The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 73: Removing The Obstacle

"It's coming along nicely," I hummed, my hands on my hips as I stared up at the half-completed stadium in front of me.

The huge stadium looked out of place in the huge plain around it, with metal beams and glass glinting in the sunlight and reflecting into the grass. The very basic huge plains area had been partially developed, with a long road stretching out from behind the stadium and leading towards the nearest city.

Most of the devils who came to watch the duel would just teleport in, but I was making use of Zekram's resources. The man was both paying for and providing the manpower to build the entire stadium, so I didn't decline the road being built since I'd want an easier connection between my territory and the rest of the Underworld eventually anyway.

On the inside of the stadium, there were already thousands of seats in a rising circular manner that surrounded the fighting arena. The main viewers I wanted there were the noble families, of which Zekram was guaranteeing the heads of each one would be in attendance, but they would also want to bring their family and peerages.

Sirzechs fighting in a duel was quite the spectacle, and my reputation had stretched pretty far across both the Underworld and the human realm at this point.

As a result, we needed a lot of seats. Seats that Zekram had no problem providing.

"It'll be done tomorrow," Zekram nodded next to me, the burly man grinning lightly at the grandeur of the stadium, "I've been overseeing its construction personally, so I can guarantee it'll be a setting befitting of the duel."

I knew he was lying, as it had been Zekrel Belial who was in charge of watching over the construction of the stadium, but I wasn't going to press him about it. The structure was being built, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

That was actually to my benefit as well - I much preferred Zekrel being the one in charge instead of Zekram.

The primary reason I wanted the stadium built in the first place was because it would be mine - as in, part of my [Territory]. I'd get a huge boost from being in my territory by my [Beast King] title, which would make my plan come along much more smoothly.

There was another reason, but that was more for theatrics than actual practicality. It would make things easier, but it wasn't entirely necessary.

"And you're certain all the heads will be in attendance?" I asked Zekram, who nodded at my words.

"Every major player in devil society will be there," Zekram grinned widely, "Which means if you win, everyone will see Sirzechs fall. But, if you lose..."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved my hand dismissively at him, "I won't lose."

If I did, then the threatening reputation I'd built up - a reputation of a man who had forced the Dragon King Tiamat to become his familiar, and of a man who'd spat in the devils faces by taking the sisters of two Maou's with no conquecenes, and then even gotten an alliance out of it - would crumble.

But I wasn't going to lose. I was going to win, and in a way that would change the landscape of the Underworld forever.

"Beelzebub isn't giving you any trouble, is he?" Zekram asked, sounding casual despite the loaded question.

"Not at all," I shook my head just as casually, but we both knew I was lying.

Ajuka hadn't just sat quietly and let me make my moves. His meeting with Yasaka had just been the start, as I had recently learned that he had given a similar speech to Azazel.

On a faction level, Ajuka was being rather open about our alliance being a flimsy one - both as a way to ensure other factions didn't see our cooperation as a threat that they needed to fight against, and as a way to paint me in a bad light - and was doing his best to make me look like a monster.

He painted me as an untrustworthy, backstabbing, monster of man who drank his victim's blood and ate their flesh. Only part of that was untrue, but it was still pretty annoying.

He was, in essence, trying to cut off any potential connections I could make. He had granted me access to the rest of the Underworld with our alliance, but in the next instant was making sure I couldn't use that access as I wanted.

It was annoying, but not something I couldn't deal with. Ajuka didn't have the pleasure of being able to force others into doing what he wanted - the man had a reputation and faction relations to uphold, after all.

I didn't have the same concerns, so I was able to bully my way around Ajuka's moves in the inter-faction political game. But if that had been Ajuka's only move against me, then he wouldn't have been a super-genius.

I found out from a certain insider I had picked up recently that the Maou was having frequent meetings with the very man standing next to me - Zekram Bael. That wasn't all, either - he was personally meeting with various pillar heads, doing his best to ensure I couldn't try to cooperate with them by any means.

Luckily, I had Rias on my side, who had seen no problem in venting to me that her parents were actively upset about our relationship after a meeting with Ajuka.

Ajuka was blocking me from making connections both within other factions and within devil society. In terms of the political war, he was clearly winning.

Unfortunately for him, the political war was the only one he was waging. We were on the same battlefield, but fighting entirely different wars.

Soon, Sirzechs and Ajuka would wish 'winning' the duel was the only thing I was going to do.

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"Maou Beelzebub, the master is waiting for you in the dining room," The maid in front of Ajuka stated, bowing her head lightly at him as he stood in the entrance of the Belial Estate.

"I know where it is," Ajuka nodded casually, stepping past the busty woman and heading to the usual spot where he met Zekram. The ancient devil knew by now that Ajuka was opposed to entering the actual Bael Estate, so they always met at the Belial Estate instead.

Considering how loyal Zekrel Belial was to Zekram, with the man being known as the Bael's right-hand man, it was only a small step up in terms of safety anyway.

"Where's your master?" Ajuka asked casually as he pushed open the door into the dining room, instantly spotting the form of Zekrel Belial sitting at the end of the table. Despite his words and slightly humorous tone, the Maou's face was plastered with a usual pleasant smile.

