Path of Legends HxD

Life 1: Not a Devil, not Evil.

"THOU, MiGhTy GoD, whO WiLL deSTroY The lAwS oF HeaVEn anD hEll, RiSE! FoR thOU SHaLt ObTaiN ThE KnOWleDge To FaCe The OBSTacles In tHy ChOSeN ROaD!"

Part 1

"Onii-sama! What is the meaning of this!? You said that he could reincarnate into a Devil... so why can't I make him my servant?"

Rias Gremory asked in shock upon hearing the irksome response of her brother. She couldn't believe it. Her chance of getting a powerful servant had been presented before her, yet her brother simply stated that such was beyond the bounds of possibility.

However, Rias wasn't one to give up so easily, at least she wouldn't accept it unless there was a good reason for her to desist.

"Onii-sama, please answer me..."

Sirzechs sighed, crossing his fingers as he remained sat in the large sofa. Near him was Grayfia, the maid that served the Gremory family who stood behind the furniture, and by his side, Venelana Gremory, mother of both young Devils with crimson hair.

Inside one of the many rooms of the Gremory Mansion, the high-class Devils had gathered to discuss their current affairs. Of course, all were related to the evil God that was currently inside the Great Library of the Palace, as he had stated that he was interested in gaining knowledge of the world he was in. No one had dared to disturb him since.

"I think you are misunderstanding something, Rias. It's not that I don't want you to make him your servant, but you see, the problem is..." The Demon Lord stopped briefly, searching for the words to sugar-coat his answer, yet he couldn't grasp any at that moment. "...that you can't, not anymore."

"Not anymore?"

"Yes..." Sirzechs confirmed, his eyes sharp, "And I have to say that I'm still a bit shocked myself because I have never seen something so strange in all the time I have lived. Not even our father, I assume," He sighed, "I'm sorry Rias, but you don't have the power to do so."

Rias tightened her gaze as she felt agitated, even annoyed. Apparently, the reason for why she couldn't make that evil God her servant, as her brother had informed, was because... of her own inability?

"Explain it clearly, onii-sama. You said it yourself, even if he is an evil God..."

"Yes..." Sirzechs paused, studying his sister's face. "Incredibly, this unknown deity does fulfill the conditions to be able to reincarnate as a Devil despite being a God, which is extremely rare. But that's of no importance as not even I can make him my servant."

Everyone around him widened their eyes with the exception of Venelana, Grayfia and Lord Gremory, current head of the Gremory clan and father to both Rias and Sirzechs, who was seated in a comfortably padded chair.

"Even as the Demon Lord, that's beyond my reach," He sighed, then rested his back on the comfortable sofa.

During the last weeks since the God's arrival, Sirzechs had been using whatever resources he had at his disposal to gather information and discover the identity of their increasingly distinguished guest, but that wasn't meant to occur as he didn't find even the tiniest bit of information about the existence of someone with his characteristics.

Even the data supplied by the books that Sairaorg Bael loaned to the Gremory in order to search for the possibility of the God being related to the mythical Bishamonten resulted fruitlessness. Sirzechs found no proof of a connection between them.

Just another dead end.

Rias noticed the perplexity painted over her brother's face; an expression that was rather unusual to emerge across his features.

"Is he that powerful? Even ultimate class Devils can become servants," Rias retorted with a pout. "Onii-sama, at least let me try..."

"No... and that's my definite answer..."

Brother and sister stared at each other for several seconds, the male with a solemn expression while the female looked awfully expectant. It was rather odd that Sirzechs would act this curt and dry despite how much he loved his dear sister. However, this was a serious matter.

While the Red Satan had no idea of the Evil God's identity, he could sense his vast power, which was unlike anything he had felt before. Evil pieces couldn't reincarnate Gods or Buddhas into Devils. Nonetheless, he found out that this evil God in particular showed him a certain number of pieces that would be required to make him be reincarnated as a Devil.

Evidently, this unknown God was a unique case.

"None of us have enough evil pieces to make him our servant."

The crimson-haired girl blinked, just like the black-haired one at her side did, who happened to be part of her peerage, Rias' Queen, Himejima Akeno.

"Wait onii-sama..." Rias stood up from her seat, slightly irritated, "Are you telling me that he could indeed become our servant? But the problem is that we lack pieces?"

"In a way, yes..." The Demon Lord replied immediately.

That was absurd! Her first thought was that reincarnating evil Gods as Devils would be impossible because of the power they held, but in this case, the problem was the number of pieces? She could understand why her brother couldn't do it as his peerage was complete. But she had many unused pieces. Maybe her brother was overly worried that such a fierce deity would harm her, which honestly was highly conceivable.

But... the reward was in the risk, and an ambitious woman needed to know when to take it.

"Onii-sama, I possess plenty of pieces I have yet to use..." She sat again, regaining her composure. "What are the number of pieces I need?"

Rias's peerage was far from being complete, and she was determined to make him her servant. She had many unsued pieces, so there was no way that he was out of her reach. She was a high-class Devil from the Gremory Clan, and as such, it would be only natural that a powerful being such as that God would become her faithful servant. With someone like him at her side, even her forced engagement to that insufferable man would be history if she was to play a Rating Game for her freedom and defeat not only him, but his new Queen, the Red Tyrant.

Several seconds passed, which seemed everlasting, until the Demon Lord responded.

"To reincarnate him as a Devil, you would need 8 pawns..."

Rias blinked at the revelation, but nodded, realizing that it was to be expected.. The intimidating man was an evil God after all. Yet this would mean that she could...

"I have 8 pawn pieces at my disposal, onii-sama. I can mak-"

"...2 bishops..." Her eyes widened at the interruption or... new added information.

'...More pieces? Then I really can't...'

"2 Knights and 2 rooks... These are the pieces needed for him to reincarnate as a Devil. You do not possess all those pieces, Rias," Sirzechs finished.

Grayfia and Lord Gremory knew it as Sairaorg Bael did, who was informed on their way back to the palace. Depending on the power of the Devil, the number of pieces that would be required to reincarnate the being into a Devil were fewer. While Rias required 14 pieces to make the Evil God her servant, Sirzechs, even as the Demon Lord, would need only his 2 rooks, 2 knights and 2 bishops, which were not available either.

Simply put, there was no Devil with the same power as the Crimson Satan that held that number of pieces available; therefore, there was no known Devil that could make this Evil God his or her servant.

"14 pieces... impossible," The future head of the Gremory gaped at the Crimson Satan, "This... can't be... I thought that different evil pieces couldn't be used on the same individual..."

"I thought that too, so I'm gonna need to contact Ajuka to ask him about this..."

Rias Gremory blinked in shock. Even if the possibility existed, there was no way for them to make that Evil God a Servant. They didn't even know if he was an ally or if they were being deceived by him...

This unknown God was also a potential danger.

Suddenly, Lord Gremory rose from his seat, his white tuxedo with an inner black shirt shining somehow.   

"We will have to keep an eye on him as long as he remains inside Gremory Territory," Lord Gremory spoke strongly and smirked. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves, as he may prove to be a trustworthy ally... a powerful one at that. So, let's make him feel secure and comfortable for the time being."

"Ara ara..." Akeno giggled. "The Gremory clan is sure exceptional at being affectionate with Devils, so why not with evil Gods...?"

Rias frowned, dropping her gaze. Her hopes of getting a powerful servant unavoidably faded.

"Father," Sirzechs addressed the other crimson-haired man. "I still feel... reluctant about this... I knew that bringing him into the palace was the best option available, but to leave him in solitude may endanger our clan. We need to talk to him properly."

Sairaorg stepped up, cracking his knuckles, a wild smirk creeping on his face. He was feeling excited! A mighty opponent had appeared, and he was looking forward to... at least having a spar with him if the God showed that he would cooperate with them. However, considering the delicate circumstances of this matter, well... that was most likely not a suitable idea... at least not for the moment.

"Don't worry. I will take care of him should he become hostile," The Bael member spoke with clear confidence.

"Grayfia," Lord Gremory gestured for the maid to move. "Bring the gentleman here."

She bowed respectfully, "As you wish, Lord Gremory."

A magic circle appeared under her feet and she disappeared.

"Now that I think about it," Venelana suddenly said, everyone directing their attention towards the beautiful woman, "I can't sense the power of the strange Evil God anywhere..."

An expression of shock emerged on Rias and Sairaorg's face at those words.

"He hasn't escaped or anything like that," Were the tranquilizing words of the Demon Lord. "Since he entered the library, I could tell that he created some sort of barrier around the room to prevent us from going inside or sensing anything from within it... He needs his privacy, I assume."

Part 2

He had seen many libraries during his travels. They came in many forms and sizes, but the library he was currently in was something else. It was incredible, and that sure meant something coming from him.

Link stood inside an enormous library, filled with abnormally tall bookshelves that reached the barely visible ceiling. Blue fire illuminated the room from the candles of the chandeliers that hung between the corridors created by the large furniture. The walls were painted with rectangular designs of purple and black colours.

He advanced further in the room, the soft sound of his steps on the lilac carpeted ground echoed within the vast room. Link observed the blue fire of a metal candle attached on the wall for several seconds before he shook his head. That fire reminded Link of the torch inside the ghost shop by the entrance of the destroyed Hyrule Market in another timeline.

"All I have been doing is walking around aimlessly..." He muttered.

After he was brought to this palace, Link, as the 'Evil God', had told the group of Devils that he wanted to familiarize himself with the history of the world he had just arrived to, in case that it would help him regain his lost memories, and also recall the purpose of his presence in a world not his own.

The Devils brought him to the palace's library as they believed it would be the perfect place for him to start gathering information. So after entering the enormous room, he asked to be left alone inside, as he didn't want to be disturbed.

While that was partly true, Link's true intention was to remain alone long enough for him to remove the Oni Mask, he could tell the corruption was slowly crawling into his mind. The first symptom was the omnipotent wrath he felt towards evilness. Then, the abnormal thought of having done the correct thing by brutally and mercilessly defeating Kasgor.

If the demonic powers of the mask got out of control, no one would survive the eternal wrath of the Fierce Deity... He knew that very well. Link couldn't risk the lives of those that seemed kind, despite them being called Devils. He encased the entire library with Nayru's Love to prevent anyone from entering the room and noticing that his demonic presence would disappear.

Only when the magic crystal covered every wall, from the ground to the ceiling, did Link attempt to remove the mask without causing unwanted trouble.

And so, after that, Link found himself basking in the features of the enormous room, marvelling at the odd designs of the bookshelves, the candles, the large table with only six chairs located in the middle of the room, and a large red sofa. They were all crafted masterfully in Link's honest opinion.

"So from where should I begin...?"

*Knock Knock*

Link sighed, feeling troubled as he turned around to the entrance door, a female voice talked through it.

"Nameless Lord," The voice of Grayfia Lucifuge spoke respectfully. "I was ordered to ask for your presence in the hall where my lords have gathered."

Link snorted. While Nayru's Love prevented anything from entering the space where it was created while also concealing all magic inside its crystal walls, sounds would still pass through it. Even after mastering this spell to the perfection, Link could not prevent the sounds from coming in.

A drop of sweat trailed down Link's forehead upon hearing the voice of the maid... what part of being left alone didn't they understand? He hadn't even opened a single book yet!

Link put on the Oni mask once again whilst trying to suppress its powers. He didn't want to create a mess due to the pulses that it created every time he put it on. Honestly speaking, the spectacle of massive energy this mask produced greatly expanded the intimidating power that Link had used to break the spirit and confidence in his foes. But it wasn't that Link needed to do so to get the advantage and emerge victorious, the power of the Fierce Deity was more than enough to destroy everything if he so desired to.

The Fierce Deity walked to the door, Nayru's love being dispelled. His face was emotionless as usual.

o-0-O-0-o

The Fierce Deity emerged from a magic circle together with Grayfia. Before them was a medium sized hall with expensive-looking furniture such as sofas and chairs. Tall rectangular windows with detailed drawings over them covered the left wall. The same style could be seen in this room as in the library, so Link guessed he was still inside the palace.

