"Hey… correct me if I'm wrong, but-"
"Is that LILITH?"
"No way… that can't be her."
"It sure looks like her. I'd recognise that body anywhere…"
"What's she doing here?"
"What's she doing with Raylix?"
Raylix resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the whispered questions that met his ears from all sides as he and Lilith began their walk through Hebeth, immediately upon stepping out of the transportation-circle. Though he supposed that the sight of one of the most gorgeous women in the entire supernatural world (a very strong contender for THE most gorgeous, in his personal opinion) walking the streets of the True Satan Faction's hidden base as if she owned the place would have at least caught some kind of attention. Never mind that the gorgeous woman in question also happened to be one of the most influential figures in the entire supernatural world, on top of being the most beautiful.
"Someone's popular." Raylix remarked under his breath, as he and Lilith turned a corner and proceeded down a different street. The remark drew out a tempered giggle from Lilith, but no more verbal response than that. Raylix barely noticed her reaching up in front of herself and holding her thumb and index finger close together, summoning what looked like a little ball of light in between the two digits. After doing so, she handed the ball of light over to Raylix, gesturing to her ear with her other hand.
A raised eyebrow was Raylix's only reply to what Lilith had handed him, before he placed the ball of light into his ear. For the first couple of seconds, said ear felt a slight bit warmer than the other before that warmth faded away, as did the ball of light.
'Just in case you don't know telepathic communication.'
Raylix blinked as he suddenly heard Lilith's voice inside his head, looking up at the dark Queen beside him.
'I figured we should have some method of being able to communicate with each other while we're making that pitch to Katerea, Shalba and Creuserey.' Lilith's voice explained, inside Raylix's head. 'I've got one in my own ear. Just think it, and I'll hear it in my own head, okay?'
'Uh… okay.' Raylix mentally replied, blinking a couple of times. 'Like that?'
'Yes, exactly like that.' Lilith nodded. 'Now, weren't we heading somewhere?'
"Oh yeah. Right." Raylix replied, out loud, prompting a light giggle from Lilith as he began walking again, with the dark-haired Succubus following in step with him. 'Shit, sorry.'
'Don't worry about it.' Lilith replied. 'Just remember. This' she raised a hand and gently tapped her own forehead with one finger, before trailing the finger down to her lips. 'Not this.'
Raylix's eyes followed Lilith's finger down to her lips as they walked, and he resisted the urge to audibly gulp at the sight. Instead, he quickened his pace slightly, turning another corner once he and Lilith got to the end of the street that they were on. With that corner turned, Shalba's personal home in the centre of Hebeth- a large mansion that majorly stood out from the rest of the buildings surrounding it- came into view.
'Pretty small place, to be honest.' Lilith mentally remarked to Raylix, her eyes sliding to look over at him for a second. 'I guess that's to be expected though, when you're hiding away in what I'm guessing is a pocket-dimension like this."
Raylix nodded, as the two of them continued walking. In spite of Lilith's comment, Shalba's mansion was still pretty big. About the size of the home that the Gremory Clan had occupied BEFORE the Gremory Castle had been built for them. Was that the house he'd lost his virginity in?
…Maybe, he couldn't remember fully. And he obviously wasn't about to go back and ask his mother about that night. As they approached the mansion, a transportation-circle appeared in front of them, with the symbol of an ornate-looking capital 'B' in the middle that had an insect-like tail on top and a claw at the bottom. Raylix and Lilith immediately stopped, and all the True Satan Faction members that had been watching them make their way towards Shalba's mansion stepped back, staring at the three Devils that popped out of the transportation-circle as it faded away.
As soon as she clapped her eyes on the woman Raylix was with, Katerea's eyes visibly widened, her mouth open slightly. Her focus flicked from Lilith to Raylix and back to Lilith, seemingly not quite sure if she could believe what she was seeing.
Shalba's jaw was set in a firm line of incredulity as he looked Lilith up and down, down and up, his eyes flicking from her to Raylix and back again. Creuserey rubbed his lips together, contemplating the sight of Lilith in front of him. His eyes flicked from her face to- rather than Raylix- to the cleavage that was shown off within her dress, before back up to her face.
The three leaders of the True Satan Faction didn't have any verbal reaction to the sudden appearance of Raylix and Lilith in their home city. Silence stretched out between the two parties- and the watching onlookers- for a few seconds before Katerea took half a step forward.
"It's nice to see you back from your mission to find new bases for us, Raylix, as well as your mission to locate the Sephiroth Graal." Leviathan's granddaughter began. "But… what is Lady Lilith doing here with you?"
'Let me.' Raylix fired off a quick thought into Lilith's mind as he stepped forward himself. 'At least at first. Step in after me.'
'Very well.' Raylix heard Lilith's answer ringing in his mind. 'I'll follow your lead for this, Raylix.'
"I had the fortune of running into… Lady Lilith, on my travels around the human world." Raylix spoke out-loud to the three faction leaders, his eyes shifting quickly between the three TSF leaders. "She allowed me and my companions to stay with her over the last couple of weeks, during which she let me know of a proposal for the True Satan Faction. One that I think, at the very least, warrants our attention."
Lilith then took a step forward, just as Raylix did. Creuserey's eyes following the bouncing of Lilith's breasts within the dress that she wore didn't go unnoticed by Raylix.
"Indeed." The Succubus Queen affirmed, her voice and expression neutral as she looked over Katerea, Shalba and Creuserey. "I come representing a faction with similar goals to you of the True Satan Faction, with a proposal that I'm sure could be mutually beneficial to us both. If you would only allow some of your time, we can talk about this further."
There weren't many initial visible reactions to Lilith's words. Katerea eyes narrowed ever so slightly, her irises flicking from Lilith to Raylix and back again. Shalba merely raised an eyebrow, studying Lilith's face in response to her words with interest clear on his face. Creuserey didn't make any response beyond looking over at Shalba, who after several seconds of silent studying of the Succubus' face, took a breath and nodded.
"I see." He replied. "Your presence here in Hebeth is… unexpected to say the least, Lady Lilith." He inclined his head to her, meeting her eyes with his own. "If you'll come inside my residence, we can hear out your pitch."
Lilith inclined her head to Shalba in return, a small smile crossing her face.
"Splendid." She replied. "Please, lead the way."
Raylix had never actually been in Shalba's mansion before, but when he and Lilith made their way through the gates and entered the opulent home of Beelzebub's grandson, its grandeur was immediately on display. Luxurious furnishings wherever he looked, and dark rich colours adorning the floor and walls: this home really wouldn't be out of place within noble Devil society, Raylix idly thought to himself as he followed Shalba, Creuserey and Katerea into a spacious lounge.
'I know, right?' Lilith mentally replied. Raylix resisted the urge to smirk as he was led, along with the dark Succubus Queen, to one of the couches dotted around the huge living room. The pair of them sat down, while the three True Satan Faction leaders settled down in large armchairs. As soon as their butts were in the seat, Lilith cleared her throat.
"Well, I won't waste your time with preamble." She began. "So, I'll get straight to it. Leaders of the True Satan Faction, have you heard of the Khaos Brigade?"
Shalba looked over at Katerea, and then at Creuserey before returning his attention to Lilith, shaking his head.
"Can't say we have, no." he replied. "I don't think we've heard of anything like that."
"I supposed not." Lilith remarked. "It's not exactly a faction that you'd hear commonly spoken of. Nor is even like any faction of this world that you'd normally think of when you hear the term. Comprised of beings from all walks of life: Humans, Magicians, Youkai, Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, Dragons, Gods, it is the most diverse and varied faction that has ever been seen in living memory of this world."
Raylix couldn't help it, but at the mention of Fallen Angels, he felt a familiar flicker of anger. His neutral expression was clouded by a darkened scowl for a fraction of a second, before he masked the scowl with a neutral expression once again.
Katerea raised an eyebrow at the list of kinds of beings that Lilith rattled off, leaning forward slightly.
"Gods?" she repeated.
"Indeed." Lilith replied. "Chernobog of the Slavic Pantheon, Seth of the Egyptian Pantheon, and Ahriman of the Persian Pantheon serve as the Brigade's top leadership."
"I see." Shalba nodded, leaning back in his chair slightly as he looked from Lilith to Raylix, and back again. "Continue."
Lilith nodded, clearing her throat again.
