Chapter 60: Devil's Whisper (10)
Azrail Astaroth Pov:
[Bucharest, Romania.]
"Haah… Sometimes, I miss my old body…"
With a lazy yawn, I walked inside my room.
'I never feel tired, hungry, mentally fatigued, or sleepy. I don't sweat. My body feels the same, with no changes whatsoever. I can control my hormones at will, too...'
Now that the 'new feeling' from my [Immortality] disappeared, I noticed how it affected my day-to-day life.
If I had to put it, it was similar to how I felt after reincarnating — moving from a sickly body to a healthy one that was self-sufficient.
'I can fall asleep with a spell if I want to, but waking up doesn't feel satisfying anymore since I'm always at 100%. No more orgasmic after-sleep stretch, either…'
It wasn't anything harmful, but it felt strange.
I was sure this feeling would soon disappear, though.
'I have nothing to do until dinner…'
After everything with Gleipnir settled, Lieselotte and Selina went shopping with Amy for essentials.
The two couldn't live on Latia's clothes forever, after all.
As I moved towards my bed to doze off, I noticed my reflection in the mirror from the corner of my eyes.
'Hmm…'
Absentmindedly, I walked towards the mirror and stood before it, staring into my eyes.
'Although I take after father, there's some resemblance to mother…'
The inherited beauty mark I had under my left eye also came from my mother.
'Heh. I took the best of both worlds…'
I couldn't even remember the last time I stared at myself in the mirror, much less observing my face so closely.
"Ah, right…"
There was one more thing I needed to do, and I activated [Audio-Visual Communication] as a rectangular hologram appeared before me.
"What is it, Azrail?"
The one on the other side was my mother.
Unlike her usual informal clothes, Celis wore a white shirt, a black coat, and glasses, with her hair tied in a bun.
"Were you busy?"
I had no idea until recently, but Celis managed the finances of the Astaroth Clan.
As for why I never knew?
That was because she only worked once a year per decade.
During that time, she created a ten-year plan for the clan's budget and handed it to her subordinates.
I wasn't sure how that worked, but from what my father told me, she had been doing this for over half a millennium.
Unless something unexpected happened, her plans had over 98% success rates.
In short, Celis had contributed significantly to the Astaroth Clan's immense fortune, from accumulating wealth to holding it.
"Yes. I am finalising a new product for the Research & Development Team to work on…" Celis leaned forward and rested her face against her palm, letting out a small sigh. "We haven't launched a noteworthy product in almost two decades…"
"Can I submit a product, too?"
Celis smiled at me. "Of course. You know the rules, right?"
"I do."
Naturally, the product I wanted to send was the VR Headset that'd let devils participate in Virtual Rating Games.
If my submission got accepted, the Astaroth Clan would handle the research, production, marketing, and sales of the VR Headset in my stead.
The prototype was around 30% done, so if I helped the R&D Team in its completion, I could receive around 40% of the profits it might earn.
'A loss, but it's better than working on everything myself…'
To begin with, the VR Headset was to build a reputation for myself rather than monetary benefits since I wasn't short on money right now.
"Good. I'll finalise the product in a week, so send it to me before that."
"Got it."
After a few seconds, Celis asked. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"About that…" I pursed my lips and continued after a pause. "Can we go shopping together?"
Asking that was harder than I expected.
"…"
There was a deep silence after my words.
Considering how my mother behaved around me, she would be ecstatic at me making such a proposal, but rather than that—
"Azrail…" Celis straightened her back, removed her glasses, rested her hands on the table, interlocked her finger, and narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you do this time?"
Her reaction made my eyelid twitch.
"That's just rude, Mother…"
Talk about ruining the mood.
"The last time you invited me for a movie, you blew up half of our Dimensional Train Storage…" Celis further narrowed her eyes at me, and I glanced towards my left to avoid eye contact. "Do you have any idea how much the repair cost was?"
I couldn't argue with that statement, so I rebuked instead. "It was an honest mistake, alright? Give me a break already…"
Not to mention, it was my father's fault for leaving me unsupervised.
Everyone knew that I never did anything good when alone.
"Azrail, be honest. What do you want?"
Such wariness. It made me feel like this was an interrogation.
Though, considering my past actions, this was a much nicer treatment than I deserved.
"I just want to go shopping with you, for satan's sake. My allowance is more than enough to buy most things…"
Celis' expression softened after seeing me whine in annoyance, and she smiled.
"How about twenty-third?"
"That long?"
"Yes. I can't take a break before finalising the next project." Celis gave me an apologetic smile. "In exchange, let's spend the entire day together. How about it?"
"I'm sold."