"Right here, Beelzebub," A deep voice resounded, and a door at the far back of the dining room opened. In stepped a man who looked very similar to Zekrel Belial, but who was not.

"Why'd you call me here, Bael?" Ajuka got to the point quickly, raising an eyebrow at the ancient devil. He hated being pulled away from his inventing for anything, and he wanted the unpleasant meeting with Zekram to be over as soon as possible.

"Come and sit," Zekram countered, casually sitting in the chair next to Belial's and letting Zekrel remain in the head of the table chair. He gestured for Ajuka to sit across from him, to which the Maou adhered.

"I'd prefer if you got to the point quickly, Bael," Ajuka said as he sat down, locking eyes with Zekram, "I don't want to be here longer than I-"

Wait-

In a split second, both men moved at once. Ajuka's hand shot up, moving to reach into his robe pocket, but Zekram moved quicker.

"Stop," The ancient devil said simply, holding up his hand as a small silver spoon in his hand was pointed at Ajuka's forehead.

Despite the non-threatening utensil, Ajuka's instincts screamed at him to be still. If he wasn't, then his life would be in danger.

"Who are you?" Ajuka asked bluntly, not moving an inch as the spoon pointed at his head from only a few inches away.

"I'm surprised you saw through my disguise so quickly," The deep voice shifted slightly, becoming only a tiny bit higher as the form of Zekram shimmered, "Though I'm equally as surprised that you didn't know it was me. How'd you see through my skill?"

In front of Ajuka, Zekram's features seemed to fade away in a small glow of blue light. In one moment, Zekram Bael had been sitting in front of Ajuka. In the next, the Beast King sat across from him.

His instincts had been right about the spoon - what had once looked like a regular spoon was now a small knife. It wasn't just any knife either, as there seemed to be a small tail-like piece of fur sticking out of the handle, and the blade itself was pure yellow.

Ajuka's mind silently whirled even as he opened his mouth to answer.

That's a sacred gear. I know every sacred gear, but I don't know that one.

"I couldn't see through it, but," Ajuka paused for a second, allowing time for his mind to think, "Zekram would never allow Zekrel to sit at the head of the table. I didn't know it was you, but I knew it wasn't him."

An ancient unknown sacred gear, or an artificial one? Azazel is the only person who can make those, but I sense life energy coming from it. Has he pulled Yasaka to his side? Or is it the East Youkai Faction?

"You're really too smart," Valon chuckled lightly, "Only you would pick up on something like that."

"I just don't understand why-"

"Don't move," Valon said harshly, stopping Ajuka as he started to turn his head slightly in the direction of Zekrel.

That's definitely Zekrel Belial. Why is he working with the Beast King? Is Zekram really on his side?

Ajuka knew the likelihood of that was low - so low that he hadn't considered making a countermeasure for it. Zekram would never willingly choose to support Beast King while trying to kill Ajuka, which meant he was being forced to somehow.

That sacred gear definitely gives off the presence of Yasaka. Her soul must be in it - I don't know how quickly it can activate, or what the effect is. Nothing on my person protects me from life energy.

Ajuka was no fool, and he didn't walk around unprotected. He kept a flurry of trinkets and inventions on him that could act as automatic protection against attacks, and he had some that worked against the Youkai's power of life energy, but he didn't have it on him.

He had mostly mental-defending items on his person at the moment, and a flurry that protected against demonic power. He had been planning to meet with Zekram Bael, not with a life energy-based sacred gear.

I have an energy-signature teleportation orb on me. It comes down to whether I can grab it before the sacred gear activates-

"You're thinking too much," Valon said bluntly despite the fact that Ajuka's thoughts had flowed through his head in less than a second, "I don't like it. I'll see you in a month, Ajuka Beelzebub."

Ajuka's hand slammed at his robe, trying to make contact in the area where he knew the orb was.

A barrier field just appeared, but I can't discern what it's blocking quickly enough. I don't need to take it out, I just need to smash it-

His hand moved so quickly that a normal human wouldn't have been able to keep track of his movement, but it was too slow. The small knife jutted forward as a yellow glow surrounded it.

Ajuka tried to move his head back simultaneously, but the knife didn't need to make contact. Just by being in its aura, Ajuka was suddenly engulfed in a bright light.

In one instant, Ajuka Beelzebub was sitting in front of the Beast King. In the next, he was sitting in a large, white void.

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"Good work, Azazel," I hummed as Ajuka was pulled into the small knife, which was actually an artificial sacred gear I had forced Azazel to make.

As it would turn out, unsurprisingly, creatures who lived for thousands of years tended to value their own lives pretty highly. When you were Azazel, who had seen countless factions rise and fall, it wasn't strange to value your own life over the life of a Maou who was technically your enemy.

If anything, Ajuka being sealed only benefited him. As a result, he hadn't been difficult to work with.

"That worked far too easily," Azazel responded to me, though his voice sounded much higher-pitched as the maid who greeted Ajuka walked into the dining room, "What the hell even is this? How did you do this?"