"The Khaos Brigade aren't bound by any singular race or creed," she spoke, leaning forward slightly herself as her gaze swept over the True Satan Faction's leaders. "But by ideals. They intend to reshape the world. Shatter the status quo that the supernatural world has found itself shackled by in recent centuries. A change is coming, and rather than accept and embrace it, the ruling factions and pantheons of the world fear it, try to avoid it and keep things as they are, to the detriment of all others."
There was silence, again, from the three TSF leaders. Again, all there was by way of response were shared looks, silent communication between centuries-long allies.
"ALL ruling factions and pantheons." Lilith repeated, slightly more intensely. "Including the ruling Devil government that you so despise."
That got their attention, Raylix thought, noticing Katerea, Shalba and Creuserey's heads all snapping to face Lilith, seemingly in unison. He probably would have chuckled at such a sight if the situation wasn't so serious.
"So that's where you think we come in." Creuserey remarked, speaking for the first time since having met Raylix and Lilith. "This change you're talking up will affect the Devils, so you want us to be a part of this Khaos Brigade."
"Exactly." Lilith replied, inclining her head to Creuserey. "Rather than avoid the coming change and preserve the stagnancy of the world forever, the Khaos Brigade will bring about this change to the world. They are diverse, committed, and growing in strength. Soon, all peoples of the world will have to choose whether to stand on the side of the future, and accept the end of what they once knew, or on the side of the past, and be swept aside like the status quo that they foolishly wish to preserve."
"How can you be sure," Shalba asked, leaning forward. "That this Khaos Brigade can do all that? Take on the entire world?"
"With the help of the True Satan Faction, and if they were to all work together, I believe they could do it." Lilith replied. "The Brigade is full of extremely powerful individuals who are willing to fight for the future they desire. Not just Chernobog, Seth and Ahriman, not just me, but this generation's White Dragon Emperor, who is well on her way to becoming the strongest of Divine Dividing's lineage in this world's history, if she isn't already there. A newly-revived Tamamo-no-Mae, who is rapidly returning to her original considerable strength. They have also recently secured the backing of Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon."
The mention of the last one was enough to recapture the attention of the three True Satan Faction leaders. Katerea in particular's demeanour shifted ever-so-slightly, her interest the most visibly piqued by the mention of Ophis' name.
"The Infinite Dragon God… Ophis?" she asked, her voice a near-whisper.
"The very same." Lilith replied. "Those are just a small number of the many powerful figures that the Khaos Brigade has attracted into its ranks. There'll be no need to worry about being attacked, persecuted and destroyed by the ruling Devils you despise: not when beings like those, and many more, will immediately come to your aid in the name of the world's progress."
"I see…" Shalba mused, turning to share looks with Katerea and Creuserey. "Well, Lady Lilith, you've certainly given us a lot to think about. The Khaos Brigade…" he lingered on those words for a second or two, taking them in before continuing. "certainly seems to propose a radical reshaping of the world. And with the backing of Ophis… well, this pitch you've delivered us is definitely worth considering, at the very least."
"Indeed." Lilith nodded, a small smile crossing her face. "So, when we expect to hear about whether or not you've accepted?"
"Not long." Shalba replied, fixing Lilith with a neutral gaze. "Just wanted to ask you something else, and then we can come to a decision, Lilith: During the last days of the Devil Civil War, my father Bidleid came to you for assistance against the Anti-Royals Faction… and you refused him. You condemned him, and the Royals, to defeat and destruction at the hands of those false frauds the New Satans, why? And what's suddenly changed that's dragged you to our doorstep, asking for our help against your Khaos Brigade?"
Shalba's tone could have rivalled the darkest chocolate, it was so bitter. Raylix noticed Lilith resisting the urge to roll her eyes and sigh at the Beelzebub descendant's question.
"Indeed." Creuserey added, leaning forward himself. "And following on from that, why should the True Satan Faction have to rely on the Khaos Brigade to destroy the noble Pillar filth and the New Satans? We've managed things just fine on our own, without any help from foreign powers, and we'll surely manage things just fine without them in the future."
Raylix's eyes flicked over to Katerea for a fraction of a second, noticing her not cutting in with any remark of her own. She simply looked over at her fellow faction leaders, her expression and thoughts unreadable.
Unfazed by the sudden hostility, Lilith took a breath while drawing herself up to her full height while still in her seat.
"Your father was a maniac." She replied to Shalba, her voice rather colder and blunter than the tone she'd been using to propose the Khaos Brigade to the TSF leaders with just a moment ago. "All he ever cared about was furthering the ambitions of his father. He thought he could take over the Devils and restart the Great War without bringing doom to not just the Devils he claimed to act in the interest of, but the newly-independent Lilim as well. Either that or he just didn't care, which might- now that I think about it- be worse. If you can't see that, Shalba, then I might have made a rare mistake in wasting my time and breath on this proposal to you."
Shalba's face had been steadily darkening by the second as he heard more and more of Lilith's answer. Once she was done, Beelzebub's grandson got to his feet with an abruptness that made even Katerea visibly jump. Shalba looked like he was about to burst a vein out of pure rage at Lilith insulting his father's memory in front of him.
"Your presence in this city is an insult to the true Satans, your husband and this entire Faction, that carries on their mission and legacy." Shalba spat. "Consider your proposal rejected, Lilith. Leave Hebeth at once."
Lilith's expression remained neutral, dignified even in the face of harsh dismissal, as she rose and immediately made for the door to the lounge. After a couple of seconds, Raylix made to ascend to his feet with full intent to follow Lilith out. But as soon as he was up, at which point Lilith was halfway through the door, Shalba's voice cut through the air once again.
"Stay, Raylix! Don't be a traitor to Hell like Lilith has been!"
Raylix turned to face Shalba, milliseconds away from opening his mouth and snapping back, but before he could even think of something to say, a certain voice echoed in his mind once again.
'You're best staying behind for the time being, Raylix. This is far from over.'
Raylix turned, again, to see Lilith making her way out of the lounge, the door closing behind her with an ominous ring, before taking a breath and silently turning to face Shalba once again.
'What are you planning to do?'
'Return to the human world, for one thing.' Lilith's voice replied. 'I'll have to move quickly, formulate a new plan. You'll here from me very soon, I promise.'
Shalba's breaths were heavy, as Creuserey and Katerea got to their feet. Creuserey looked over at Shalba, slight concern on his face for his fellow Old Satan descendant, while Katerea's focus was on Raylix, her expression just as unreadable as before. Shalba also glared over at the former Gremory Heir for a couple of seconds, anger still clear on every inch of his face. But after taking a couple of breaths, he turned to Katerea, his voice more measured than when he'd dismissed Lilith.
"Take Raylix back to your home, Katerea, and return here immediately once you do. I need to think, we need to talk about what to do next."
Katerea nodded, letting out a breath before raising her hand to cast a transportation-circle that she immediately stepped into, glancing over at Raylix in a non-verbal gesture for him to follow her, which he did. As soon as the two Devils were in Katerea's transportation-circle, Leviathan's granddaughter activated it, taking herself and Raylix back to her apartment in an instant.
As the transportation-circle beneath Raylix and Katerea's feet fizzled out, Katerea took a couple of steps away from Raylix before turning to face him, her arms folded under her bust and an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"So Lilith, huh?" she asked, her head tilted slightly as Raylix didn't move. "How did you come to meet her? Seems a bit fantastical, even by our standards."
"My companions and I were looking for more potential bases for the faction." Raylix replied. "But it turns out that a location we warped to in order to set up camp, was less than a mile away from a villa in the human world that Lilith owned, and had been staying at. That was nearly a month ago."
Katerea let out a small snort from her nose, running a hand through her hair as she looked back at Raylix.
"I see." She replied, simply. "Well, weirder things have happened."
Raylix nodded, as Katerea took a breath, pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down. She gestured for Raylix to join her, which he slowly did. Once he was sat down, across the table from the brunette who he'd been living with for the past four years, Katerea took another breath.
"Look," she began. "I'll give it to you straight, Raylix: that pitch that Lilith delivered us, regarding the Khaos Brigade? I'm all for it. The benefits of joining up with the Khaos Brigade all make complete sense, and I'll be real: we're going to need help taking on the New Satans and their government. Help that, if what Lilith said was true, the Khaos Brigade can quite easily provide. I don't know what Creuserey's thinking, going on about how we'd be able to manage 'just fine' against them…" she let out a frustrated sigh, adjusting the position of her glasses on her nose. "Or why Shalba thought it'd be a good idea to dredge up something that happened nearly a millennium ago!"
