Serafall Leviathan's POV
— Finally finished! — My cry could be heard even outside the office.
Stretching my stiff shoulders, I headed towards the closet. I open the door and grab the already started bottle of wine and a glass without looking. Returning to my chair, I plop down on it, turning towards the window. In the past few days, drinking a glass or two of wine after work has become a habit for me. Because of this, out of my three best bottles of wine, only the last one is left, and at this rate, it too is threatening to come to an end.
The purple sky has already darkened, marking the onset of night in the underworld. This tendency to stay at work until dark does not suit me at all, but, unfortunately, it is out of my control. I once again find myself buried in the affairs of my faction: piles of reports and reports are added to my office daily.
This is not the first time something like this has happened in the last year, so I am prepared for the stress. One thing is good - this time the culprit was not one of my "colleagues", otherwise I would not have been able to stand it and would have broken the bastard's neck. Although this did not happen because of one of the biblical factions, the situation directly concerns our union and has affected the rest of the world.
Five days ago, the church lost contact with its best exorcist. The trump card of heaven was on a mission in Europe, but after reporting on the completion of the mission, there was no more news from him. The person with the second most powerful longinus is too valuable for the Vatican, so they created a search team that same evening. But before the holy men had time to figure out the situation, an incredible event happened - churches all over the world were attacked. Of course, it did not happen in an instant, but within two days the number of destroyed temples was in the thousands, and the victims were in the tens of thousands.
Both representatives of the supernatural world and ordinary people took part in the attack. Not everywhere and not always did the perpetrators manage to complete their actions. Most of Europe was able to minimize the damage or avoid it altogether due to the proximity of the center of their faith and a bunch of exorcists, sometimes even angels joined them. However, in other parts of the world, the situation was more dire.
The media and the Internet focused entirely on this topic, covering many reports from the sites of brutal reprisals. Ordinary people worked in ordinary chapels in villages and small settlements, so they could not fight back for themselves. Most often, nothing remained in such places except mutilated corpses nailed to a crucifix. The authorities tried to hide what happened from outsiders, but there were videos on the Internet from an insignificant part of humanity, where the attackers filmed the entire process on camera. The nuns could only sympathize. However, what amused me most was that people drew clumsy pentagrams, trying to summon demons. And surprisingly, some succeeded.
I immediately considered my newfound ally, Kiyoshi Zankoku and Shinto to be the main culprit. The kidnapping of the owner of the Zenith Storm and the subsequent chaos fit easily into his image. During his "reign" as the leader of his group and close to the leader of his faction, he became famous for such tricks. And let's not forget his machinations to strengthen his patrons.
For five years now, Japan has become more active in worshiping its gods. All those unobtrusive TV shows about ancient legends, sponsorship and advertising of festivals, and also games, anime and light novels that featured heroes with the power of various deities of the Shinto pantheon, as a reference. At first, no one paid attention to this, but after a few years, the increase in Takamagahara believers became noticeable to everyone around. Many gods decided to follow their example. By the way, after this, others began to look at my show with a completely different look.
Another factor that played in favor of Kiyoshi's involvement in what was happening was the fact that the churches in the land of the rising sun were practically unharmed, with the exception of two branches, which are so conveniently the center of the Church in this country. After the destruction and murder of most of the leadership of these two churches, representatives of Shinto appeared, killing the attackers and saving the surviving priests. The most remarkable thing is that there was not a single yokai among the attackers. As if to say "we have nothing to do with it!" Ha-ha-ha! After all, everyone understands everything perfectly well, but the Vatican simply did not have the time or the opportunity to prove it.
However, two days ago, I had to discard the theory of Zankouku's involvement in what happened. An attack took place on Heaven, led by Rizevim Lucifer. Led by the evil dragons, the newly formed "Chaos Brigade" group "Clipnot" made a statement, destroying part of Heaven and killing many angels in the process, until the seraphim were able to fight back. During the fierce battle, Grendel, one of the famous evil dragons, was sealed, but one incapacitated seraphim served as the valuable means for this. The dragon managed to bite off a third of the body of one of the strongest angels before the very end, thereby weakening Heaven even more. The battle resulted in a pile of dead angels and a burnt "third heaven", and from the attackers, only a small number of corpses of weak dragons and Grendel. Rizevim himself did not take part in the battles and no one knows his motives for appearing in Heaven.
