February 14th, 797 NA (Nova Aetas/New Era)
Lilith, the new capital of Devildom
The ever-so-bustling city where Devils, Demons, and so many other races of the Underworld happily resided, was vibrant as usual. But the keen ones could sense the tension in the air.
It was for the first time since the end of the Civil War, 797 years ago, that an aura of suppression descended on the city that made those who had been alive back then feel restless.
But most would not be aware of the reason until later in the evening when the Devildom would receive a hot piece of news.
Inside the new Satan Territory was a Castle made of Glass, the Castle of Beelzebub, which was the residence and the office of Ajuka Beelzebub, formerly Astaroth.
It was inside this Castle, deep underground, where the Monument of Life was situated, a place where the eligible Devils received their Evil Pieces. And today, there was another Ceremony where a young Pure-Blood Devil was going to receive his set.
However, it was unlike any ceremony that had taken place before, as all the Heads and Heirs of the remaining 72 Pillars of Ars Goetia, and also that of the Extra-Devil Houses, were present in the Hall where the Monument of Life was situated.
All Four of the Satans of the Underworld were present as well, and even the Ever-So-Cheerful, Serafall Leviathan, was wearing a sombre expression.
As soon as the clocks hit noon, in the centre of the Hall of Pride, several Magical Circles appeared, and the biggest of them was a Crimson and Black Magical Circle, with an ever-revolving and bleeding triquetra in the centre.
It was the sigil of the House of Darcaedes, the Guardians of the Underworld.
The youngsters held their breaths as a constriction befell them, and the oldest ones gasped when they saw the lady who stepped out of the Magical Circle.
Zekram Bael and Mysiera Belial were among the few who were stunned as they saw the lady of the Darcaedes Family for the first time in a long while. The last time they had seen her, she was only three years old, but now, seemingly in her early twenties, which was, of course, not her true age, Pandora Darcaedes was an absolute spitting image of their mother, Amilith Eveningshade.
Mysiera even nearly uttered the word 'Mother' when she saw Pandora, but managed to compose herself when her eyes landed on the young boy who was standing beside his mother.
She could not help but exclaim again as the boy, despite his young age and the features he shared with his mother, bore an uncanny resemblance to her father, Lucifer Morningstar.
Her surprise did not end there as she looked at the last person who had stepped out of the Darcaedes Magical Circle. It was a lady with striking golden eyes and a beautiful pair of white horns, which bore a stark contrast with her lustrous jet-black hair.
Mysiera Belial and Zekram Bael both recognised the girl. She was none other than their grand-niece, Albedo Asmodeus, who had been missing since the end of the First Dragon War.
And then there were some of the strongest Devils whom they had not seen since the end of the last Great War, who were all obediently standing behind the one they served, ready to kill everyone in the Hall without any qualms if Pandora said the words.
"Lady Darcaedes, Heir Darcaedes." Ajuka stepped forward with a smile and greeted Pandora and her son, to which the lady nodded, and the young boy smiled.
"Shall we begin?" Pandora asked, not bothering to greet anyone in the Hall.
"If the young Prince is ready, we can begin right away." The creator of Evil Pieces nodded his head and turned to look at the young boy.
"I am ready." His words were light, and even though he was wearing a smile, there was no hint of excitement in his expression or voice.
Ajuka led the young Heir of the Darcaedes Family to the Monument of Life and waited patiently as the boy inspected it with curiosity, the first genuine expression he had shown since Ajuka had met him several days ago.
He did not even have to guide the boy through the process as he seemed to be already aware of it.
Placing his right hand on the Monument of Life, after making an incision on it, allowing the blood to flow, the young boy poured his Demonic Power into it, and Ajuka narrowed his eyes when he found the Monument slightly trembling as a result.
He had seen this happen before in the last seven centuries, but only a handful of times, and never because of a ten-year-old Devil.
The witnesses stared at the blinking Monument of Life, which was taking longer than normal to show the results, but it did eventually stop blinking, and the young prince took his hand off it.
A round of gasps erupted in the Hall when they saw the results that the Monument of Life presented.
"Raizel Darcaedes. Class: Ultimate."