Katerea leant back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling for a few seconds.
"I'm going to have to try and convince the pair of them that Lilith and the Khaos Brigade are the way forward." She continued. "Or at the very least, reconsider. They didn't have to dismiss her like that."
Raylix hummed, taking a breath of his own as he absorbed her words.
"And what about me?" he asked, pulling his chair a slight bit closer to the table. "What's going to happen on that front?"
Katerea's gaze shifted from the ceiling, back to Raylix, as she let out another breath.
"I'm not sure." She admitted. "For the time being, I'll ask you to stay here while I try and talk things through with Shalba and Creuserey. If I can convince them of the positives of an alliance with the Khaos Brigade, I can see you being sent back to Lilith with our answer… I'm assuming you know how to find her?"
Raylix nodded. Katerea hummed, nodding in return as she looked down at the table.
"But if not…" she continued, before trailing off. Her gaze shifted around the dining room they were sat in for a few seconds before she settled back on Raylix again. "Look, Raylix, I won't claim to know what your feelings on Lilith are, but I'm sure your intentions in bringing her here were at least good. However, given how that meeting just ended, I'm not so sure about what Shalba and Creuserey will think of what you did. They could see it as betrayal, which would lead to… drastic, measures."
Raylix didn't visibly react, but that didn't stop him from knowing damn well what Katerea was implying. One of two things: execution, a common punishment for traitors in the supernatural world but that depended on whether or not Shalba and Creuserey would be able to even execute him, or exile from the True Satan Faction. Neither sounded particularly appetizing.
Katerea then got to her feet, sliding her chair back under the table and looking down at Raylix, her eyes soft.
"I'll do what I can for you, Raylix." she spoke. "For the time being, though, stay safe."
One transportation-circle casting later, Katerea was gone, and once the light of the spell faded away, Raylix was alone once again, with only his mind that swam with uncertainty for company.
----- ----- -----
The flash of a transportation-circle in the main hall of Lilith's human-world villa interrupted the visual tranquillity of the home, with the woman herself appearing out of said transportation-circle after a couple of seconds. The circle faded away as Lilith stepped out of it, taking a breath to calm herself in the aftermath of her encounter.
How dare that prick Shalba. How dare that little shit think that he could just bring up Lucifer like that, right in front of her face?!
Another breath, another attempt to calm herself. Now wasn't the time to get angry, the dark Succubus Queen reminded herself. Now was the time to plan. But the sound of footsteps descending the stairs drew her attention to the sight of Esdeath making her way down. Though she nodded respectfully at Lilith's presence, she raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you were going with Raylix to Hebeth, to have that meeting with the True Satan Faction's leadership." She remarked. "Is that still happening?"
"It's just happened, Esdeath. Lilith replied. "I just got back."
Before Esdeath could ask Lilith to elaborate, maybe tell her where Raylix was, the closed door to the living room was pulled open, drawing the attention of both women. As the sound of a deep male voice coming from the TV said "Chill out, dickwad.", Kurumi poked her head around the door, before stepping out, followed by Hikari.
"How'd it go, Mom?" Kurumi asked, tilting her head slightly as she took a couple of steps closer to Lilith, with Hikari following.
"Not as planned." Lilith replied, letting out a sigh. "The pitch that Raylix and I came up with was rejected by the True Satan Faction's leadership. Shalba Beelzebub, in particular…" her mouth formed a thin line as she uttered the name. "Had to dredge up some old grievance, a childish move, and kicked me out when I told him the truth of the matter."
Kurumi let out a mixture of a gasp and a laugh at the idea of ANYONE kicking her adoptive mother out of ANYWHERE, which Lilith didn't acknowledge.
"Raylix is still in Hebeth." Lilith added, turning to Esdeath. "I asked him to remain there for now. We'll be retrieving him soon, when I take over the True Satan Faction myself."
Esdeath's eyes widened slightly at Lilith's words, while Hikari and Kurumi shared a neutral look with each other before looking back at the red-eyed Succubus Queen.
"What do you need us to do, Mother?" Hikari asked, her voice as firm as resolute as anything. Kurumi silently nodded in affirmation of her declaration.
"Find Irene, first of all." Lilith replied, her eyes flicking from Hikari to Kurumi and back again. "I know she's here, but she'll probably be in the library. Send her to my office once you've found her."
"Yes, Mother." Hikari replied, immediately taking off up the stairs that Esdeath had come down earlier. Kurumi followed her sister, with the two disappearing from sight within seconds. Lilith turned back to Esdeath, a firm look on her face.
"We're going to have to move quickly." She remarked. "Gather our forces, formulate a plan. In the meantime, Esdeath, could you find Cinder and Tamamo and let them know of what's happened?"
Esdeath nodded, and made her way back to the kitchen. Lilith followed her daughters upstairs, immediately making a beeline for her office on the top floor of the villa.
Being rejected by the True Satan Faction's leadership definitely wasn't what she'd expected to happen. She hadn't figured Shalba would be THAT petty in bringing up something that hadn't even happened to him directly, and so long ago, too. But no matter, she figured, as she made her way past the first floor and ascended to the second. Maybe, in its own way, taking over the True Satan Faction directly, rather than simply bringing it under her wing, was a good thing. It would certainly allow her more direct control over the faction and its leadership, which would be a boon in her long-term plans for the future. And besides… Sea Serpent of the End, Queen of Flies, Spirit Empress… she needed a reason to add those powers to her collection, anyway.
As she reached the top of the second-floor stairs, Lilith strode straight across the landing to her office, pulled open the door and stepped inside. On one of the chairs surrounding the small table in the corner next to her desk, Irene was sat, but she immediately got to her feet upon seeing Lilith enter.
"Hikari and Kurumi told me you wanted to see me." Irene remarked. "They told me things didn't go as planned in Hebeth."
Lilith allowed herself a small smile at the quick work of her daughters, as she shut the door behind her.
"They did not." she confirmed, her voice steady. "A small setback, but not one worth dwelling on. I've already begun formulating a plan to depose the True Satan Faction's leadership, replace it with one more receptive to our cause. For this plan to work quickly, Irene, I must ask for your aid and expertise."
The scarlet-haired Magician blinked a couple of times, before getting to her feet, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face.
"What do you need me to do, Lilith?" she asked, meeting Lilith's crimson eyes with her own chocolate-coloured ones. By way of response, Lilith raised her hand, opened a small magic-circle and reached into it, before pulling out a folded piece of paper between her index and middle fingers, which she handed over to Irene. Irene took the paper, unfolding it carefully before looking over at Lilith, an inquisitive expression on her face.
"That," Lilith answered "is a small sample of the magical wards surrounding the pocket-dimension in which Hebeth resides. Had our visit to the city been longer, I would probably have been able to collect a larger sample, maybe crack the wards entirely from the inside, but that was all I was able to get."
"I see…" Irene replied, gently running her hands over the paper. Faintly-glowing magical symbols danced acrossed its surfaced, spelling out a small part of the wards that Lilith had just mentioned. Raylix's Pact Magician looked up at Lilith, an eyebrow raised. "Crack the wards?"
Lilith nodded, moving around behind her desk, so it was between herself and Irene.
"My plan," she continued. "Is to break through the wards surrounding Hebeth and invade, deposing Shalba, Creuserey and Katerea and taking over leadership of the True Satan Faction myself. Kurumi and Hikari will join me, and I plan on asking Esdeath, Cinder and Tamamo to assist. You are also free to join us, if you so wish."
"Hikari told me Raylix was still in Hebeth." Irene remarked, her gaze into Lilith's eyes unwavering. "I'm in."
"Good." Lilith replied, nodding again. "For us to quickly invade Hebeth, we need to dismantle the wards protecting the city from regular transportation-circles. With that sample, do you think you can crack the wards?"
Irene's eyes returned to the enchanted paper, scanning the symbols and runs across them for a couple of seconds. To Lilith's slight surprise, she let out a short laugh.