I gave Celis a thumbs-up, and she laughed a little at my quick reaction.
"In that case, I'll see you later."
Mother lightly waved at me as the hologram in front of me disappeared.
'Alice was right. Although not much, the banquet did change my relationship with my family slightly…'
That was Celis' true personality and how she interacted with everyone.
She didn't treat me as a child anymore, not acting all clingy and chirpy for no reason to mess with me.
'Seriously…'
I glanced at the mirror before me, noticing the small, genuine smile on my face.
'I'm not used to having such conversations with my mother, but I'm glad…'
The emotional detachment I developed after my previous family's demise wasn't there, and I no longer felt the need to keep others — including my current family — at arm's length.
The subconscious fear of losing everything again had disappeared.
'I thought it'd be much worse than this when the banquet ended…'
Back then, I couldn't accept how I almost killed my entire family without a moment's hesitation if it meant I could save myself.
However, I had no qualms in accepting that side of me now.
In the end, I would always be my top priority.
This revelation made me doubt my love for my family in the past, but right now, it gave me a reason to cherish every moment I had with them more than ever.
It taught me how to 'live.'
No. That wasn't all.
After I almost died at Lyra's hands, my outlook on 'this' life changed a lot.
Everything I did, from research to spending time with others, I felt much more connected to my life.
As weird as it sounded, the best words I could find to describe my change was that I had become more 'human.'
'Maybe that's what Latia and Alice meant when they said I somehow changed…'
I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.
After all, I had spent most of my time in this life with them, so the two knew me better than most people.
[Notice. Master is in his redemption arc.]
I chuckled at Great Sage's comment.
What redemption arc?
'Don't forgive my crimes; I worked hard on those…'
Honestly, I had no idea how the reliable Great Sage turned into a sassy girlfriend that lived inside my head.
[Tee-hee.]
'On second thought, I do have an idea…'
I had done a fair bit of research on my connection with her, but in the end, I couldn't even detect her existence, much less analyse it.
That could only mean one thing.
Our connection existed on a much deeper level than [Soul Corridor].
'Great Sage's growth is probably linked to my own…'
As my emotions grew, Great Sage's consciousness developed, too.
However, I had another theory.
'It could also be that my schizophrenia is too strong and Great Sage isn't real…'
Maybe I'd one day realise that the actual Great Sage was the friends we made along the way.
[…]
"But still…" I raised my hand, summoning a table from my shadow. "Just because my outlook on life changed doesn't mean I became a better person…"
If anything, I changed for the worse.
'Let's see…'
I placed my thumb on the tablet's screen, causing it to turn on instantly.
[5437/62528.]
[Regeneration Magic.]
This tablet contained a detailed list of everything I wanted to research, my to-do list, potential test subjects, and the information I already had.
After opening the document related to [Regeneration Magic], it revealed the section I read last time.
[Regeneration based on Demonic Power.]
[The Phenex Clan.]
'The Phenex Clan has a lot of members who inherited their [Immortality], but its potency varies depending on how pure the user's bloodline is…'
As one would expect, the ones with the purest bloodline were from the clan head's family, which currently had six members.
'Lord Phenex, Lady Phenex, Ruval Phenex, Rudric Phenex, Riser Phenex, and Ravel Phenex...'
Ever since I learned about its existence, the Phenex Clan's [Immortality] had attracted me more than any other clan trait.
I didn't need it anymore, but it was necessary to develop [Regeneration Magic] for Amy.
Besides that, I also needed to research the creation process of Phoenix Tears.
It could help me develop an item similar to them from my blood.
'Normally, I would have been satisfied experimenting on a branch family to make it quick and minimise risks, but…'
The incident with Lyra didn't just change my outlook on life; it made me more invested in my research and experiments, too.
The best example of this would be Elmenhilde.
I felt nothing when I tortured and mentally broke her after our first meeting.
Back then, the only thing I had on my mind was to transform into a perfect subordinate. There were no emotions involved, but now, it was different.
The pragmatic need for Elmenhilde's devotion still existed, but obtaining that and rebuilding her psyche felt exhilarating now.
It was not something I 'had to do' anymore, but something I 'wanted to do.'
The process felt as pleasant as the expected result — a feeling I rarely felt before during experiments.
It was the same for my 'game' with Lyra.
The past me would have never taken such a gamble with her.
Even if it meant asking for help from Ajuka and Alice, I wouldn't have hesitated to eliminate Lyra as soon as possible.
However, I didn't do that.
Instead, I actively participated in her game and wanted her to do her best.
After all, it'd be no fun if I couldn't crush Lyra at her best and destroy her pride.
