—Cole POV, Five Minutes Later—
"Like shooting fish in a barrel!", I laughed with a grin as I pretended to blow smoke from my index fingers, "Damn I needed to blow off some steam…between that piece of shit Enji and Rizevim, today has been a terrible day."
Having mercilessly torn the Devils to pieces, the Hellions made short work of the severely weakened Devils. As most had no genuine physical combat training, their resistance was absolutely pitiful, to say the least. Having left Lucifer alive to prove a point to the other factions, for the first time since I met him Lucifer actually looked terrified. Having been unable to fight at all, since he heavily relied on his Demonic Power, he had been forced to stand there while all of his underlings were torn apart around him. Without a doubt, had I decided to spare him, their death throes and curses would have haunted his dreams every night.
"You finally understand where you fit in the pecking order now?", I asked as I towered over the cowering idiot, "Tens of thousands of nobles had to die for you to finally understand that my alliance with the Youkai isn't a joke, and that pissing me off is a bad idea. If it brings you any comfort, no one in this universe will likely ever make your mistake again. They put this day down in the history books to avoid it, I guarantee it."
"I…I beg you to spare me!", Lucifer said bowing his head as he reached into his vest pocket.
"It's too late for that now.", I chuckled as I smashed his head into the ground with my foot, "One warning was all got, and you squandered it."
Removing my foot from his head, Lucifer leaped up in one final attempt to injure me. Pulling out a knife he had been saving to kill the Biblical God, he attempted to stab me in the face with it. Shattering into a billion pieces millimeters from my forehead, I grabbed him by the face with my right hand. Realizing that I had seen his attack coming, the final bit of arrogance and pride he had shattered like the blade.
"Another tyrant falls by my hand.", I causally remarked as I siphoned the Devil King's life force from him, "Join your turd of a son in the Abyss."
Crushing his mummified remains, as I did with Rizevim, I let out a sigh as I used Purgatory Flames to burn away the pile of corpses. Dispersing the Hellions with a thought, my attention turned to the landscape around me. The last time I was here I hadn't stayed around to look at things, but now that I had a moment I realized how dreary this place was. The atmosphere this place gave off was depressing, it wasn't that surprising to see why they preferred the Human World in the future.
'I get they are Devils, but a little sunlight wouldn't hurt them.', I thought looking up at the overcast sky, 'It is honestly shocking that they haven't created an artificial Sun to illuminate their world. Ajuka has the potential to do it though I suppose he's been more preoccupied with other issues.'
As a gesture of goodwill and an olive branch to those that would live to recall today, I repaired the damaged landscape back to what it had been prior to any construction they had done. Creating an Artificial Sun for them as well, my hope was that they would take this opportunity to reflect on their actions and improve. Having left only one Devil King alive, it was highly unlikely that Leviathan would maintain her title moving forward.
With the old guard removed from power, Ajuka, Sirzechs, and their allies could take control of the government preventing any further conflict. There were certainly going to be some growing pains as the new government took over, but with more Devils than they would have had after their Civil War helping, things looked bright for the Devils. So long as they kept future Warmongers in check, I was certain they could have a better future ahead of them.
Finishing the minor modifications I wanted to the Underworld, I pulled the remaining Devils out of a parallel dimension. Stumbling forward as their feet touched solid ground, all of them immediately took several steps back giving me a wide birth. Knowing that they were unsure of what came next for them, the civilians and lower nobles looked to Zekram and others for leadership.
"Lord Cole…will you truly let us live?", Zekram questioned holding his wife's hand tightly, "You aren't going to punish us further?"
"Your Blood Debt has been paid in full by your Warmongering brethren so you aren't in any danger from me.", I assured him as I turned to face him with my usual blue eyes, "I am handing the Underworld back to all of you hoping you won't cause any further trouble for the Youkai or me. With the most vocal War Hawks dead, I am certain your grandson Sirzechs and his friend Ajuka will be able to enforce a more peaceful agenda."
Blinking several times in shock, Zekram asked how I knew their names as I hadn't been introduced to them. Cracking a grin, I told him that I knew more about them than he did at this point. Giving me a complex look, it was plain to see most didn't understand what I was saying.
"As I attempted to explain to Lucifer, I come from a higher plane of existence where I have learned much about your universe. There are many things I could share with you, however, I have already altered your timeline enough as it is. I have likely already drastically altered your futures, hopefully for the better.", I stated with a soft smile.
"May I ask…what was the future you mentioned to me when we first met?", Lilith inquired as she came to the front, "It has been driving me crazy trying to understand what you meant."