"This should be a piece of cake." she replied, folding the paper up and slipping it into one of the pockets of the shorts she was wearing. "Back when I was a Red, my master had me cracking wards like this from small samples like this, all the goddamn time. I could have this done in… a day. Maybe less?"
"I'm glad to hear it, Irene." Lilith answered, a smile crossing her face as she took in what Irene had said. "That's all I wanted to talk about with you, you can go."
Irene nodded, immediately leaving the office and shutting the door behind her, leaving Lilith alone in her office. The Prime Succubus immediately sunk down into her desk chair, taking another breath as her mind continued to work. That was good news, she thought, the idea that Irene could crack the the wards just off of that sample, just like that.
Raylix had definitely made the right choice in picking her to be his Pact Magician, she figured, leaning back in her chair as her thoughts moved from her plan to take over the True Satan Faction to Raylix himself. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to directly lead the True Satan Faction all the time, so she hoped that Raylix would be able to do so at least decently in her place, when need be. He was absolutely the best candidate to do so, being the only one with actual experience in the True Satan Faction out of those she trusted and all. And he certainly at least seemed somewhat receptive to the idea when she'd brought it up to him, on the day that she'd given him Rubilacxe.
Speaking of, there was also that matter with Raylix that needed discussing… but as before, that could wait until the opportune moment, preferably when the True Satan Faction was under her control.
----- ----- -----
Raylix pushed the door to his bedroom within Katerea's apartment open, having just gotten out of the bathroom after taking a dump. Immediately making a beeline for his bed and lay back down on it, his gaze returned to the ceiling, where it had been focused before he felt the urge to have a number two. The stillness, the silence of the room, of Katerea's entire apartment ever since she'd left a couple of hours ago, starkly contrasted with the swirling inside his mind. The meeting between Lilith and the TSF leaders, the words exchanged between them all, the potential paths laid before him, all fought for attention inside his head.
The potential paths temporarily won out, and he took a breath as he considered his options going forward: if Shalba and Creuserey were able to be convinced by Katerea of his loyalty to the True Satan Faction, then chances were the next time he left Hebeth would be his last. Returnig to Lilith, and the cause of the Khaos Brigade, unclear and relatively-unfocused as it was in comparison to reforming the Underworld for the better, was beginning to seem like the far more preferable option in comparison to perpetuating the legacy of the Old Satans and reigniting the Great War.
With Shalba boldly spelling it out right in front of him and Lilith a couple of hours ago, that also spelled the end of Raylix's allegiances to the True Satan Faction. Though to be honest, it also did, no matter which of the paths seemingly laid out for him he'd end up walking… because there was always the possibility that Katerea's efforst to convince Shalba and Creuserey fell short, at which point his decided fate was in their hands: execution, or exile.
Exile would definitely be the better option, if only because he wouldn't have to risk his life fighting his way out of Hebeth, back to Lilith, like he'd have to do if it was decided that he must die for his supposed betrayal. Not that he didn't think he could do it, but still… it'd be preferable to not have to in the first place. Either way, anything for his further, more personal goal of finding the Sephiroth Graal. Lilith had been more than accommodating in helping Raylix out for his search for the artefact that could bring Sabemka and Tomosei back to him up until now, she'd given him absolutely no reason to think that she wouldn't continue to do so in the future.
Raylix's thoughts then drifted to Katerea, and he couldn't help but feel a small pang of sadness deep down in the depths of his soul, at the idea of leaving her behind. Over the few years that he could call himself a member of the True Satan Faction, she was the only member he'd met after joining that he could call anything close to a friend. They had always been much more reasonable with him than Shalba and Creuserey could ever have been, and her letting him stay in her home throughout his entire stint with the True Satan Faction was a kindness that Raylix didn't think he would ever forget, not even long after he was gone from this place.
The fact that she was actually receptive to Lilith's proposal of the Khaos Brigade earned Leviathan's granddaughter a good few points in Raylix's book as well. It'd be dishonest to say he hadn't at least considered making a plea to her to leave the True Satan Faction alongside him, and join Lilith's efforts with the Khaos Brigade. Though every time he tried, he found that idea shouted down by the more logical side of his mind, that reminded him that there was no possible way he, the current Lucifer's little brother, was going to convince Katerea Leviathan of the True Satan Faction to desert her fellow descendants. She was more likely to shove a couple of shards of glass up her front end than even consider such a ludicrous proposition, Raylix thought.
As his thoughts drifted away from Katerea, towards the possibility of skipping the wait-time entirely and just escaping from Hebeth altogether, without even waiting for Katerea to finish attempting to convince Shalba and Creuserey of his continued loyalty to the TSF, a voice that was not his own suddenly entered his mind.
'Raylix? Can you hear me?'
Raylix immediately jumped to his feet, his mind scrambling for half a second before he recognised the voice. Amidst the whirlwind that had been his thoughts ever since she left Hebeth hours ago, he'd almost forgotten that she'd given him the earpiece that he'd slipped into his own ear.
'Lilith?' he mentally replied, settling back down on his bed. 'Is everything okay? What's going on?'
'There's been a change of plan.' Lilith answered. 'Katerea, Shalba and Creuserey had their chance to accept our proposal willingly, but after how that meeting went, I think it's safe to say that chance has gone. They will be removed from their positions of leadership within the "True Satan Faction", and replaced with a more suitable head. One more receptive to the Khaos Brigade and its mission: you.'
Raylix didn't reply immediately. His mind wandered to the day that he and Lilith put together the proposal that they'd just given to Shalba, Creuserey, remembered her mentioning her plan to instate him as a leader within the True Satan Faction... that had felt so weird, her initially implying that he would make a decent faction leader, but to hear her state point-blank that he was so crucial in her plan...
'Is that alright?' Lilith's voice rang through his head again. 'Raylix?'
'I'm here.' Raylix replied, taking a breath. 'So... what's the plan of attack?'
'I was able to collect a small sample of the protective wards surrounding Hebeth while I was in the city with you.' Lilith explained. 'I've handed it off to Irene, and she's at work on a method to breach the wards as we speak. She says she should be able to have the workaround finished very soon.'
'Yeah, she apparently worked on a bunch of similar stuff while studying as a Red.' Raylix replied. 'She told me that a while ago.'
'And she told me that about half an hour ago.' Lilith replied, sounding like she was repressing a giggle. 'Anyway, once Irene is done with the workaround she's busy with, my daughters, your companions and I will move in. We'll overwhelm Katerea, Shalba and Creuserey, and have them replaced in no time. Does that sound good to you, Raylix?'
Raylix briefly swallowed, considering how to tell Lilith about what had been going on on his end of things.
'That sounds good to me.' He replied. 'Would definitely rather it happens sooner as opposed to later, though. I don't know for certain, but there's a... not-zero chance that some of the True Satan Faction's leadership- Shalba and Creuserey- could see whatever cooperation I might or might not have had with you as a betrayal of their cause. Which could result in them choosing to either have me exiled from the TSF, or just outright executed.'
Raylix's head was free of voices for a couple of seconds, before he heard Lilith's reply. It was just as calm and measured as just about every other time that he'd heard the First Succubus speak, but he couldn't help but hear something else in her voice. Another element, something like... worry?
'Do you think you could escape Hebeth?' she asked. 'If they choose to execute you?'
'Yes.' Raylix replied, immediately. 'I doubt they'd make it easy for me, but I'm pretty sure I could do it.'
'I see.' Lilith's answer came quickly. 'Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that before our invasion effort begins. But if it does, and you have to make your way out before we can initiate the plan, my villa is always open to you and your companions, Raylix. You'll have company with Hikari and Kurumi, as well as myself from time to time.'
Raylix took a breath, sitting up on his bed for a second and readjusting his pillow behind him, before settling back down and replying.
'Alright. I'm glad to hear it.' He replied. 'Makes me feel a bit safer, thank you.'
'Anytime.' Lilith answered. 'Have you anything else to add, or to ask?'
'Only one more thing.' Raylix replied. 'After you left, Katerea mentioned to me that she was far more open to the idea of the True Satan Faction allying itself with the Khaos Brigade than either Shalba or Creuserey seemed to be. I might just be talking bullshit here, but if she were ever to... I don't know, switch sides from Shalba and Creuserey to us, would she be safe from whatever deposing you've got in mind for the other two?'
Silence, again, on the other end for a few seconds. Raylix was half a second away from asking for confirmation if Lilith had heard his request before her voice- just as calm and measured as ever- rung in Raylix's head.