Now, after what happened, the entire supernatural world came into motion. My gaze fell on the ornate envelope lying on the corner of my desk. If before the "big shots" could not take into account another group of terrorists, now everything has changed. The world was shown a powerful group of beings that dared to attack an entire faction, which has not the last place among other religions. Moreover, the attack was quite successful for Clipnot. Few people know about the deplorable state of the angels before this, but now everyone will blame the "Chaos Brigade" for this, therefore, they will be afraid to become their next target. And the first among all to get their bearings was Odin.
The Norse god has requested a meeting of all known mythologies in his palace to discuss what has happened and to form an alliance to combat the threat of Rizevim and the evil dragons. The meeting will be held in Asgard in two days, and we have no choice but to participate. It is too dangerous to ignore such a thing, but there is a bright side to all this horror. A few clever individuals were able to take advantage of the general turmoil for their own gain. And how happy I am that my dear Sona-chan is among them.
My parents had another territory in the human world, a small town on the border of Canada and the United States. After a skirmish with Kiyoshi in Romania, Sona and her retinue moved there. When the Church was attacked in the world, the beautiful heiress of Sitri took advantage of the distraction of the angels to protect their temples and promoted her services as a devil. Her timing was very good! The increased interest in the topic of angels and demons has generated a considerable demand for demonic contracts. Little Sister only had to spread a few rumors and show leaflets with the coat of arms of our clan, and there was no end of clients. She even had to work overtime along with all her servants, spreading her networks to the nearest cities. It got to the point that a considerable part of our family's demons had to be sent to the contract. And Sona wasn't the only one who figured out how to benefit from the current situation. It is from all these smart individuals that I receive most of the paperwork, in addition to my usual reporting related to the actions of other mythologies. Being responsible for the external affairs of demons imposes too much responsibility and obligations. Diplomacy with other pantheons that have a strong dislike for us is not an easy job.
It's times like these that I envy Falbium the most. As the one in charge of military affairs, a good strategist and tactician, in times of peace he spends most of his time indulging in his sin - laziness. Ajuka, too, spends most of his time in his lab, ignoring many issues. Sirzechs, an asshole with a sister complex, despite his strength, is mostly useless. The fact that he is assigned to deal with the internal problems of the devils is not very noticeable to me. Rather, he adds more of them, as well as new work for me.
Due to the system of governance, most of the political influence is in the hands of Zekram Bael, and the Demon Lords are more like a symbol of power than actual rulers. It was necessary to change the governance policy by completely concentrating power in the hands of the Demon Lords, and not participate in this whole farce, where the clan elders play their political games by vote. Naturally, as the head of his house and the first of the created demons, Zekram will have a huge number of connections and influence, which even easily overshadows us. Since no one listened to my opinion, now we are all paying for it together, playing by someone else's rules.
The second glass came to an end, and I was about to go home, when a notification came to my phone. A message from one of the active fans, as it seems at first glance, came to my magical girl mail, but seeing the sender's name, I tensed up. A fake account, given to me by Kiyoshi Zankoku, for communication in a short time. Receiving an SMS from him now means that something very important is happening and I feel an approaching headache. A quick glance at the letter made it clear that my ally wants to meet as soon as possible. Having sent a confirmation response, I teleported to the house that he bought while he lived in Kuoh.
The thought of a prepared trap didn't even cross my mind. With Ophis on his side, there was no need for such complicated things. In the living room, a gray-haired young man was waiting for me sitting in a chair. Next to him on the table stood a prepared bottle of wine and two glasses.
— I hope you didn't call me to have a romantic dinner? Sorry, you're not bad, of course, but I'm already busy, — he appreciated the attempt to ease the atmosphere, judging by the cheerful smile.
— I'm always happy to spend my evening in the company of a beautiful girl, but only if she's my wife, — the blond made an inviting gesture to the chair next to him. — So not this time, Serafall.
Feeling that the conversation would not be pleasant, I settled more comfortably and took a small sip of wine.
— Quite a pleasant taste, — I muttered, slowly savoring the alcohol. — Let's get straight to business. Tomorrow I have too much work ahead of me, and I want to get a good night's sleep before all this madhouse.
