because he’s wearing the same Maou’s costume worn by Sirzechs-sama.

Except, the one this man is wearing doesn’t have a distinct crimson colour and instead it has a silver colour…… And his appearance resembles someone I know for some reason……

I can tell that he’s a Devil from the quality of the aura around his body. ……He possesses a bottomless and creepy type of aura……

Sensei—opens both his eyes wide and confronts the man with an expression filled with hatred.

As soon as the man sees us, he puts on an innocent smile used by people younger than his appearance.

“Oh? Oh my, what a coincidence.”

The man speaks to Sensei in a lighter manner than I imagined.

Sensei says as if spitting out the rage he has inside him.

“…………It is you after all……!”

The man accepts that response very happily.

“Nhoho! It’s been a while♪ Uncle Azazel, looks like you are doing fine, hmm?”

……He appears older than Azazel-sensei……but he can change his appearance if he’s a Devil.

“……Azazel, who is he?”

It seems like Rias also doesn’t know him, so she’s asking Sensei.

“……Rizevim. Even if you are young, I’m sure you have heard this name from your parents. It’s a man who you should know if you are a Gremory.”

Hearing that name, Rias’s expression stiffens.

“—!! …………You must be joking……right?”

Rias who seems to be so shocked that her voice is shivering. ……What the, what’s up with this Rizevim thing?

Since others besides Sensei and Rias can’t recall that name, we are all in doubt. Sensei introduces that man to us.

“……I won’t forget this bastard’s name. Right, —Lilin? No, Rizevim Livan Lucifer!”

—!?

L, L, L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L-L, Lucifer~!?

Hey, hold on! A Lucifer! Why does the name of the Maou-sama appear here!? The one who can use that name is Sirzechs-sama and……

My brain thinks till there and come up with one possible reason.

……I know one other guy who is allowed to use the name Lucifer.

The man called Rizevim Livan Lucifer lifts his mouth and smiles very happily.

“Don’t put on such a scary face. You’ll get old♪”

……The man is still speaking in a light manner.

I ask Sensei. I want to know whether this prediction I came up with is the truth.

“……Sensei, by Lucifer do you mean—”

“Yeah, he’s no doubt the real son who was born between the previous Lucifer and “Lilith”, who is said to be the beginning mother of all Devils. The one who is recorded in the Bible as “Lilin”. —And also the real grandfather of Vali who is called the strongest Hakuryuukou of all time.”

—! …………Vali’s grandpa…… Vali’s grandpa!!

And he also happens to be the son of the previous Lucifer!!

Yeah, I never thought about it, but Vali is the kin of the Lucifer which means he has a parent. It’s not like he was born from nothing. Vali certainly did say that he is the previous Lucifer’s great-grandson. In terms of pedigree it goes like this: Lucifer → The man in front of me → Vali’s dad → Vali.

It’s natural for him to have a relative. That’s why the ones I imagine when I hear the name Lucifer is Sirzechs-sama and Vali.

The silver colour of this man’s hair is identical to that of Vali’s and his appearance also reminds me of Vali. But I never thought he’s Vali’s grandpa……

But why is Vali’s grandpa here? While there are many unanswered questions, Sensei says this right away.

“And he’s the current boss of the Khaos Brigade. It’s the so-called “bastard” I had been saying this whole time since we came here.”

[—!?]

All of us here are speechless hearing that! O-Obviously!

T-This old man is……the boss……of the current Khaos Brigaaaade!?

T-Then the new boss Euclid mentioned is……this man who happens to be Vali’s grandpa!?

……Everyone says that the Khaos Brigade helped the coup d’état for this Vampire’s incident. Is that why it won’t be weird for this old man to be here……?

No, even so, how is this…… Vali’s grandpa who happens to be the son of the previous Lucifer to be the boss of the Khaos Brigade. Certainly the Devils of the anti-government faction called the Old-Maou faction were affiliated with them……

Is this man taking action due to the hatred like Shalba Beelzebub……?

Rias mutters while we still have many unanswered questions left.

“In the past during the time when the kins of the previous Maou ruled the Underworld, Rizevim Livan Lucifer was counted as one of the Super Devils along with my brother Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth-sama.”

……Super Devils. I heard from Sensei that there are three Devils who are called in such way in the past. Because they had abilities that are too much beyond the other Devils. They are irregular existences which make people question whether they are even Devils. That’s what the Super Devils are. In the current world of Devils, Sirzechs-sama and Ajuka Beelzebub-sama still exist since they are still active.

I heard one of the Super Devils hid himself……but you’re telling me he’s the last one……!?

Sensei says it with disgust.

“After his disappearance, the two Super Devils consisting of Sirzechs and Ajuka led the world of the current Devils. Well, he was originally one of the centred Devils within the former Maou-faction. There’s no way he’ll have the same opinion as Sirzechs and others who wish for peace and survival of their kind.”

Well, he even became the boss of the terrorists……

Sensei continues.

“For the man who hid himself during the Devil’s civil war between the old-government and the anti-government…… You are not going to tell me that this is your grudge towards the current Devil’s government like the old-Maou faction, right……?”