'I suppose, thinking back to the meeting, that Katerea was actually taking things more seriously than her fellow leaders.' She remarked. 'And it's good to hear that she's receptive to such an alliance between the True Satan Faction and the Khaos Brigade. However, the fact is that no-one can decide her fate except herself. Ultimately, when the time comes, which will surely be soon, she will have to make the choice: whether to work with us, or stand in the way like her foolish fellow leaders.'
Raylix remained silent, taking in and accepting Lilith's words. She was right, of course, but that didn't stop him from feeling somewhat uneasy at the idea of Katerea's fate hanging in the balance like it presently did. Since Sabemka and Tomosei's deaths a few years ago, she was probably the closest thing to a friend that Raylix actually had made... well, either her or Malech. Now Raylix thought about it, he actually hadn't talked to Malech in a while.
Either way, a part of him, buried deep down for years and quite heavily wounded- to the point that Raylix had thought for a while it was dead altogether- called out. It...HE... didn't want to lose Katerea too.
'I'll be in touch soon, Raylix.' Lilith finished, after the few seconds of silence passed. 'For now, unless you're ordered out or have to make an escape to avoid execution, just sit tight. I'll let you know when it's time to act.'
With her final command given, Lilith's voice receded from Raylix's mind, taking a breath as she got out of her bath. Snapping her fingers and summoning two towels, one of which wrapped itself snugly around her body, and the other of which wrapped around her hair, which she also levitated with a wave of her hand, the gorgeous Succubus moved back into her bedroom. The two towels began gently rubbing across every square inch of her body and head, drying the water of the bath off of her perfect form until she was completely dry. Once the task was complete, the towels were banished from the room, leaving the dark-haired demon fully naked in her room.
Glancing over to where she'd left her dressing gown, she made her way over to the door on which it hung. Her mind was calm, her thoughts clear, absolute confidence in the impending invasion evident in every movement she made. Though as she approached the door, her mind momentarily drifted to the man she'd just been talking to. Not just him specifically, but also the conversation she planned to have with him regarding his behaviour around both his companions and her daughters. Particularly, his apparent reluctance to have any kind of relationship with any of them, especially when it was extremely obvious to anyone with either a working eye or ear that they all desired some kind of relationship with him. It had been something she'd been thinking about for a while, and the time for that conversation was drawing near...
But it could wait, she thought as she reached the dressing gown hanging from her door. A supremely soft garment of pure jet-black that contrasted brilliantly with her own pale skin as she slipped it on and tied it around herself, before turning back to her bed. The topic that held, and still held, foremost priority in her mind was the securing of the True Satan Faction, the deposing of all three (maybe just two) of its leaders. It was only a matter of how smoothly things would go once the invasion of Hebeth was set into motion, and how quickly Lilith would be able to set into motion the next steps for her worldwide plan, that she'd been working on for the better part of a century...
Lilith looked up, sensing someone just outside her bedroom door just before there was a knock at said door, that rang throughout her room.
"Come in." Lilith called out to the door, which was pushed open a couple of seconds later. Irene stuck her head around the door, before moving the whole way in. She took a breath as the door shut behind her, looking over at Lilith. "Irene?"
"I've finished with what you asked." Irene announced, slipping her hand into her shorts-pocket and producing what looked like a stone from it. Small though it was, Lilith could sense the magical energy infused the stone, and the runes delicately carved upon its surface.
"Thank you, Irene." Lilith replied, nodding. "You've been a great help to us with this."
"It's no problem." Irene replied, looking at the stone before pocketing it again. "Honestly, going off of the sample you gave me, I could've devised that workaround in my sleep. You're telling me descendants of the Old Satans had wards like THAT around their hideout?"
The scarlet-haired Magician suppressed a scoff, as Lilith cleared her throat.
"In any case, I'm still happy you were able to complete the workaround so quickly, Irene." The Succubus remarked, her lips curving into a smile. "Anyone who's still awake, please let them know that the invasion of Hebeth begins tomorrow. As well as that, perhaps get some sleep. We don't know how much resistance we'll end up facing on the True Satan Faction's home turf."
Irene nodded, silently retreated from the bedroom before shutting the door behind her, leaving Lilith alone again to consider said invasion, the future talk she planned to have with Raylix... and whether or not she should summon Eve for some personal relief.
Maybe she should.
----- ----- -----
Letting out a slow breath as he finished gulping down the glass of water he'd just poured for himself, Raylix stood up from the dining room table in Katerea's apartment. It was the next morning, and Raylix had been thinking long and hard for most of the night, ever since the end of his conversation with Lilith, about any next moves he could potentially make between now and whenever Lilith chose to launch her invasion of Hebeth.
As he made his way over to the sink to get some more water to drink, as even in spite of having just chugged a large glassful his throat was still pretty dry, the door to the dining room/kitchen opened behind him. Raylix looked up, noticing Katerea scratching the back of her head as she made her way into the room, letting out a yawn as she did so. Apart from that, and the running of the tap as Raylix's glass filled up, there was silence for a second or two before Raylix elected to speak.
"So… how did it go?" Raylix asked, by way of greeting as he hadn't seen Katerea the night before. He'd heard her teleporting back into the apartment late last night, but she hadn't come to see him after she returned. So he figured it wasn't worth it to immediately seek her out and ask. Not when he himself had been so deep in thought at the time.
Katerea looked up, having seemingly noticed Raylix's presence in the room with her upon his question, and let out a sigh.
"I convinced them…" she began. "To think about it. With the mood they were both in after Lilith left, I think that was about the best I could do. Particularly Shalba, he gets… intense, whenever anything related to his father comes up."
She leaned against the table, her eyes on Raylix's as he turned around and took another gulp of his water.
"I imagine I'll be informed of their final decision, whenever they reach it."
Raylix hummed, nodding as he set his glass down on the counter he was standing in front of. He took a breath, clearing his throat to draw Katerea's attention.
"I also wanted to… tell you something as well, Katerea." He remarked. "Since you left last night to chat with Shalba and Creuserey, I've been in talks with Lilith. I'd considered not telling you, but whatever you think of what I'm about to, I feel like you should at least be informed in advance."
Katerea didn't reply. A slight shift of her weight, a raised eyebrow, was all the acknowledgement Raylix got that she'd even heard his words.
"Lilith… is planning to take over the True Satan Faction." Raylix let out, along with a deep breath. "I don't know exactly when, beyond that it's probably going to happen quite soon. She plans to depose Shalba and Creuserey from their offices as leaders of the faction, and replace them with- with people more sympathetic to her cause."
Up until the last moment, Raylix had considered confessing that he was the one that Lilith planned to install in Shalba, Creusery and maybe-Katerea's place as True Satan Faction leader. But for whatever reason, he held back that bit of information.
"I let her know you were interested in the Khaos Brigade-proposal for the TSF," Raylix continued, trying his best to not avert his eyes from Katerea's- which had taken on a piercing quality in the last couple of seconds since he'd began his confession. "But your… position in the faction could end up being the same as Shalb and Creuserey's, depending on…"
Raylix trailed off into silence, not quite able to figure out how to word the last part of what he'd wanted to say. But Katerea seemed to understand regardless, as she nodded and shifted herself away from the table she'd been leaning on. She didn't immediately reply as she stood up, walked over to one of the windows and looked out, facing away from Raylix.
Silence stretched out for an uncomfortably long moment between the two Devils, before Katerea let out a slow breath and turned back to face Raylix.
"The True Satan Faction… we founded it together." She began, her tone as neutral as it could possibly be. "Shalba, Creuserey and I. Centuries ago. And we've been friends for even longer: our whole lives, in fact. I can't just… turn on them, just like that."
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, in the space between herself and Raylix, to underline her point, before lowering her hand again. But before Raylix could even reply, a communications-circle appeared by Katerea's ear. Turning away from Raylix again, she raised a hand to her ear and tapped the circle, calling back to whoever was on the other end.
"Shalba? …Yes, I'm awake. …I see. …We'll be right there. …See you soon."
The circle disappeared, and Katerea turned back around to face Raylix, who had tilted his head slightly.
"Shalba?"
"Yes." Katerea nodded. "He wants me to bring you to him."