"I hope you enjoy your tits, because I can't undo it," I chuckled lightly, causing Azazel's eyes to widen as his jaw dropped, but I quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, the same woman who put it on can take it off."

While my [Appearance Disguise] skill applied only to myself, I had Velrissa. As the Succubus Queen, she had a much more dynamic ability.

She could change someone else's appearance, and her skills level was even higher than mine at the moment, though the disguise would naturally dissolve after a couple of hours. It couldn't be used as a permanent ploy, but it worked perfectly here.

I hadn't been certain that [Appearance Disguise] would be able to trick Ajuka for even a few seconds, but luckily, he couldn't see through the skill. If it wasn't for my slip-up with Zekrel, then he would've been sealed before he even knew what was happening.

"Doing all that talking could've screwed you over, y'know?" Azazel-maid said dryly, having watched out whole exchange.

"If he had gotten away, it was you who would be screwed over," I said dismissivley.

I hadn't been in much of a rush as I mocked Ajuka a bit because I had Azazel with me. The fallen's job was to set up a barrier to block the usage of his escape orb, which the super-genius had been kind enough to explain to me when he first entered my palace.

I knew he hadn't been lying about it through [Lie Detection], so I'd tasked Azazel with creating a way to counter it. Luckily for me, while Azazel might not be considered a super-genius on par with Ajuka, he was still definitely at least a regular genius.

If he hadn't been able to do it, I could've gotten Katerea to do it anyway, but this was easier. After all, I still had one more use for Azazel today.

"How long will it take him to break the seal?" I asked casually, holding up the small knife-scared gear.

You said one month, Beast King! You better not go back on your word!

"I don't lie to beautiful women," I said out loud as Yasaka spoke into my head, probably looking insane as I didn't let Azazel answer.

I didn't want to actually kill the Youkai Queen and rip out her soul - both because she was a top-tier woman in this world and because she would be a useful subordinate in the future - but luckily I didn't need to.

Azazel hadn't done it yet, but in the not-too-distant future, he would make a pact with the Dragon King Fafnir - thus creating the sacred gear 'Down Fall Dragon Spear' with the Dragon King's soul imbued in it. After the pact was over, Fafnir was released from the sacred gear and able to assume his normal form.

[Contract Making] had made that process pretty easy for me, and Azazel had been able to skip out on years of research as I made a pact with Yasaka. In return for my protection in the future, and for letting her faction - and most importantly her daughter - remain unharmed, she would reside within the artificial sacred gear for one month.

The 'no fucks given' approach was treating me very well. If I actually killed Kunou, it would've turned the entire Youkai faction against me, as well as made every other faction look at me like a loose-cannon threat that needed to be taken down.

But, in the eyes of Yasaka, that didn't matter. I was an insane man who ate the flesh of his enemies, and someone crazy enough to break into Kyoto - the place where she was at her strongest.

To her, me killing her daughter only to get myself killed in the future wasn't out of the question. But her daughter's killer being taken down was a small comfort when her daughter was dead, so a small one-month vacation in a sacred gear was the preferable outcome.

Now, I had the artificial sacred gear dubbed [Sealing Dream]. It was far inferior to a normal sacred gear, and only actually had one use: Sealing someone.

There was also only one dimensional space for them to be sealed into within the sacred gear, so if I sealed multiple people, they'd be in there together, and thus be able to escape quicker. The other downside was that there was only one seal pattern imprinted in it, meaning that I couldn't trap someone in it twice.

"I'd estimate around a month," I already knew Azazel's estimate for how long it would take Ajuka to break free, as that was what I had based Yasaka's pact on, but I was asking for theatrics more than anything.

"If you were in here, how long would it take you?" I asked casually, not even glancing at him as I looked into the knife's blade. It wasn't like he could do anything even if he realized what was about to happen. fгeewebnovёl.com

"...M-Much quicker, because I was the one who made it." Judging by Azazel's slight stutter, he saw where this was going: "I'd be able to break through instantly, of course."

[Lie Detection] confirmed he was lying, and I grinned lightly.

In reality, it was however long it took him and Ajuka to learn to use life energy. Azazel knowing how the seal was made didn't matter, as Ajuka would be able to see how to unravel it from just a glance anyway.

"So, two weeks between the two of you," I hummed, casually pointing the knife's blade at Azazel as the man's body tensed, "I'll see you in two weeks, Governor General of the Grigori."

"You bastard-" Azazel's dry, accepting tone was cut off as the maid-girl was surrounded in a beam of light. He vanished, and now I was left alone in the room with just a charmed Zekrel.

Y-You! How could you...

And the Youkai Queen in my head as the knife sat in my hand.

"Relax, I'm not going back on anything," I shook my head easily with a chuckle, "I told him I'd let him keep his life, and that I'd even let his faction stay around once I rule the Underworld. I intend to keep both of those promises."

B-But you just sealed him?!

"For two weeks. He'll be free in two weeks, and he'll be alive," I just shrugged. "I don't need them gone forever, just for now. After all, once they're free..."

I grinned as I looked at my reflection in the blade of the yellow knife, a predatory grin staring back at me.

"It'll be too late."

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