Chapter 80: His Ice-cold Boss
The corners of Serafall's mouth drooped, her vacant, disappointed stare fixed on Alduin, her subordinate who had just divulged everything regarding the odd, gilded lance he was holding. The very one responsible for the insane burst of power he had used to best Tephos Beur.
"You lied to me."
However, at present, the Satan Leviathan couldn't care less about the item itself nor the strength that lay within.
Her only interest was in the man responsible for its creation, and his connection to Alduin the young Buné had just revealed to her.
"Yes, I lied to you." Alduin confirmed with half-lidded eyes. Sirzechs and his mother had their own opinions on the matter, but it was clear he and Serafall needed a little one-on-one time.
"I asked you, to your face, if the Governor-General said anything to you back then." She continued. "And you were perfectly aware of my feelings regarding his negligence and intrusion of authority in my sister's territory."
"You did, and I was." He returned the same forwardness. "Does it anger you? The fact that I lied?"
Silence from Serafall followed, her deep blue eyes brightening with ice-cold intensity. The kind that'd make an incoming avalanche appear no more threatening than a snowball thrown by a toddler.
"You tell me, Alduin."
Her Peak Satan-Class demonic power flared to life, pressure akin to a hydraulic press bearing down on Alduin's shoulders, and goosebumps popping up all over his skin in response to the toe-biting cold.
"Do I seem angry to you?"
The Satan's posture stiffened with predatory stillness, as if she were about to leap over the table and hit the Buné with a point-blank Celsius Cross Trigger.
Alduin paused momentarily, glancing at Martha and Sirzechs before muttering a deep, decisive exhale.
"Would it be alright if we had some space?" He asked them.
"Of course." Sirzechs, amiable as ever, got up without complaint.
But Alduin knew better. He could see it in the Lucifer's eyes, the kindling mistrust Alduin's 'backdoor dealings' had instilled within him.
He couldn't blame the man, even for someone as forgiving as him, working with the leader of an opposing faction behind his back was too grave of an offensive to just brush off. If he really wanted to, he could have Alduin labeled a traitor right then and there.
However, it wasn't the Satan's style to rush to a decision. As a matter of fact, he probably wouldn't come to a decision at all. From his perspective, it was all up to Serafall how their relationship with Alduin proceeded from this point onwards. And no matter what she settled on, he'd support her.
Martha, on the other hand, couldn't seem to care less.
Wordlessly, she picked up her tea cup and took her leave, though not before sparing her son a parting glance.
A glance that expressed no interest in the situation between him and Serafall, but rather the one that involved himself, her, and Sirzechs. A situation only two of the involved parties were aware of, while the third remained blissfully unaware thanks to Alduin's cover up.
The intent her eyes conveyed was crystal-clear.
What will you do?
Would he carry the truth to his grave? Or would he do the noble thing and tell Sirzechs everything like he should've back then?
It was a question he didn't want to contemplate before he had settled things with Serafall, but one he knew he'd have to confront sooner or later.
"Why?" Now that they were alone, Serafall saw fit to break the unnerving silence.
A single word from her was all it took to hit Alduin's chest with a searing pang of guilt, the betrayal in her tone far more damaging than he expected it to be.
"I believed him," he answered. "I still believe him. I trust that the Governor-General's desire for peace between our factions is genuine, and that it's worth supporting him in his cause, including assisting him with the apprehension of his runaway Cadre, Kokabiel."
Serafall tilted her head, a single loose strand of hair falling over her mouth.
"He couldn't keep a group of low-level subordinates under control, nor could he manage a direct pillar of his race that he's known for thousands of years. And somehow, you perceived that as a measure of competence?" She chuckled mockingly. "Why? Because he gave you that shiny new toy to play with? Is a bribe all it took to compromise Alduin Buné's moral compass?"
Alduin leaned forward. "Peace for our people, isn't that the primary goal of the Foreign Affairs Department? If Azazel's a medium capable of making that goal a reality, then what reason is there to turn him down?"
This time, Serafall didn't just let out a chuckle. She straight-up laughed in his face.
"You know damn well this isn't just about Azazel, this is about you and me. If peace is truly what you two are building towards, then why wasn't I informed? Hm? Does the devil race's primary diplomatic spokesperson have no place in the creation of peace between our factions in your eyes?"
Alduin pursed his lips. "It isn't that simple—"
"LIKE HELL IT ISN'T!"
KRSSSH!
