The Realm of the Dead was a land filled with the souls of the deceased. The God of Hell abhorred devils, fallen angels, and angels even though his realm was located in the lowest depths of the Underworld.

  The ruler of this realm, Hades, was sitting on a throne inside a chamber covered in gold. Neither the gorgeous room nor Hades's vestments of a priest fit such a cold and cruel realm. The eyes in his hollow sockets glowed when the space in front of him distorted, and a figure in decorated robes emerged.

  A grim reaper with a simple white mask on its face and a pitch-black scythe in its hands. The grim reaper immediately kneeled in front of Hades.

  "Lord Hades."

  "Pluto, report your findings. What caused the earthquakes in the Underworld earlier?"

  Pluto raised his head. "It was a battle, Lord Hades. The Underworld lost its leading figures… the irregular devils you had your eyes on, the one from the Gremory Clan died in a fight."

  "Hooh, who had so much guts in the Three Factions?"

  As someone who hated the devils, angels, and fallen angels for polluting this world, Hades was curious about this new devil killer.

  "I received a report from our spy in the Astaroth Clan. He had powerful fire divinity, while his companions were women with unusual magic powers. He was accompanied by Grayfia Lucifuge, a popular devil woman from the Underworld. Though unconfirmed, our spy doubts that it's the human who defeated Lucifer before."

  "What? Didn't you say Asahi Marikawa is a human or a fallen angel? How come he has become a god now?"

  Hades remembered hearing about the demonic nature of Asahi's powers.

  "That man never showed any divine abilities in his fight against Lucifer… that is precisely why we have no confirmed information on his identity… What we know is his ambition. After he had massacred the Devil Kings instantaneously, he proclaimed himself as the new ruler of the Underworld."

  "It's nigh impossible for a god to collude with the devils to conquer the devil world," Hades said, shaking his head. The only gods who could do so were simply not interested in the Three Factions. "The vile gods I know of are afraid of the geezer at the top of the Three Factions. He protects even his enemies. What a shitty bastard."

  The Three Factions had only been alive due to Biblical God. The God of Heaven was a bad matchup for Hades with his pure holy powers, otherwise, he would have squashed the bats, birds, and crows.

  "I'll find out everything in a few days."

  "No, Pluto. Send a message. Prepare an offering. We will head out to meet this God of Fire tomorrow."

  Hades rarely had anything to do with all the Grim Reapers taking care of the souls and reincarnation. He might as well have a friendly chat with the new ruler of the Underworld.

  "Consider it done, My Lord."

  ***

  Serafall and Ajuka watched over Venelana's sleeping figure, though their minds were lost in different dimensions. One worried for the future of the Underworld while the other silently grieved the friend who perished before his eyes. He was powerless to fight back against any of them, and almost lost his life.

  "Serafall."

  "Ajuka, don't," the princess of Sitri Clan rejected Ajuka before he could speak. "We can't fight that monster."

  They might have done something if it was Asahi alone. But his companions were nearly on his level, especially the swordswoman who toyed with Ajuka as if he was just another devil in the Underworld.

  Ajuka gritted his teeth. "Will we let them do whatever they want with our Underworld?"

  "Let's wait." Serafall patted his head with a smile. "I have heard of Grayfia. She won't help an evil guy in claiming her home as her territory…. Sirzechs provoked that man first… we all know devils blinded by emotions can't be stopped… it's in our nature to be led astray by the seven sins."

  Ajuka sighed. "I'll wait…"

  He couldn't come up with a counterargument against Serafall. If the Angels were followers of heavenly virtues, then the Devils were creatures of deadly sins. The Great Devil Kings had fully embraced their Pride, resulting in their arrogance that saw no one equal to them. Sirzechs today had completely fallen to his rage, to his Wrath. Ajuka had adequate control over his emotions, yet he experienced the same as Sirzechs.

  "I don't want to lose everything for revenge," Serafall whispered, shaking. "Venelana-san… if you were still here, Sirzechs might be…"

  "I'll…" Ajuka clenched his jaw. "I'll work on a cure…… I'll bring her back even if it's the last thing I do."