"Shirone!"
An excited voice suddenly called out to the younger Nekoshou, who was sitting in the library of the Gremory Castle with several cups of hot milk on the table, engrossed in her book.
Her cat ears twitched, picking up on the sound of the footsteps that approached her, and then she turned and hopped off the chair to hug the girl who had come to see her.
"Mito." She greeted her and then looked at the door.
"Kuroka is with Erza, and they are still in the Youkai Territory. Magari-sama asked her to stay behind because she had a few more things to teach her." The Demonic Fox informed her and then sat on the chair, picking up a cup of hot milk. "How have you been doing?"
"Fine," Shirone answered and smiled when she found her friend enjoying the delicacy they both shared a mutual love for. "You have grown stronger."
"I did! Yasaka-sama taught me a lot." Mito then started telling her how she spent the last several months training under the tutelage of her aunt. "You have grown stronger as well." She commented at the end, glancing at the second tail that the younger Nekoshou now possessed.
Every tail a Nekomata gained, represented their strength.
Currently, the strongest Nekomata was Magari, who was the Leader of her race, and she possessed seven tails. These seven tails also represented that she had attained some Divinity.
The strongest Nekomata Goddess was known to possess nine tails, and people with seven tails were already considered deities.
"I did." Shirone smiled and then picked up the book again to continue reading about Senjutsu and Youjutsu.
It had been her routine ever since the day they attended Raizel's birthday last year. The day when he was kidnapped by a girl called Velgrynd, who suddenly showed up at the end of the party.
And no one had seen him since.
Of course, they all grew a little worried after a while, but Hilda told them that Raizel was busy training, and it was under Lady Pandora's orders.
Since everyone around them was focused on growing stronger, the younger Nekoshou decided to put extra effort into her training and she also picked up reading in the evenings.
Now, she always looked forward to picking up a book after a long and fruitful day.
Mito, who finished her third cup of milk, smiled at the girl who was like a younger sister to her.
It had been a year and a half since they had first met, and the Younger Nekoshou was the first person she truly befriended.
She was just too pure and honest, and she loved these traits of her.
"Kuroka has three tails now." Mito playfully said, well aware of how much Shirone looked up to her older sister and wanted to become just as strong as her. And she giggled when the younger Nekoshou just nodded her head.
"I know. She was forced to reveal it when she fought against Guts and Casca."
"Wait!" Mito's eyes widened at her words. "When did this Battle take place?"
"Two weeks before you, Erza, and Nee-sama left for Arz."
"What?!" The girl shot up to her feet, and the Nekoshou curiously looked at her.
"What's wrong?"
"She lied to me! She said she only awakened it after training under Magari-sama!" Mito complained and then told her how Kuroka had revealed her third tail to her and Erza a week ago during their spar.
Shirone smiled at her words.
"Nee-sama does not like to reveal her full strength. Maybe she has even awakened the fourth tail."
"I don't believe it!" The Fox Girl adamantly shook her head. "Impossible."
As soon as her words fell, they both picked up the sounds of the approaching footsteps that they were familiar with.
Seconds later, Akeno and Akame entered the library, and the daughter of Baraqiel smiled at them.
"Welcome back, Mito!" She said as she came over and hugged the girl. "What's got you so worked up?"
"Nothing." The crimson-haired girl shook her head. "You look happy."
"We can't be happy to see you?" Akeno playfully asked and was amused at the blush that crept on Mito's face.
"That's not what I meant..."
"We know." She giggled. "And yes, there's a very good reason for it. However, before we tell you that, did you meet Zeoticus-sama? "
"I just returned. Has father asked for me?" Mito curiously asked.
"Yes." Akeno nodded her head. "You should go see him and then we will leave."
Her words made Shirone curiously look at her.
"Where are we going?"
"A messenger has come from the Beelzebub Castle. Lord Ajuka has asked us to come to his Laboratory." Akame informed them.
"Tosca?" Both the Demonic Fox and the Nekoshou voiced their guess at the same time.
"Yes." The raven-haired Knight smiled and confirmed it. "She's out of the barrier now."
"Have you informed Kiba?" Shirone asked.
"He has been informed and he will be there," Akeno said. "Do you want to come?"
"Of course!" Mito smiled and her dear friend nodded her head as well before she closed the book and hopped off the chair.
The girls waited for their crimson-haired friend for nearly half an hour in the lobby, and when she rejoined them, they noticed her bright smile and the bubbly happiness that she was emanating.