'The Naberius Clan and the Phenex Clan…'
Thinking about the future, I smiled.
The Underworld would soon experience its next historic event after the Devil Civil War.
'They can also help me clear up my public image once and for all…'
.
.
.
A few days passed with some minor developments.
For one, Latia used two [Bishop] Pieces to reincarnate Le Fay and Selina, increasing her total members to three.
Lieselotte, Selina, and Le Fay also started living in my house in Bucharest, so we opened the first and second floors for extra space.
We also admitted the three of them to a school nearby.
Amy and I went to drop them on their first day, but the teachers mistook me for a student.
Other than that, there were two noteworthy developments.
First, Lieselotte passed Logos Arts down to Selina and Le Fay, allowing them to learn it alongside the Human and Devil Magic Systems.
As for the second and most crucial development—
"Lord Azrail, please let me go. I need to make breakfast…"
"It's fine. We can order…"
Amy and I officially moved into one room.
"We can't do that. Lady Celis asked me to take care of your diet."
Believe me, I had a personal dietician taking care of my meals for over a decade.
Thinking about it now, I paid him millions to feed me tasteless garbage.
Compared to that, I'd give Amy the world if she asked for it.
"I'll let you go, but first…" I brought my face near Amy's, staring into her eyes. "Call me by my name…"
"Mmh…"
Amy relaxed her neck, letting her head fall into the pillow as her cheeks turned slightly red.
I moved and sat on her stomach, looking down at her face with a smile. "I won't let you go otherwise…"
"If that's what you want…" Amy glanced to her left, avoiding eye contact for a few seconds before speaking in a low, bashful tone. "Azrail…"
Her reply made me smile.
'Progress. Nice…'
Ever since birth, the Valmra Clan taught Amy not to disrespect her master.
In our culture, informality between master and servant was considered disrespectful, so Amy was always reluctant to be casual with me.
Although I said 'taught,' it was simple brainwashing that all Valmra Clan members went through as children.
The master and servant relationship was deeply rooted in their psyche even before they learned to think for themselves.
They understood to please their master but not to expect love from them.
Such a system was beyond fucked up, but I didn't care much since it was a common practice among high-class devils.
If anything, I'd be considered the odd one out for treating Amy with such care and consideration.
Ah, well.
I treated Amy like this because I liked her.
What others thought was never my problem.
"That's better."
I gave Amy a small kiss and rolled towards the side, getting off her stomach.
'She now has interests, hobbies, opinions, and can talk to me in a rather casual tone…'
Over the last few years, I spent a lot of effort to ensure Amy's life had more meaning than simply existing for my sake.
Her introduction to manga, comics, novels, movies, art, literature, games, sports, and other such things.
I wanted her to develop as a 'normal' person.
"Seriously, you always make me do such things…"
Although Amy whispered those words under her breath, I heard them loud and clear.
'Haah. Tough day at work…'
I rested my head on my palm and stared at Amy.
She wore a light, lavender nightgown, the soft fabric clinging to her skin with delicate lace trim along the neckline and hem. Thin straps barely held it up, leaving her shoulders bare, while the loose, flowing skirt draped gracefully over her thighs.
Her beautiful, dishevelled morning hair was a sight to behold.
'I wonder what I should do next?' After thinking about it for a second, I spoke. "Hey, Amy…"
"Yes?"
"Let's go on a date today."
Thanks to [Parallel Processing] and [Parallel Existence], taking some time off to relax wasn't a problem.
Not to mention, this body's sole purpose was to be Azrail Astaroth and create an alibi.
"A date?" Amy perked up at the mention of a date. "Like in the movies?"
Right.
It was her first date.
"Yes. Do you want to go?"
"I…" Amy opened her mouth, but a moment later, her enthusiasm dimmed, and she hesitated. "Lord Azrail, I think you should go on a date with Lady Rias. She's your fiancee, after all. Prioritising a servant over her is…"
"You know, Amy…" I sat cross-legged on the bed and stared at her with a somewhat serious expression. "I like it more when you are being honest. You don't have to suppress your desires for my sake…"
I was more than enough to handle my public image.
"I…" Amy lowered her gaze. "I apologise..."
"Just tell me what you want." I smiled at her, placing my hands on my legs. "You don't have to worry about anything else."
"Mmh!" After a moment of silence, Amy vigorously nodded her head. "I want to."
From how it looked, she already wanted a date but wasn't sure about what to do.
A master and servant's being so close outside bed was unheard of in the 72 Pillars, so I understood why Amy never expressed her wishes.
"If that's the case, let's enjoy ourselves today."
As I said those words, I fell back on the bed, and Amy stood up. "T-Then, I'll finish my work first."
