1 day after the proposal
"So you lied to us?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm truly sorry for that." Kagashi answered, bowing his head apologetically.
Kagashi explained to us that everything that they said about the war that we were going to fight and the people who died for it was all a lie.
"What the Sin of Lust did to our world and what she and one or two other Sins want is still true. However, we were never speaking to one. In fact, we've never met one since Kaen- er…the Sin of Lust. The one we were talking to was Kuro."
"When Kuro told us that you were coming to our world, we were excited," Yuno said. "We were so happy to finally have something going for us. Even Kuro was surprised when he found out that you were coming to our world. He called it a 'Lucky Break.'"
"You guys could've been sent to any other world when they said they wanted you to look for the Sins," Kay said. "And yet, you guy came to ours. The one that Kuro needed you guys in. Otherwise, it would've taken even longer for this plan to move as far as it's going right now."
"So, there's no war?" I asked.
The three shook their heads.
"I see… Well…thank God!"
"You're welcome," said Kuro, walking to us with Kirino holding his arm. "It was pretty hard to get everything set."
"So, what exactly is the next move?" I asked.
"Kirino and I will be announcing our marriage."
"Are you sure about this Lord of the Heavens?" Wrath asked.
"I'll have to make myself public eventually," Kuro said. "Right now, nobody knows that I am the new God. I've only been appointed for some decades, which isn't a very long time in this type of realm. Sure, there may be some backlash, but I hope that I can get everyone on our side."
"It'll be risky, but is has to be done." Kirino said.
*Present Day*
"Yo Adam, is there a way for you to leave my mind?" I asked.
"That's not exactly possible," Adam said. "I mean, I am your mind after all."
"And that's what makes sense? Great, now I have another voice in my head to deal with."
"You could just turn me off."
"How exactly do I do that?"
"Just stop thinking about who you used to be so much and start thinking about the you now."
Stop thinking…about what I used to be.
"I guess that's a little bit too vague and impossible," Adam said. "How about this? Once this curse of lifted, try to accept the personas that you used to be. Once you've had that all figured out, your mind, or our mind, will finally be clear of any other conscience."
Accept huh? Well, it's not like I have any other option.
"By the way, when will I get my memories back?" I asked.
"Who knows. I only know as much as you do Hiro."
The door to my room opened and Xylvia rushed in.
"Hiro, we really need to get going now," she said. "They've got a lot of people gathered in the main streets, so we need to make sure everything is kept in order."
"Y-Yeah, I'm ready." I said.
Kuro wanted us to be their bodyguards in case any unexpected riots break out and cause unnecessary injuries. I'm not really sure how powerful these demons are, but I have Wrath and Shana with me. Plus, Xylvia and Leonna will be helping me out as well, so it shouldn't be an issue.
That's what I'm hoping for at least.
While me, Shana, Wrath, Xylvia, and Leonna took care of the public, Kagashi, Yuno, and Kay went back to their world to let the others know what was going on. Now all that's left is for Kuro and Kirino to announce their marriage.
Kirino made her appearance on the castle's balcony. A fiery red dress with her hair tied up in a ponytail, blood red lipstick, a rose in hand, and some light touches of makeup enhanced her royal figure. The audience below roared with excitement after waiting patiently for about an hour for their Devil to arrive. Xylvia, Leonna, and I stood guard to make sure nothing too crazy happened. This situation reminded me of the security guards who always stood vigilant during those big parades.
Kirino held up her hand and the crowd went silent.
"Thank you everyone for gathering here today," she said. "I'm sure that you are all aware of the current situation that we're unfortunately in. Lust, Envy, and Sloth continue to remain at large. However, there is good news. Not only have we managed to change the heart of Greed, we also have a new host for Pride's power. I would like to welcome our new Sin of Pride, Shana."
"W-Wait…what?!" Shana exclaimed in her blade form.
"Well that's a surprise," I muttered. "Guess you've gotta head up there and introduce yourself."
"W-W-Wait! Wh-What if they laugh at me for being a little girl?"
"I highly doubt their that petty. "Go on, give it your best shot."
"He's right Shana," Xylvia said. "You need to be strong. These people trust you now."
"I…mmm…o-ok. I'll do my best!"
Shana then turned back into her human form and leapt up onto the castle's balcony with Kirino. The audience gasped as they watched the spectacle unfold.
"I…I'm…h-hello…" Shana stuttered, barely loud enough for us to hear.
Xylvia, Leonna, and I smiled, hoping that the audience wouldn't laugh. The audience remained silent. And Kirino…did everything she could to restrain herself from hugging Shana to death because of how cute she was acting, at least from the way it looked.
Suddenly…
"SOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!"
The audience roared with applause and cheers after witnessing Shana's innocent display of an introduction. Xylvia, Leonna, and I all facepalmed at the complete ridiculousness of the situation. And Kirino…gave into her temptations and squeezed Shana tightly into her arms.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a marriage announcement?" the three of us wondered.
Suddenly, Kuro emerged from the doors on the balcony and rested his arm around Kirino.
"Man, you really love her huh," Kuro joked. "If you love the kid so much, how about you and I have one together?"
