Chapter 30: Back Home (5)
Ajuka Astaroth Pov:
"Why not have a seat, Azrail? Your expression makes it look like I am interrogating you."
At the wave of my hand, a chair appeared in front of me.
"You make it sound like this isn't supposed to be an interrogation."
Azrail growled, but he still walked over and sat in front of me regardless.
"So, will it just be you, or will the other Four Great Satans join us?"
At his question, I smiled slightly.
"Sirzechs, Serafall, and Falbium said that I can handle this matter however I see fit, and they'll agree with my decision."
"I see... That explains the concealment barrier around my room."
'He can tell there's a concealment barrier here, huh? That's pretty impressive.'
Although the barrier around this room was something I created on a whim, the fact that he could sense it did surprise me.
But then again, that was the least I'd expect from my brother.
On the other hand, Azrail seemed to think of this as an interrogation or maybe even a judgment of sorts, which made me laugh a little, and I commented.
"So, where should we begin?"
"I have two questions before you start asking questions."
Well, it'd be weird to expect him to have no questions after what I did to him.
"Go ahead."
"How did you discover that it was me?"
It was a brief question.
I could tell from the look in his eyes. Even after re-analysing each one of his steps, he couldn't find a single time when he might have slipped up.
"There is no grand reason as to how I found out about it, as it was just dumb luck... Be it your [Transportation Magic], the time you spent subduing a target, how you picked your targets, or attacking places completely unexpected, they were all flawless."
It was a genuine compliment.
"Dumb luck?"
"Remember when you kidnapped the Pure-Blooded Devil from the Agares Clan?"
At that question, Azrail nodded.
"When you were executing your plan, I just happened to be in a meeting with Archduke Agares inside his territory, and while you never left any traces of your Demonic Power after leaving the crime scene, I was able to sense it when you used a spell to bind that Pure-Blooded Devil."
"That's impossible..." Azrail pondered for a few seconds before calmly explaining further. "I made sure to locate the assumed positions of all the Four Great Satans, along with people like Alice and Grayfia, before making any moves within the Underworld. And while I abducted the Devil from the Agares Clan, you were still inside your laboratory as no one saw you leave."
"That's why I said it was dumb luck. The meeting was set up in a hurry, only about fifteen minutes before you executed your plan, and there were no official preparations. Since it wasn't official, I teleported inside Archduke Agares' office without informing anyone because the meeting wouldn't have lasted more than an hour."
"For a stupid reason like that..." Azrail facepalmed himself. "My luck was supposed to be good…"
His frustration was understandable.
"But even then, I couldn't follow your [Transportation Magic], and I still haven't figured out where you keep all those kidnapped Devils… Your mastery of [Transportation Magic] is a bit too good."
Even after looking into Azrail for almost over a year, I couldn't find anything about where he kept those kidnapped people, as he always teleported to that place, and I had no way to follow his [Transportation Magic].
"That makes me feel somewhat better, but if you can't follow my [Transportation Magic], I'll assume that no one from the Three Factions can, so do you know anyone else who can?"
I shook my head.
"Anyone decently strong enough has the power to subdue you before you can cast [Transportation Magic], but if you successfully leave, I don't think anyone can follow you unless they've placed a tracker on you."
"Trackers of any kind won't work… You should know that because you've placed trackers on me more than three times. My laboratories have thousands of Defensive Barriers to avoid things like that. Not to mention, they're powered twenty-four-seven."
'Laboratories, huh… It seems like Azrail has been conducting experiments on living beings...'
At that thought, I couldn't help but smile a little.
'As expected of my brother…'
Was this how Sirzechs and Serafall felt when their siblings started to walk?
Although it wasn't something one should be proud of, Azrail's actions didn't make much of a difference to me.
After all, I had done it a lot more than him.
To successfully create the Evil Pieces, the number of Devils, Humans, and other species that I sacrificed was well over a few hundred thousand, and compared to me, his records looked like those of a rookie.
However, if that were the case, his targets shouldn't be just Devils.
