107)Planning in the Shadows

“So, uh…somebody want to explain?” I asked after the girls & I were seated in the living hall of Castle Azathoth, Bardou along with Yasaka & Kunou sitting on the sofa opposite of us with a happy smile.

“So, I take you to Kyoto to find a lady…and you decide to take the hottest out of them all?”

“Why, thank you for the compliment, but I don't think your girlfriends like it when you admire another woman.”

“Oh, we don't like it, but we can also admit when he's right.” Akeno said and I blinked at that as I looked at her before being unnerved by the happy smile she gave me.

“I'm going to pay for that comment later, aren't I?”

“Not in front of guests.”

“That's a yes.” Bardou spoke up and I snorted as I just nodded & leaned back against the sofa.

“Anyway, how did this happen?” I asked while gesturing towards the two of them and Yasaka giggled as Bardou scratched the back of his head.

“Well, after you decided to get your ass kicked & get kidnapped by the Khaos Brigade, I was the only one left in Kyoto to do the peace treaty. Thankfully, I know you better than most so I just copied what you would do in the situation.”

“Which was come to me and see if he can't woo me into liking him & thus his proposals as well.” Yasaka answered, Bardou rolling his eyes while I smirked & gave him a thumbs-up.

“Yep, that was precisely what I did with the whole saving Kyoto thing. Well done on that part, buddy.”

“I seem to recall you telling us that you felt embarrassed when Yasaka kissed you or did you lie?” Tsubaki asked with a raised eyebrow before giggling as I nodded.

“That was a complete & utter lie. I quite enjoyed it even though I did feel guilty afterwards about enjoying said kiss.” I spoke with a frown before wincing slightly as I saw Kuroka & Akeno huff as they leaned closer while glaring at an amused Yasaka.

“We forgave you, but no more older women allowed in this relationship. We already got one hag here.”

“Oi, who you calling an old hag? Hello, Yasaka! Hello, Yasaka's daughter~!” Serafall greeted as she walked out of her teleportation crest, with me rolling my eyes as the Satan leapt over the back of the couch & sat down on the back of it with her legs placed behind my back.

“Hi, Ms. Serafall!” Kunou greeted from where she was seated on her mother's lap with a wave and I smiled as I saw the disgruntled looks of the other girls before they smiled as I gave each of them a kiss on the forehead before looking up at the pouting Serafall.

“Really? There are guests here.”

“Oh, don't worry. Yasaka doesn't care, right bestie?”

“Just because we connected over tea doesn't make us besties, Serafall.” Yasaka said with a smile, to which Serafall huffed as she gave her a cute glare.

“Fine~! Then I'm not inviting you to my wedding~”

“Sera, stop antagonizing the others.” I spoke up as I saw Akeno instantly spin around to glare at her despite knowing that the Satan was far more powerful than her, to which she simply giggled & shrugged as she wrapped her legs around my neck.

“Okay~ It's just a bit of fun.”

“Hah, anyway~ Where were we with your explanation?”

“There's not much else to say. We talked, we hung out a few times, I played around a bit with Kunou in the city and…yeah, that's about it.”

“…That's all you're going to tell me, isn't it?”

“I prefer to keep my private life private, Master.” He spoke with a fanged grin and I rolled my eyes as Akeno gave a soft giggle.

“His first girlfriend and already he's keeping secrets from his parents. They grow up quite fast, don't they?” She said with a smile and I chuckled & nodded as Bardou glared at us both.

“They do, indeed. Well, Yasaka, I'm sure with you here, the peace treaty between Kyoto's Yokai Faction & the Utopian Alliance was made, yes?”

“Indeed. Our gods are currently meeting up with the leaders of the alliance to finalize the last parts.” She said and I nodded before groaning as I stood up, Tsubaki & Akeno helping me up as Kuroka & Serafall stood up as well.

“Well, then I'll leave the little family to enjoy the castle while I go & sleep away the dreams of my time under Rizevim's grasp.”

“Sure thing, Boss. We'll keep an eye on things.” Bardou spoke and I smiled & nodded before I began walking away, thankful for the girls helping me as we made out way to my room.

“I call his chest.” Akeno spoke up and I burst out with laughter as the other three groaned in unison.

'Ah, nothing like ladies fighting over you to make it feel like home.'