With those words, she dashed out of our room.
She was practically radiating happiness.
'At least change before you leave. We don't live here alone anymore…'
Selina and Le Fay would be a mess if they saw Amy in such a bold nightie.
'Great Sage, can you make a plan for our date?'
Technically, it was also my first date.
[Answer. Already did, Master.]
As expected, Great Sage came in clutch at the last moment.
.
.
.
"I apologise, My Lord. It took me a bit longer than I expected to…" Amy walked inside our room, but she paused when her eyes landed on me. "Eh…"
"What?" I smiled at her reaction. "You don't recognise me anymore?"
"N-No… I..." Her face reddened slightly, and she shook her head. "My Lord, your appearance…"
It was understandable that my appearance surpassed her.
After all, I had used a devil's [Appearance Manipulation] to appear as I would in my early twenties.
"I changed it for our date."
"I-I see…" The more she stared at my face, the redder Amy's cheeks became, and she lowered her head to avoid eye contact. "Thank you, My Lord…"
For a few seconds, she was a blushing mess.
'If this is how she reacts to my natural appearance, she'd have a nosebleed if I activate the Vampire's [Charm]…'
Unlike before, Amy had to look up to maintain eye contact with me.
For context, I was 191 centimetres tall — twenty-three centimetres taller than Amy.
[Wattpad ahh height difference.]
Silence, Great Sage.
'Anyway…'
My eyes scanned Amy from head to toe.
She wore a pristine white turtleneck sweater under a beige trenchcoat that draped over her slender frame. Below that was a high-waisted jeans sculpting her legs and black heels.
Amy had styled her long, purple hair in a partial braid with a black ribbon, slightly different from her usual hairstyle.
The silver earrings and black handbag added a nice touch to her outfit.
I knew it already, but she looked damn good in casual clothes.
All in all, she looked exceedingly beautiful.
'Something is rising, but it isn't the shield hero…'
There was no doubt about it. Amy had put in a lot of effort to dress up nicely despite not being used to wearing casual clothes.
Compared to her, I picked up the first pair of clothes I found in my closet.
"You look beautiful, Amy."
"Thank you…" Amy smiled. "You also look very handsome, Lord Azrail…"
Somehow, our conversation sounded a bit more formal than usual.
I could tell that Amy was both excited and nervous even without using [Sound Magic], so I raised my hand towards her. "Let's go."
She smiled beautifully and rested her hand above mine. "Yes."
.
.
.
"Thank you, Lord Azrail. I had a lot of fun today."
"You don't have to thank me. I had fun, too."
As Amy and I walked through the underworld, I glanced towards our left from the corner of my eyes.
'The devil tailing us disappeared. You started following us right after our date began, so at least wait until it finished...'
Spies these days had no patience.
The spy devil had been sneaking around Bucharest for the last few months and observing me.
How did I know?
I had marked Amy's shadow so Great Sage could monitor her 24/7. I'd know about it instantly if she was in danger or being followed.
[Shadow Marking] was a versatile skill. In Amy's case, it helped me protect her, while in Lavinia's case, it helped me spy on Grigori.
'Still, I never thought the Agares Clan would be so enthusiastic to keep an eye on me…'
Quite a few people tried to monitor me in the last few months, but they all left after not seeing anything strange in my daily routine.
All but the Agares Clan.
"Ah…" Amidst our conversation, Amy suddenly paused and turned towards the nearby alley. "My Lord, please wait a minute..."
Without waiting for a reply, she walked towards the injured stray dog and crouched beside it.
Yeah. Even the underworld had stray dogs — a lot of them, too.
"Hoh…" I also followed Amy and crouched beside her, watching her heal the dog's injured leg. "When did you get so good at healing animals?"
Amy gave me a small, slightly awkward smile. "I often heal others secretly, both people and animals, whenever I'm out for work. It makes my practice easier and helps others in their daily lives…"
"Is that so?"
I already knew that because of [Shadow Mark] but still pretended to be mildly surprised.
"You are a kind person."
"Lord Azrail is the kind one…" Amy smiled, staring at the now-healed dog while rubbing his head. "Being so kind to a servant like me, even saying that you will marry me despite my status…"
"Amy…" I narrowed my eyes at her. "You like it when I say I'll marry you, right?"
Her movements halted at those words.
"Eh…"
"You bring this topic up every few days to make me say it. Isn't that right?"
"T-That not…"
Amy's face flushed red as she pursed her lips, looking down at the ground.
Now that she got caught, she was embarrassed out of her mind.
"Pfft…"
Her reaction made me laugh.
Amy didn't know, but she already had Celis' approval.