In the seats before him sat a large gathering of people, just as the maid had informed him. He noticed some of the people that greeted him before, like the so called Demon Lord or Maou, Sirzechs, and to his side was a beautiful woman with purple eyes and brown hair.

A man with similar features to the Demon Lord was sitting in a rather big luxurious chair next to them, and Sairaorg was standing with arms crossed just a bit farther to the left.

The Oni's white eyes then met blue-green ones that belonged to a beautiful girl with crimson hair, just like the other two in the room. Link began to speculate that they were all related by blood, mostly due to the fact that their traits were alike. Not even a second passed before the evil God glanced at yet another beautiful girl sitting next to her, who sported black hair tied in a high tail, violet eyes and had this... particular smile on her face.

"Lord Gremory, I have brought our guest as you had asked," Grayfia bowed to them before walking towards the group.

The man with crimson hair stood up from the chair and stepped forward, smiling confidently, and spoke to the Evil God, unexpectedly casual.

"Greetings to you, my friend. Thanks for providing us some of your time as I assume you still have plenty of things to do," Lord Gremory extended a hand to the Oni, yet he didn't receive a response. "Huh... so, let's jump to business."

The Fierce Deity crossed his arms and nodded, making a humming sound.

"Before anything, we should present ourselves," The man began. "Just as Grayfia called me, I'm Lord Gremory, current head of the Gremory Clan," He motioned to the woman with brown hair and put a hand on her shoulder. "She is my wife, Venelana Gremory,"

 "Nice to meet you, nameless God," Venelana put on a kind smile.  

Then, he looked at the auto-proclaimed Demon Lord, "You have already met my son, Sirzechs." 

"Indeed, " Sirzechs nodded.

Lord Gremory turned to the bulky man, "You also met my nephew Sairaorg Bael.

"That's right!" Said man smirked while giving a thumbs up. The Fierce Deity noted the different surname, also noticing that his violet eyes were awfully similar to those of Venelana Gremory.

"Next is my lovely daughter, Rias Gremory."

The girl with crimson hair blushed and quickly stood up, "Father! D-don't call me lovely in front of u-unknown Gods..."

"Soooo cute..." Sirzechs commented playfully while the God raised an eyebrow.

"Mou..." Rias closed her eyes, regaining her composure and sat on the sofa, cheeks still red.

"Ara ara, it's always amusing to see you embarrassed Rias," The girl with black hair giggled.

Maybe he would have smiled upon seeing this scene, but the God felt nothing. The mask removed all unnecessary feelings in order to make the fierce God unstoppable. After all, if there was no love, regret, or kindness when he fought, then he would destroy his enemies without holding back.

"You too, Akeno?" Rias groaned in irritation.

Another chuckle came from the girl called Akeno before the head of the Gremory clan spoke again, earning the God's attention back to him. Despite looking a bit flamboyant, the Oni could tell that Lord Gremory was strong and would be a mighty opponent just like his son.

"She's Himejima Akeno, a close friend of the Gremory family."

Unexpectedly to the Oni, said girl stood up and walked to him, bowing slightly before she gave him a bashful smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Evil God."

The Oni stared at her, unmoved by her boldness and eventually nodded. Seemingly satisfied with his response, Akeno Himejima returned to her seat. While the hylian would have noted her as an interesting individual, he paid her no mind or consideration due to the mask's influence.

"Now that we are over with the presentations, I would like to talk a bit," The apparent older red-haired man cleared his throat. "You see, I have to be honest with you. We have no clue of who you might be, and I can't be sure if you are telling us the truth about having lost your memories."

"Understandable..." The Oni commented, yet he said no more.

The current head of the clan took some seconds before he continued, examining the unknown deity. His aura was indeed not of a Devil, much less of an angel or from a fallen. He could sense dark powers from him, yet they were somehow divine. It was similar to the aura that one of the Gods of Asgard possessed. Lord Gremory concluded that the unknown God came from another mythology.

"I would like to address an important matter," Lord Gremory continued after the Fierce Deity lowered his gaze, as if attentive. "Will you bring harm to us in any way? I imagine that you're not called an evil God just because of your dark powers."

Just as the stories Link had heard in the world of Termina from Anju's grandmother, a God that punished evil without mercy, a being that transcended the beliefs of even the Four Giants that watched over Termina. A God with dark powers that would simply eradicate the presence of evil with his own.

"I only destroy evil," The Dark God declared fiercely. "Then it depends on your alignment." 

Every Devil inside the hall mused about his reply, and wondered if the God among them should be referred to as evil. The Fierce Deity hadn't shown any sign of evilness despite his dark and fearsome presence... at least so far, so why assume he was evil?

Humans, Angels and Fallens were all capable of being such, even Gods. He certainly couldn't be called good as his presence was dark and frightening, likewise, it was too soon to assume that he was evil by just looks alone.

Lord Gremory continued.

"Are you going to remain with us? We offer you a place to stay, food and also help should need it. I can make some arrangements to make it happen, but it all depends on you."

The Fierce Deity didn't reply immediately as he reflected about his current position. Despite that anyone else would have fled in terror upon just seeing him, this unknown people were actually offering a helping hand. He had yet to understand why, but it was a good opportunity for him to investigate these so called devils.

Besides, that grand library held so much information that would come handy for his survival. There was only one wise call for these circunstances.

"I know nothing of this world, but I could stay for a time," Was the God's reply. "The library of the palace may give me useful information."

"That's certainly good to hear," The Crimson Satan suddenly commented. "All we want is to help you... get back on track. You can be certain that my father's... no, the clan's intentions with you are to solely help you recover your memories."

That sounded good, pretty good in fact. Link was in a dimension where almost everything was and would probably remain to be unknown to him, so the offer he just received was welcomed. Even if he had to use the cursed mask plenty of times to hide his true self, to leave the palace without having a clear destination in mind would simply be stupid and reckless.

Beggars can't be choosers, right?

"I see... is there any particular reason for this?" The Fierce Deity asked, narrowing his gaze.

"Destiny has brought you to us, and we won't ignore it," Lord Gremory responded with a smirk. "We don't trust you, and I can tell you feel the same about us, but I think it would be the best for both parties if we cooperated, don't you think?"

Link, as the Oni, contemplated once more about the offer of the Gremory Devils. Access to their enormous library, add in their food and bed; their proposal was indeed not bad... He had lost his equipment due to the crazy actions of that damned dragon, so this was an offer he couldn't really refuse honestly.

"Yes..." The Oni replied and turned around. "If we are done, I will return to the Library," The white-haired deity looked towards the maid.

Grayfia understood quite well his stare. The God was brought here by her, so it was only proper for the maid to take him back to the library. He would most likely get lost if he went by himself. The silver-haired maid glanced at both male redheads, both nodding as they gave her permission.

"As you wish my lord," She turned to the dark God.

"Otou-sama? Onii-sama?" Rias rose from her seat. "I thought that you were going to ask-"

A magic circle was created by the maid under the evil God as she walked to him. When both stood inside it, the circle shone with intensity and both disappeared, but not before sparing a glance at the female redhead. Rias could only wait for the Demon Lord to speak.

"If he is to remain in the palace, then we'll have plenty of time to talk with him properly," Her brother responded. "Don't worry, Rias."

"As you brother says, Rias-tan!" Lord Gremory spoke with clear affection towards her daughter, recalling how some Japanese folk tended to call their daughters in the Human world. "It's for the best that our guest does whatever he feels like doing first. Call it, making him feel comfortable with us."

Rias understood their reasoning; if the evil God felt at ease in the palace, then he would remain with them. Letting him do what he pleased, at least momentarily, was the best way to achieve that. Yet, she was looking forward to learning more of him, seeing that it was very rare the occasions when a mighty God would visit her very home.

"Fine..."

Part 3

[Several weeks later...]

As was usual, Link was inside the palace's library. Of course, the room was covered by Nayru's Love to prevent the Devils from noticing his current form, that of a hylian, and not of an evil God they believed him to be.

Link, under the cover of a God, was given his own bedroom inside the palace walls, expected of high class nobles, though honestly, he paid no mind to it. All he truly needed was a place to sleep, food to eat and a good place to gather information.

The Gremory palace offered all those to him.

Most of the time, if not all, Link spent his days locked inside the library, reading countless books. Some of them held myths of this realm, others the story of Devils, how they were grouped, the most influential clans, and in particular, the 72 pillars which were the most important clans of the Underworld due to their status as pure blooded-Devils.

The Four Great Satans, that were the original rulers of the Devil kind, were named Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus. However, they all died in the Great War, which Link already knew of thanks to a certain massive Dragon.

After their deaths in the Great War, descendants of the original four Satans had intended to carry on the legacy by gathering supporters to resume the war that was left unfinished. However, they were opposed by the Anti-Satan faction, which only sought to ensure the survival of their species.

A civil war erupted, caused by the clash of different ideologies and eventually, all the descendants were defeated by the Anti-Satan faction. This prevented the Great War from occurring once again. Using their names as a title, new rulers were chosen, whom also were born with incredible power.

Link narrowed his gaze upon reading this; after all, it was rare that a history book would mention the power of certain individuals as a matter of knowledge, which he assumed was to ensure anyone would respect the new leaders of the Devil society.

One of them belonged to the clan that had offered the Oni God a place to stay as long as he needed, with nothing in exchange apparently. The Gremory clan, that produced the current Lucifer of the Four Satans, was known and respected due to their extraordinary talent with magic, and also because of the notable affection they displayed to other Devils.

To his surprise, he found out that Devils could reincarnate other races into... Devils, and even revive them somehow and make them their servants, although the word 'servant' didn't really imply what it truly meant. It was only used to state that said reincarnated Devil belonged to one's peerage. It was fantastic as this was far more advanced than any Necromancy spell he had seen during his travels that intended to bring people back from the dead.

They used some sort of magical system called Evil Pieces, which was composed of 16 chess pieces. It was fascinating to discover that this table game was played in this world, as it was played in Hyrule. Even the rules were similar. In his homeland, chess was a hobby for most nobles, including Zelda, the King... and even Link sometimes found it interesting.

Surprisingly enough, Link was the only one that could with a match against the princess.

Who would have thought? One worth-noting similarity between Hyrule and this world. 

As the kind Venelana had informed him, these pieces were granted to top-class Devils to increase their ranks as the Great War had taken the lives of most of their people. The Blue Satan was behind the creation of this magical system, its purpose, replenishing the number of Devils.

King was the Devil that controlled the peerage, and the other pieces were used to gather servants, each one of them giving these 'servants' some enhancements depending on the role of the piece used. Link didn't go in depth with this topic as it was an unrelated matter to him.

To his amusement, he heard some gossip from the servants of the manor, true servants as the word implied, about Rias Gremory's intention of making him, the Evil God, her servant, but found out that he was too powerful and that she lacked the pieces for that.

'Too powerful huh... they have no idea... not even me.'

Putting the Devils aside, he also learnt of the existence and nature of Dragons, about the Biblical God and his angels, the leaders of the fallen angels and their organization named Grigori.

However, none of this really helped him in the search for Dimentia's Warlock, and it wasn't really surprising if one considered that this being was an unknown body to this dimension as Link was. Well, at least he was familiarizing himself with the laws of this world.

Now, another subject that caught the interest of the Hylian Hero, though he found little about it, was the Sacred Gears. Some texts mentioned about the biblical God creating some sort of powerful artefacts that humans could be born with.

It was truly irksome finding a lack of details about these objects in the books he had read, and while Link continued to search for more information, he couldn't really find anything useful. Feeling dissatisfied, the otherworldly warrior used the Oni God to gather information from the Devils themselves inside the palace.

The countless servants were of great assistance, as they provided plenty of gossip about the Biblical God's artefacts, even informing some of the names of the people that actually possessed them. To his surprise, Link found out that there were Devils that could actually use them. An example was Sairaorg Bael, who apparently possessed a sacred gear called Regulus Nemea, said to be one of the most powerful sacred gears.