"Did something good happen?" The Half-Fallen curiously asked.
"Father gave me some territories, and I had to stay and sign some documents." She told them the truth and turned to look at the Messenger of the Beelzebub Castle, "Let's go." She ordered, and the man nodded his head before creating a Magical Circle to take them to the Laboratory.
To their surprise, there were already several people in the Laboratory, including Sirzechs Lucifer, Serafall Leviathan, Myseira Belial, Grayfia Lucifuge, and the Heir of the Belial Clan, Diehauser Belial.
And all of them seemed to be listening to Lord Ajuka, and another young man, whose back was facing them.
The girls could not help with find the figure very familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and it was not until they saw the pout on Mito's face that they understood who it was.
"That's Raizel?" Akeno asked, and they heard an answer from behind them.
"Yes."
Turning around, they found Moka standing there, and behind her, on the other side of the Laboratory, the rest of their friends were sitting.
They immediately noticed a young girl sitting by Kiba's side, looking very unsettled and fearful, and their friend was gently speaking to her, explaining what had happened and where they were.
It did not seem like a good time to intrude, and so, they all turned to look back at Raizel, who was in a meeting inside the glassed cabin.
"He's grown so tall..." The daughter of Baraqiel lightly smiled, and her words seemed to irritate Mito, who furrowed her brows in displeasure.
However, she could not help but keep looking at her King, who had indeed grown taller and broader in the year he had spent away from them. And even though she had seen him two days ago, she had still not grown used to his physical changes.
Why was he becoming more and more handsome?
"The Belial helped with breaking Tosca out?" Akame, who had great interest in the Noble Devil Houses, asked.
She remembered that the Clan Trait of the Belial Clan was Worthless, and it was quite an interesting and powerful ability. Maybe they used that power to deactivate the Barrier?
"Possibly." Moka nodded her head. "But Lord Ajuka did not tell us how they managed to break Tosca out of the Barrier." She said and then gently patted on Shirone's head. "Want to spar later?"
"Yes." The little Nekoshou nodded her head with a smile, accepting the offer. "Is he back for his Birthday Party?" And she asked, glancing at Raizel, hoping that he would stay for a while.
"There is no Birthday Party this time." The Blood Demon shook her head. "Raizel is going to leave with Lady Pandora tomorrow."
"Oh..."
"More Training?" Akame asked and watched Moka shake her head.
"Knowing him, I doubt he wants to keep training. He has already broken past the limits of an Ultimate-Class Devil, and he probably wants a break now."
"What?!"
She giggled at their reaction and nodded to her.
"We wouldn't have known about it if Lord Sirzechs and Lord Ajuka had not confirmed and congratulated him over it. And Raizel did not deny their words."
"Wow."
For a moment, they all forgot to make sense of what Moka had just revealed to them, and then Akame's eyes widened in a realisation.
"So, he's a Satan Class Devil now? A fifteen yeat old Satan Class Devil?"
"No. The title that has been coined by Lady Serafall is the Empyrean Class. A Tier that would fall right between the Ultimate Class and the Supreme Class, replacing what we used to classify as the Satan Class." The Blood Demon informed them, and Mito rolled her eyes at those words.
"Why do I feel like it was Raizel who complained about being called a Satan Class Devil?" She jokingly said, but when Moka nodded her head to her words, she deadpanned at her. "Seriously?"
"Yes. He said that the name Satan Implies the Ruler of the Devildom, so, given the current scenario, where Super Devils exist and the Rulers of Devildom are Super Devils, the Satan Class should become synonymous with the Supreme Class. He further argued that a new age of Devils has come, and several people from his generation are bound to breach through the Limits of the Ultimate Class as their Race is growing stronger. Therefore, he proposed a new classification of Devils who fall right between the Ultimate Class and the Supreme Class." She smiled. "Lady Serafall immediately agreed and came up with the name on the spot, which was approved by both Lord Ajuka and Lord Sirzechs."
"So, we now have an Empyrean Class? Sounds cool." Akame nodded her head.
"Yes, and the first two Empyrean Devils are Raizel and Lord Diehauser."
"Wow." Akeno was truly excited for Raizel, but when she turned to look back at the Meeting Room, she froze.
Diehauser Belial was visibly upset over something that was said, and he seemed to be arguing with everyone in the room, including Myseira Belial.
Even though they could not hear or make out what the discussion was about, it was clear that it was not a pleasant discussion anymore.