"Hmm… I take it that the disappearances happening within the Human World are also your doing? From the humans to supernaturals..."
Azrail didn't reply, but his silence was a good enough answer.
I was curious about what kinds of results my brother has gained over the years, but I held back from asking about them for now.
"So, what's your second question?"
Azrail pondered for a few seconds before asking.
"Why play it off as a prank? I even confessed my crimes… You had me perfectly cornered. If you wanted to, you could've easily dealt with me back then."
"My goal was to teach you a little life lesson. Why would I want to ruin my younger brother's life?"
Of course, that was only half true.
From the very beginning, the results of the banquet depended on how he reacted.
What I wanted to learn was whether Azrail truly cared for our family or not, and the expression he made back then was good enough to answer my question.
The part about life lessons only came in after that.
"Life lesson?"
Azrail looked confused at my words, so I continued.
"Did you realise how fragile the life you're living is? After only a few words from me, the seemingly perfect life came crashing down like a sand castle."
Well, the whole point of this performance was to teach him that.
Azrail didn't say anything and lowered his head slightly.
'From the looks of it, the message I wanted him to understand was successfully understood.'
That was a good thing, which made me smile.
Living a life made up of lies was not a problem because everyone did that, including me, but not knowing how fragile a life like that was, it wouldn't end well.
I couldn't find a more appropriate way to give Azrail that emotional and mental realisation without taking away something important from him, so I went ahead with this idea.
He had been living without many difficulties and needed to realise that his life could slip away at a moment's notice.
True, I could've placed him under an illusion and done it there, but I also wanted to make things a bit difficult for him.
After today's banquet, it was obvious that a lot of people would keep an eye on him, so it wouldn't be easy for him to go around collecting devils from the Underworld like he usually would.
Despite his relationship with me, people would surely doubt that he had something to do with the disappearances within the underworld, even if he wasn't the main culprit.
On the other hand, his relationship with the people he was close to would change ever so slightly, and it'd be a change he'd need to adapt to, regardless of whether he wanted to or not.
That much should be a good enough payback for when this bastard peed on my lap.
"But there's one thing I don't understand."
Azrail raised his head, looking into my eyes.
"What is it?"
"When everything came crashing down at the banquet, I realised that this life was all a lie, so does that mean the love I feel towards my family is also a lie, too? Do I love them, or am I just lying to myself, looking at my family while believing that they're something they aren't?"
That was some serious thinking for a child.
He sounded more like a man who already had everything figured out, but when he got through a major emotional event, he started questioning his emotions, wondering if they were real or not.
It was clear that he loved our family, but after seeing how it was all based on a lie, he started questioning whether the feeling of love he felt towards them was a lie or not.
People often questioned themselves in the face of things they didn't understand; I was the same at one point.
Knowing how smart this twerp was, I didn't believe it'd take him more than a few days to sort out his feelings, but for me, the question was how to reply to that.
I could, by all means, give him a clear answer, but that won't be as impactful as him realising it on his own.
Self-realisation was, after all, a lot better than getting answers from someone else.
Instead of answering his question, I asked another.
"You managed to separate your set of Evil Pieces from the Evil Piece System I created around a week ago, right?"
Azrail's movements halted for a second.
"So you knew…"
"Please. I created those things…" I smiled at my brother, and after a few seconds, I continued. "How do you think the Evil Pieces change a person's species to that of a Devil?"
Azrail didn't seem to understand why I'd ask that, but he still summoned around a hundred documents before handing them over to me.
"This is all I researched regarding an Evil Piece's effects on different individuals. I haven't reached the point where it's my primary research, so it's still half-assed."
Hmm.
Taking the documents, I started skimming through them.
'To think he'd look at it from this perspective...'
Azrail was researching the biological aspects of how the Evil Pieces worked, something even I didn't work much on.
He probably filtered out some parts, but I couldn't determine what was missing since my expertise never leaned towards biology.
But that was good enough.
"This is quite the take, and it is very accurate, but you do realise that Evil Pieces alter a person's soul rather than their body, right? The changes in a person's body are like side effects of altering their souls, and not the primary function of Evil Pieces."