Such revelation made Link wonder if the Biblical God intended to create such weapons to be also used by the kind that was saw him as an enemy. There was something amiss about this, he could tell.

In all, he could admit that his time in the palace was well spent, though he still had plenty of books to read and research to be done.

Link rested his arms on the table's surface where a large amount of books were piled, crossing his fingers as he playfully closed one eye and observed the books with the other.

'Well, well... things are getting interesting...'

Suddenly, a sound was heard.

*Knock Knock*

Part 4

A gold-haired Hylian sighed... yet another interruption!

"My Lord," The always calm voice of Grayfia came through the door. "I have brought you dinner."

Link quickly glanced at the mask resting of the table's surface, a strange expression covering his face as he could sense something from the ominous object... and finally grabbed it.

o-0-O-0-o

"Again, I'm really sorry for this... development, my lord."

This was the fourth time Grayfia had apologized, and the Fierce Deity could haven't cared any less, but his current circumstances were quite ridiculous. If he wasn't wearing the mask, well, he would have twitched an eyebrow in irritation... probably... 

The Oni was sitting by the only table of the library, reading a book after eating the exquisite food brought by Grayfia as he ignored the irksome sounds emerging around him, at least, most of them. Giggles, chatter, and even shouts were the source of the unexpected commotion inside the library.

Thirteen girls, yes... thirteen girls were the ones responsible for the current situation.

When the Evil God opened the door, not before removing the spell of Nayru, he was not only greeted by the maid, but also by a considerably large group of women of varied ages. Even if he didn't ask for an explanation, Grayfia informed him that the fiancé of Rias Gremory had come to visit her now that she was staying in the palace during her vacation.

Rias apparently attended some sort of educational facility called School in this world, which Hyrule began to create four years ago to instruct the future Hylians. Link could recall his visit to the first one created in Castle Town, although they were called Academies. They not only taught basic knowledge of mathematics, politics and sciences, but also held two departments that took care of teaching alchemy and magic.

The King and Zelda knew very well that the investment in knowledge always paid with the best interest; that's why Hyrule was becoming a rather wealthy Kingdom, which supported other races such as the Gerudo to improve their way of life.

Back to the matter at hand, the group of females belonged to the peerage of the aforementioned fiancé, whose name was Riser Phenex from the house of Phenex. Link had never heard of him until now, and it really wasn't of his interest.

Now, the only doubt he had was...

Why was HIS peerage making a mess of his peaceful research? Was it intended? Maybe Riser heard of a mighty Evil God residing in the Gremory palace and took interest in him? But no, these girls were here on their own accord. That wasn't much better.

"It's my first time seeing an Evil God so close! He looks scary!" A short girl with green bright hair commented with joy, peeping at the face of the Oni, who just kept reading a book as if he was alone.

"You are right, Nel!" Another one responded, who was identical to the one that just spoke, most likely twins, those two.

"Hey, you two!" A well-endowed young woman with shoulder-length black hair and blue-green eyes reprimanded. "Stop pestering him! Remember that he could kill us in the blink of an eye."

That was... an undeniable truth...

Part 5

Xuelan, Rook of Riser's peerage, had tried to stop the troublesome pair from coming to the library after they heard that an unknown evil God was residing inside the Gremory Manor. She couldn't believe that her dear Master, Lord Riser, had allowed them to do whatever they pleased inside a clan's palace not his own. The Gremory members didn't seem bothered by this and had agreed to it as well.

So the first thing that Ile and Nel, both Pawns, had thought to do was to pay a visit to the Evil God, stating that they had never seen one. Without realizing it, every girl of the peerage, with the exception of Riser's new otherworldly Queen and one of his bishops, ended up following the annoying pair.

And now, Xuelan found herself inside the group that surrounded the silent deity, which surprisingly remained unperturbed by the ruckus around him.

The knight Karlamine and other rook Isabela, took a seat in both chairs in front of the God. One looked at him with a heavy blush while the other was examining him with a feral smirk. It was the first time Xuelan saw Karlamine with that dumb face... it was sorta funny.

"Honorable God!" The knight began, gulping before resuming her speech. "It's a great pleasure to meet a being that far exceeds us all. I would like to have your blessing!"

Xuelan's black hair, tied into two Chinese-style buns at both sides of her head bounced slightly as she was startled by the unexpected response that Karlamine received. What did the God do? He spared a glance at the knight and nodded to her slowly, as if giving Karlamine his blessing. No one expected that at all.

Xuelan raised a hand in surprise over her opened dark blue qipao with gold accents, which showed an imposing cleavage, accompanied with a white sash around her stomach to maintain her outfit in place.

"Thank you, honorable God!" The brown-haired girl that wore an odd armor beamed. "Thank you! I will be able to fight for my master without any fear or regrets!"

"Cut it out, Karlamine! He probably only did it to shut you up!" The Rook with orange hair and strange clothing growled.

Riser's other knight stood between both arguing women and glared at both of them. Siris was someone Xuelan would never make angry since... she was serious and certainly scary. While Karlamine was faster than her, each blow that Siris delivered was twice as stronger. She often punished those that started a fight inside the peerage without controlling her brutal strength.

For all Xuelan knew, Siris would have been a good rook due to her abnormal strength.

The rook and knight remained silent, while the other pawns continued to observe the God that simply resumed his reading, seemingly unaffected by the heated discussion from before.

"I better leave before anything happens," Marion, a pawn, said as she walked away, followed by two girls with cat ears. "Ni, Li, come with me."

"Alright-nya!" Li replied as she and Ni followed the other leaving pawn.

"I will leave, too. I have seen enough," Another pawn called Burent said and grabbed both green-haired girls by their hands, taking them out with her. "C'mon! Let's go!"

Ile and Nel could do nothing but let out shouts of protest as both were dragged by the Devil that looked like a maid. Soon, the pawn Shuriya simply followed after them.

"We disturbed the God enough," Riser's bishop, a black-haired girl that wore a purple kimono called Mihae, exclaimed with stoic eyes as Siris made both Karlamine and Isabella stand from their seats and walk to the entrance. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Grayfia-san. We never intended to cause a commotion inside the palace, much less disturb your important guest."

The Gremory maid responded in kind with a bow and a smile.

After that, the bishop, the two knights and the rook left the room, only remaining two girls from the peerage of Riser. Xuelan was one, while the other was the last pawn of the group, Mira, a blue-haired girl that wore a white coat under a white haori with a red sash around her hip.

"Mira?" Xuelan addressed the petite girl. "Why are you staying? We better return to Lord Riser's side. He gave us permission to wander around but he may need us by now."

"That annoying Queen is with him... and also Ravel-sama, so he must be fine."

"You think...?" The china girl folded her arms, tilting her head. "And you want to stay here?"

"Yes..." Was Mira's soft reply. "Besides..." Her eyes were directed to the silent God. "I want to ask him something."

Xuelan had to admit that would be a bold thing to do, to even dare to direct a word to an intimidating evil God that could kill them at a moment's notice. Although, she was curious as to what her friend wanted to ask... at least Grayfia was present in the room, so they were safe... she hoped.

Mira gave some shy steps and took a seat at the Oni's side. The white-haired man gave no response to her action as if he hadn't noticed her, or maybe didn't really care... Xuelan could tell that the God before them was cold and betrayed no emotion.

"G-God-sama!" She began, "P-please, I want t-to k-know something..." No response came from him, yet she still continued. "I-I want to know... how d-does it feel to be acknowledged as a p-powerful being...? How does it f-feel to be so powerful...?"

Xuelan blinked in shock while Mira kept an awfully expectant gaze on the evil God. The rook could understand her reasons for asking such a question as Mira was considered to be the weakest inside the peerage of her master, and the little girl never said a thing about it. Not even the tiniest complain or whine came from her. She usually only trained until exhaustion almost every day to improve and become a better servant to Riser Phenex.

"Mira..." The young Chinese woman dropped her gaze, unavoidably feeling pity for the girl. "That really hurt you, didn't it? When Lord Riser told us that you were the weakest, it really affected you, didn't it?"

Mira locked her gaze on the God, her teary eyes didn't even blink. She just waited for an answer, but Xuelan knew such would be a waste of time. It was to be expected actually since  that white-haired man was called evil for a reason, even if he was a God. The sobbing and suffering of anyone probably meant nothing to him.

The Evil God could even find it funny.

"Power is nothing if you lack wisdom and courage," The God turned his head slightly at her, his face as serious as ever. "You were wise to choose me as the one that would answer that doubt, and courageous enough to voice your doubts to me. Should your goal be to gain power, rest assured that it will come eventually now that you possess those two virtues."

Both Devils were speechless, as none of them truly expected him to speak, but he did, and it brought a bright smile to the young pawn. He wasn't that cold apparently...

"I-I see..." Mira lowered her gaze, her eyes darting between her legs. "Power is not all then... Those are remarkable words, which I will treasure..." She commented to herself. "I appreciate that God-sama used his time on hearing someone like myself... Thank you, God-sama!"

Xuelan's jaw almost dropped when the girl threw herself over the God and hugged him, yet he didn't react; his gaze remaining on the book in his hands. A short amount of time passed when Mira finally let go of him and wiped off the tears from her face. With that, the blue-haired girl smiled joyfully to the rook and left the room with happy steps.

The Maid of the Gremory clan had her eyes closed, sporting a stoic expression, which meant that even if something weird had just happened, she wouldn't comment or do anything about it. How serious was that woman?

Unbelievable? Totally. 

Xuelan couldn't believe what her friend did just some seconds ago, or the lack of reaction the Evil God gave after receiving a hug from Mira. She came up with the most viable explanation to what she had just witnessed. The God probably didn't even notice the hug or paid it no mind. It was most likely the latter.

The rook of Riser shook her head. To think about it wasn't going to help, much less when an unknown evil God was involved. There was simply no way to discern what he was thinking due to the emotionless expression he always carried.

"I'll return as well," Xuelan said to the maid, sparing a glance to the God. "My master probably needs me..."

The unexpected occurred.

"It's now my turn to make an inquiry."

The Rook blinked, even the maid did. The God rested both elbows on the table; his crossed fingers hid his mouth. The china girl felt a chill spread through her body as she could feel a strong pressure suffocating her by just staring at his piercing eyes.

"Eh? W-w-what?"

"Were you human once?" He asked bluntly.

A confused expression arose in her face, gulping as her response came out weakly.

"Y-yes..."

The grave, yet young voice of the God resounded once more in the room.

"Was death a reason for your reincarnation as a Devil?" The young woman shook her head timidly. The God darkened his expression, white hair now hiding his sharp gaze. "Was it by your own will? To become a Devil that is..."

Xuelan frowned visibly, stepping back in uncertainty. The blue fire's illumination only made the powerful being look even darker... frightening... evil. In all her life as a Devil, she had seen many unbelievable things alongside her new partners, friends, and her master, Riser Phenex; yet this was the first time she truly felt scared, her body didn't respond at all.

The Oni rose from the chair, turning towards the panicking woman. Even Grayfia narrowed her gaze, preparing herself for the worst.

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself..."

After his wise statement, silence reigned in the room for several seconds, in which both women calmed down. Even when the deity's posture looked terribly intimidating, she couldn't sense any danger coming from the Godly being. Eventually, Riser's rook replied.

"Yes... Lord Riser offered me the chance to become stronger, so I can protect what I hold dear to me. I was powerless, naive and inexperienced before I met him, but now that I am at his side, I will achieve my dreams... and also become someone he can rely on. That is why I chose to become a Devil."

Xuelan was loyal to her master, no matter what he asked or needed, she would give it to him. Whether it was her life, or her body, she would. Not just because she was in love with him, but to repay him for the opportunity he gave her. The chance to become strong and defend her dreams.

She was truly grateful to Riser Phenex.

So as expected, the God observed her in silence, his dark expression hardening slightly as he apparently mused about her reply. His sudden questions were noticeably odd, as if he was investigating h, which was...? Devils? Riser Phoenix? Her?

"Are you more happy being a Devil than a human?"

Xuelan didn't really have to think as she was totally sure of her answer.

