— — — — — —
"Hey… wait, you're kidding, right…?"
When Azazel heard Sirzechs say that Ryo was Lucifer, his mind went completely blank.
"The true Satan Lucifer…" Akeno Himejima stared at Ryo in shock.
Even she, dense as she sometimes claimed to be, knew exactly who Sirzechs was referring to.
The Morning Star—Lucifer.
Ryo Yagami… was actually some ancient monster from that far back?
Meanwhile, an equally stunned Rias Gremory frowned in confusion.
"Brother, didn't you say the original Lucifer died on the battlefield during the Great War between the three factions?"
Sirzechs nodded. "That's right. The Four Great Satans and God all died on that battlefield."
"Then why are you saying Ryo is Lucifer… wait? The Four Satans and God all died there?"
Rias stopped mid-sentence, completely thrown.
God… died?
The terrifyingly powerful God, ranked as an outlier among the world's top ten strongest… dead?
That was impossible.
Beside her, Akeno grew tense and said carefully, "Sirzechs-sama, that isn't a funny joke."
As she spoke, she glanced at Michael, clearly worried he might take offense and derail the three-faction talks.
But what she saw instead was a bitter expression on Michael's face.
…No way.
Could it be… God really was dead?
Otherwise, why would Michael look like that? And why wasn't he refuting Sirzechs?
Gabriel softly hummed a mournful hymn.
Michael composed himself, then sighed. "There's no longer any reason to keep this hidden."
"God passed away during the three-faction war."
He paused before continuing, "For the past thousand years, I've been the one maintaining the system. That's why it's suffered frequent malfunctions. The once-united Church has also fractured again and again."
"So… God really is dead…" Rias murmured, her expression unfocused.
Though God and devils were enemies, His existence had also been a powerful shield.
As long as He lived, angels, devils, and fallen angels all received equal protection under his system. That alone kept countless other pantheons from making reckless moves.
But if God was gone…
The Hindu. Greek, Norse, Celtic… a pack of wolves would immediately set their sights on the three main factions, eager to tear into the feast.
In that instant, Rias finally understood the purpose of the three-faction summit—and why they had hidden God's death for so long.
"At this point, it can't be concealed anymore," Azazel sighed, shaking his head. "Since Indra managed to infiltrate the system, he's probably already confirmed God's death. He just kept quiet for the sake of profit."
"This is my responsibility," Michael said heavily. "I can't fully control the system God left behind. The loopholes gave Indra the chance to carry out his scheme."
Before coming here, Michael had already heard from Azazel about Indra interfering with the reincarnation of Sacred Gears. The news had shaken him.
It meant the angels' bluff had failed. Indra had set his sights on Heaven.
That was why Azazel convinced Michael to attend the summit with Gabriel. Once a third party knows a secret, it stops being a secret.
They even suspected that factions like Greece might already be preparing war to seize the divine system God left behind.
It was entirely possible.
Which was why Michael had no choice but to appear in person and sign an alliance.
Rias frowned again. "But if God died, then the original Lucifer should've died too. Why are you saying Ryo is the true Lucifer?"
She looked at the silent Ryo, clearly puzzled.
"I get what Sirzechs means." Azazel turned to Ryo, eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"In that final battle, God dragged the Four Satans and most of the pure-blood devils into a self-destruct. Michael and I saw it ourselves."
"After the explosion, the battlefield was nearly annihilated—creating the Sahara Desert in the human world. But… no bodies were ever found. Not God's. Not the Satans'. Not even Lilith's."
Azazel glanced at Sirzechs. "That's why you suspect Ryo is Lucifer, right?"
"Yes. That's one of the reasons," Sirzechs said with a nod.
Then he looked at the still-silent Ryo and smirked.
Acting mute now? What's the point? I wasn't even going to say anything, and you had to ask. Now it's out. Azazel and Michael might wanna beat you to death, Lord Lucifer.
Sirzechs knew he was the junior here. Azazel, Michael, and Gabriel were all veterans of the war. They had witnessed Lucifer's fall, his gathering of devils, and the creation of the Four Satans. So no matter how Ryo had fooled them into becoming the fallen angels' governor, there was no hiding now.
With that in mind, Sirzechs added gleefully, kicking him while he was down. "Furthermore, the Devil Progenitor personally issued an oracle acknowledging him as the true Lucifer."
His smile turned teasing. "Still planning to hide it, Lord Lucifer?"
Ryo sighed, lifted his head, and looked at Sirzechs's smug face.
"Sirzechs…"
"Has anyone ever told you that you're very punchable?"
"I think I'm only moderately punchable." Sirzechs grinned, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"But Lord Lucifer, are you still going to deny it? Everyone here knows who you are. You might as well come clean."
Ryo tapped the table, then suddenly asked, "Who here actually believes I'm Lucifer? Raise your hand."
Sirzechs blinked, confused.
Rias and Akeno exchanged looks, equally baffled.
Ryo waved casually. "Don't be shy. Go ahead, raise them."
Sirzechs thought for a moment and raised his hand. Rias glanced at her brother and did the same.
Then they noticed Michael and Azazel hadn't moved. Gabriel simply stared at Ryo without blinking. Akeno smiled gently, hands still down.
Ryo leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and smiled. "Sirzechs, I regret to inform you… everyone here doesn't believe your nonsense."
Sirzechs's mouth twitched, stunned.
What… was going on?
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