One transportation-circle later, Raylix and Katerea were outside Shalba's mansion, having made their way straight from Katerea's apartment to the courtyard of the home that they'd been in just yesterday. Shalba and Creuserey were outside the doors, awaiting the two Devils. The two Satan descendants came down the steps leading up to the mansion, in nigh-perfect sync with one another until they touched down on the courtyard, on the same level as Katerea and Raylix.
Shalba wasted little time in clearing his throat before speaking out, his voice ringing across the courtyard and clearly heard by all standing within it.
"Raylix," Beelzebub's grandson began. "During your travels away from Hebeth, you have fallen under the influence of Hell's greatest traitor. By bringing Lilith and her insult of a proposal into our home, you've clearly shown that you have no regard for the True Satan Faction and its mission. By democratic majority, the leadership of the True Satan Faction consider you an interloper and a traitor, and for this you will be… executed!"
Raylix didn't reply. Truth be told, part of him figured that this was what was going to happen, ever since Katerea had left to try and talk with them yesterday. His eyes quickly flicked over to Katerea, whose eyes were firmly focused on Shalba and Creuserey. Escape it was, then, he figured. He was just about to raise his hand to make a transportation-circle to get out of Hebeth faster than whatever method of execution Shalba and Creuserey had in mind for him could be carried out, but before he could conjure the circle, Shalba spoke up again.
"And Katerea, your unwillingness to stand by your fellow leaders in this trying time for this Faction shows weakness, indecisiveness. Traits that cannot exist in this Faction's leadership, so therefore your sentence will also be…"
"You can't be serious, Shalba!" Katerea protested, before Shalba could even finish delivering his sentence out-loud, as she took half a step towards him and Creuserey. "I've always had the True Satan Faction's best interests at heart, you know that! You've known me for centuries, and you're going to order me to die just like that?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"You're the one who's lost your mind over the last few years, Katerea!" Creuserey replied, taking half a step forward himself. "You were just as ready to lead the faction to the deepest circles of Hell if it meant destroying the fraudulent Devil government before HE arrived," he raised a hand and pointed at Raylix, who tensed up slightly, "And you started getting all goo-goo-eyed at him! The little brother of that fraudulent charmer Sirzechs has charmed out, JUST LIKE I SAID HE WOULD!"
Katerea let out a short gasp: not one of surprise or any attempt at denial of the accusation from Asmodeus' grandson. More just one of disbelief that Creuserey could actually think something like that, and think that warranted execution for HER.
"…Let's fix that, shall we?" Creuserey continued, an unsettlingly gleeful grin crossing his face as he opened his hand towards Raylix and suddenly sent a powerful blast of demonic energy towards the auburn-haired Devil. Raylix immediately summoned both Gaeneron and Rubilacxe, swinging both his family's former sword and the blade that Lilith had given him towards the blast as it travelled towards him with full intent to deflect it. Though before either sword could make it anywhere close to the rippling energy-bolt that was making a beeline for his chest, a barrier suddenly appeared right in front of Raylix. One that, in the middle, carried the symbol of a capital letter 'K', with a snake-like line enveloping it… the crest of the Leviathan Clan.
The bolt exploded against the barrier that Katerea had conjured up on-contact, with the force of the explosion sending Raylix sliding backwards across the courtyard. He drove Gaeneron into the ground to slow his movement to a stop over the course of the next couple of seconds, and looked over to where the bolt and barrier had made contact with each other, before his eyes trailed to his slight right where Katerea was floating on her four pairs of Devil wings, making her way over to Raylix's position.
"You alright, Raylix?" Katerea asked, touching down beside Raylix as he pulled Gaeneron out of the ground.
"I'm fine." Raylix replied. "I'll take that to mean you're fully with me and Lilith, now."
"Good thinking." Katerea nodded, summoning her spear into her hands and taking a breath as she looked across the courtyard. As the dust kicked up by her shielding Creuserey's attack settled down, Shalba and Creuserey walked forward, spreading their wings and readying more energy-blasts of their own.
"So that's it, then." Shalba remarked, a look of pure disgust coming across his face as he mentally acknowledged Raylix's swords and Katerea's spear pointing at him. "Raylix, Katerea… you have both chosen de-"
At that moment, comms-circles suddenly appeared around the ears of all three Old Satan descendants. Creuserey was the first to acknowledge, reaching up with a free hand to touch the circle at his ear before barking "What?! We're all kind of in the middle of- …What? You can't be-!"
'Raylix,' A familiar voice sounded, directly in Raylix's head. Lilith's, the same voice that Raylix had been chatting with the night before. 'We're here.'
----- ----- -----
Meanwhile, as Raylix and Katerea transported themselves to Shalba's mansion to hear his judgement on the situation, Lilith took a breath of her own. Standing outside her villa in the cool French morning air, her crimson eyes slid across the six women standing in front of her: Hikari and Kurumi at the front, both looking as set and ready for anything as they always did when about to undertake an important mission.
Just behind her two daughters were Raylix's companions. Irene, Cinder, Esdeath, Tamamo, looking just as set and ready as Hikari and Kurumi. Perhaps even more so, which Lilith certainly appreciated at this moment.
"It's time, everyone." Lilith began. "We all know what is to be done. Enter Hebeth, navigate to Shalba's residence, capture it and defeat both him and Creuserey. If they won't step out of the way of the world's progress, then they must be forced aside."
There were nods and quiet hums of ascent from all in front of Lilith. Hikari even cracked her knuckles, clearly more ready for a fight than all the others. Though when Lilith cleared her throat again, everyone snapped back to attention.
"Shalba and Creuserey are to be our ONLY targets on this mission." The Prime Succubus continued. "Apart from those two, any other operatives of the True Satan Faction are NOT to be attacked without proper cause. Our problem is not with the Faction itself, or those who simply follow orders, but with the Faction's foolish leaders."
The group nodded in understanding, all silent as Lilith's eyes slid from one specific woman to the next for a few seconds each. She took a breath as she finally settled on Irene, who slipped a hand into a magic-circle for a couple of seconds before pulling out the stone she'd finished making last night. Nodding back at her, Lilith pointed a hand at the ground and conjured a transportation-circle large enough for the group to all easily stand in.
Irene then tossed the stone down onto the transportation-circle, staring down at it before snapping her fingers. The stone then seemed to melt into the circle, causing it to glow brightly for a second before fading back to its original dark colour.
"This is it, everyone." Lilith announced, as everyone stepped into the transportation-circle, one by one until they were all in. "Stay alert, watch each other's backs, and this will be an easy victory." She then stepped into the circle herself, activating it and sending the seven of them away in a flash of dark light. An instant later, the seven of them had been transported to Hebeth, the same spot that Raylix and Lilith had appeared in the day before on their previous visit.
Hikari, Kurumi and Raylix's companions all looked around for a couple of seconds, curiosity clear on their faces as they took in the city that Raylix had, according to him, spent the better part of three years living in prior to venturing out into the world and meeting Irene. Lilith's eyes, however, were locked in the direction of Shalba's mansion that she had entered with Raylix the day before. Everyone else's eyes and heads snapped in that direction as soon as they heard what sounded like a blast of demonic energy going off, coming from that direction.
Lilith let out a mild hum of interest and, after a quick gesture to the women around her to follow, began her brisk walk to Shalba's mansion. She ignored the incredulous looks from the True Satan Faction operatives that, once again, gawked in complete and utter shock at the sight of Lucifer's widow appearing on their streets for the second time in two days. Said widow was busy firing off a mental message to one of her other operatives.
'Raylix, we're here.'
----- ----- -----
Raylix let out a breath, resisting the urge to smile as he dispelled Gaeneron from his hand, switching it out for Rubilacxe. While Shalba and Creuserey were busy freaking out among themselves over the news that Hebeth's barriers had been unnaturally breached, Katerea glanced over in Raylix's direction.
"I'm guessing you know who's behind the breach." She began, her tone even. "If so… the timing really couldn't be any better, could it?"
"Nope." Raylix replied, readying Rubilacxe as the True Satan Faction's other two leaders- or rather the faction's two remaining leaders- looked back up to face them with looks of mixed shock and rage on their faces. Shalba's expression was definitely leaning far more towards rage as he glared over at Leviathan's granddaughter.
