Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena POV.
Ravel and I floated smoothly through the platforms and the people around us. I ignored the stares of everyone who noticed us; after the recent announcement, practically everyone inside Distracted Globe would easily recognize my face.
Even so, I ignored it. The only good thing was that people were trying to get out of the way as we moved. But I couldn't help looking around. The people flying left a small trail of neon light behind as they moved. It was a little enchantment I'd placed; it served no other purpose than visual appeal, which, actually, looked pretty cool.
The trail of light followed people's bodies or limbs, leaving a path wherever they moved, especially when they danced, which made the lights on the dance floors even more striking.
Finally, we reached the first platform of our journey. I placed my hand on Ravel's lower back as we gently landed on it. My hand didn't leave Ravel's back; instead, it slowly moved over her bare skin and wrapped around her waist before firmly squeezing her hip. I could feel her shudder slightly, even though her expression didn't change in the slightest.
The platform was one of the most comfortable ever created, apart from ours; after all, it was where the Satans were. In the middle was a small black marble table that seemed to float and remain in place, surrounded by a long armchair encircling it.
Around it were other long tables with more casual seating, along with various amenities, such as a bar stocked with alcoholic beverages and snacks. In addition, dozens of holographic screens broadcast everything happening at Distracted Globe.
There was one in each arena, in various locations throughout the casino and the zero-gravity dance floor, and several others; a small tablet above the middle table controlled all.
Seated in the center were Ajuka, Sirzechs, Serafall, and Azazel. And at the bar were Grayfia and Penemue—well, that was a surprise. I simply nodded as I approached them.
"Ajuka, Sirzechs, Serafall, Lord Azazel, I'm truly glad you were able to come." I said softly as I turned my attention to the Satans.
"Well, you invited us, and besides, we couldn't miss an event of this magnitude." Sirzechs said with a gentle smile, although he seemed genuinely surprised by everything around him.
"This is incredible!" Serafall squealed excitedly as she looked around. "I can't believe you've built something of this magnitude," she said, fascinated.
"Congratulations, Serena," Ajuka said with a small smile. I smiled back at all three of them.
"Thank you, believe me, even I didn't think I'd end up attracting so many people." I said with a sigh, and Azazel snorted.
"You had no faith, and yet you had built a completely habitable sphere one kilometer in diameter?" Azazel mocked. I shrugged.
"Ravel, Rebecca, and Enid designed everything, from the measurements to each building and every structure. I just took care of building it all," I said easily. "They even handled hiring the nearly 400,000 employees of Distracted Globe," I said proudly, boasting about Ravel.
"So many?!" Serafall exclaimed, her eyes wide. "How did you manage to do that in less than a week?" she asked, looking at Ravel in surprise. Ravel sighed wearily.
"Time bubbles, so many time bubbles," Ravel said with a pained expression. "Besides, I'm not that stupid. I hired a lot of people to conduct the interviews, and then even more to fully train the employees."
"Even so, it was many hours, days, under a time bubble," Ravel said wearily. "And yes, it's so many, mainly because Distracted Globe is designed to operate 24/7. We needed a rotating schedule every eight hours, so we needed to triple the number of normal employees."
"There are around 130,000 employees right now, between the casino staff, the bars, hosts, administration, and all the other necessary employees. We really needed that many people. Luckily, Sera was able to automate most tasks, which drastically reduced the number of people hired. My estimates had been 500,000 employees per shift," Ravel said with a sigh. Serafall looked at her in shock.
"Incredible." Serafall murmured, shaking her head before gazing at the Distracted Globe in wonder. "I'm really not getting used to how big this place is," she said, amazed.
"Wow, that's really efficient, and considering this monstrosity was built overnight, I'm truly impressed by your construction skills," Azazel said dryly in my direction. I snorted in amusement.
"Please, it wasn't that difficult. I'm sure Sirzechs could hire people to build a mansion in one night," I said easily.
"Yes, because building a mansion is much easier than this," Azazel said dryly. "Everything here is... enveloped in so much magic that it's breathtaking." Azazel sighed. I allowed myself a proud smile.
"I'm glad you approve, Lord Azazel," I said easily.
"More than approving, I'm fascinated. The magic used to enchant all of this is unlike anything I've ever seen, and not only that, everything here is truly captivating." Azazel said, his eyes shining as he surveyed his surroundings with childlike wonder. "What you've built here... It's incredible." Azazel continued, gazing around in awe. "Even the alcohol." Azazel raised his glass of magical liquor. I snorted.