"Yes, definitely."

Part 6

Her eyes showed resolution and truth, traits that most gazes lacked upon facing the evil deity, but the girl remained surprisingly courageous, if only because she had unconditional respect and trust for her master. Her eyes were similar to the ones that Mira, the girl that had unexpectedly hugged him, sported before leaving.

Becoming a Devil wasn't a curse apparently, he finally managed to confirm it. The black-haired girl's response cleared that doubt, and even made him rethink his opinion about the race that had offered him an apparent helping hand.

Devil... but not evil.

Human servants that were reincarnated as Devils seemed to be pleased with their current lifestyles. That much he noticed when living inside the palace. No one complained, quite the contrary in fact, as most reincarnated Devils looked happy. It was quite complicated.

Maybe becoming a Devil destroyed one's will? The desire to leave the master or to resist it, yet that thinking was discarded as humans chose to live as Devils for their own greed, whether it was to stop themselves from being weak or to accomplish their selfish goals.

The girl in front of him was the proof of that.

"Are you certain?" Oni Link stood up from the chair, and took a menacing step towards her. "Would you die in this very moment in the name of your master?"

The girl with odd buns became literally blue, stepping back in clear terror. White sharp eyes were focused on her, tightening slightly as he leaned towards the servant of Riser Phenex. The maid, seeing this, made no apparent move, yet her aura began to exude hostility, as if she was preparing to engage at him at any moment.

While Grayfia's capabilities as a combatant still remained unknown to him, he had heard that she was called the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation and the Strongest Queen, servant of Sirzechs Lucifer.

Queens were supposed to be the strongest pieces, not only in the chess game, but also as an evil piece, which granted the Devil several enhancements in speed, resistance, strength and magic power. She could be a mighty opponent worthy of notice.

The Oni's musings were interrupted by the voice of a new individual inside the library.

"Of course she would die for me, that's why I trust her."

The voice resounded in the larger library. A male voice, which held a confident undertone. The Fierce God looked over his shoulder at the source. Just a couple of meters away stood a small group, his expression hardening upon seeing them.

Rias Gremory was frowning, Himejima Akeno always carrying that startling smile, and in the middle, a tall man with short blonde hair and blue eyes observed him with amusement. The peerage of Riser was gathered behind the trio, with a new face among them. A girl with blond hair tied into twin-tails with large, drill-like curls, who sported a pink dress.

Fierce Deity's eyes fell on the confident Devil.

The man used a white dress shirt under a reddish opened blazer with matching pants; part of his chest was visible as the shirt was not fully buttoned. His face sported an arrogant smirk, his stance showed fearlessness. Fierce Deity Link could already imagine who he was.

"Lord Riser!" The girl called Xuelan cried out in surprise.

Riser Phenex, next head of the Phenex clan, glanced at his servant with kind eyes, as if he was trying to calm her down before directing his attention back to the evil God.

"I could be mistaken, God," The Devil neared him, his hands inside his pockets. "But are you threatening my lovely servant?"

While the God indeed wanted to intimidate her, he only did so to test her resolve. Oni Link could be mistaken, but he felt a hostile undertone in the Phenex heir directed at him, so he responded in kind.

"What if I am?" Turquoise energy began to gather around the God, creating a heavy atmosphere in the room. "Are you going to do something about it?" The Oni challenged with a cold grave tone. The mask's influence was slowly but surely altering his mind, as he already felt inclined to crush Riser due to his slightly evil aura.

On the other side, the blond man stiffened his posture and observed the God carefully. Riser's smirk was gone, now replaced by a serious expression, while the rest looked quite tense, though Rias was face palming and Akeno was smiling as always. Silence reigned the room for several minutes. Eventually, Grayfia spoke, standing between the Phoenix and the Ogre as some sort of mediator.

"I am sure that we wouldn't want to start a scuffle for such senseless reasons..." Without warning, the maid's presence became dark and mighty as she glared at Riser, who visibly flinched before quickly regaining his composure while the Oni God remained unimpressed. "Not to mention that the name of the Phenex clan could get tarnished if people heard that Lord Riser attacked a God who was currently a guest inside the Gremory Manor."

The Fierce Deity took note of the fear Riser showed for mere seconds. If the man in front of him was the next heir of one of the clans that represented the 72 pillars of their race, then it would obviously mean that he was a powerful being, Devil in this case. Yet, he was scared by the glare of the maid, ultimately proving that as the strongest queen, she was on a superior level.

She probably was a worthy opponent as the Demon Lord would be.

The energy surrounding the God faded and every person present relaxed.

"I agree..." Riser commented, a trail of sweat on his forehead, "I would rather avoid causing a mess inside my lovely Rias' home."

The Oni could tell the high-class Devil was just pretending to look brave and reasonable in front of the others, but his fear was there, buried under his burning aura. Link could sense the doubts creeping towards his apparent ego, which modified his stance as if wary of future danger.

"I assume you are all leaving..." The God crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze. "I have lost too much time with this nonsense."

"H-how dare you speak to us in such manner!?" The blond girl with twin tails fumed in indignation. "Whether you're a God or not, I won't tolerate such disrespect directed at me and my brother!"

The maid stepped up to the angry girl, "Lady Ravel, please calm down. I'm positive that our guest meant no offense to you or anyone inside this room. His research was interrupted by us, so it's only normal that he would like to return to the task at hand."

"Miss Grayfia, he's practically kicking us out of the library! Who does he think he is!?"

And like that, the tantrum of Ravel continued, Akeno giggling in amusement as Rias couldn't help sighing. The redhead waited all this time for a ruckus to erupt due to the presence of the evil God residing inside the manor, and hell, it took longer than she had expected. Surprisingly, it wasn't caused by the God himself but by the peerage of her forced fiancé.

"Grayfia is right. We should return to the hall. Otou-sama must be waiting," Rias spun around, her crimson hair flowing beautifully as she neared the entrance. "Riser, I don't need you creating trouble inside my house. Refrain from picking a fight with every man and boy that comes near me," She stopped by the door, folding her arms. "If you continue to pester me, or our guest, I will break the engagement without any consideration."

Most members of the peerage of Riser waited for their master's order, which came in the form of a simple nod. The girls acknowledged it and left after Rias and her queen, Akeno, who were waiting outside the library. Little Mira followed the order hesitantly while Xuelan spared one last glance at the immobile God before leaving the room. The girl with twin tails stood by the side of the Phoenix's heir.

"Big brother..." Ravel called out weakly. "Are we really...?"

"If my lovely Rias desires this, then I can't oppose her will. Besides, we still have a pending dinner with Lord Gremory," Riser said casually, disregarding the dark presence, or at least pretending to. "Nero-chan is becoming impatient, too. She probably wants another rating game to show off again. That girl, really..."

The Phenex Clan's heir chuckled while Ravel frowned. It was odd to her that Riser would allow such behavior directed not only at his peerage, but at him as well, considering how proud her brother was. Maybe he was right about not wanting to cause trouble for his future wife. Yet, it annoyed her to no end. She had to admit though that behind the facade of indignation she displayed towards the unknown God, there was a sense of fear unlike anything she had felt before.

To her, there was simply something really, really wrong with the intimidating man with marks on his face. But it wasn't like she would show her true feelings, considering that she wasn't only a bishop of Riser Phenex, but his little sister as well. With a name both had to carry proudly, showing fear wasn't an option.

"As you wish big brother..." Ravel finally accepted.

The bishop left the room and waited outside, leaving only the Phoenix, the Ogre, and the maid remaining in the library. Grayfia subtly glanced at both men as both glared at each other in silence... There was something more than met the eye between them apparently.

"Whatever reason you may have for residing here, I'm still going to warn you: Rias is mine and only mine," Riser growled, his confident face gone, replaced by a dark expression. "I am the Phoenix of myths. I am immortal, and I don't fear you, dark God. For the sake of my lovely fiancé, I'm gonna let your words be ignored for today, but hear me well. I will crush you if you stand in my way."

This moment would be one of the very few times that Grayfia would become surprised. After all, the Dark God smirked ferociously. In all the time she had known him, he had never shown any sort of facial expression besides the lingering emotionless face the God always sported, yet he had now this intimidating smile that had not only unsettled her, but also, one that had made Riser Phenex flinch.

"When the times comes, Devil..." Oni Link said darkly and turned around, sitting back down to resume his reading.

Riser Phenex felt like retorting, but the maid shook her head. Even if he said anything, it wouldn't make a difference now; however, the high class Devil walked to the entrance and couldn't stop himself from having the last word.

"Until we meet again, God."

Part 7

Some days passed since the events inside the Gremory manor's library. Surprisingly enough, Link had managed to keep his true identity hidden from the Devils despite the continuous visits from the three members of Riser's peerage, Xuelan, Mira and Karlamine. Apparently, the reason for their troublesome visits was because Riser had ordered them to keep an eye on him.

While that should have remained a secret from the masked Hylian, the knight of Riser Phenex had revealed it to him because she apparently respected the God for... reasons he had yet to discover. Link admitted that she was a weird girl that showed a twisted sense of honor towards her master... and now him.

All they did was talk about local gossips, other Devils, and mostly, Riser Phenex, which didn't come as a surprise. It was hard to believe how the trio adored that man to an extent where they would allow him to kiss them, touch them... amongst other things. Even with the God present during their chatter, they would simply talk about how much they loved their master and such, though Xuelan in particular, looked a bit reluctant sometimes.

Of course, when Link wore the Oni's Mask, these kinds of things became unimportant and he never gave them further thought, as the mask simply dismissed such unnecessary thoughts from his mind.

A subject of interest eventually emerged during their conversations; one that seemed of importance inside the Devil Society.

The Rating Games, which happened to be a competition among Devils with a peerage, used to measure the power of a Devil that would ultimately reflect their social status in the Underworld. If one won more games, then one's status and popularity would increase among the Devils. That much he knew about it, and so far, the only subject of interest brought by them.

Having no choice but to withstand their frequents visits, the so-called evil God continued to ignore them. One day, the little blue-haired pawn, Mira, suddenly asked him a question, one that by this point was important to address and Link hoped it would clear the matter once and for all.

"Are you really evil?"

While Mira had asked it, Karlamine and Xuelan looked as awfully expectant at the girl in question. The response to that inquiry came after several seconds.

"I'm only evil to those that are evil," Was his reply. He then resumed his reading.

Before anything more could be said, a magic circle appeared on the ground near the table, Sirzechs emerging from it alongside Grayfia.

"For my part, I think he certainly isn't," The Satan commented, walking towards them. The girls instantly stood up and knelt before the Demon Lord, but he raised a hand to stop them. "Don't worry, return to your seats please," He took a chair in front of the God while the silver-haired maid stood behind him. "So as I was saying, his powers aren't holy, yet divine. Not demonic, yet dark. He's a God, but not like the biblical God," Xuelan bowed, seeking permission to talk, "Yes?"

"Maou, ehrm..." She hesitated, but still voiced her inquiry. "Is he like the Norse Gods? Or one of them actually?"

Sirzechs eyed the white-haired man that had kept his attention on the large black book in his hands while disregarding even his presence in the room. It brought a tiny smile to his lips, yet he couldn't tell why. Maybe it was because someone didn't fear him or gave no regard to him as everyone else did, which honestly was a refreshing change.

"I couldn't tell before, but I contacted the chief of the Gods of Asgard, Odin," He explained in a way that was meant for unknown God. Their guest probably ignored the existence of other Gods like him... probably, "And he was positive that our notable guest wasn't one of their own."

Link engraved in his mind the information revealed. He hadn't read, at least not yet, much about other Gods existing besides the biblical one, yet he could recall a text in which was mentioned the Nine worlds of Norse Cosmology, one of them being Asgard where the main pantheon resided. Link hypothesized that these nine worlds probably existed in a dimension apart from the Underworld and Human World, but still inside this reality.

Time, world and dimension travelling was quite a complicated subject indeed.