A meeting where stupid old men will once again raise the topic of attacking angels, taking advantage of their miserable state, completely unaware of all the consequences of this step, as well as the idiocy of the idea itself. The civil war occurred precisely to avoid losses in a senseless war incited by the old rulers, and now we have to endure this whole circus of senile people. Azazel also wanted to tell about the report of his spies in the "Chaos Brigade".
— Then I'll get straight to the point, — the cheerfulness disappeared from Zankoku's face, — I was able to learn some not very pleasant news for both the devils and the entire world in particular. In three weeks, hell will be very hot. Under Rizevim's leadership, reincarnated devils will start rebelling all over hell, led by the remnants of the old lord faction, while the culprit himself is planning to seize the floating island of Agares.
It turned out to be much worse than I thought, but first, it's worth clarifying some nuances.
— How do you know this? — If his words are true, then such information is not so easy to obtain.
— Oh-oh-oh, I have two sources, — I didn't like Kiyoshi's grin at all. — The first is the culprit of this situation himself, Rizevim Livan Lucifer, when we met with him, discussing our future plans.
Met? Plans? I don't like this at all.
— My second informant is Rizevim's right hand and main assistant, Euclid Lucifuge. He is not at all satisfied with the plans of his "master" and he, together with me, plans to betray and get rid of Lucifer's son.
A real mess formed in my head after everything I heard. Euclid is alive and it turns out he is cooperating with Rizevim, but later he is going to betray him together with the idiot sitting opposite me and grinning stupidly. What kind of plans are these in the head of Lucifer's miscarriage that not only did these two unite for their sake, but they are also dragging me in.
— Let's... let's go in order: what exactly is happening here? Why was that attack on Heaven necessary and what is the final goal?
And he told me, although it did not make it any better. A failed attempt to declare war on another world. Stealing the fruit from the Tree of Wisdom to speed up the unsealing of the Beast of the Apocalypse, which is apparently located on the floating island of Agares. After all this, lead an army of evil dragons and mass replicas and, in the vanguard with Trihexa, go and capture another, completely unknown world.
— Fuck, — I summed up the whole story, finishing the rest of the bottle. — What do you want me to do? What actions do you expect from me?
This worries me. Despite the fact that I am a Demon Lord, both in strength and title, my capabilities are not that great. A single person, although not weak, will not stand against thousands of enemies, they will stupidly throw bodies at you.
— This is where a very interesting picture emerges, — the blond said with a squint. — I have collected some information and realized that for the demons, everything that is happening will be a real catastrophe. Perhaps this will even be the end for you.
— I don't even doubt that, — my voice was full of irritation, — You don't need to tell me the obvious. Tell me your plan instead.
— Okay, don't get so worked up, — he raised his palms, trying to calm me down. — So, how do you feel about revising the policy of the underworld's government and the list of Demon Lords in particular?
— What, excuse me? — Such statements left me stunned.
— Well, a change of power, a coup, a revolution, or a dictatorship, whatever you like, — Kiyoshi said with a grin. — As far as I've learned, the current policy of the devils is far from ideal. Instead of ruling, Satan simply follows the opinion of the majority, where the majority is Zekreim Bael. Considering that Sirzechs will definitely not survive this event, and my partner has a big grudge against him, maybe we should change the current state of things?
— It won't be limited to Sirzechs, right? A lot of demons will suffer.
— Yes. If nothing is done, many innocent lives will suffer, but it is possible to minimize the losses. You need to think through everything in advance and prepare, and during the upcoming events, take advantage of the opportunity to establish a new order.
— I don't have a choice, do I? — A bitter smile crept out of itself. If I don't participate in all this, then someone from my family may suffer, and if I manage to avoid the danger, then the weakened faction of the devils, who are not loved by everyone, will be too tasty a morsel. — I'm in, now tell me your real plans. What exactly are you going to do in this whole situation?
— I like to talk to smart people, Serafall. The demons will have a hard time at first, but no one will dare to attack you - I will arrange that. And it is desirable to establish power completely in the hands of the Demon Lords. I think you can handle this yourself. Only the composition will have to be slightly changed after what happened. Sirzechs' silver-haired maid will do in place of him, this should just calm down the supporters of the previous rules and she should have enough strength. I also have thoughts about one strong young demon, but in order to recruit him I will need your help as a member of the healer clan, Sitri.