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“So, we were right. Rizevim is using the Tree of Life that he stole to get peaches that he can then use to resurrect the Evil Dragons. Thus, we can expect for those that we killed in this battle to be restored & ready to fight in our next battle.” Azazel spoke with a frown and the other leaders grimaced at that as Sirzechs sighed.

“So, no matter what we do, unless we either get the Tree of Life back or destroy it, we're stuck fighting them over & over again.”

“And you're okay with us destroying Father's tree, Christ?” Ra asked with a frown as he looked over at the leader in question, who pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh before nodding.

“I'm sad that the first tree in existence is to be destroyed for us to get a chance of victory, but I'd rather it be destroyed than be left in the hands of the enemy.”

“Okay, then that's our first objective for this war. The only question is…where the hell did they hide it? It wasn't in the base we attacked when we ransacked it.” Zeus spoke up and the others frowned before they looked over as the door opened only to be surprised at the beautiful figure entering with a soft smile on her face.

“Well, hello, gentlemen. I assume this is the meeting for where the leaders must meet, yes?” The beautiful woman asked as her auburn hair shimmered in the light, orange flames flickering over the sunset red kimono she had on along with the pure white haori with a scarlet sun on the back of it.

“Of course, Amaterasu. Wonderful to see a fellow sun deity joining our alliance, but I thought your brothers would be accompanying you?” Ra asked as he snapped his fingers & created a golden throne besides his, the other leaders rolling their eyes while Amaterasu gave a thankful smile & bow as she sat down & snapped her handheld fan shut.

“Unfortunately, all three of us couldn't leave Takamagahara without leaving our home defenceless and since Susanoo didn't want to come, Tsukuyomi decided to stay behind & make sure he didn't cause a ruckus.”

“Ah, makes sense. Well, let me be the first to say it's a pleasure to have the Shinto Pantheon joining our alliance.” Falbium spoke with a smile and Amaterasu hummed with a nod as she unfolded her fan.

“It is ours as well. We were a bit hesitant on joining the alliance, but Yasaka had nothing but high praises for the alliance so we of the Shinto divines decided to give it a chance.”

“And if you're not pleased, we can expect the Shinto Pantheon to withdraw back to their domain?” Odin asked with an amused smile before chuckling as Amaterasu nodded with an unashamed smile.

“Without question. As a leader, I have to put my own first before all else so I do apologize in advance if that does happen.”

“Oh, we don't mind. I had the same idea too and I know Ra here is the same.” Indra answered with a smirk as he lounged with his legs over one arm of his seat, Amaterasu turning to Ra who nodded with a shrug.

“It is true. That was one of my conditions for joining.”

“Most of us have that condition added. Well, all except for these guys since their factions are essentially from the same pantheon.” Zeus spoke with a smirk as he nodded towards the Christian Pantheon, to which Sirzechs & Falbium nodded as Yeshua smiled & Azazel shrugged.

“Even if I say I don't agree with them, my organization would force me to keep my word.” Azazel answered with a huff and Amaterasu smiled before nodding as she closed her fan & placed it down on the table.

“Well, since I don't feel as bad about betraying you all as I do now, let us continue on with the discussion. I assume it's about the Tree of Life that was taken by Rizevim & his goons?” She asked and they all nodded as Falbium spoke up.

“From my calculations, I've surmised a few locations where they could have hidden it in the Underworld and two locations on Earth.”

“Oh? I thought we were struggling to figure out where he hid it?” Zeus asked with a frown & Falbium chuckled as he nodded while pointing at his head.

“We were, but then I decided to tune out the world around me for a few seconds to run through the information we have and the first two locations that came to mind were the homes of the vampires on Earth.”

“I see. That would make sense considering that Valerie was saved from her home by Isaiah when she was younger which is also why Rizevim stole the Tree of Life as a substitute for her Sephiroth Graal.” Sirzechs spoke up with a frown and she hummed before Ra spoke up.

“And what of the other locations in the Underworld?”

“Purgatory& Limbo were also ones I thought of since they're near the edge of the civilized parts of the Underworld, but the one that came to mind first was one where the most dangerous beast is also sealed away.”

“Cocytus, huh?” Odin asked with a frown, Falbium nodding as he created a holographic map of the location & showed its cold area.

“Yes, and inside of it is the ancient beast that tempted Adam & Eve into eating the Fruit of Knowledge and causing them to get kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Samael, the Poison of God.” He spoke and everyone frowned as they remembered the first evil beast that God created, especially how powerful it was against the apex predators of the world.

