[Third Person POV]
Stepping off the train, Hajime, Monet, and Jenny were greeted by a bustling city under a purple sky.
Hajime's senses were going crazy, even more than they had back in Urakyoto.
The sheer size of the devil faction, in comparison to the west yokai faction, dwarfed them in both numbers and power.
His haki was covering a few miles or so, a large portion of the city center, and he had already picked up over a dozen supreme-class devils and 1 transcendant-class located near the center, probably Sirzechs if he had to guess.
Luckily, according to Yasaka, his haki couldn't be sensed in the same way most people used magic.
Yasaka used senjutsu, devils used demonic power, angels with holy power, etc, but they all sensed others using their magic as a radar.
When picking up anyone on the 'radar', they would be able to determine their general strength and magic type (angels and fallen would be considered holy, devils demonic, vampires dark, etc.).
Haki worked differently.
Rather than using magic, it uses one's will, which sounds similar but is completely different.
If the world were considered 'darkness' and magic 'light', each person would be like a beacon lighting up the dark, with the light they give off letting them sense everyone inside and gain a general understanding of what they're like magically.
In this case, haki was like radar. It sensed things on a different wavelength.
Until he reached certain levels with it, it would still show restrictions, like only sensing location and power, but that also meant he could use it without many noticing.
Those who might notice would generally be those like Ajuka, who studies the laws of magic as much as possible; deities like Shiva, Indra, Odin, Zeus, and Amaterasu, who are leaders with immense power; or Yasaka and other similar beings, who specialize in spiritual abilities.
Even then, unless they are aware of what you can do, all they know is they're being watched, not from where or by who, unless they were immensely powerful. It didn't help that with Hajime's power and control, sensing his haki was even more difficult.
Still, once he had his bearings, Hajime pulled back his senses to a few hundred meters.
It would still give him enough time to react if anyone was trying something on him, but it was also less likely to be sensed.
The first thing the trio did was head for a hotel to book two rooms.
While they all shared a room on the train because they were sitting around for hours, Jenny and Monet needed privacy to change.
After checking into the hotel, the group left their stuff in their room and put some magical protections in place, just in case.
Paranoid? Absolutely, but given that devils weren't exactly the kind of beings that screamed 'you can honestly trust me', Hajime felt he was reasonably secure.
Besides, he was planning to break into a secure research facility of one of the nobility who served under the original Lucifer; a little caution was necessary.
The three exited the hotel and decided to wander around Lilith.
Despite the criminal reasons he planned to be here, he did genuinely want to see what kind of devil society was like.
After all, humans changed with every generation over the last few centuries, but during that time, where humans died, devils continued living. Hajime was also curious about the general attitude of devils, and whether it was as naturally domineering as they were politically domineering.
Their first stop was a nearby park.
It was the largest park in Lilith, similar to Central Park in New York, ironically named Lilith's Garden of Eden.
The clearest difference was that it was three times the size and hosted multiple festivals, outdoor plays, and other fun events throughout the year.
As they walked through the park, more differences piled up. The walkways were intricately designed, with a fancy tile pattern rather than flat asphalt.
The design was so intricate that it showed a different house crest every hundred meters, while the entire tiling was completely level. It was like comparing an uneven, centuries-old walkway first built in Ancient Greece to a modern sidewalk.
Surrounding them were plants commonly found in the underworld, somehow including a magical variant of an oak tree that produced acorns and leaves useful in a few natural remedies.
Their efficacy was extremely low, however, and with better options available for the same purposes, they're pretty much useless.
It gave Hajime the idea to grab a few specimens for future tests, maybe make something useful.
Hajime's powers made creating genetic variants for magic plants take hours or days, rather than the weeks, months, or years it might take to grow them normally. It was why all the products Silent Echo sold were made from plant-based materials. His powers made it trivial to get them in bulk.
When the trio neared the center of the park, they saw four large statues in the plaza.
In the center was the tallest one, about 50% larger than the three statues that surrounded it evenly.
The four statues were all memorials to the original four Satans who died with God during the Great War.
Compared to the rest of the park, the statues were far busier.
While devils were obviously the most populous group here, Hajime occasionally saw human mages, most of them men, with other races being practically non-existent.
It wasn't hard to understand why.
One of the sins devils most commonly and easily indulge in is lust. For those with peerages, that means reincarnating women whom they can invite to their chambers at any time.
That meant that, unless you were like Hajime and confident in dealing with any annoying nobles, most magical tourists avoided the devil part of the underworld like the plague.
Though infrequent compared to times past, thanks to Serafall's constant efforts, there were occasional stories every couple of years about how a noble forcefully reincarnated someone who was visiting with friends or family and refused to let them leave.
Honestly, Serafall's diplomacy skills, as well as the minor threat of God, were the only reasons devils hadn't been jointly jumped by multiple factions.
Serafall usually managed to placate and compensate the offended party, while the constant threat of Big G retaliating against those who attacked his 'misguided children' was enough to make people accept the deal.
The statues each radiated an aura that many say was similar to the one they had when they were alive.