"How's this possible?!" A young Devil in the gathering could not contain his shock and exclaimed, but no one had an answer for him.
A ten-year-old Ultimate Class Devil was unheard of to most of them, and some subconsciously turned to look towards a certain Crimson-Haired Satan, who was one of the few who had reached the Ultimate Class at that age.
However, soon their eyes returned to the Monument of Life as it started shining, and then one by one, crimson-coloured chess pieces started flowing out of it, floating around the King they belonged to.
"It's a Mutated Piece!" A little girl with crimson hair and teal eyes excitedly clapped her hands when she saw a darker chess piece emerge from the Monument of Life, and to add to her excitement, another Mutated piece came out.
The crowd watched in disbelief when all fifteen pieces had assembled in front of their King, shocked to the core of their souls at the number of Mutated Pieces the Heir of the Darcaedes Family had received from the Monument.
"I guess I must congratulate you on getting five Mutated Pieces, Prince Raizel." Ajuka smiled as he presented a box to the young boy to store his pieces. "That's the same number of Mutated Pieces your mother received back then." He meaningfully said, giving the audience another shock.
Only a handful of people present today knew that Pandora had come to this Hall centuries ago to receive her set, right after the inception of Evil Pieces, the rest had believed that the Lady of Darcaedes Family had stayed in isolation all these years.
"Rai-Kun, you are amazing!"
A sudden voice grabbed everyone's attention, and some finally smiled as they looked at their Maou Leviathan, who was no longer wearing a sombre expression, return to her usual persona.
The young Raizel too turned to look at the girl who looked to be in her mid-teens, with black hair tied in twin tails, and blue eyes. She was wearing a very pretty black and red dress with golden highlights, and as soon as their eyes met, she rushed to him.
"Nice to meet you! I am Maou Serafall Leviathan. You can call me Levia-tan!" She happily drew her hand to him, and Raizel kept looking into her eyes.
Her sudden action tensed the Hall and some could not help but look at the guards of the House of Darcaedes, gulping in fear as chills ran up their spines.
However, seeing that Pandora and Albedo were indifferent to what was happening, no one made a move.
"You are beautiful." Raizel smiled after a while, and his words froze the girl, whose eyes widened a little in surprise. And then he grabbed her hand, and instead of shaking it, he courteously planted a kiss on her knuckles. "I am Raizel Darcaedes, Serafall."
Ajuka amusedly smiled as he found his old friend at a loss for words for the first time in her life. And he was sure he had caught a hint of blush before Serafall composed herself and happily smiled.
"You are so well-mannered, Ra-kun!" She feigned a sigh. "I wish my Sona-tan was like you." She complained before she stopped feigning and then happily started urging him to call her Levia-tan.
Raizel was quite amused by her antics, and he played along with her for a while, never giving in to her request, and then excused himself to walk back to where his mother was standing, waiting for him.
"Everyone present here today is invited to the Darcaedes Castle on Sunday evening. It is my son's tenth birthday party." Pandora suddenly announced to the Devils present there and then created a Magic Circle before teleporting away with Raizel and Albedo.
The words she left behind gave the Devils one last surprise, and they wondered if this was the day when the Territory of Darcaedes would open again.
One by one, everyone took their leave, returning to their homes to prepare for the party they would be attending the day after tomorrow. And then only the Four Satans of the Devildom remained in the Hall along with Zekram and Mysiera.
Ajuka knew why these people had stayed behind, and just like them, he was curious as well.
Using his Devil Magic, he looked into the lineage of the King who had just received his Evil Pieces, and then lightly smiled.
"Who's his father?" Zekram straightforwardly asked.
"Zerys Darcaedes." And Ajuka's answer baffled them.
"How..." Falbium looked at him in disbelief but was even more shocked at Ajuka's next words.
"And his mothers are Alissa and Pandora Darcaedes."
"What?" Mysiera frowned.
However, Ajuka did not speak again for the next few minutes as he tested the Blood of Raizel and compared it to that of Pandora.
"Raizel is not exactly Pandora's son." The Beelzebub narrowed his eyes. "He's biologically her twin brother." He smiled at the discovery. "How curious..."