That last question shut everyone up. The entire audience was wide-eyed, some of them slapped their faces to make sure they weren't dreaming. Xylvia, Leonna, and I facepalmed even harder than last time. And Kirino…had the most reddest face I've ever seen a girl make.
"How's everyone in Hell doing tonight," Kuro asked the entire audience. "My name's Kuro, but you can call me God! I hope we can all get along with each other! Oh, and I'm marrying Devil by the way!"
Well, so much for professionalism.
Kirino immediately snapped herself out of the blush and spoke up.
"I-I-I'm terribly sorry about him," Kirino stuttered. "He's terrible at reading the room sometimes and can have a tendency to joke around a lot. He's quite the comedian if I do say so! Ahhhahahaha….haha….uuuhhh…"
The audience looked like they were debating between rioting or questioning.
"Huh, I was sure that being light-hearted about it would wo-BLEGH!!"
Kirino suddenly slammed her fist into Kuro's abdomen. He slouched down and wrapped his arms around his stomach, groaning a little at the sudden blow.
"YOU IDIOT," Kirino shouted, ignoring her stance as Devil and throwing all manners out the window. "THIS IS A POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT AND YOU'RE HERE ACTING LIKE A COMPLETE IDIOT! STUPID STUPID IDIOT!!!"
"Urgh…guess that nickname still stuck around even after a century has passed…" Kuro said through the pain.
Now the audience was debating on who they should be scared of the most.
"If you don't mind me asking, is this new God on our side," someone in the audience suddenly asked. "I can tell that he's not the same God as the one who terrorized both realms, but how do we know if he's on our side?"
"I'm not really on anyones side," Kuro said, picking himself back up. "I'm just someone who's trying to take care of his wife and help out if there are any problems concerning her. I also kinda got kicked out of Heaven, so I kinda need help myself as well."
The audience turned into a frenzy of clamoring after hearing that he got kicked out of Heaven.
"It's true," Kirino said, composing herself. "He's here to help me in stopping the war, but also needs help in getting back into his realm so that he can take care of the other mess that the Ten Commandments caused."
"Plus, I kinda need this whole universe to be peaceful so that I can take Kirino on a nice honeymoon. Wouldn't want our entire marriage to consist of wars now would we."
"That…is also a fair point."
While it was an odd way of coming out to the public, they all agreed with what the two were saying and cheered, wishing them a happy marriage. Some laughed at their quirky fighting.
Xylvia, Leonna, and I all sighed, but soon found ourselves laughing as well.
"Well, at least nothing bad has happened-"
*BANG!*
I couldn't even tell what that sound was. A gunshot? A laser? Some sort of spell being shot. I didn't know.
All I knew was that I found myself to the balcony to catch Shana, who got blown off from the impact hitting her head.
"SHANAAAAAAAA!!!!"
I've never screamed that loud before in my life. I caught Shana before she hit the ground. I didn't want to assume the worse, but the red liquid that sprayed all over me and the ground…
…
…
Everything was silent…
No, all but one noise…
Somewhere one the crowd…
Trench coat and top-hat…
He's trying to run away…
I won't let you…
*SHINK!*
It all happened so fast. I never moved so fast before in my life, but as soon as I got to him the blade pierced through the one that I was sure the culprit.
I said nothing. Everything was quiet. I noticed both Xylvia and Leonna tending to Shana. Her wound was healed already and she got up and hugged Xylvia tightly, crying.
Of course. She's a sin now. Something like a gunshot or even a spell wouldn't be able to kill her just like that.
"Of course…*BLEGH!* She really is the new Sin of Pride…" said the pierced man as he coughed up blood.
I quickly composed myself with a few breaths and looked straight at the man I was about to kill.
"Your war will never happen," I said through my teeth. "You along with everyone else who couches for it will die, some in a more gruesome way than you. Consider yourself lucky."
"Hehe…consider yourself…dead…" he said, a typical retort for a dying man.
"Those your last words?" I asked without even caring.
"*BLEGH!* …for…the…Miracles…"
*BEEP!*
The sound of the push of a button made me swing my sword upwards, cutting him in half from the torso up. Then, I dashed as fast as I could to Xylvia and the others, grabbing and shielding them from what happened next.
*BOOM!*
Muffled sound of explosions rang all around me, however there was no impact. It was because of both Kirino and Kuro. They summoned a protective barrier all around us as well as the audience gathered.
"Everyone, get inside…NOW!" Kirino ordered. Everyone in the audience ran into the castle.
"My oh my, that was quite a lot show!"
A snazzy, female voice rang all around us. The doors of the castle closed after the last of the citizens were inside the castle
"So, you've finally shown your face." Kuro said, groaning a little.
"Oh god, why does it have to be her?" Kirino groaned.
At the top of one of the tallest buildings stood a female figure. She wore a black one piece that was see through, with black lingerie underneath to barely cover her petite figure. Long, shiny pink hair flowed with the wind as she smiled nastily with her glossy, pink lips. Blood red high heels covered her feet and two large daggers were holstered on the straps of her undergarments.
"Missed me Kuro?" The woman asked.
"Not even for a second." Kuro grimaced.
The woman looked at me, then smiled as she kicked her lips.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman said. "My real name is Hina, but you can call me Lust. And I'm here…"
She then extended her hand out and pointed her index finger…straight at me.
"…to take him for myself."