At that question, Azrail nodded.
"And that is why it can't reincarnate Gods and Buddhas, along with Dragon Gods, as Devils, because their souls have reached a different level of existence where they cannot change any further, right?"
"Exactly." That was more or less correct. "So why are you researching the biological aspects of Evil Pieces?"
"Because I don't have much knowledge about souls, to begin with, and my expertise leans heavily towards biology, so it's only natural to go that route. It's like reverse engineering Evil Pieces from the biological aspect. Your approach alters the soul, resulting in biological changes, while my approach alters a person's body, making it so that the soul has to change and adapt to its new vessel."
That wasn't surprising.
Even I could only get the outline of a Devil's soul after experimenting on tens of thousands of them, and there wasn't much knowledge about the soul, even within the underworld, much less the Astaroth Clan's library.
But his approach was interesting nonetheless.
'Altering the body and making the soul adapt to its new vessel?'
That was no different than going against the natural order.
"I see."
"But how does it relate to the question I asked?"
I handed the documents back to him and pointed my index finger towards my head.
"You see, Azrail. Those who are born smarter will have an easier time understanding the most complicated phenomena within this world, but at the same time, their brains will try to avoid things that they find complicated, and an example of this would be a person's heart. You can understand the formations of a God's soul, but not something simple like your very own emotions. For us, it is much easier to find a 'logical' solution for things that aren't related to logic, like your own feelings. You might understand how other people feel or how their brain works, but when it comes down to your feelings, have you ever considered even thinking about them?"
"Honestly, I always believed that I had my emotions perfectly sorted out, but it confused me even more after what happened at the banquet."
"Don't worry, you'll come around that and realise what you truly feel when the time comes."
There was no need to understand everything about oneself, as there would always be things a person would realise as their life progresses.
"You could very well become a therapist, you know." Azrail gave out a light chuckle.
"Believe me, I know."
I had a way with words like no other.
I was the one who gave Grayfia the necessary pep talk about following her heart. It was only after a rather serious conversation that she finally betrayed the Satan Faction and defected to the Gremory Clan, following her love for Sirzechs.
Otherwise, she might have remained trapped between her love for Sirzechs and her duties as a member of the Lucifuge Clan.
That was the least I could do for my only friend.
"But you do realise that today's banquet will have an impact on your life, right?"
"You talk as if it's not your fault."
"Think of it as the price of learning something important."
"Learn what? I'm more confused than I've ever been."
Azrail growled again, but I laughed it off.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, so don't worry about it."
"But why did you do it, though, going out of your way to make me realise something like that?"
At Azrail's words, I smiled.
"Do I need a reason to teach something so simple about life to my brother? Not to mention, if your life went downhill like that, everyone would be sad, including our parents, and I don't want to see that, as I've already given them a fair share of troubles."
"But even if that's the case, I'm sure Mother and Father realise that I am the one responsible for all those disappearances, or at least somehow related to them, so I doubt things would be the same again."
"You believe something so trivial can change how our parents would look at you?"
I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Trivial?"
"I've killed more people than you've met in your entire life for no reason, and it doesn't affect the relationships I have with people—not by much, at least. Every God has killed who knows how many people, but are they still not worshipped by millions and billions? Things like this don't matter as much as you think they do."
Azrail's eyes widened slightly, and from the looks of it, he understood what I wanted to say, so I decided to change the topic.
"Before the banquet, you had something to ask me, right?"
Azrail pondered for a few seconds before replying.
"Yeah, it's about your [Kankara Formula]."
"If you want it, I'd have to say no."
It was a blunt reply.
"I don't need it, not necessarily. I can already take over another person's Magical Power using a spell I created, but I need to improve the control because there's a lot of waste."
'Ah, so that's how it is…'
"So you need my [Kankara Formula]'s ability to perfectly take over other people's Magic Power to improve your spell's efficiency."
"That's the gist of it, yeah."