Leviathan's statue exerted a crushing pressure, like staring into a sea monster in the depths of the ocean. The statue, skillfully crafted from dark blue metal, was even said to be more beautiful than the current generation's noblewoman.
To Leviathan's right was Asmodeus. His statue made one feel as if they were being burned alive. The heat, for those who could withstand the pain, even turned people on, a strange combination that was as confusing as he was. The statue, made with a light purple metal, showed a devil considered more handsome than even the current Lucifer.
The third statue was obviously Beelzebub. Made with a dark green metal, the statue gave off the feeling of crushing superiority, almost literally. Feeling as if standing in front of the statue made you more worthless by comparison. Beelzebub, however, looked like a genius, and compared to Ajuka, many wondered if the New Satan had surpassed the old.
Lastly, centered between the three statues, stood a tall, white marble statue carved in the form of one of the most familiar devils in history.
The only person that he could be compared to (debatably) without insult was his father.
He was quite literally the God of devils, given his influence. Even the commoners who didn't like the current devil system admired Lucifer to some degree. And honestly, had he been less warmongering, like his replacement, he probably would've been more liked by other factions too.
His statue, like himself, wasn't even comparable to the three sitting below it, radiating a dominance that even seemed to rein in the auras of the other three as he did in life.
While not the only monument to the original Satans, this one was by far the most expensive, most unique, and most reverent.
It was made shortly after their deaths during The Great War, and the statues had been preserved as perfectly as possible.
Hajime, as he stared at the statues, felt an awe he hadn't before. Not that he was going to start worshipping Lucifer or anything crazy like that, but he was able to feel it, not just the auras the statues gave off, but the amazement of everyone else who was looking.
Monet felt that the statues were very similar to the powerhouses of her own world, especially Lucifer's.
For a statue to emit a suppressing aura. Wasn't that just Conqueror's Haki?
How was it possible for a statue to have that?!
The closest thing she could think of was top-tier blades, and even then, most of them had their auras as a consequence of being bathed in Conqueror's Haki by their owners.
Jenny, however, felt differently. She'd heard of mages whose magic could create objects with powerful auras.
She was certain Zeref's demons qualified, given that Hajime said their lives were connected to books, and he made dozens of them.
After a few minutes looking at the statues, the trio decided to call it a day there and get dinner on the way back to the hotel.
On their way through the park, they saw a few street magicians, some of whom used the same tricks as normal magicians, though with their physical speed, they made their transitions even more seamless.
There were also a few low-class magicians who had basically gone the Water Goddess route and stocked up on party tricks for their magic.
In a way, it was amusing to think that devils were honestly not that different from humans, no matter how much they liked to think otherwise.
After swinging by a Mexican place to grab their dinner, the trio soon returned to the hotel, ate, and went to bed.
-----
The next morning, Hajime, Jenny, and Monet woke up early.
Today, they planned to head to the Leviathan Aquarium.
This wasn't your average namby-pamby aquarium where the best thing was either a shark or some cetacean.
No.
Here, those were the appetizers to the true showstoppers, quite literally in some cases.
After all, with magic, why would normal animals be special?
The aquarium had Kelpies, Mugwumps, Hydras, and even plesiosaurs like Nessie.
But the crowning jewels?
First was a creature so famous that it didn't need an introduction.
The Kraken.
This enormous squid's habitat in the aquarium had a diameter of 2 kilometers and a depth of 5 kilometers. There were even 3 ultimate-class devils stationed here just in case it tried to grab anyone.
The second creature was the giant sea serpent, which bore the same name as the aquarium's owners.
The Leviathan.
It wasn't the original; it was just a distant family member, but its presence spread throughout the entire building.
Where the Kraken had 3 ultimate-class stationed around it, the Leviathan had 5, with a leader being peak ultimate-class.
It took centuries to catch and train the Leviathan, and even now, they only dare to let visitors see it for one month every year.
What was it doing the other eleven months, you might ask?
Being retrained.
Originally, the aquarium tried to keep it on display year-round, but the constant noise from visitors upset the Leviathan, causing it to rampage until Serafall froze the entire aquarium.
Since then, after two decades of testing and training, the park finally settled on one month each year, spending the rest of the time calming it down for the next year.
If it weren't for the Leviathan Clan's pride in such a beast, nobody would've even tried hosting such a violent creature.
The cost of keeping it around easily dwarfs the expenses of most human countries, and only thanks to a few wealthy donors is the aquarium even able to stay open as it bleeds money for the serpent.
After all, hiring 5 ultimate-class isn't cheap, then there's also the Kraken, which, unlike the Leviathan, is there year-round.
The trio bought 3 tickets to see the 'Leviathan Show', which consisted of taking a few high or ultimate-class creatures and tossing them into the tank to see the Leviathan kill and eat them.
It felt very similar to whale watching, since everyone had to look through binoculars to see everything, but, understanding it was for safety reasons, only a single Karen was complaining.
Stopping at the gift shop on the way out, Hajime bought a few souvenirs for Kunou and stored them away once they returned to their hotel room.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!