Tswii!
This time, the blonde was alone. Dressed in his semi-formal clothing, he was distinctly different from the rest of the male satans who dressed rather royally. Nonetheless, fashion wasn't on the agenda for today.
Hovering his gaze around each satan, his eyes eventually landed on Sirzechs.
"Gathering information on me so soon, Lucifer?"
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|DxD|
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The Four Satans were quiet. Not shocked or alert, but quiet. Ajuka in particular had a small smile on his face while Sirzechs was relatively calm. Serafall had a small frown on her face and Falbium simply watched the blonde with interest.
"Gathering information on me so soon, Lucifer?"
"..."
Sirzechs was briefly surprised by how Igor teleported in here when barriers preventing teleportation were there. He remembered that Ajuka said something about him using the Dimensional Gap.
But, he shoved that thought for later.
"It isn't so much as gathering, but more on the lines of verifying, Dimori-san."
"..."
Igor looked at Sirzechs for a moment before he sighed.
"I'm too tired for wordplay, Lucifer. Can you be more direct?"
Amused at his words, Sirzechs decided to listen to his request.
"Alright, Dimori-san. But, I am curious about something."
Letting his chin rest on his fist, he regarded the blonde who was on the other side of the table with a curious gaze.
"You do realise that you just infiltrated a high-level meeting between us all Four Satans. For what reason did you do so if I may ask?"
"Simple. You had Sister Cleria here. I don't want her to die now, do I? And judging from the glare Levia-tan is giving me here, I wager I did good."
Serafall did not tone down her glare in the slightest, her eyes drilling into his.
"Your people are known for being violent."
"And devils are known to be the scum of the earth. But you don't see me glaring, do you?"
"..."
The blonde had his arms crossed while Serafall had her fist clenched on the table. She did not hide her ire for him in the slightest.
Sirzechs could already tell that the situation would devolve from this point if nothing happened. And while his fellow satan had every single right to attack, he didn't want the opportunity that willingly came to them to be tarnished.
"Calm down, you two. Serafall. Please drop your prejudices."
Serafall held her glare longer before abruptly turning her head.
"Hmph."
She was not blind to what Sirzechs wanted, but that didn't mean she liked it. And a part of her felt a bit more iffy when Igor casually blew her off by talking to Sirzechs.
"Lucifer. I know I said it a hundred times, but I don't like politics. I don't like skirting around issues, and I don't like unnecessary detours. You feel like a good guy, so I want to make things clear between…us."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dossier on the table. Unable to restrain his curiosity, his eyes lingered on it for a while before they widened.
On it…was a picture of Asia.
"..."
Immediately, his gaze turned hostile as he leveled a glare at Sirzechs.
"Why do you have a picture of my sister?"
"We are investigating you."
"Any chance of you stopping?"
"No."
"..."
The atmosphere became tense. This was especially so when Igor's eyes turned red.
"If I rip your head off, will you stop then?"
"..."
Sirzechs regarded Igor calmly, his eyes viewing him intensely.
"Is that a threat, Dimori-san?"
Ignoring Serafall like she didn't exist, his power gradually creeped up at the prospect of a fight.
"That fully depends on your actions, Lucifer."
"Funny, seeing as you kidnapped my sister."
""?!""
Vwong!
The reactions were instant. Serafall immediately pointed a magic circle towards Igor with a cold resolution on her face. The temperature in the room had fallen, but Igor did not shift his gaze from Sirzechs in the slightest.
None of the other satans reacted overtly, but Falbium was on guard. Igor's power level was already creeping up to concerning margins, something that made him wary since he read of the blonde's ability to increase his power.
[Troublesome.]
Regardless, he would be ready to move in an instant if the situation so required. As for Igor, he wasn't fazed in the slightest by the sudden hostility.
"Your sister is the only reason I haven't done anything yet. Because trust me, Lucifer. I am very much willing to fight all of you. And I can promise there won't be Four Satans when I'm done."
.
.
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Silence…
The atmosphere was getting more and more intense. One move. Just one move was needed for everything to descend into chaos. Igor had made it abundantly clear he was not afraid of fighting them, something that more than proved his Aryan heritage.
"Perhaps we should all calm down and discuss this civilly?"
Surprisingly, it was Ajuka who made the offer.
"I can see that you care greatly for your sister, Dimori-kun. However, rest assured that unlike some unsavoury parties, we hold no ill-will towards you. Don't we, Serafall?"
"..."
Serafall reluctantly put her hand down. She understood that Igor was too valuable to recklessly antagonise, even if his crime of barging in warranted his death.
With Serafall having lowered her hand, Ajuka continued.
"Good. Now, Dimori-kun. I believe we can talk civilly?"
"..."
Igor looked at the four individuals in front of him. Apart from Serafall, the other three were calm.
"..."
He mentally judged that it was safe enough and so he responded.
"We can talk…but not with me."
Without elaborating, he vanished.
Tswii!
Barely a moment passed before he appeared again with Aurelia in tow.
Tswii!
He then faced Ajuka.
"Talk to her."
Leaving his sister to the wolves, he could've been more graceful in introducing her. Fortunately for Aurelia, she was very quick to adapt. And fortunately for Igor, she did not lower her head.
"I humbly greet all the satans. My name is Aurelia, attendant to Lord Dimori and I shall be speaking on his behalf."
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|DxD|
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Over three hours had passed since Aurelia arrived and the talks were surprisingly going smoothly. After she arrived, she was very quick in defusing the tension in the room and shifting the opinions of everyone in their favour.
