- Death -
Death decided to call Zach to get an update on the current locations of the grim.
"Dahlia's group is in the east by Sun's territory. Yuri's is in the neutral zone between R'lyeh and the orc territory. Oliver is still near the unknown in Passage. The secondary-teams haven't spotted anything unusual. They all seem to be fine." Zach reported.
"Yuri once again apologizes for not being in Sol by the way. I keep telling him it's fine, I'm sure eventually he'll listen."
Death had originally stationed Yuri's team in Sol. He later moved them after thinking that Sol was peaceful enough.
"He understands I'm the one who ordered him to move right? Vázoluna seemed peaceful, so I decided to shift their team to a more active area."
"I know, I've told him plenty of times." The sound of paper being written on could be heard. "He's convinced it's his fault, I am curious though. Why did you want another update so soon?"
"We're getting closer to Passage and things have been going wrong one after the other." Death informed. "I just wanted to make sure all of you weren't experiencing the same misfortune."
"I appreciate the sentiment but I think it'll only worry the others more." Zach's voice was being muffled by a pen in his mouth. "Your worries are worth about a thousand times more than ours."
The sound of pages flipping could be heard.
"Should I still keep Xiao's team in Hydern? Cytus isn't a threat anymore."
"You might as well have them go somewhere that's currently lacking manpower." Death said. "If possible I'd want them traveling to Han'ei."
"I still don't like the new name." Zach sighed. "I guess you don't trust Amaterasu to keep her word? Smart."
"You say "new" like it hasn't been called that for the last century, and no I don't." Death rubbed his index with his thumb.
"New relative to our ages." Zach corrected. "Anyways, I'll see if they're up for it. I can have them check up on the dryads and druids on their way."
"One last thing." Death added. "The alliance we discussed a while back might actually be happening. I still need to contact the underworld leaders. Tell the others to be cautious."
"Will do," Zach said unenthusiastically. "I'm sure this alliance is nothing to be concerned about. The underworld deities' personalities clash too much."
Death looked over at Lucifer who was holding Peter's sword and explaining something to Elijah. He couldn't help feeling guilty about what he said.
"I'm not saying to activate you-know-what protocol, but please take this seriously. Remember that bad feeling you had? I'm getting the same one for this."
"Right, I'll tell the teams to keep an eye out." The sound of a book being closed came through the call.
- Lucifer -
Lucifer was sitting down explaining how Peter's sword works to Elijah.
"These runic carvings are more flash than substance. They exist as more of a way for the magicsmith to brand their work. Similar to the life weave Death is wearing these can simulate your arm and act as a conduit for magic. It's a useful tool for advanced and master tiers."
Elijah was examining the thin weapon, still curious as to how it could sustain the loud and heavy hits from Death's scythe.
"I'm sure you're wondering how such a thin blade could withstand attacks from Death." Lucifer guessed. "This black metal line you see running along the edge of the sword is an extremely valuable resource known as void metal."
Lucifer held the sword up and checked it for any chips or scratches.
"This used to be mine. I had it made by a friend back when I still used swords. I've since given it to Peter."
Lucifer handed the sword to Peter who looked displeased.
"I don't think master is goin' to like how ya used this," Peter said, sheathing the sword. "Oh, by the way, Elijah, this sword that Luce swung around like a cheap club is worth more than all three of our uništi."
Elijah gave a look to Lucifer that implied "Really?"
"Yeah...the dagger I gave you is around the same value."
Elijah looked at the scabbard on his side. He didn't fully understand the economy of this world but knew enough to be worried that he was carrying a fortune by his side.
"That weapon acts as a warning to others," Lucifer assured. "It's worth signals any potential enemies that you're a valued member of my team who shouldn't be trifled with. Trust me when I say it acts as more of a ward than a dinner bell."
"I-" Lucifer was interrupted by his echo pulsing energy.
"Who the fu-" Lucifer answered the call. "Hello?"
"Heeeeeey Lucifer," Satan said.
Lucifer arched his arm back looking like he was about to throw the echo, but decided against it before committing.
"News?" Lucifer grumbled.
"So I just got contacted by Cthulhu. He said he wanted to thank you for handling Cytus and also he might have killed Ezekiel.
Lucifer covered his mouth and waved the other two to be quiet.
"How, why, when, where?" Lucifer rattled off.
"One of his more powerful vessels, I think the one he sends to council meetings. Ezekiel went into R'lyeh to confront Cthulhu. I'd say about ten minutes ago. And R'lyeh, obviously. I'm contacting you first since it's your brother."
Lucifer placed his echo down and rubbed his face. He bit down onto his finger to draw blood, hoping he was in some illusion. Nothing changed and Satan's constant "Are you still there?" kept him in reality.
"I wasn't aware Cthulhu still had an echo." Lucifer tried changing the subject.