"Then from where does he come from...?" Sirzechs asked to himself, six pair of eyes focused on him, "While we initially thought that he was a God of another mythology, I have used my influence and contacts to discern about his origins," The trio nodded, already knowing that the Demon Lord had offered the unknown God to help him recover his lost memories.

Link wondered why was the Crimson Satan revealing his findings to the servants of another family, but realized that it was a show of loyalty and trust to the clan that would be united with them after Rias Gremory and Riser Phoenix had married. It was interesting, the way Sirzechs had chosen to explain to the God about his research whilst also informing the trio.

"He doesn't belong to neither the Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Greek, or Norse mythologies," The servants of Riser widened their eyes. "Not even from the Japanese, Irish or Chinese folklore. That's a given."

Xuelan, unlike Mira and Karlamine, was stunned by the revelation. This could only mean that the deity beside them was an unknown element to their reality that shared similar traits to certain Gods from their dimension. One time, Lord Phenex had mentioned that beyond the boundaries of their reality, existed an endless quantity of worlds separated from each other by timelines and such.

Even after hearing the explanation, it didn't make much sense to her.

"S-so he comes from an u-unknown religion or mythology, Maou?" Mira asked shyly.

Sirzechs glanced at the trio, but his eyes remained on Xuelan mostly. He noticed her different reaction, realizing that the rook may have been the only one that truly grasped the meaning of his speech. He was secretly impressed that she wasn't as naive as the other two were.

"In a way, yes..."

Xuelan knew his response was the truth. The mythological origin from the God was most likely unknown because he came from a different reality, which meant that they knew nothing about him. It was both frightening and incredible.

The trio couldn't help staring in awe at the foreign being in question that far exceeded their comprehension.

"In conclusion, I can determine that our distinguished guest possesses dark powers, which are not of the fallen or Devil nature. Divine but not angelic," Sirzechs elaborated, as he had with her family some hours ago. "The only remaining question is... How can I attest that he is not evil if I have no knowledge of what he is? What proof do I have that he is not just waiting for the right moment to slaughter us all?"

Oni Link directed his gaze to the Crimson Satan, finally acknowledging his presence. Depending on what was going to be said, the fierce deity was ready to fight his way out of the palace should his cover had been blown. Even if they had treated him well thus far, his true form may not be as welcomed as the Godly form.

"Honestly, I have none," He drawled, smiling weakly as he now looked at him. "Yet, despite your dark presence and apparent cold personality, you have displayed good will towards my family. You accompanied my mother multiple times when she felt alone, even if no words were exchanged. You have followed my boy every time he left the manor to protect him by your own accord. Don't deny it, as I always keep an eye on him and I have always seen you around every time."

It was true. His research was solely interrupted when the naive son of the Demon Lord, Millicas Gremory, left the manor to play with his friends. Now that Grayfia had become some sort of personal maid to the God and she was always attentive to him, though it was just probably to keep him in check, Link, more exactly, the Fierce God, felt he had the obligation watch over the kid, which happened to be the son of the strongest queen, to repay for all her help.

Lately, several rumors mentioned that noble young Devils were being kidnapped by an unknown faction. An attempt of kidnapping Milicas could occur, but not on his watch.

On a side note, as he made himself knowledgeable about the devil society, he came to know that Devils like Lord Gremory and Riser Phenex possessed these so-called harems, a term Link had heard in certain places which involved a sphere of women inside a polygamous household most of the time. An example was the peerage of the Phenex third son, where almost every girl was attached to him romantically as the God had seen in the past few days.

What was more ridiculous was the fact that they approved of Riser having a romantic relationship with each one of them simultaneously. Honestly Link found all these senseless, wondering if such kind of polygamous love could even work, or exist, yet the fact that Venelana revealed to him that she managed the harem of her own husband, confirmed that maybe in this reality, such was normal. Maybe devils had another type of ideology when it came to love matters. 

This subject could have made Link drop his jaw in incredulity, yet, with the mask on, he disregarded the fact completely, but only until he removed the mask and his train of thought returned to normal.

The Fierce Deity removed the unnecessary thoughts from his mind, focusing once more on the Demon Lord.

"Not to mention how highly Ria-tan speaks of you..." Sirzechs glanced around before his gaze returned to the God. "I think we can stop calling you evil God, right?" He stood from the chair, giving some steps around the table were the group was gathered, "More fitting would be... Dark God, don't you agree?"

Mira nodded, Karlamine rose a fist upward in joy, all while Xuelan looked at the Dark God from the corner of her eye.

'Hmm... that sounds more appropriate.'

Part 8

"What do you intend to do by bringing me here, Devil?"

The Fierce Deity asked in suspicion to the Blue Satan, Ajuka Beelzebub, who stood by his side with a bored expression, both in front of a large monument in an unknown location inside the Demon Lord Castle. The former member of the Astaroth clan had green slicked hair, blue eyes, and wore a long robe, white on the torso and green on the lower half starting from the gold marks on the hip. Over it, he used a green cape that covered the entirety of his body.

The Blue Satan, also chief advisor of the Technology department of the Underworld, snorted, "You make it sound like I kidnapped you or something," He glanced at him and moved towards the monument. It resembled a majestic man holding a sceptre in the left hand and a book in the other, and finally, a crown rested over the head. "I have been doing some experiments lately and I will need your help this time," He turned to the dark God. "You see, I sensed something odd when we first met some days ago. Sirzechs told me you were a God, and your aura did emanated divinity, but of a dark origin."

Narrowing his white sharp eyes, the Fierce Deity gave turned to him, "I have heard that countless times," The God noticed a strange energy coming from the monument, but otherwise ignored it. "What is it now?"

"Straight to the point, are we?" Ajuka smirked, amused by his sharpness. "So be it," He motioned a hand towards the monument. "Please, touch the monument."

Fierce Deity Link darkened his gaze, trying to figure him out, "For what purpose?" He neared the monument and inspected it with keen eyes. "I sense something powerful coming from this statue... what is going to happen should I touch it?"

"Nothing should occur as you aren't a Devil," Ajuka elaborated, looking unsure of his words. "Yet, my gut tells me there is something about you that doesn't piece together. This is just a test to confirm my doubts, and I hope you don't find aiding me troublesome."

Without further warning, the God put a hand on the monument's surface, a red light covering the big statue. Ajuka, startled, observed carefully the odd event that was occurring just before him. The God on the other side readied himself for battle should it be necessary.

The red light soon was absorbed by turquoise energy that came from the God, enveloping the entire monument for mere seconds before banishing. For a second, the fierce deity felt a surge of power emerging from his body, but it faded almost instantly. After the occurrence ended, the Fierce Deity shot the Satan an inquisitive stare.

"Impossible..." Ajuka muttered quietly, "You have just been registered as a King..."

"Explain yourself Devil," The god's icy voice commanded.

Ajuka suspected something fishy about the unknown God as there was no knowledge whatsoever of him in any text recorded across history. No connection to any faction, mythology or religion. He was a divine deity, no doubt about that, yet, as one, there was no way that he should be able to become a Devil due to his status as a God. However, Sirzechs had discovered that the God could become a Devil using a large amount of different evil pieces, which to begin with Ajuka thought was impossible.

This dark God ignored the laws of the world for some reason.

This was the starting point to his suspicion towards the unknown entity. What kind of God could become a Devil? Even if they concluded that he came from a different dimension, not related to any of the existing worlds of this reality, that didn't change the fact that the evil pieces Ajuka Beelzebub created were incapable of reincarnating Gods, Buddhas and the Dragon God into Devils.

So the question that would most likely address and solve this matter was: Was he truly a God?

Despite the traits that proved he was a dark divine being, the sole reason on why Ajuka began to doubt was because the God showed that he was capable of reincarnating as a Devil. This would mean that he wasn't a God, then... what was he in truth? In that exact moment, realization hit him, the Blue Satan recalled something he haven't considered before.

"First, it seems your Godly power had distorted the magic of the monument I created," Ajuka replied offhandedly, examining any notable change in the large statue. "I made this Evil piece system to work with Devils, and only Devils, yet..." His attention shifted to the dark God. "With just touching it, the magical runes I put on it were altered, allowing yourself to be registered as King. I have never seen something like this."

"Call me weird, but I am certainly not your usual Dark God. If altering your own magic with mine is worth of notice, then I am not impressed," The white-haired god replied curtly. "Show me the moon and I shall give you something to think about for months..."

Ajuka changed his stance to one more worthy of a Devil of his caliber. The moon he mentioned... it made Ajuka think that maybe his dark powers were related to the moon as there was a crescent moon drawn over the God's chest armor. Did he draw power from Earth's only natural satellite? However, the blue Satan quickly discarded that assumption due to a simple reason.

They were in the Underworld, and the moon that floated in the sky was artificially created by magic in order to give reincarnated humans a sense of time. The God released a massive amount of energy according to Sirzechs when he faced a Devil from the Barbatos Clan, which proved that he didn't need the moon to gather his own powers.

"I would rather avoid any further demonstration of your Godly capabilities," Ajuka chuckled slightly, "As much as I would like to see them, there're more important matters at hand. Such as the reason on why you have become a King."

"You said that I altered the runes of the monument," The Fierce Deity growled. "That is most likely the reason."

The Satan smirked, facing the God and raising a hand that subsequently emitted a blue glow. At the same time, an enormous magic circle surrounded them, causing the God to become wary. Before he could even blink, intense light covered his sight and was left with no option than to prepare for combat, the Double Helix sword materializing on his back.

The intense light faded, only to show him that they weren't inside the Castle anymore.

The new place was a large rocky field, some mountains were visible at the distance and the sky was purple. This was Ajuka's own dimension, or a world created by him to develop and test his experiments and new technology, in case it was of a massive destructive nature.

The ground crumbled beneath the God's feet, turquoise aura concentrating on the sword that he gripped with one hand. The Satan simply smiled, as if challenging him. The Fierce Deity had been transported to another location by work of the magic circle of Ajuka, who seemed to know more than he was letting on despite the surprise he sported before.

"This isn't a trap, if that's what you're thinking," Ajuka spoke casually despite the aggressive stance of the God. "I can't allow anyone to witness what I'm going to say next as it'd certainly compromise your safety and trust in the palace."

The Dark God gave no response, no change on his face or body, yet his aura was becoming stronger and expanding.

"All I want is to uncover the truth," Ajuka continued, unaffected by the growing pressure on his surroundings. "I can tell that you're lying to us. Even if Sirzechs fails to see it, I'm completely sure that you haven't lost your memories."

The dark god pulled the sword from his back and pointed it at him, a gust of wind created by his sudden movement.

"State your business, Devil."

Ajuka wasn't intimidated. To the contrary, he was fascinated. The sword threatening his life emanated massive pulses of divine energy as an abnormal amount of power concentrated in the weapon within mere seconds. It's shape was like nothing he had seen before, and while it didn't look like a holy sword, it certainly wasn't a demonic sword either.

It was as if the blade was created in the likeness of the wielder, as it even appeared to compliment the God perfectly.

"Then it's time to address my second point," With a severe expression, the green-haired man began. "The Runes have indeed been altered, but it was only a tiny, yet noticeable modification. The filter for 'only Devils' have been changed to 'Devils and... Terminians'."

Ajuka noticed a slight movement on the stance of the God upon the revelation. So far, it seemed that he was following the right trail.

"So I wonder, what is a Terminian?" Ajuka asked to himself, yet loudly enough for the dark God to hear. "Another race? Your race?" A brief glance was directed to the silent God as he gave some steps around. "That term is foreign without a doubt, confirming that you, nameless God, are a being from another reality. However, I can't assume that Terminian is a race, mythology or religion yet."

The Fierce God tightened his piercing gaze. This Satan was different from the Demon Lord, he was too damn clever. Being transported to Ajuka's own dimension wasn't the real trap, but the King Monument itself, he had just realized as the altered runes revealed true information about the Fierce Deity's Mask. Despite saying that he'd never seen anything like it, the Blue Satan never showed any surprise on his features. The fact that Ajuka now knew the word Terminian proved that he was close to finding the truth about Link's true nature.