Unlike Igor who was brash, when she talked, she showed the satans basic respect and apologised in his stead for barging in like he did. When she properly told the reason why he did why he did, the Four Satans seemed to regard him a bit more amicably, especially Ajuka.
This had left Igor in a sort of a bind. When the first thirty minutes had passed, he had calmed down enough to somewhat relax. Part of him calming down however had more to do with how Aurelia was trading strong English words with Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Serafall. Or was it Italian? He didn't even know what language devils spoke.
And those were the sort of thoughts that his dazed and bored mind came up with to pass the time. But there were only so many minutes Igor could distract himself before his baser instincts came to play. And when they did, they came with the subtlety of a hammer.
It was like an instant realisation that had dawned on him when he was fiddling with a ki sphere in his hand. There were five powerful people in this room. He was used to fighting with one. Two of them would probably give him a decent fight if he didn't transform, while the last two would undoubtedly give him the fight of his life.
Like a thirsty man seeing an oasis in front of him, he began levelling a gaze full of desire for battle at Sirzechs and Ajuka. His ki had fluctuated a few times in the process, making atleast one of the three satans look at him from time to time. Serafall was the one most unnerved since she could swear she saw smoke come out of his nose like a bull's.
Eventually however, Igor did calm down when he saw how serious the talks were and he didn't want to interrupt. Slowly, he reigned in his desires and thought about different things like training and other mundane things. Combined with the drawls of politics entering through one ear and leaving through the other, he had slowly grew tired.
He had sat down next to Falbium who seemed to not be affected by his close proximity. Like him, he could also see that the satan was also close to sleeping. With the crux of the political talks having been covered a few moments ago, Falbium had begun dozing off.
[I guess he hates politics as much as me.]
Finding a kindred spirit, Igor boldly placed his arms on the table and laid his head on them. Closing his eyes, he was unashamed of the looks he received from four pairs of eyes. Four pairs immediately became three when Falbium also followed suit and fell sleep.
"""…"""
Seeing her lord brazenly fall asleep like that, Aurelia sighed.
"I apologise in my lord's stead. He…"
"...doesn't like politics, does he."
Sirzechs nearly chuckled when she nodded in resignment.
"Unfortunately, Lucifer-sama."
"Do not fret, Aurelia-san. As you can see, our fellow satan also appears to share the same sentiments."
Sirzechs felt a bit embarrassed when Falbium slept like this. But he knew better than to try and wake his compatriot up.
"Should we continue talking at a later date, Aurelia-san? I believe we have covered the most vital parts of our agreement."
"I would not mind doing so, Lucifer-sama. Is this meeting officially over?"
"Although the circumstances pertaining to this meeting are less than savoury, we can move on ahead and adjourn our little gatheri-"
"Finally!!!"
Like a cannon, Igor shot up with his arms raised high.
"Four hours! It's been four hours!"
"To be exact, it's three hours and twenty-two minutes, my lord."
"Doesn't matter!"
Standing up, he pointed a finger accusingly at Sirzechs.
"Lucy! You're a man. Why the hell do you talk so much like a woman? You're a man! A man goddamnit!"
"Now wait, Dimori-san. We were…"
Watching as Sirzechs tried to placate the blonde, Ajuka couldn't help but be amused. From the short few hours he had observed the boy, he could conclude with absolute assurance that Igor was just as simple as he portrayed himself to be.
Add in his strength, and he was a very worthwhile ally to have.
[Would he be opposed as to let me have his blood?]
Serafall was for a lack of better words, in a daze. She would usually never call herself a muddleheaded person, but Igor was different from the Aryans she knew of. With his power, she figured he would be arrogant like his people usually are.
But…
"Come on, Lucy! In fact, fight me to prove you're a man!"
…she could admit that he had a certain level of charisma. In just one sitting, he had somehow managed to enter the good graces of her fellow satans.
Over the course of this impromptu meeting, her desire to kill him as well as his sister dwindled, something she previously thought would happen. But she was soon brought out of her daze when a high-pitched whistling sound entered her ears.
Tswii!
"...?"
With her eyes regaining colour, she looked around to see that Aurelia and Igor were no longer there. There was however, Sirzechs who was looking at her with a tired, but light smile.
"I see you had much to think about, Serafall. Perhaps they surprised you?"
Serafall looked into his eyes.
"They did. But…is it really a good idea to not…"
She didn't complete the question, but it was easy to understand what she meant. Fortunately or unfortunately, Ajuka was the first one to refute her statement.
"Killing them would be a complete waste, Serafall. We've all read the report. In less than a decade, Dimori-san managed to reach a level of strength many may never hope to enter. Let us take a page from Azazel's book and have him as our ally as well. Surely that would-"
"You just want Dimori-san's permission to study him don't you, Ajuka?"
"..."
Caught right in the crosshairs by Sirzechs, he merely fixed his collar before replying.
"That may also be a boon worth striving for."
Shaking his head helplessly, Sirzechs turned to face Serafall.
"Regardless of circumstances, I believe we can trust them, Serafall. If it makes it any easier for you, feel free to visit them in Kuoh. Perhaps you'll learn more about them as you converse. Having an alliance with the last living Aryans will be very helpful for all of devilkind, especially in a few centuries. So we will need your cooperation there, Serafall."
Standing up from his table, he looked over at Falbium with a sigh.
"We on the other hand, have to discuss new protective measures for our territories in the human world."
It was slight, but Serafall could swear she saw Falbium twitch. Nonetheless, the events of today fogged up her brain and she needed to clear it.
Grabbing the updated dossier on the table, she stood up as well.
"Maybe I'll go visit them after all, Sirzechs-chan."
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AN
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Politics are finally over. Lord knows I hate them. Onwards to the next chapter.