"C'mon, are you really gonna let a little angelcide get you down?" Satan chuckled. "What's the worst that happens? Michael declares war on R'lyeh and dooms your kind?"
"Literally that, yes." Lucifer groaned. "Which he will."
"Well, you guys had a good run." Satan joked. "Heaven was doing well for a while there without papa creator. Your luck had to run out eventually."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I-I can't believe this is happening." Lucifer stammered.
Faint laughter could be heard on the other side.
"What aren't you telling me?" Lucifer asked, feeling a growing sense of anger.
"I'm just joking." Satan laughed. "Ezekiel is fine, probably. Even angels aren't dumb enough to march into R'lyeh without Cthulhu's permission." His laughter grew louder. "I-I can't believe you actually thou-"
Lucifer threw the echo into a tree as hard as he could, lodging it into the wood.
"Peter can you uh" He pointed.
"I got it," Peter said.
Peter dug the echo out of the tree and brought it back to Lucifer.
"Do you have any actual information for me?" Lucifer asked, his hand rubbing his forehead.
"Yeah yeah." Satan's tone shifted to being serious. "Turns out my demons that were bringing messages from Fenrir to Vázoluna were killed. Don't know by who, don't know why, but I do know that someone's getting flayed."
The shift in Satan's tone made Elijah leave quietly. Something about Satan's voice unnerved him in a way he couldn't quite understand.
"I want you to find out which soon-to-be-pile-of-flesh did it. I don't need you to capture them, I'll handle that part. I'll consider your favor paid in full if you do this."
Lucifer knew that for all of Satan's infuriating quirks he would never joke about his own kind dying. If anything the previous "joke" might have been an attempt for the demon lord to calm himself down first.
"I'll see what I can do." Lucifer's tone wasn't confident. "You know I can't promise anything though."
"I know. I have to go tell Yarhanuk that you fell for the Ezekiel joke." Satan's tone changed back. "It should cheer him up."
Lucifer ended the call and dropped his echo.
"Him being an ancient shows how unfair the world is," Lucifer said.
"Who do ya think killed the demons?" Peter asked.
"Whoever they are they must really hate demons and being alive." Lucifer shrugged. "If we can find them we can clear your debt, so it's worth trying."
- Death and Lucifer -
"What was that call about?" Death asked.
"Satan." Lucifer groaned.
"Oh." Death understood.
"Apparently the demons you had sending messages from Fenrir to Vázoluna were killed," Lucifer informed. "Satan wants me to find out who did it, says he'll consider my favor paid if I do."
"What if Azriel or Amaterasu killed the demons?" Death asked. Those two are out of our hands at this point."
"That would honestly be preferable." Lucifer shrugged. "He only said I had to find out who did it, not capture them. If I found out it was one of those two then that makes my job easy."
Death and Lucifer stayed silent for a few seconds as they thought.
"There's no chance that's the case though." Death said.
"Pretty much, given our current streak of luck," Lucifer said. "I didn't kill them and the grim didn't kill them, so the worst-case scenario isn't possible at least"
"Speaking of-" Death pulled out his echo. "-I should call Heaven and see what Michael's planning on doing in regards to the resistance. He hasn't called me or you so I can't assume good things."
Lucifer scratched the back of his head.
"He's probably going to just recover the bodies and then send a follow-up team against your wishes. He'll prioritize getting Uriel's body back to Heaven over this resistance."
Death decided to call Michael.
"I'm having Ezekiel's team recover the bodies. I sent a follow-up team lead by Xaviel." Michael said as Lucifer mouthed "Told ya".
"I know you don't want any more angels on your mission, but please understand my position. I told them to stay out of your way if possible and that you have full authority over their actions."
"I appreciate the honesty. If I tell them to leave, for whatever reason, they better listen." Death said.
"They will, just please give them a chance." Michael's tone showed a surprising amount of respect. "It's been difficult for a lot of us after learning about Mira's and Azriel's betrayal."
" "Learning". " Lucifer said quietly enough to not be picked up by the echo.
"We're not waiting for them." Death's tone was strict. "When they eventually catch up I'll decide then and there whether I want them staying on the mission. Understood?"
"Understood." Michael ended the call.
"What's Xaviel's personality like?" Death asked.
"Basic angel quirks." Lucifer started. "Respects Michael, not fond of me, follows the rankings. He's actually so generic in terms of his personality that I'm sure we can trust him. Azriel always had his issues with taking things too far, and Mira hated me more than most. It's one of the reasons that I don't find their betrayal that surprising in hindsight."
"Hmm." Death hummed. "I guess that just leaves the underworld gods. Who should I try calling first?"
"Definitely Hades. He's the most likely to pick up and also the one I'm the most worried about." Lucifer said.
Death made the call and immediately got an answer.
"Yes?" Hades asked.
"It's Death and Lucifer. We need to talk about this alliance."
"...Right," Hades said.