"It's not that big of a deal," I said meekly. Sirzechs smiled and shook his head.
"Oh, but it is Serena," Sirzechs said with a contented sigh. "The peace conference was recent, now… all the other factions and pantheons will take it the right way, a peace conference between the biblical factions, for them, they think it means we can focus on their pantheons, start another war, but this time against other factions together." Sirzechs sighed ruefully.
"It's not as if we didn't deserve it," Azazel said with a grimace. "When the Abrahamic religions began to spread rapidly throughout the world, we had the misfortune of having to contend with the various pantheons and their territories."
"The angels have waged wars in the name of our Father's word against other factions, that definitely didn't make us look good in the eyes of any faction," Azazel said with a snort of contempt.
"And the devils weren't any better," Sirzechs said with a sigh. "The original Satans wanted to rule the world, and that included the other factions and pantheons, so the Satans, in addition to waging war against the angels, attacked the other factions. That didn't exactly endear us to any of them." Sirzechs shook his head.
"They were truly delighted when the great war between angels and devils began. Our self-destruction was the best outcome for them." Azazel snorted. "Even after the war ended, the tension and mutual contempt between the angels and devils—a cold war, along with concealing the truth that God was dead—were what kept the pantheons from retaliating when Heaven was too weakened."
" And I do not doubt that some pantheon will try something, either because they feel threatened or to take advantage of the situation. I only hope that with the threat of the Khaos Brigade, we can help each other." Azazel sighed ruefully.
"Even if that doesn't work out, this place is full of people from different factions, it's... simply incredible." Sirzechs said, marveling. I sighed.
"That doesn't mean we're suddenly friends. Vices, money, fun, and violence sell, but that doesn't mean the other factions will try to ingratiate themselves with us," I said dryly.
"Maybe, but it's a step forward," Sirzechs said with a small smile. I snorted.
"As long as you don't make your own policies inside Distracted Globe." I said, rolling my eyes. Sirzechs laughed.
"Oh no, don't worry, I won't. This place would benefit much more from simply remaining neutral," Srizechs said easily. I snorted.
"Alright, let's change the subject, it's getting boring," Azazel said, clapping his hands with a smile. "Getting back to what we were talking about, where did you get the monsters and robots?" Azazel asked, his eyes gleaming. He pointed to one of the screens. On it, he could see a group of people in The Deep fighting dozens of GLaDOS's robotic animals.
"I'm curious about robots too, and about your Rook as well; I don't recall you ever presenting it," Ajuka said curiously. I shook my head.
"Because I didn't," I said easily. "My Rook, GLaDOS, isn't interested in social events, or indeed, any kind of inventions that don't involve or have anything to do with her experiments."
"She prefers to stay in her laboratory and experiment as much as she can." I sighed jealously.
""" How envious I am.""" I sighed wearily. To my surprise, Ajuka and Azazel had sighed and spoken at the same time as me. The three of us looked at each other and sighed again with pity.
"Don't be dramatic." Ravel snorted. I pulled Ravel towards me.
"Let me complain in peace," I said mockingly. Ravel just snorted, but made no effort to move away. "As I was saying, GLaDOS prefers to stay in her lab, but you might meet her at some point," I said casually.
"Will you attend the Youth Devil Gathering with the rest of your Peerage?" Sirzechs asked curiously, and I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
The Youth Devil Gathering was something I'd been aiming for, not really because it was something I wanted to attend, but attending the Youth Devil Rating Game Tournament had its own advantages.
The first was to complete one of the secondary objectives of The Company mission. Although getting a mutant piece isn't essential, it would be nice to have that advantage with one of my remaining pieces.
And besides, I would be at the center of Khaos Brigade's attacks several times. And, most importantly, this tournament provided entertainment for the other pantheons. I knew that at least the Norse and Greek pantheons would be attending, so it wasn't something I could pass up, not if I truly wanted to improve or increase my influence within those pantheons.
"I suppose no one objects to my attending, right?" I asked curiously. All the devils snorted.
"Just as we expected, your identity as a descendant of the original Lucifer was leaked, so no, in theory, you're more than eligible to attend, and even if you weren't, after creating Distracted Globe, you've become one of the most influential devils in the underworld. I can already see the dozens of letters from the other clans officially inviting you." Sirzechs said, massaging his temple. Serafall laughed.
"Be prepared for everyone there to try and woo you," Serafall said, chuckling slightly. "Distracted Globe will only grow larger, and every devil will want a piece of it. You already have the Phenex on your side because of young Ravel, but I don't think that will stop the other clans from forcing their heirs to try and join you somehow." Serafall shook her head. "Sometimes they're so... predictable." I snorted, almost dismissively.
