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Kyoto - Yasaka Shrine
Armored yokai moved in tight formations, three to a unit, ten to a line, patrolling the shrine grounds with strict precision.
In the shadows, hidden figures—yokai, fallen angels, and devils alike—kept watch in silence, their eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
They were the security detail for the three-faction summit. With the meeting about to begin, every one of them had their guard raised to the highest level.
Inside the shrine, deep within the forested backyard, the meeting site had been prepared.
A massive circular table had appeared out of nowhere, occupying one corner of the woods. Around it shimmered layers of pale blue barrier ripples, dense and overlapping like an inverted bowl, sealing off the area along with part of the forest.
Representatives from the three great factions took their seats one by one, gradually filling the table.
Within the barrier, conversation quickly picked up.
"Sirzechs, Ajuka didn't come?"
Azazel leaned back casually, feet propped on the table, hands behind his head as he asked.
"I'm enough for this meeting."
Sirzechs Lucifer replied calmly, his gaze shifting toward the figures behind Azazel—Baraqiel and Akeno.
"Interesting. You even brought Baraqiel along."
This time, Sirzechs had only brought his younger sister, Rias. The reason was simple: to create the illusion that they trusted the yokai security, reassuring any enemies lurking in the shadows.
"If I can bring him, why not?" Azazel grinned.
"As cowardly as ever, Azazel," Michael added dryly.
"Hey, can't help it. I'm not as strong as you guys," Azazel shot back shamelessly.
Then he glanced beside Michael, raising a brow.
"Speaking of which… where's Gabriel-chan? I showed up early just to admire her heavenly beauty."
"She's taking the day off." Michael's expression didn't change.
Right then, a commotion broke out beyond the barrier. Faintly, voices could be heard shouting in unison—
"Leader!"
Hearing that, Azazel immediately dropped his legs and sat up straight.
"Ah, the star of the show's here."
Michael and Sirzechs both turned toward the entrance.
A moment later, Ryo appeared, dressed in a white suit, walking in with a relaxed smile.
Everyone greeted him with polite expressions—until they noticed who was behind him.
Gabriel followed quietly, her steps just slightly unsteady.
The smiles froze instantly.
Ryo Yagami, perfectly on time, took the central seat and sat down.
"I'm not late, am I?"
"No… not at all," Rias said, her expression a little strange.
"Honestly, I think there's something more important to talk about," Akeno added, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she looked at Gabriel.
"Oh my, Gabriel-chan arriving together with our Leader? That's..."
Azazel stroked his chin, grinning as his gaze flicked between Ryo and Gabriel.
Ryo took it in stride, thick-skinned as ever. Gabriel, on the other hand, lowered her head awkwardly.
That reaction only made Azazel's smile more mischievous.
"This morning, Miss Gabriel and I were discussing the Heaven system, so we came together," Ryo explained calmly.
Unfortunately, that explanation only made things worse.
This morning? Why specifically morning? Why were the two of them discussing something as sensitive as the Heaven system? And where exactly had that conversation taken place?
Questions piled up—none of them appropriate to ask out loud.
Michael leaned in slightly and whispered to Gabriel, "I'm sorry."
That did it.
Gabriel couldn't hold it in anymore. She suddenly blurted out, "Nothing happened last night! Absolutely nothing happened!"
"Ohhh, last night?" Azazel perked up like he'd just realized something. Then he nodded exaggeratedly. "Right, right. Last night. Oh, my. Of course nothing happened."
Gabriel looked like she might bolt from the scene on the spot.
"If you're going to talk, maybe think first," Ryo said flatly, shooting Azazel a look.
Azazel shrank back a little. "Hey, I was just joking. Don't mind me."
He coughed awkwardly, then turned toward the newly seated Yasaka.
"Since our host is here, let's get started."
Yasaka glanced at Ryo. After receiving a slight nod, she spoke up. "Then let us begin the formal signing of the peace agreement."
As her words fell, the young nine-tailed fox, Kunou, hurried over carrying a stack of documents, handing them out to each faction's representatives.
These were the draft agreements—hammered out overnight by the strategists of all three factions after hours of heated debate.
Each copy was dozens of pages long, covering every possible detail.
Prepared in advance, Ryo picked up his pen.
As the current Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, he would sign on their behalf. As for Azazel, the former leader, he was clearly just here to watch the show.
At the same time, Michael and Sirzechs also took their pens.
One by one, the three leaders signed their names and pressed their seals onto the agreements.
"…That's it," Sirzechs exhaled, visibly relieved.
He glanced at Michael and noticed him quietly wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"That was… surprisingly smooth," Rias muttered under her breath.
A voice answered her from beside her ear—
"That's because the people who don't want us signing it are still on their way."
Rias flinched and turned toward Ryo.
He gave her a brief smile, then glanced at Akeno with another, before noticing Yasaka's slightly jealous look and offering her a quick, placating grin as well.
Under different circumstances, this might have turned into a full-blown disaster scene.
"The agreement's signed. How are the preparations?" Ryo asked, swiftly changing the subject.
"The trap's set," Sirzechs replied with a faint smile. "Ajuka has already arrived in secret and finished laying out the spells around the perimeter. Now we just wait and see who walks into them."
His confidence in Ajuka Beelzebub was obvious.
"Ajuka, huh? If it's him, then unless it's that Dragon God—"
Azazel didn't get to finish.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion cut him off.
The barrier covering all of Yasaka Shrine shattered in an instant, breaking apart like glass before scattering into nothing.
A violent gust of wind crashed down from above, making it painfully clear where the attack had come from.
Everyone looked up.
"…You've got to be kidding me," Azazel muttered, eyes wide.
High in the sky stood a girl in a black gothic dress, her expression empty, her presence almost unreal.
A hollow stillness clung to her, as if she barely existed at all.
Ophis.
The Infinite Dragon God had arrived.
.
.
.