“If Rizevim is truly trying to release that beast & feed it the Fruits, then we have to destroy it before he can.” Amaterasu spoke with a frown and they all nodded in agreement as Azazel cleared his throat.

“Ahem! Now, with that said, let's start with discussing the new battle formations of the alliance with the added addition of the Yokai & the Shinto forces.”

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“So, why the hell did you pull us from the mortal plane, Ozwald?” Rizevim asked with a frown as he & the man they met a few days ago sat in the middle of a dimly lit room, the white-haired older gentleman simply smiling as his dark silver eyes shone with the flames of the fireplace next to them while he softly rubbed the head of the golden serpent on top of the dark scarlet red cane in his grasp.

“Oh, would you rather I put you back on the mortal plane, Rize?”

“Of course not, but I also know that you're a human that's as dangerous as the oldest devils in existence, especially with how MephistoPheles hates you after you copped out of your deal with him.” Rizevim spoke with a smirk and Oz chuckled as he nodded & raised a hand to the gold necklace around his neck.

“Ah, right. Is he still mad I stole this little trinket from him? After all, he stole it from Naberos, did he not?”

“Yes, he did, but you don't steal from a devil whose sin is greed or else, they will hunt you down for eternity until your mind, body & soul are theirs and theirs alone. There is a reason my old man decided to make him one of his closest confidants instead of antagonising him & try to subjucate him under his command.”

“Yes, there is, but when he does, he will find out that there's a reason they call me the greatest mystic in human history.” Oz spoke with a sadistic smile before frowning as Rizevim snickered.

“I do believe that would be that incubus-human hybrid Merlin, right?”

“Don't mention the name of that bastard to me.”

“Ah, still have a sore spot when he stole your research on devil magic and used it to make humanity's magic system & cement his name in history?”

“Oh, sore spot doesn't even begin to describe my wrath for him. You have no idea how ecstatic I was when I saw you forced the soul of an Evil Dragon to occupy his body.”

“Eh, it was no biggie to steal him away & force a soul into his body, especially since I didn't really care for his faction in the Khaos Brigade. However, I must ask why you decided to save & not kill us, especially since your wizards are allied with the Khaos Brigade, are they not?” Rizevim asked with a frown before smirking as Oz snorted & shook his head.

“With those imbeciles who wish to 'change' their ways by keeping their target to Great Red? Ha! As if I would follow such plans. I was promised the head of Rudeus Mathers & MephistoPheles so I will get them even if I have to ally myself with the most vile of devilkind itself.”

“Oh, you're too kind. So, what can you bring to the table? After all, I can't be the only one with manpower?” Rizevim asked and Oz simply chuckled as he activated the security spells in his lab & showed the footage to Rizevim, whose eyes widened as he saw the golden chalice filled with a viscous scarlet liquid standing on top of a pedestal.

“And where did you get that?” Rizevim asked and Oz shrugged as he clenched his hand into a fist & dispelled the spell.

“I have my ways and my man on the inside that got me the chalice, especially since you all provided such a great distraction.” He answered and Rizevim looked serious for the first time as he sat up from his seat & stared directly at the smirking Oz.

“So, what do I have to do for that?”

“Quite simple. I want her.” He spoke as another hologram appeared in between them, Rizevim looking at the picture before back at the smiling Oz.

“And why would you want someone like her? As far as my intelligence goes, she's worth nothing.”

“Oh, she was one of Rudeus Mathers' best students and her blood is the purest of her family's in terms of magical potential. That and I also want the blood of the one who would come to rescue her.”

“Isaiah Azathoth, eh?” Rizevim asked as he looked back at the floating hologram of Meredith Ordinton, Oz smiling & nodding as the hologram disappeared before standing up.

“That's right. Get her for me and I'll give you the chalice just like that.” He spoke and Rizevim chuckled as he stood up, holding out a hand to Oz as the human smiled & grasped his hand firmly.

“Do we have a deal, Devourer of Hope?”

“We have a deal, son of Lucifer.”

A/N: Quick & short chapter and sorry for the upload, but this one was actually a struggle to figure out where the direction of the story is to go, but I figured it out somewhat.

Also, Isaiah thought he got a break? Nah, this is war and the battles never end until one side is completely gone.

Next chapter, the supposed rest before all hell breaks loose~!!!

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!