Rizevim makes a creepy laughter at Sensei’s words which echoes through the corridor.

“Uhyahyahyahya, well, I just returned because I have something I wanted to do now. Were you also doing alright, uncle Azazel? I hear that you are trying to make peace with all of the forces, right? I seriously want to support you for that~♪”

His manner of speech is filled with joke! Each of the words he has been saying since before carries no seriousness and is filled with ill will!

His easy-going manner of speech is making us lose the seriousness!

Rizevim moves his gaze to Rias.

“Crimson-hair missy, is your brother doing well?”

“……Do you have anything against my brother?”

“It’s not like I don’t. We are using the same name called Lucifer after all. Oh well, it’s not that important if you ask me. But it seems like I’ll be seeing him quite soon so say hi for me, will ya?”

“…………!”

Rias narrows her eyebrows at his words.

Everyone makes a stance since we now know who this opponent is, but Rizevim doesn’t take any stance to battle at all. He simply laughs seeing this situation.

“Well, I won’t take any action due to grudge or hatred like Shalba-kun or the other kins of the previous Maou. The politics for Devils should be enough with Sirzechs-kun and others, you know? I just want to do something else which isn’t related to those kinds of things, so I was doing things by using this organisation, you know?”

Sensei says with hatred, veins appearing on his forehead.

“……It might be okay to punch you here and interfere with what you are doing……but this country is a neutral country which we still haven’t formed a proper alliance with. So I can’t lay my hand on you so easily. I’m sure you are receiving VIP treatment by giving false identity in the outer appearance, right?”

Rizevim laughs creepily at Sensei’s question.

“Uhyahyahyahyahya, yeah, that’s right. I am the investor for Marius-kun’s research and revolution. So I’m treated like a special guest from the temporary government. So it won’t be wise to lay your hands on me here. Though I don’t have any intention of losing as well, you know?”

—! From out of nowhere, small shadows appear behind this man without any presence.

……A short girl. She’s wearing a black dress and……hey!

“……Seriously?”

I don’t know what to say seeing the girl.

—She looks exactly like Ophis.

Rizevim puts his hand on the head of the girl who looks exactly like Ophis.

“The mascot girl of our organisation we made by using the power stolen from Ophis, —Lilith-chan. Please get along with her~♪ I gave her my mummy’s name. Nice, right?”

……Just like I thought! Ophis’s power Cao Cao stole by using Samael! So the power that has been stolen turned into this girl!

“…………”

Silent and emotionless. I can’t tell her emotions from her appearance which is more difficult to read than Ophis.

Rizevim then says.

“This girl is small but insanely strong since she is Ophis-chan, you know? She also happens to be my personal bodyguard~. While Euclid is away, she’s the one who protects me! This old man here is emotionally moved! Small girls being strong sure is filled with romance, right♪”

The unexplainable pressure which is being released from the girl. Just like Crom Cruach before, the atmosphere she is releasing is something to be feared.

……The strongest Evil Dragon, the son of the former Lucifer, and the other Ophis—.

Those who are insanely strong that surpasses my imagination have gathered to this castle!

“Now then, I’ll be passing through here since I have something to discuss with Marius-kun. Let’s be peaceful here~. This house belongs to the Vampires~. Fighting isn’t good~. An enclosed country where those who live there have so much pride is wonderful♪”

Rizevim who is having fun to his heart’s content walks past us while taking the other Ophis with him.

We……can only watch him walk past us without being able to do anything!

Sensei says to Rizevim while he disappears from in front of us.

“Rizevim, Vali is after you.”

“Oh yeah, if I remember now, the Grigori took him in and raised my Grandson-kun.”

Rizevim turns around and asks Sensei.

“Did he get a lil’ bit stronger? Though he was stronger than my foolish son who happens to be his father.”

“He’ll be able to take your head one day.”

Hearing that, he makes a big smile.

“Woah, as his grandpa, that makes me so happy that I want to cry.”

Then Rizevim moves his gaze to me. He narrows his eyes while having fun.

“The current Sekiryuutei, aye. The one and the only existence who has a premium value for having the power of Great Red and Ophis. —Wanna come to my side?”

—So he’s scouting me! Hell no!

“There’s no way I will.”

I decline right away! Rizevim smiles happily seeing my reaction.

“Oh my, that’s unfortunate♪”

Rizevim advances through the corridor as he leaves his creepy laughter behind. As he puts his hand back and waves to us—.

“If you are trying to start a coup d’état while teaming up with Carmilla, then come at us anytime♪ I’m really looking forward to it.”

The middle-aged man who speaks in an improper way till the very end, Rizevim.

—Then the sound of a huge destruction echoes through the corridor.

Sensei shows a rare side of him where he destroys the wall with his fist because he can’t supress his anger.

“……Vali, I can’t help but understand how you feel.”

Tepes’s main castle that has turned into a nest of monsters—.

After we moved to the room prepared for us, we decided to meet the Head of the House of Vladi, in other words Gasper’s father, who is in the basement.