"Katerea… you have NO idea what you've just done." Beelzebub's grandson forced out, his voice an unpleasant hiss before he launched himself at Katerea on his own four pairs of Devil wings. As he quickly covered the distance between himself and Katerea, he outstretched his hand and fired off a powerful bolt of demonic energy that rippled through the air ahead of him. Katerea got her spear out and swung it to deflect the energy-bolt, but was left open to Shalba slugging her in the chest with his other hand, throwing her up into the air from the force of the attack.
All the air was forced out of Katerea's lungs thanks to Shalba's lungs, and she quickly manoeuvred herself around in the air to dodge the follow-up punch that Shalba aimed at her head, readying her spear once again as Shalba turned around to face her.
"You weak-willed, traitorous BITCH!" Shalba screamed, swinging his hand in a wide wave in front of Katerea and sending a volley of fast-moving energy-bolts her way, before attempting to teleport directly behind Katerea and punch her into at least one of the bolts that he'd sent her way, but Katerea quickly dropped before the bolts, or Shalba's fists, could hit her, causing Shalba to have to dodge his own attack. "Is THIS really what you really want, Katerea?! To throw away EVERYTHING we've EVER worked for, over CENTURIES?!"
Katerea just let out a quiet sigh, rolling her arm back before throwing her spear at Shalba with her full strength, before quicky casting a transportation-circle in front of the spear to bring it back to her when the brown-haired Devil dodged her attempt at a ranged attack. She made no attempt to reply to Shalba's rambling: as soon as Creuserey had accused her of having lost her mind, which Shalba had made precisely zero attempt to challenge or correct, she'd known that there was no more reasoning with the pair of them.
It absolutely sucked, to have to attack those she'd called friends for pretty much all her life, but at the end of the day… it was her or them. And she chose her.
Growling, Shalba raised both his hands above his head before thrusting them outwards. As he did so, what looked like large scorpionflies flew out from both of his hands and arms, enlarged insects that immediately made a beeline for Katerea. The scorpionflies that Shalba summoned with his Clan power, King of Flies, were so numerous that they looked more like a swirling, buzzing cloud than any singular living thing. The cloud of scorpionflies charged at Katerea, who instantly dispelled her spear and thrust forward both of her hands as well, summoning what looked like an enormous mass of water out of a magic-circle to combat the scorpionflies as she flew back a little, putting some more distance between herself and Shalba.
The mass of water that Katerea summoned morphed itself into the shape of a massive Asian Dragon that immediately charged at the cloud of scorpion-flies, with such speed and force that Katerea noticed some of them dissipating into thin air on contact with the water-Dragon she'd summoned. Those that weren't immediately destroyed by her summon scattered from the water-Dragon, bogged down by all the water and making themselves easy targets for Katerea to fire upon and destroy while the Dragon she summoned made for Shalba.
Cursing under his breath, Shalba braced himself for the Dragon charging at him, coating his hands in freezing demonic power as the Dragon came even closer, its jaws agape. When it reached him and began to shut its mouth around him, Shalba reached out and grabbed the Dragon by its teeth, holding its mouth open while pouring his power into the Dragon, flash-freezing the summoned creature solid. Noticing that Katerea was still busy with taking out the rest of the scorpionflies he'd summoned, Shalba sent a pulse of demonic energy through the frozen Dragon to shatter it into frozen chunks, which he began to rapidly send Katerea's way. Some of them missed their mark entirely, but many more slammed into Katerea while she was taking out the last of the scorpionflies.
Some of the chunks even also flew past Katerea, but were close enough to cut through her clothes and even her skin with their jagged, broken edges. Leviathan's granddaughter could only grit her teeth as she felt herself being cut open by her own redirected Dragon. As she simply grabbed the last buzzing scorpionfly out of the air and crushed it in her hand, she quickly waved her non-spear-holding hand around herself to cast a defensive magic-circle that wrapped around her body before charging at Shalba. As she came closer and closer to Beelzebub's grandson, more and more of the icy chunks that Shalba was sending out smacked against her, but with the defensive spell wrapped around her body they just either bounced off, or shattered against her. She didn't even feel them, let alone get hurt by them.
Though a certain gash on her arm did sting quite badly. It was bleeding quite a bit, too.
Not even all the remaining ice-chunks that Shalba hadn't had time to fire out yet could stop Katerea's flight: she simply flew straight through them, shattering all of them into far smaller and less deadly chunks that fell down around her as she thrust her spear out towards her opponent. As she broke through the last of the chunks of dragon, coming out of its frozen-open mouth, she heard Shalba letting out a bellow of pain as her spear hit its mark. It had impaled the son of Bidleid through the stomach, the force of which sent him sliding along the spear so he was practically nose-to-nose with Katerea as she flew across Hebeth's sky.
Shalba fixed Katerea with a look that would've probably caused lesser beings to drop dead from pure fear: there was so much rage and hatred etched into every square inch of his expression, mixed in with a dash of what looked like genuine hurt and pain from Katerea's betrayal… and the spear through his stomach.
Katerea could only look back at him with a sorrowful expression… that quickly changed to that of a pained look as Shalba headbutted her, before reaching down towards the spear and taking a hold of it, then proceeding to push himself off of it. Dropping down, he immediately reached for the gaping hole where a good portion of his stomach used to be before the spear pierced through it, applying a flaming spell to cauterize the wound before doing the same to the exit wound on the other side.
"Believe me when I say…" Katerea spoke as Shalba rose back up to her level. "I don't want to kill you, Shalba!"
"That makes sense!" Shalba spat back, wincing as he moved his cauterized stomach. "Of course a spineless slut wouldn't be able to do what's NECESSARY!"
Coating one of his fists in demonic power again, Shalba charged at Katerea and threw a heavy-looking punch that Katerea quickly dodged, spinning around the back of Shalba so she was behind him, and had a clear shot at the scab that had formed when he cauterized his back. The energy-bolt she fired out made its mark with pinpoint precision, opening the wound up again and causing Shalba to let out another pained yell.
----- ----- -----
Meanwhile, back on the ground as Katerea and Shalba took to the air…
"I tried to warn Shalba so many times that you'd turn out to be a traitor, Raylix." Creuserey remarked, a mixture of smugness and anger in his voice as he glared at Raylix. "I knew this would happen, and now it has… killing you will be even better for me than it would've been before!"
Raylix simply rolled his eyes and readied Rubilacxe as Creuserey spread his four pairs of Devil wings and charged towards him. Watching Asmodeus' grandson as he advanced, he quickly swung Rubilacxe, aiming for Creuserey's neck. Creuserey seemed to be ready for that, however, as he coated one of his arms in demonic energy and raised it to block the sword-swing. Creuserey looked over at the sword that had met his arm, blinking a couple of times before looking back at Raylix.
"Thinking that you could fool us all as a member of the True Satan Faction when you're the little brother of that fraud Sirzechs…" Creuserey growled, glaring at Raylix. "That's bad enough. But acting like you have the right to wield THAT sword?! That's even less forgivable!"
Creuserey's eyes widened slightly as Rubilacxe's blade began to penetrate the coating of demonic power around his arm. Before it could pierce his skin and hurt him, he quickly jumped backwards and fired multiple powerful energy bolts, aiming them not quite AT Raylix but around him, allowing Raylix to quickly roll past them and close the distance between himself and Creuserey, readying Rubilacxe for another slash. But before he could even swing the sword to initiate the slash, Creuserey kicked out at him. His boot-clad foot connected with Raylix's stomach, sending the auburn-haired Devil stumbling backwards, straight into the first of the energy-bolts that had flown past him and bent around to strike him from behind.
Letting out a grunt of pain, Raylix quickly turned around and opened an Amalgamation-hole with a wave of his free hand, mentally holding it open as he span around to see Creuserey charging at him once again. He was quick to meet Creuserey's punch with one of his own, swinging Rubilacxe at him again as Creuserey pulled back for another punch. Creuserey was forced to abandon his plan for another punch when he saw the business-end of Rubilacxe's blade flying towards his head, and he was just barely able to avoid the blade as he jumped back. He held himself in the air on his eight wings, looking down at Raylix as his Amalgamation-hole behind him closed, and his body glowed a bright crimson for a couple of seconds.