When a random conversation happened about how people might talk bad about me if I married a servant, Celis told me, "If someone badmouths Amy, don't hold back. I'll handle the aftermath."
Honestly, my not holding back would turn into a violation of human rights within seconds, but I understood what my mother meant.
"My Lord…!"
Amy shot me a fierce, embarrassed glance, and I patted her head.
"You don't have to be embarrassed. I'll say it as many times as you want."
I expected Amy to be even more embarrassed, but—
[Amy.exe has stopped working.]
She blanked out, which made me smile.
Indeed. My maid was adorable.
---
Third Person Pov:
[Rome, Italy.]
'I never thought I'd come to this place so soon…'
Under the effects of [Shadow Teleportation], Lyra appeared inside a dark room.
The room was empty, except for the several people sitting cross-legged on the floor with their backs against the wall.
All of them had weak bodies, appearing extremely malnutitioned with barely any flesh on their bones.
'Subtracting the four Azrail killed, I am left with twenty-three of these things…'
As her eyes moved over the unconscious people, several threads of blood emerged from her shadow, connecting to everyone inside the room and transfusing blood to them.
'Had I spent a few minutes rejuvenating them, I wouldn't have suffered so badly…'
This room was where Lyra stored her extra subordinates.
The four vampires Azrail killed on their first encounter were also from here.
Had she healed them previously, they could have helped her when she was vulnerable after her battle with Azrail before he found her.
However, since they hadn't consumed blood in over three centuries, their bodies didn't even have the strength to move, much less be helpful to her.
It was regrettable.
"Get up."
Within minutes, her subordinates healed completely, and they all stood up after hearing her command.
Devils, Fallen Angels, Werewolves, Humans, Monsters, Youkai — her subordinates were from various races, but they all had some things in common.
Lyra had turned them into vampires with [Blood Raise] and had absolute control over them.
All of her subordinates bowed politely towards her. "Please command us, Lady Lyra."
"Take this…" Lyra summoned several white orbs from her shadow and tossed them to her subordinates. "Go and collect human souls…"
While her subordinates weren't capable fighters, she had personally trained them in stealth operations.
After all, her [Blood Raise] had one flaw — she couldn't turn someone with more aura than her into a vampire.
Despite Lyra's strength being in the Satan Class, her Magic Power Reserves weren't even close to that.
It was a limit she couldn't overcome.
"How many souls should we collect?"
"For now, a million would do."
A million human souls were enough to alert a pantheon if taken at once, but it wouldn't matter if her subordinates slowly collected them from all over the world.
They didn't even need to kill the humans themselves.
Tens of millions of people died every year, so even if she took a million souls over time, no one would notice until too late.
Following that, Lyra explained where and how many souls to collect regularly, and then, her subordinates disappeared.
However, before they left, she implanted blood clots into their heads.
The function of these blood clots was simple.
In case someone caught her subordinates, these clots would destroy their brains.
She could never be too careful with Azrail — a lesson she learned the hard way.
'I wonder how that brat will use [Blood Raise]?'
She was sure that somehow, someway, Azrail would utilise [Blood Raise] to turn numerous supernaturals into his subordinates.
Lyra knew he wasn't like the current-day vampires — he wouldn't let such a valuable ability go to waste because of 'pride.'
'With his current Demonic Power Reserves, he can only turn the weakest Ultimate Class beings into Devils...'
Azrail's current state was like Lyra's.
His combat prowess far surpassed his Demonic Power Reserves.
'No. There's also a possibility that Azrail already found the method to bypass [Blood Raise]'s limitation with his [Soul Corridor]…'
It was an idea Lyra came up with while thinking about Azrail's abilities and next step, but she had no methods to confirm it.
'If he did, the place he'd target is…'
The Carmilla Faction.
It was a place that could provide him with endless vampires because of his relationship with Elmenhilde Karnstein.
'His blood is also perfect for nurturing and empowering vampires. Giving them Demonic Power atop that will be disastrous…'
As Lyra thought about that, her lips curled into a smile.
'This is difficult…'
Even though she believed her conclusion was correct, she had no intention of investigating the Carmilla Faction.
Now that Azrail could be at three locations simultaneously, she couldn't move as freely as before.
Not to mention, she was sure she'd learn about his exploits of the Carmilla Faction eventually.
'What matters right now is finding a way to free my body and soul from his control…'
And so, a year passed in the blink of an eye.
---
Words: 4,528
A/N:
I promised a chapter. I delivered it (only a small delay of ten days).
This chapter came out after two weeks, so the next chapter will be out within a week.
Gotta make some progress.
I'm getting back in form RAAAHHH.