"I can't give you the finalised version, but if you want some prototypes and random paperwork, that'll be possible."
"How so?"
"You know the Astaroth Clan's Castle that is reserved for the Heir?"
"The one where only Diodora can go into, and is where he and his subordinates reside?"
"Yeah. I developed [Kankara Formula] when I lived at that place, and left all of my research notes there, as well, so they should still be inside the store room. If you want them, you'll either need to ask Diodora or become the next Heir of the Astaroth Clan."
"Not the Heir bullshit again. Why can't the Astaroth Clan marry me off or something? And that Diodora—he's the least reasonable person I know, but it doesn't seem like I have another choice."
Azrail let out a long, tired sigh.
I knew how it felt when responsibilities distracted someone from their research, so I could understand what he was thinking about.
"Now that I think about it, Diodora wasn't present at your engagement party, was he?"
Azrail shook his head.
"He wasn't… I'm pretty sure Lord Astaroth wouldn't let it slide like he always does."
How much of a disappointment Diodora turned out to be.
Soon, Azrail continued.
"Right, who do you plan on framing as the criminal in my stead? Lord Lucifer said that the information about the criminal would be released within a few days."
"Sirzechs is the one who will take care of it, so don't worry too much. I'm sure he can create a perfect scenario for you to get away, but even with that, there will still be some people who will believe that you were involved in this incident."
"Doesn't Lord Lucifer wish to cancel my engagement with Rias?"
Azrail made it sound like he was asking the obvious.
"Why would Sirzechs do that?"
"If the framed criminal has a good enough story, some people might suspect that I am somehow related to the disappearances, but you, along with the Satans, know the truth, right…? It's hard to believe that Lord Lucifer would allow his sister to be with someone like that."
"You're overthinking it."
"What about the other two, then?"
"As for Serafall and Falbium, they don't care as long as you don't make a big mess. But Serafall did tell me to warn you about something."
Azrail's face turned serious, and he looked at me as if asking what it was.
"She said she'd beat the living crap out of you if you made her job as the one in charge of Foreign Affairs any harder after causing friction between other factions."
The corner of Azrail's mouth twitched, and I laughed.
"Calm down; it was a lie." It wasn't; Serafall was dead serious when she said that. "By the way, do you blame me?"
My question was out of pure curiosity.
"Not really…" Azrail shook his head. "Even if you were to seriously condemn or kill me for my actions, I wouldn't blame you, or anyone else, in general. I did everything knowing something like this could happen, and it wasn't some honest mistake, so it'll be wrong to blame the consequences of my actions on someone else."
It seemed like he calculated everything except how those consequences would affect him.
"Is that so?" I was satisfied with his answer and slowly got up from my chair. "Well, that was all. I'll be taking my leave now."
"For real?"
Azrail looked surprised.
"What? Do you expect me to sing you a good night lullaby, too?"
My brother looked at me with the blandest face I had ever seen, and I continued with a smile.
"Either way, I don't take it that you will stop being the person you were yesterday, so you should be extra careful from now on… You don't yet possess the strength to do whatever you want; don't forget that."
"I know."
Azrail nodded, getting up from the chair.
"And if you get any orders to kill any Stray Devils in your territory that's not from the Satans but the Devil Government, you must be extra careful to make sure that it isn't a trap, especially if they're from the Great King Faction; I won't be babysitting you any further."
"Yeah, I'm not that dumb."
"You were dumb enough to fall for my prank, so yeah, I doubt that."
Azrail growled as a [Transportation Magic] circle appeared under my feet.
However, before the magic circle could activate, I continued.
"Oh, right… I have access to the wiretaps you placed through the Astaroth Clan's Castle. It's quite useful to keep an eye on everything, so don't deactivate it without informing me beforehand."
Azrail looked at me with a bland face, not even blinking. "Just leave already…"
"Ahaha…"
With a small laugh, the [Transportation Magic Circle] activated.
One thing was certain, though.
Azrail was sure to keep the underworld entertaining for a while.
After all, it had been quite boring these past few centuries.
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