"Then they'll be disappointed," I said dryly.
"Mmm, it's always good to have one more pet or two," Ravel said thoughtfully. I looked at her in surprise.
"Wait, what?" I asked, confused. Ravel snorted.
"My dear, there are five of us lovers who warm your bed, and even so, we have difficulty keeping up with you." Ravel said, dragging out the words, looking at me almost with a glare. I coughed slightly and looked away.
"It's not my fault." I said, squirming in place, almost pouting. Ravel snorted.
"It is, but don't worry, we love you just the way you are, completely insatiable." Ravel mocked, I could feel her plump bottom squirm slightly against my body. I snorted.
"Shameless woman, where did your shame go?" I said dryly. Ravel just snorted.
"It disappeared quickly when I had a succubus fiancée who likes to grope me in public," Ravel said dryly. I stopped short before I realized one of my hands was inside her dress, cupping one of her firm breasts. I blinked slightly, not understanding when my hand had gotten there. I just squeezed Ravel's breast once more.
"As I was saying, I'm glad you came and that you're enjoying yourselves." I said, looking at the faction leaders and ignoring the whole scene. I could see Azazel and Serafall laughing, Sirzechs sighing, and Ajuka barely blinking.
"We are, I suppose, Michael didn't accept the invitation, right? " Sirzechs asked, changing the subject. I nodded.
"I sent him a message, more out of courtesy, but I knew he wasn't going to come to something like this," I said honestly. "I even made that clear in the invitation; he didn't have to come if he didn't want to. I really don't think an angel would want to be in a place like this."
"You'd be surprised." Azazel snorted. "But yes, most would avoid places like this, or at least the casino area. I think some of my brothers would enjoy the dance floor; there's so much music no one's ever heard. And some others would surely like the arena. I'm sure Uriel and Metatron wouldn't mind participating in Zenith, or even the exorcists would like to join in."
"It would also be a good form of training, so... don't be surprised if some show up." Azazel said, shrugging. I nodded.
"As long as they don't cause any trouble, anyone is welcome," I said easily. They nodded. After that, I had a short, lively conversation with them before we had to leave for the next meeting.
To my surprise, I saw them settle back into their seats, continuing to enjoy their drinks, each other's company, and the entertainment on the screens. Apparently, none of them were in enough of a hurry to get back to their responsibilities, and they had the perfect excuse to waste time.
I shook my head as I began flying toward the next platform on our greeting route. Ravel clung to my arm as we flew through the platforms.
"Try not to grope me in front of my family," Ravel said playfully as we approached her family. I rolled my eyes.
"They've seen you in worse situations." I retorted. Ravel snorted, but couldn't deny it; she just shook her head, though she smiled slightly.
After that, we went to where all the Phenex were. Unlike the first platform, this one was much bigger. After all, besides the main family, most of Ravel's family's Peerages had to fit, especially her brothers.
The chat was quite short, not through any fault of our own, but because many of them were eager to leave and enjoy Distracted Globe. Once we finished greeting and talking with them, they practically took off. I saw a couple of dozen people disperse across Distracted Globe while Ravel and I stayed behind to talk with their parents.
Even so, we said goodbye just as quickly; the other groups we visited were the same. Most of the people we were going to greet were practically bouncing around, waiting for us to arrive so they could exchange greetings before practically speeding off.
This included the Gremory and Sitri families, who were on the same platform. Rias and Sona, along with their peerages, practically left quickly after exchanging brief greetings.
I almost wanted to snort at that.
I'm sure some old devil would take that as some kind of offense, but I didn't really care; the faster I finished the greeting rounds, the better, the sooner I could go and enjoy the rest of the night with Bella and the others.
Speaking of them, now and then, I could see Bella and Becca's faces on several of the screens that broadcast the fights in the arenas all around the Distracted Globe.
Becca had gone to The Wild Orbit; obviously, the amount of chaos and the number of people to fight were really appealing to her. Meanwhile, Bella was in The Hollow.
Unfortunately for them, there were special rules for regenerators, so that the Phenex and they themselves would not dominate the entire arenas with their immortality and overwhelm their enemies.
Basically, any direct hit to the head or heart counted as a kill for any regenerator. Included in The Hallow, despite being almost completely 'no rules', it was too unfair to leave Bella completely unchecked down there.
Even so, they were both having fun, which was good. I smiled slightly as I went to greet the last groups; Ravel's presence was the only thing that kept this from being completely boring.