"This doesn't change the fact that Gods can't become Devils. So I came with a possible explanation for this odd occurrence," Ajuka breathed deeply before turning to Fierce Deity Link. "Any being that isn't a God or a Buddha can become a Devil, but the number of pieces needed to reincarnate one into a Devil changes depending on the power residing in the being in question," He folded his arms inside the cape as he elaborated. "Therefore, beings that wield great powers need more evil pieces in order to be reincarnated."

"Your point..." The grave voice of the God sounded menacingly.

"What if an individual managed to wield the power of a God through certain methods?" Ajuka put on a thoughtful expression, "I assume you have heard of the sacred gears, haven't you?" There was no apparent response from the Dark God so he continued. "What if there was some sort of object that would grant you such abilities?"

The Blue Satan's broadmindedness was dangerous. How could he have thought about all of this? It was as if the man was solving a puzzle out of simple facts that were laws on this reality. It truly made sense, yet it was absurd that he came to this conclusion with so little information.

"For all I know, you could be a mere human using an object that made such possible, as if to become a God temporarily," Ajuka smiled evilly. "What say you?"

The Fierce Deity darkened his gaze and without further warning, unleashed a large pulse of turquoise energy with a slash, which travelled at an absurd speed towards the Satan. The ground split wide open as the projectile advanced, but Ajuka was prepared for it.

Summoning a green magic barrier, the pure-blooded Devil waited until dark divine magic crashed with his defensive spell. A massive sonic pulse was created upon impact, making Ajuka jump back to regain his balance, amazed by the sheer power of the God's attack.

Ajuka stood still, widening his eyes in shock as he soon realized a close presence. The God stood in all its fierce glory behind him with a dark expression as he raised a hand to him. Turquoise fire exploded in the area before the God, but it didn't graze the Devil as he had teleported to a safe spot.

"Pretty sensitive, aren't you?" Ajuka joked, "You don't have to resort to violence. I won't reveal my findings to anyone, unless you prove to be an enemy to us Devils."

Turquoise crystal walls appeared at every side of the Blue Satan, and began to encase him inside. The dark God approached the crystal prison and touched the frontal wall, "Then I'm going to need some answers."

"Go ahead... It's not like I can go anywhere," Ajuka replied, amazed by the spell trapping him. Every wall emanated incredible power, thus an effort on his part would be needed in order to break it despite his rank as a Satan. "Just one thing I need to make clear. I'm NOT your enemy."

"I will reach my own conclusions, Devil, when we are done."

"So be it."

Ajuka Beelzebub had discovered everything in mere seconds, leaving Link, or Fierce Deity Link, with only two options. One, kill the bastard that could uncover his true identity, or two, see what he had to say and possibly trust him, but the latter required a bit of investigating first.

Link wasn't a man that would kill without considering the consequences, nor a man that sought the easiest way to handle an evil individual, whatever their race. Nevertheless, he had learnt the hard way that sometimes such was necessary for the greater good and safety of innocent people. Not only was this dimension at stake, but all others.

Ajuka Beelzebub was proving to be evil, and possibly an obstacle to his quest. Maybe it was because of the mask's darkness, but the thought of splitting his face in two seemed to be the righteous course of action to take. The interrogation came first though.

"Can humans arrive to the Underworld?"

"That's an easy one," Ajuka chuckled. "It depends," He crossed his arms. "Normal humans that are unaware of the supernatural can't by any means reach the Underworld, while those with sacred gears and also those that are affiliated with another faction may come here but are treated as part of their own," He blinked upon recalling something. "Oh, I was forgetting about magicians..."

"Humans that are not servants of any Devil could be considered hostile by your kind?"

Ajuka frowned, "We don't consider them our enemies because as you probably know by now, we depend on them. The Evil piece system I created works mostly with humans so we can replenish the number of Devils we lost in the Great War," He elaborated. "We, Devils, also make contracts with them where we fulfill their wishes in exchange for their soul."

The Fierce Deity, also referred as the 'Oni', raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"It's not what you think. We only say that to see if the human's greed is high enough for us to make contracts with them. Contracting is more of a tradition if anything else. We may also earn points by contracting humans with great power inside their society and improve our ranking."

"Something that you do not have to do because you already are an ultimate-class Devil, is it not?" Ajuka shrugged his shoulders, "What about the humans that serve the church and the fallen?"

"They're our enemies, but the last thing we need is another war breaking out," Ajuka responded, seriousness covering his face, "That's why the three factions try to control their people, humans or not, to avoid any sort of confrontation."

Politics, not only in the Realm of Hyrule were crucial to achieve stability among all races and kingdoms, but it was of great importance in other worlds, such as this one. After the Great War ended, the transient balance and peace between the three factions returned, but the state of conflict remained. Since then, the leaders of each faction had striven to avoid any incident that could cause new warfare from emerging by deliberately not interfering with one another's business.

"What about..." The prison surrounding Ajuka was dispelled, yet more crystal walls appeared, this time covering both of them. A decision had been made in that exact moment as the Dark God raised a hand to his own face.

Ajuka Beelzebub had seen many things in his long life as a Devil and Satan, his hobby as a researcher had taken him to explore and discover new definitions of life, the existence of unbelievable beings and magical objects no one had ever imagined. He had witnessed rare phenomena and the impossible that certain beings were capable of doing, but in the end, it would be in this moment that he would become truly shocked after so many years despite that he had already figured out the truth behind the otherworldly God.

A blue aura appeared on the face of the God as his right hand seemed to... pull out his own face? The turquoise crystal walls became blue, light covered the God's body briefly until it died down, revealing to Ajuka a new figure; a green-clad blond-haired man that held in his right hand the face of the Dark God that had lived with the Gremory for more than two months.

"...What about me? Am I an enemy to you, Devils?" Link asked with a sharp tone, smirking.

"So it was as I expected, you aren't truly a God but someone that uses the power of one..." The Blue Satan observed the item on the blonde's hand. "A Mask...? The power of a God resides in it, unbelievable..."

Was this some sort of Sacred Gear? No, rare sacred gears granted inconceivable power to their wielders, some to the point that even the whole human world could be destroyed by them, yet none reached Godly capabilities such as the one displayed to the Satan just some minutes ago.

"I assume that your lack of memories was indeed a lie," Ajuka spoke; his voice had an edge Link could easily sense. "Who are you?"

"The name is Link," He answered. "The God did not lie when he said that he was not from this dimension, nor am I..." The man in green adjusted one of his finger-less gloves. "...and yes, I guess I lied about that," Chuckling, he admitted without a care in the world. "What are you going to do about it?"

Ajuka noticed his pointed ears, concluding that he wasn't a human. The God displayed big canines, yet the current form had normal teeth, so he couldn't be a vampire either. Then what the hell was he?

"Nothing for now..." Was his short reply, "Let's chat a bit more...?" The Devil clapped both hands twice as two chairs suddenly popped out of the ground, one in front of the other, "Have a seat."

Raising an eyebrow, Link reluctantly sat on the comfy chair, similar to the ones in the Gremory Manor. He expected another reaction from the Satan, yet he simply wanted to talk after such a revelation? The Devil had this strange aura that made Link feel uneasy, and it became more noticeable now that he was out of the mask's influence. He had to be very careful.

"You aren't a God, so are you a vampire?" Ajuka sought confirmation before proceeding with his main inquiries. The blonde shook his head in response. "Are you a human then?"

"That's a complicated question, considering that both of us may have different definitions of human," Link put on a thoughtful expression, resting his back on the furniture. "In my book, human is called to the being that looks like a human, whether we show different traits on our anatomy."

"In those traits are included pointed-ears?"

The otherworldly traveller put a hand on his chin, musing in silence for a bit, "Yes... my race is called Hylian, my birth country is called Hyrule," Link revealed, noticing the obvious interest on the Satan. "Those who are not related, or have no connection to the Goddess of our world have round ears, such as you. However, we are still considered humans despite our physical differences."

"So every... Hylian..." Link nodded in approval at the words of the Satan,"...has pointed ears?" Another nod came as a response, "I see..." Ajuka muttered. "You mentioned a Goddess, is it related to the dark God?"

"Hylia, founder of my Kingdom, has no connection to the deity residing in the mask," Link explained, not feeling the least afraid of revealing information of his world for some reason. "In fact, the God you have seen comes from a parallel world to my own."

If the Devil was confused before, then now he was totally lost. Link could see it on his face as the Satan tried to put all the pieces together, resulting in failure. That didn't matter though.

"I'm a traveller, and certain circumstances have led me here. I have a quest to accomplish in this reality, given that if I fail, not only this world will perish, but also mine," Ajuka was about to speak, yet Link continued. "I mean no harm to your people; on the contrary, I want to help you."

"Why not show to us your true self?"

"I was not sure if my current form would be welcomed by your kind. That is the reason I used the Fierce Deity Mask in my possession to not only defeat the Devil of Barbatos, but to conceal my true form," Link rested his arms over his legs. "I didn't plan it though, as I originally only thought of using the God's power to defeat Kasgor, but the reactions that your fellow Devils displayed to me made me rethink my situation. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was a Dark God under the protection of the Gremory clan."

Ajuka admitted it was a clever move, granted, he would have done the same if he was in his shoes. Being in a new world unknown to oneself, it was only logical that he would try to blend in to avoid trouble.

"So you came to save our world? From who exactly?"

"I can't really tell. He is a Warlock from a certain organization, who's trying to corrupt this reality, thus bringing chaos and destruction. How, I don't know," He confessed bitterly. "I don't even know how he looks like or where to find him."

"This is hard to believe..." Ajuka was a bit sceptical, "Then again..." He chuckled, "So how did you end up in the Underworld?"

Link's demeanour was covered with boredom, "A Dragon that called itself Great Red sent me from the Dimensional gap to the Underworld, also acknowledging my task."

"...You met the True Dragon?" A shocked expression soon rose on the Devil's face, "Now that is something I wouldn't believe..." Ajuka lowered his gaze and gathered his thoughts. "Yet that convinced me that your words are true," He surprisingly conceded, "Not many people know about the True Dragon, yet you know its name despite that you don't belong here."

The blonde Hylian nodded, smiling, "Proof enough, I imagine."

"In fact, yeah..."

Part 9

An unknown amount of time had passed since both the Hylian and Devil began their discussion, both learning quite a bit of their respective races. Ajuka had explained all about Gods and other divine beings that existed in this reality, the importance of the sacred gears, their types and origins. History events of great relevance had been further elaborated with the purpose of making Link understand the delicate balance between the three factions.

The green-haired Devil stated that in a book created by the Angel's followers were recorded important passages of the Great War's past called the Bible. As Devils, they couldn't lay a finger on any of these texts due to the holiness that was imbued in them, which was hurtful to not only their kind but also to the Fallens. This was the reason on why Ajuka couldn't provide much information about the celestial people. 

It also seemed that the Bible held the teachings of the Biblical God.

Link also learnt from him how the Evil piece system worked, the advantages it brought to Devils, the abilities granted by each kind of piece, in all, the Satan explained how Devils gathered servants and increased their peerage.

Another subject that was addressed was how Rating Games worked, their rules and specifications, the ranking system of the Underworld and the advantages that brought the game to the participating Devils.

For his part, Link told Ajuka about his homeland, the Goddesses of his world, about the Lost Woods that held countless entrances to other realities, about the Conclave of Dimentia and the quest bestowed to him. Link omitted details such as who he was inside his world, only stating that he was a traveller that searched for magical artefacts, like a treasure hunter of sorts.

Ajuka asked many questions about the Dark God's mask, and Link revealed to him everything he knew about it, which to begin with was little. However, the Hero omitted certain facts such as how he obtained it, where he had gotten it, and most importantly, Link didn't mention the Majora's Mask.

To be more concise, Link had only told Ajuka about his world, but barely anything about himself, as the Devil or anyone else could use that information against him. After all, discretion was the better part of valor.

As of now, there was one more matter to be addressed before proceeding to the next course of action. An inquiry made by Link to the Blue Satan that would decide the PATH that would lead him to accomplish his destiny.