As the glow around his body faded, Raylix's eyes switched from their regular blue to a similar crimson to how his body had been glowing, and fired out two destructive beams that forced Creuserey to roll out of the way in mid-air Seizing the opportunity presented by Creuserey's vulnerability, Raylix quickly spread his wings and flew up, catching Creuserey in the face with a solid punch that sent him spinning over and over through the air. He was quick to give chase, following up his first punch with a second that sent Creuserey further up into the air than across Hebeth and away from him, and bolting up into the air to follow Asmodeus' grandson.
Creuserey managed to stop his spinning, practically spitting with rage as he raised his arms to block a face-aimed punch that Raylix swung at him, countered with a kick aimed at Raylix's head that was blocked, and ended up taking a punch to the stomach from Raylix for his troubles. He resisted the urge to double over from the pain of it, instead moving backwards to put some more distance between himself and Raylix. Before the former Gremory Heir could re-close the distance between himself and his opponent, Creuserey raised his hands above his head. When they began to glow what looked like a bright purple, he lowered his hands and extended them towards Raylix, grinning as he watched him flying towards him.
"Stupid, fraudulent Pillar…" Creuserey muttered, the glow around his hands and arms intensifying. "You're MINE!"
Creuserey pulled his arms back for a second before thrusting them forward, with the purple glow surrounding his hands and arms sprouting off of his body and flying in Raylix's direction. However, the purple glow faded away before it could even touch Raylix himself when a couple of bolts of magical energy-bolts flew up to Creuserey from below, smacking him in the lower stomach. Thrown off-balance, Creuserey glared down at the ground where those energy-bolts had come from. Raylix looked down as well, and couldn't help but grin slightly when he saw who was down there: Lilith, Hikari, Kurumi, Irene (with her staff out and pointing at Creuserey. Evidently, she was the one who had fired those energy-bolts his way), Cinder, Esdeath and Tamamo.
Creuserey's eyes widened at the sight of Lilith, and a few dozen feet across Hebeth's skyline, Raylix noticed Shalba looking down from his fight with Katerea at Lilith, her daughters and Raylix's crew with what he could only guess was a similarly fearful expression. His and Creuserey's eyes met across the air above his mansion, and judging by how the pair of them immediately spread their wings, turning tail and making to fly away from the area as fast as their wings could carry them.
"Bring them to me, Hikari." Lilith remarked, as Raylix touched down on the ground close to her and the other women. "Alive."
As the command left Lilith's throat, Hikari became bathed in a dense, glowing white light. A second later, she left the ground and rocketed into the air, the white glow fading away in place of what looked like white plated armour, worn across Hikari's entire body, including her face. There were blue jewels embedded across various locations on the armour, and what looked like eight wings of light streaming from the armour's back that gave out an otherworldly glow.
"Vanishing Dragon… BALANCE BREAKER!" A deep male voice seemed to intone from the armour itself, as Katerea landed beside Raylix. Without wasting any time, Hikari rocketed off after Shalba and Creuserey as Katerea looked over at Lilith.
"Divine Dividing, huh?" she asked of Lilith, a hint of surprise flickering across her face before she forced it down. "I don't know whether to laugh or not at the irony of you having secured the aid of the wielder of that particular Sacred Gear, especially considering your history with Albion."
Lilith let out a small snort from her nose, shifting her weight slightly as her eyes shifted up to Hikari, who was blazing between and around Shalba and Creuserey as fast as her eyes could see, if not even faster.
"DIVIDE!" the same deep male voice as a few seconds ago called out, faintly meeting Raylix's ears as Lilith made her reply.
"Hikari's existence… is a miracle, nothing more or less." She stated. "She's already incredibly strong for someone so young, well on her way to becoming one of the strongest beings in the world. Something I plan to make happen."
A small smile crossed Lilith's face as she turned her attention back to Katerea.
"But, to other matters, Katerea." She continued. "I'm told you're more open to the idea of the True Satan Faction's co-operation with the Khaos Brigade than… certain others?"
Katerea nodded, shifting her weight slightly as she briefly looked over at Hikari laying down what looked like an INCREDIBLY heavy smackdown on her two childhood friends, before looking back at Lilith.
"I do." She replied. "And in light of recent events, I'm ready to pledge allegiance to you over Shalba and Creuserey. The path they wish to walk… it's not one I can follow."
The small smile on Lilith's face widened, ever-so-slightly, as she nodded approvingly at Katerea.
"Good choice, Katerea." she replied. "I'm pleased to accept your allegiance, and to hear you're not one to cling to suicidal pride… unlike some Devils I can think of."
Raylix resisted the urge to let out a snort of his own as, seemingly right on cue, Hikari swiftly returned from Hebeth's sky and landed on the ground. Still in the armour that was her Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker, she held Shalba and Creuserey by the scruffs of their necks. When Raylix shifted his eyes away from Lilith and towards the two TSF leaders as Hikari shoved them to the ground in front of her mother, they widened slightly as he took in the appearance of Beelzebub and Asmodeus' grandsons. Both of them were barely-conscious, and they were both sporting quite harsh-looking injuries not just on their faces, but all over their bodies. One of Shalba's legs looked bent at an odd angle, Creuserey's arm looked like it had been forcefully torn right off his body, both were sporting blackened eyes, broken noses and deep-looking scars on their faces that oozed blood.
The thought that the sight of Shalba and Creuserey all beat-up like this and letting out that much fresh blood would probably be any Vampire's wet dream, crossed Raylix's mind for a fraction of a second.
After acknowledging Hikari's work with an approving nod, Lilith surveyed the two defeated Devils with a neutral expression on her face. An expression that quickly turned cold as she took a step forward.
"Fools." She spoke. "Short-sighted and petty fools. Under all the prestige and power that came with the blood of the Old Satans in your veins, that's all you are. You thought you could lead your… faction to decisive victory over the ruling Devils and noble Pillars, as they are now? Wrong doesn't even begin to describe the pair of you."
"You think…" Shalba forced out a reply through the doubtlessly-intense pain, coughing up blood as he did so. "You have any… right to talk? That however we might have betrayed Hell… compares to what YOU did?"
"And if you really think…" Creuserey followed on, looking up at Lilith and attempting to force out a chuckle but just doubling over in pain for a couple of seconds before looking back up at her. "The soldiers of the True Satan Faction… would ever follow a whore like you-"
"S I L E N C E ."
And there was silence, from all in Lilith's general vicinity. Even though she'd just spoken a single word, the sheer power behind said word was enough to almost knock Shalba and Creuserey over backwards, looking like the wind had been forcefully ripped out of them on top of the wounds Hikari had already dealt them. Had the armour-clad silverette not been holding them down on their knees, Raylix suspected that they'd probably have been blown straight over and onto their backs.
Even though he wasn't the target of Lilith's command, Raylix still felt himself impacted by the power and force of it, found himself unconsciously swallowing as he watched Lilith taking a step closer to the pair of defeated TSF leaders, and bend down slightly.
"King of Flies, Spirit King… they're wasted on failures like you." She continued. "Even more so on enemies of the future, that will have no part in shaping it."
The Succubus Queen reached out with both her hands, laying them on Shalba and Creuserey's foreheads. Almost immediately from the hands, dense grey smoke billowed, curling and wrapping around the bodies of the grandsons of Beelzebub and Asmodeus. It took several seconds before they were fully enveloped, and the smoke changed colour: grey to green for the smoke wrapped around Shalba and grey to black for the smoke wrapped around Creuserey. As soon as each cloud of smoke finished changing colour, it seemed to weirdly flow, like water in reverse, back into Lilith's body. Once that was done, Lilith immediately stood back up to her full height, and turned away from Shalba and Creuserey. Without even needing to be asked, Hikari released her hold on the two Old Satan descendants, for whom having their signature bloodline powers forcefully stolen from them on top of their grievous injuries seemed to be too much for them. The pair of them dropped unconscious right there and then, in the courtyard of Shalba's mansion.
This really couldn't have gone down in a more emphatic manner, Raylix thought, only sparing a glance towards Shalba and Creuserey's unconscious and ravaged forms on the ground behind Lilith before turning around to look at her, then at all of the operatives of the True Satan Faction that had seemingly gathered outside the gates of Shalba's mansion, likely curious about the goings-on. From when Lilith had arrived in said courtyard and sent Hikari after Shalba and Creuserey, it had been over in less time than it probably took most people to take a dump.
The True Satan Faction, at least as Shalba and Creuserey ran it… was all over.