"If you want to know, go to your son's secret lab and read his journal. Your future isn't clear quite yet…one of your future issues is still alive and kicking.", I warned her, "Take Ajuka with you, he will be able to explain to you what your dear son was planning. I will warn you…it's not going to be pretty."
Nodding her head, she swore to look into it immediately as she wanted answers. Telling them that I hoped to have friendly relations with them in the future, I repaired the damage I caused to the World Barrier and teleported away.
—Youkai Village—
Arriving back in the Head Village, I used Rewind to reverse the damages caused by our fighting. Once everything was back to normal again I told the Youkai to come out of the Storage Building. Rolling out of the door, as she had been pinned against it, the Miko looked around half expecting to see a ruined village. Seeing none of the previous damage that was there a short time ago, she looked at me in awe.
"Your power is unbelievable!", she praised me, "Lady Yasaka, we should consider building a shrine to honor Lord Cole."
"How about we discuss that at another time…", I remarked having no desire to be worshipped as a God, "Yasaka, how are you holding up?"
The last one to come out of the building, Yasaka hurriedly tried to button up the coat to hide her body. My poor coat buttons desperately held on tightly as she tried to squeeze her buxom body into my skinny coat. Trying not to stare at her, as she was beet red at the moment, I couldn't help but admire her beautiful body.
'I don't remember who her mate was, but I might consider taking his place.', I thought hiding a grin, 'She is a good woman, well worth making a move on…I will introduce her to the rest of the family and get to know her better. If there is something there, I'd be an idiot for not pursuing her.'
"Lord Cole, I must apologize again for my stupidity!", Yasaka said trying to hide as much of her body as the coat would allow, "I should have called you immediately…instead, I foolishly believed that the power you bestowed upon me was enough to win. Having witnessed what you did to the Devils, it is almost certain they will not do us any further harm. Not only did you save my life, but you also ensured future generations won't have to go through what we did."
"I agree with that assessment, the ones I spared are more moderate individuals who will likely focus on regrowing their population over starting another war.", I stated while looking away, "Now that things have calmed down, can you please go put on proper clothing? The coat doesn't hide that much of your gorgeous body."
"Gorgeous!?", Yasaka repeated turning red, "Of…of course, I will go change immediately!"
Running off to her home, she returned a few minutes later with the coat in hand. Thanking me for providing it to her, Yasaka offered to have it washed before returning it to me. Telling her it was fine, I had a certain Maid in mind that could do the work for me. Since Malty was buried in laundry from our vacation, one extra piece of clothing wouldn't hurt her.
"So where do we go from here?", Yasaka inquired as her people listen intently.
"I know your numbers are low, and you will most likely need to intermingle with other groups to rebuild. With that in mind, I would like to formally establish trading with your people. There are a great many people that would be eager to purchase your sake at high prices.", I informed her, "In fact, several of my wives are eager to meet you."
"Really?", she remarked looking at the Storage Building, "We have quite a lot of it as it's a rite of passage for our people. Before one can be considered an adult, one must be able to make the Mystic Sake without external aid. We Youkai pride ourselves on keeping the traditions of our ancestors alive and well to honor them, does your Kitsune/Kyubi wife not brew Mystic Sake?"
"About that…", I remarked looking at the time, "I will explain my situation to you tomorrow, I have a family meeting to get back to and a daughter to comfort. Tomorrow one of my territories will be celebrating the completion of its reconstruction. We will be holding festivities from dawn till dusk, I would love to have you all there as my honored guests. All of your expenses during the festival will be covered by me personally so please come and enjoy yourselves."
Turning to her people for their input, all of them were elated to have something to look forward to. Telling her they wished to attend the festival, Yasaka accepted the offer on their behalf. Constructing a marble gateway to my Melromarc Capital, the villagers gasped in shock as they saw the massive structures on the other side. Seeing hundreds of people from various races wandering the Grand Market, Yasaka inquired about what sort of place it was.
"In my territory, all races are welcome to come and live their lives in peace. It is the only place in that world where all races are treated equally under the law, and where discrimination is outlawed. I cannot stop people from hating one another, but I can punish them for acting on it.", I told her with a smile as I handed her a bag of gold coins, "Take your people to my territory's capital and buy yourselves something good to eat."
Staring at the enormous amount of gold I gave her, Yasaka began tearing up. Thanking me for coming to this world, she informed me that she had only ever dreamed of a day when her people could be at peace again. Running over and hugging me tightly, she repeated her thank you several times before releasing me. Taking me up on my offer, Yasaka sent messengers to gather up people from the other villagers so they could all go together.
"I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow at the festival!", I told them before teleporting back to the hospital room.