"What is going to happen now that you know the truth?"

Ajuka didn't respond immediately, in fact, he took several seconds to give a proper reply. The green-haired Devil relaxed his body over the chair, examining the stoic man sitting in the chair in front of him. By all means, the otherworldly traveller was good, his aura exuded that. Ajuka could sense a heroic spirit on the blonde Hylian, a brave one, whose eyes never showed fear and doubt, whose body language displayed confidence and determination.

The man in front of him was a Hero, and while he didn't reveal much about his persona, Ajuka knew he was an experienced and smart warrior that had survived many hardships in his life. The sole reason of adventuring into a reality not his own with the goal of stopping a great catastrophe that would befall on all existing dimensions was the indisputable proof that he was beyond being a mere human or in his case, Hylian.

Link was a force of pure good, so Ajuka decided that he would trust and aid the traveller in any way he could. Not just because he wanted to save all the worlds, but to show him that Devils could be trusted by humans. He had noticed during their chat that Link displayed distrust to all Devils inside the Gremory Palace, despite living with them for more than two months.

"I will do nothing," Ajuka began. "You're a Dark God that resides temporarily in the Gremory household," The Devil answered with conviction. "I won't reveal any word of this conversation to anyone, unless you tell me to. This is the promise I make in the name of my former clan, Astaroth, and in the name of my current title of Satan, Beelzebub."

"Thank you," Link nodded to him, rising from the chair. "Then we have a deal."

"Yes, we have a deal," Ajuka stood up as well and offered him a hand, which was accepted. "This will be the beginning of our partnership, Mister Link. I will use all of my resources should you require any assistance. I do hope we manage to find Dimentia's Warlock and stop him before it's too late."

The Hero of Time smirked.

o-0-O-0-o

After returning to the room where the King statue was located, not before Link put the Ogre mask back on, the Blue Satan had informed him that Link would only be able to use the Evil Piece system while he was transformed into the Avatar of the Dark God. Ajuka also offered him the chessboard with fourteen pieces, which Link tried to reject, but upon insistence of the Devil, Link accepted reluctantly.

"Listen Ajuka, I amm not planning on creating any ties inside this reality with anyone or have servants. I will only keep these pieces under my care until my task is done," The Oni spoke sharply, covering all the pieces with Nayru's Love spell, enhanced by the dark powers of the mask.

"I knew you would say that, but have this in mind. These pieces can bring people back to life," Link recalled reading something like that some days ago. Ajuka added, "I'm not telling you to have a peerage as you seem to be a solo player, but having people to support you is always a good thing to have."

"I will not consider it."

Ajuka could only chuckle at the God's blunt response, wondering if Link would have said the same. There was a high contrast between the Hero and the Dark God, as one seemed to be a kind, brave and composed man while the God was emotionless, blunt  and fearsome. It should be mentioned that the Satan sensed holy divine energy coming from his true form.

"I will leave the Underworld," The Oni God said suddenly. "I have learnt enough from this place."

"Somehow I expected that," Ajuka commented, observing the King statue. "Are you going to say good-bye? I heard you have captured the interest of many female Devils inside the palace, such as the maids that cook for you, some of the servants of Riser Phoenix... I even heard that Venelana and Grayfia have taken a liking to you."

"They serve no purpose in my quest, so that's irrelevant."

"As cold as ice," Ajuka commented playfully. "You're kind of similar to Serafall when she is extremely angry," The Oni noticed Ajuka's nervous expression as he muttered. "I hope I never have to see her like that again."

"You mean the Pink Satan, Serafall Leviathan?" The God inquired, recalling that she was considered the ultimate female Devil.

Ajuka blinked, regaining his dignified stance, "Yes, but let's forget about that. I assume you have some preparations to make before departing, yes?"

"Indeed... I will depart in four days," With that, a new magic circle was formed beneath them, both disappearing from the Demon Lord Castle.

Part 10

Today, many high-class Devils were gathered in the Gremory manor for the celebration of Millicas Gremory's birthday. The party organized by Grayfia was held in the palace to not only celebrate her son, but also for political reasons. It was to maintain contact with the other Devil clans.

As expected of a high-class social gathering, every guest was dressed formally.

Riser Phoenix and his peerage were present along with Sairaorg Bael, Seekvaira Agares, Diodora Astaroth and many other high-class Devils from the remaining 72 pillars. The Oni could sense various powerful auras around him, determining which Devil seemed dangerous enough for him to destroy should any of them show evilness.

Most guests from the party, if not all of them, displayed noticeable interest in the Dark God of unknown origins by introducing themselves to him—at least those that were bold or brave enough. Glances, stares, chatter and mutterings, all were simply ignored as the Dark God waited imperiously for the exact moment to make his announcement.

There was also the group of servants that cleaned Link's room every day and delivered him dinner when he wa n't called to eat with the Gremory family members. They were attentive of anything the God would desire.

Ajuka observed with interest every Devil that had met the God personally, noticing some expressions he never expected to see on some faces. To start with, by his side was Serafall Leviathan, the Pink Satan and former heiress of the Sitri Clan, who looked at the God as some sort of Rival for reasons he couldn't fathom. Sona Sitri, her younger sister, tried to ignore the Pink Satan's absurd expressions.

Venelana Gremory glanced often at the God as her daughter Rias did, while Grayfia, ever the stoic maid, spared him a glance from time to time as if to keep him in check. Himejima Akeno only giggled at seeing her master and close friend, while Ravel Phenex kept a solid continuous glare on the God, unaffected by his imposing presence.

The Blue Satan could sense a spark of defiance from Riser, who looked somewhat disgusted. Ogre and Phoenix every now and then exchanged fiery glances as Ajuka could remember that both had a minor quarrel because the Dark God apparently threatened one of Riser's servants. Now that Ajuka thought of it, he had forgotten to ask him about that incident.

Lord Gremory had finally ended his conversation with Lord Phenex, walking to the middle of the hall, his hand holding a cup filled with top-quality wine. He raised the chalice upward to call the attention of every guest. The crimson-haired Devil observed the gathered guests as he motioned little Millicas to approach him.

"We are here today, as you all may know, to celebrate the birth of a magnificent boy. Son of the Demon Lord of the Underworld, Millicas Gremory," Applause of praise erupted in the room, only ending after a minute. "C'mon my boy, don't be afraid."

The shy boy with short crimson hair stepped up and spoke, "Thank you everyone for assisting and coming to my party. It makes me happy!" The cuteness displayed by the boy earned him more shouts of praise, mostly from the women, "I hope you all enjoy the food and drinks while having some quality time with us, the Gremory."

Serafall, who wore a stunning black dress that combined well with her black tied hair into twin tails, raised a hand with her cup of wine cheerfully to the air. "Cheers for my dear, Millicas! Because he will become a prince worthy to be one of the 72 pillars! Which by the way I think he already is! Soooooooo cute!"

Every Devil in the hall responded to the Pink Satan's acclaim, raising their cups upward to show their gratitude to the young Devil. Sirzechs Lucifer soon neared his son and added.

"Cheers for Millicas Gremory!"

"Cheers!"

After that, the real celebration began.

Part 11

After being greeted by Sairaorg and having an interesting conversation with him, Oni Link headed towards the balcony outside the hall to get away from the noise and continuous gazes on his persona. He wasn't really bothered by the people, but solitude was always welcomed by the God.

The double white doors were opened as the Fierce Deity kept his white eyes on the green sky, eventually glancing over his shoulder. It was the heiress of the clan that had welcomed him, Rias Gremory.

The beautiful crimson-haired young woman that sported a bold, yet elegant red dress, approached the God's side with uncertainty, "Some time for yourself, I assume," The God nodded slowly, his eyes focused on the panorama that showed part of the Gremory territory. "It's been a long time since we last talked, or more like I talked and you only listened..."

No response came as she expected, though it brought a smile to her lips. During the short time the God had spent with them, she had learnt that despite his cold nature, he only meant good for her and her family. The few times a problem emerged inside the Gremory territory regarding a stray or troublesome Devil, the Dark God volunteered to handle it as a way of repaying their kindness.

Actually, the God never said such but Rias believed it was that, it had to be since there couldn't be another reason for him to help them take care of those troubles. She had even noticed that he always watched over her nephew Millicas whenever he left the castle as some sort of bodyguard. She couldn't tell how the God discovered Millicas left the manor, but he was always there, protecting him. That aside, her mother seemed to trust him, too.

"I do hope you aren't bothered by what happened with my..." Rias seemed doubtful for a second, "Fiancé..."

"I am not."

She was taken aback by his quick reply, blinking as she shook her head to regain her composure. It was rare that he would say anything to her; she could swear that she had heard him talk a very small number of times since his arrival to the Manor.

"I see..." She tilted her head a bit, eyeing him, "Ajuka told us you became a king despite your status as a God. Always doing the impossible, aren't you?" She giggled, resting her arms over the balcony's baluster, "Trying to become my rival?"

The Oni raised an eyebrow, "I don't see why becoming a King means that for you," His sharp eyes were directed at the fist he made with the left hand, "And I'm not interested in gathering servants or earning reputation among Devils either."

Rias frowned, crossing her arms over her voluptuous chest, "...I know it was an experiment to discover your origins. Ajuka-sama is a close friend of onii-sama, so I think you shouldn't be concerned about accidentally becoming a King."

'Accidentally? Right...'

Link also noted that Rias was one of the few people that used a different set of words to address people. Such was using 'onii-sama' instead of 'big brother', or adding certain suffixes to the names. He could understand every word though, even if it was in another language. Great Red had granted him the True Language after all, a magical spell that allowed him to speak in a language that anyone would understand, and he would also comprehend all existing idioms.

He heard that Rias and Akeno spoke with those words because they normally lived in a country of the Human World where such was normal. Venelana told him that the language they used those suffixes from was called Japanese.

Rias' voice took him out of his musings, "Anyhow, I'm intrigued about how you modified the King Stat-"

"I will leave the Underworld tomorrow," The God faced the female Devil as he declared. "I will continue my search in the Human World."

Rias was struck speechless; she couldn't even blink at the news. Without further warning, the God began to walk towards the double doors with the intention of returning to the party.

"No... You can't do that!" The girl protested, standing in front of the God as if to block his way, "I'm totally sure that you still have a lot to learn from us!"

The Fierce Deity stared at her blankly, unmoved by her desperate expression. He simply felt nothing, and her pleas were unimportant. His goal after all, was to explore the Human world to continue with his search, and the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess wasn't part of his plans.

"You appear to have forgotten, Princess Gremory," His grave voice cut short whatever she was going to say. "I firmly stated that I would remain in the Manor as long as it was necessary."

"You haven't recalled your memories if I'm not mistaken," Rias argued. "A God just can't roam the human lands without having a clear destination."

The next heir of the Gremory clan was doing her best to persuade the God, but his never changing face told her she was failing. She couldn't let that happen; the success of her plan was at stake.

Sirzechs informed them that 14 pieces were needed for her to reincarnate him, but if she was to become stronger, that number of pieces could be drastically reduced. Of course, that plan required a longer amount of time, but if she managed to convince the God to remain with them, it would be only a matter of time with her training with Grayfia being carried on. It increased her demonic power slowly, but surely it would pay off in the end.

Yet, her hopes and plans were simply shattered when the God spoke again.

"I will not become your servant, Princess Gremory," He stated with utter coldness and determination. "I will not bow down to you or anyone else, I will not become a Devil under any circumstances, and I will not remain here."

Rias Gremory stared at him in silence, stunned by his blunt statement. Even after he had lived with them, the God simply stated that he was going to leave to continue with his search. It hurt her that he didn't even look sad for his departure, it was as if he gave no importance to the time they had spent together. It was as though none of it meant a thing to him. She considered the God a friend, yet it seemed that their friendship was one-sided.

The God was heartless...

Walking to the double doors, the God came to a halt, "Do not misunderstand me, Princess Gremory. I value the kindness that you and your family have shown to me by receiving me in your palace. I will not forget it."

With that, the Fierce Deity silently left the balcony without even sparing the young woman a second glance. There was no need to.

o-0-O-0-o

"So you want to explore the Human World? Is that the reason why you are leaving the manor?"

Link, under the cover of the Dark God, nodded, ignoring the shocked expressions around him. After informing Sirzechs and Lord Gremory of his departure, it had become the hot topic across the guests in Millicas' party.

Comments such as 'No,' 'Our God is leaving,' 'It can't be...!' could be heard around the main hall, coming from the maids and servants that attended the God personally during his short stay.

"Yes," The Dark God replied, scanning the people that had crowded around him. "Humans are... interesting. There is a high chance that I may find what I need, whatever that is, in their world."

Venelana Gremory approached them, "Fierce-chan," She addressed the God with the ridiculous name she came up with when he accompanied her during their short travel to the Sitri's clan territory. "Are you leaving for real?"

Fierce-chan, stupid name by the way, glanced at her, expressionless. "Indeed, I have been here enough, Lady Gremory. I mean no offense to you, but staying here any longer serves me no purpose."

The brown-haired woman frowned. It was a long time since she had a friend, having to use most of her free time to manage the harem of her husband. She never had time to attend to her own needs of having a friendship of her own; a true one.

After marrying the current head of the Gremory clan, Venelana left the House of Bael, abandoning her title as the strongest woman within her former household. So as a new Gremory, she became acquaintances with many Devils of her social status during the social meetings held in the Underworld, but honestly, none were true friendships to her.

However, while the God only remained silent those times when he accompanied her, he had listened to her stories with utter interest. He nodded occasionally, giving little 'hmms' and 'hmphs' at certain times. She had confided in him certain memories that not even her husband knew about despite the short time they spend together. Most feared the intimidating demeanor of the God, but it made Venelana feel safe. She truly trusted the Dark God, even if she barely knew anything about him.

And that friend was about to leave.

"I see..." The woman cracked a weak smile, a sad one, "If that is your wish, we can't do anything about it other than to support you."

Sirzechs narrowed his gaze, examining the odd reactions on his mother, but shrugged it off. The God had earned his respect and trust, even to the point that he now considered him a friend of his inner circle. The God once said that he admired the fortitude displayed by the members of the Gremory clan. Though his face showed nothing, those words truly hit Sirzechs.

A couple of times the Demon Lord had shared a cup of wine with him, trying to get to know the Dark Deity better. The second time even Lord Gremory joined them which became a day to remember. Both Devils ended up drunk, so the Fierce God, with the help of Grayfia, had taken them to their respective beds that night.

If the God had wanted to, he could have killed both of them easily, yet he called his queen to ask her where their rooms were located. It was amusing to see that both he and his father fell to the effects of the alcohol while the God was unaffected.

Back to the hall where Millicas' party was held, "We'll settle our differences at another time then, nameless God."

The group turned to Riser Phenex, who neared them accompanied by his rook Xuelan, his pawn Mira, and the last member of his peerage, whose name was still unknown to the God. The Fierce Deity's attention was directed to the new face, the so called otherworldly Queen, who apparently came from another reality, just like him.

Riser's Queen was a young woman of short stature that had golden hair and green eyes. She sported a military-styled red dress with a bold translucent portion in the front of the lower skirt.

"Beautiful..." She commented, observing the God with utmost interest as she leaned to him. "There's no doubt that you are a God. I can feel your overwhelming power. It's simply flawless."

The other Devils blinked at the words of praise from Riser's Queen to the Dark God. Even his master raised an eyebrow in disbelief, yet he knew that she was the kind of woman that would appreciate and love anything that she considered beautiful.

"Then allow me to make the presentations," Riser suddenly spoke with a dignified voice, earning odd looks from some people around him. "Nameless God, you have the honor of being in the grace of the most beautiful and wise Empress that ever existed."

The aforementioned woman smiled graciously, taking a glamorous stance as Riser continued the presentation.

"Behold," He motioned a hand towards the blond girl, who took one majestic step towards the God, "The Empr..."

The God suddenly turned to his right as he sensed a powerful killing intent directed at him, one filled with so much hatred that make it worthy of notice. There were many guests so Oni Link couldn't tell where such a deathly gaze originated from. The God stepped forward, scanning the area in order to find the suspect while the people around him were seemingly startled.

"Is he ignoring me?" Riser's Queen growled, "Praetor! Who does he think he is to ignore me? God or not, I will not tolerate such disrespect!" She puffed her cheeks, folding her arms in displeasure. "This God is inelegant, unrefined, and I don't find him beautiful anymore! Such disappointment! I thought of him as..."

Ajuka observed how Riser's Queen continued to repeat senseless prattle about beauty, elegance and perfection. The Blue Satan had never met such a haughty girl in all the years he had lived, yet he could tell that the woman hid an amazing intellect behind those superficial comments.

The Blue Satan could remember the rating game where this unknown girl popped out of nowhere and defeated all the servants of both participating Devils by herself, finally defeating Yubelluna, former Queen of the Lord Phoenix's third son. Upon seeing the might and grace of the unknown girl, Riser offered her to become his servant, which she rejected nonchalantly, stating that she would only serve someone who displayed the traits worth of being her Master.

Riser Phoenix saw this as an opportunity and faced her in combat. A battle that lasted seven hours ended abruptly when the girl dressed in red said that she was deeply impressed by his power. Ajuka chuckled when she said that Riser's fiery wings showed elegance and radiance, stating vigorously that he fought beautifully against her. Such an odd choice of words she used, really.

After Ajuka explained how the Evil piece system worked, she firmly stated that she would only accept Riser's offer if he made her his Queen, and only his Queen. Of course, Riser accepted her conditions, also claiming that great fame would come to them both if participating in the Rating Games, where everyone would be able to witness their perfection in battle.

Since then, Riser had won every Rating game with exceptional strategies and breath-taking showdowns, even the rating games he was supposed to lose on purpose for the best interest of his family's social status. Ajuka suspected that her influence on the Fire Devil made him disobey the order of his own parents for the sake of his Queen's pride.

"Is something wrong?" Sirzechs Lucifer asked to the Dark God, frowning as he did. "Something caught your interest?"

The Fierce Deity narrowed his eyes, the killing intent simply faded. Even if it lasted a mere second, it was enough for him to call it trouble. Only someone evil could have sent such a gaze at him, yet, in this crowded hall, the God failed to identify who it belonged to.

"It's nothing," The white-haired God replied.

"Very well then," Lord Gremory spoke to the God after he returned to the group. Every guest looked somewhat uncomfortable after Riser's Queen complained about the God without a care in the world, ignoring everyone while his master just observed her with eyes of amusement. "Back to the matter at hand, I think that if you feel the need to leave my good friend, then you must do so by all means."

"I will prepare for my departure," The Oni glanced at the seemingly otherworldly girl. They said she came from another world, so he would have to find out the truth about her and how she managed to arrive from her own reality to this one... someday. "Until we meet again."

After that, the God walked away as more murmurs and chatter erupted among the guests, Riser's Queen assuming an offended expression with arms crossed. Xuelan and Mira watched with sad expressions as the God left, while Sona Sitri adjusted her lens, observing Rias, whose facial features displayed deception.

"I assume that your current mood was caused by the God's sudden take off," She said, worried about her rival. "He declined your invitation to join your peerage, am I correct?"

As Akeno approached them, Rias retorted. "I hate when you are so cunning," The crimson-haired girl grunted, walking past the heir of the Sitri clan. "I'm going to my room."

"Ara ara... It seems that our young Princess is building up a lot of stress lately," Akeno commented, unlike the other times, she showed concern for her King. "I wish Lana-chan was here to cheer her up a bit."

"Please don't mention that girl, she's a troublemaker," Sona said coldly, "We don't need that white witch ruining Millicas' party with her crazy magic."

Putting a hand to cover her mouth, the so called Priestess of Thunder giggled. "Lana-chan is Buchou's trusted bishop. She saved Koneko-chan and Tsubaki-san. We owe her."

The bespectacled girl with black hair that only reached her shoulders sighed, accepting her words. While Sona hated admitting it, she had to say that Rias Gremory's new bishop was a strong spell caster, who accepted living as a Devil to find her new purpose in life, and choosing to leave behind the life she had before. She was a noisy individual, a clumsy one too, that caused trouble to the Student Council of Kuoh Academy on a daily basis. Yet she had proven to be someone they could rely on, as her intentions were always good.

"I can't deny that, but I still don't like her," The Sitri heiress growled, folding her arms, her brows slightly twitching. "I'm always the one that has to put up with her usual noisiness and idiocy... Reminds me of my older sister..."

"Oh?" Akeno blinked. "Now that you mention it, they are very much alike."

"I'm never going to let those two meet," Sona Sitri stated darkly. "I would rather die than having to deal with them at the same time."

Akeno couldn't help letting out a giggle, which was followed by a sympathetic smile. "School's a lot more interesting with her around, don't you think? Fufufu... Lana-chan already has a fan club, too."

Sona suppressed a sigh as she left that subject aside from her mind, and glanced at the controversial Queen of Riser Phoenix. She was making a fuss with her Hellenistic speech again, surprisingly entertaining the crowd. Seeing her smile, Sona could tell that the blond girl was delighted to see her spectators in good spirits.

"As always, she is stealing all the attention, isn't she Sona-chan?"

To Sona's surprise, her older sister Serafall jumped happily to embrace her from behind. There she was again; not behaving like a Demon Lord should at all, which was a subject that brought the bespectacled girl many headaches.

"O-Onee-sama!" She spat in surprise, "We are in the middle of Millicas' party, so please refrain from acting like... you always do... at least for today..."

"But So-chan! I have to make the most of any moment we share!" The Pink Satan pouted, tightening her embrace. "Don't be cold to me, So-chaaaannnn!"

Akeno observed in amusement at both sisters and their antics. The usually calm and composed Sona was blushing, trying to adjust her lens, but failing due to the sweet Maou's affections. Seriously, Serafall was the only one that could unearth the cuteness of the strict heiress of the Sitri Household.

"Ara, ara..." The Gremory Queen smiled, "To think that Buchou lost the opportunity of seeing her rival blushing as heavily as this, I might take a picture. Fufufu..."

Some Devils around them laughed, others chuckled, deepening the blush that Sona sported despite the glare she was directing to Akeno. Soon, other Devils joined them as the lively party continued.

Part 12

Link removed the Ogre's Mask after covering every wall of the huge bedroom given to him by Lord Gremory with Nayru's Love. Only then, the otherworldly warrior was sure that his cover as a Dark God would remain intact.

Link sighed as he let the mask fall on the spacious bed. He breathed deeply, his mind returning to his true self as certain thoughts that emerged on his mind due to the mask's influence faded away. He walked to the large closed window covered by his spell and observed the night sky.

"What a day..." The young man whispered to himself, eyes tired. "I'm leaving tomorrow, eh?"

Minutes elapsed as Link remained in the same spot observing the purple sky, thinking of the time he had lived in the Gremory Manor. He met plenty of people, some were interesting, others were weird, yet most of them were kind despite the name of their race.

However, Link felt no remorse for leaving them; no mixed feelings or sadness regarding his departure, no fondness for anyone... he simply felt nothing. The mask had drained all the feelings he should have obtained during his stay with them. It was as if he had memories that did not belong to him, and yet, he had experienced them himself.

Link could think and resonate normally when he wore the mask during the first hours, however, if more time passed without him removing it, his ideals would become twisted by the dark powers of the mask to one of simple logic: Destroy Evil mercilessly, no matter the cost and means. If Link did not pity his enemies, he would not hold back against them.

The Fierce Deity Mask was made to simply and effectively eradicate evil.

"I have to stop using it," Link glanced at the item on the bed. "I will stop using it..."

Before that though, he needed to get out of the Gremory's sight. The Human world would be the best place to erase his tracks, and also to start the search for his lost items while finding more clues about the Black Seeder's whereabouts.

The Hylian hero sat on the bed as he contemplated his next course of action, his gaze slowly darkening.

____________________________________________________________  

Thanks for reading. See you soon.