Serafall's indignant scream was followed by the motion of her hand shooting out towards Alduin, covering more than three-quarters of his body in Satan-Class ice. Enough to have instantly killed him had his draconic constitution been any weaker.
But Alduin didn't respond with an attack of his own. He understood his situation, if she wanted to, Serafall could throw out another thousand of those without breaking a sweat. Besides, if he did hit her with something back, their conversation was all but guaranteed to escalate into a full-on battle.
"Azazel's fuck-up in Kuoh made you lose faith in him, justifiably so, but the point stands nonetheless." Alduin channeled his draconic flames internally, slowly but surely melting the ice off his skin. "How was he supposed to make his proposal not only to you, but the rest of the Satans if knowledge of Kokabiel's defection got out?"
"By owning up to it like an adult, rather than running to a child and having them cover up his mess." She crossed her arms. "Not that his idiocy absolves you of any responsibility."
Alduin's eyes shimmered with a knowing glimmer. "So if Azazel approached you after all that with his intent for peace, you would've believed them?"
"You're seriously trying to pin this on me?" Serafall felt tempted to hurl another chunk of ice at him. "This isn't a matter of possibilities, Alduin. This is about trust, the trust I placed in you to keep my sister safe. The trust Sirzechs placed on you to keep his sister safe too. The trust I put in you by offering to make you Vice Minister and handle our negotiations with the West Yōkai Faction. Trust that you, and you alone decided to betray."
Alduin's brow lifted. "You don't trust me anymore?"
That reply made Serafall bite down on her lower lip. She loathed the way he said it, the unmistakable insouciance in his voice, as if her trust were such a fickle thing.
At least, that's the impression he gave her.
"I want to trust you, but you're not making it easy for me to do so."
Alduin let out an indecipherable hum and reclined into his chair.
"That's fair."
Serafall blinked in disbelief. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"
"It's the truth," he shrugged dismissively. "Actions always carry more weight than words, anything I say at this point won't amount to much."
His stance couldn't be any clearer.
If Serafall wanted to end her cooperation with Alduin right here and now, then that was that. Sirzechs was more likely than not bound to follow suit if she did too.
All the political protection the Buné had enjoyed up to this point would vanish into thin air, Martha, Sebastian, and even Zekram who was probably fuming with rage towards him would be free to do as they please.
He'd be on his own. Forced to fend for himself.
"So that's how you're going to be." Her words expressed naught but pure, unadulterated hollow disdain. "Now that you're a big and strong Satan-Class Devil, you don't need us anymore, isn't that right?"
"My opinion is irrelevant," his non-answer only served to worsen her frustration. "You're holding all the cards here, Serafall. Whether or not we continue as we are, or end our collaborative relationship is entirely up to you."
Somehow, Alduin managed to make his relinquishment of control feel like a burden on Serafall's shoulders and conscious.
Crrrrrrk… crrrk…
The Buné looked down, noticing ice begin to form around Serafall's feet and gradually spread across the garden floor.
A phenomenon not caused by an active spell cast by the Satan, but a passive effect stemming purely from the quickly rising irritation her subordinate's words and demeanor were causing her.
"You're right about one thing, your opinion is indeed irrelevant."
She got up from her chair and began to approach Alduin from around the table, her footing unaffected by the frictionless floor.
"So no matter what I decide on, you'll obediently abide by it, won't you?"
"Within the boundaries of this situation, yes." He nodded.
"Good, good."
Stood only a few centimeters apart from him, she stopped to think for a few seconds.
And then she made her move.
With a single, swift sweep of her leg, she kicked Alduin square in the chest and toppled him over, his back creating a spiderweb-shaped crack in the frigid ice beneath him.
Her face carrying hateful authoritativeness, she stretched one leg over his torso and crouched down, virtually positioning herself in a full mount over him. One of the Satan's hands shooting out and grabbing hold of his chin, a signature move most women of an older age bracket liked to use on Alduin, for whatever reason.
Alduin himself remained reactionless through it all. He wasn't analyzing Serafall's actions to determine her mood and intent, he was going off what his Senjutsu told him.
Serafall was hurt. That was the root of everything she was doing and saying to him.
Despite her centuries upon centuries of life, only a handful of people could claim to have truly earned her trust. The fact that she dropped her usual excessively flamboyant persona in front of Alduin was proof that he was among that handful.
Never before had she felt legitimately betrayed by the people she confided in.
Until today.
Until Alduin.
That's why he didn't mind a bit of 'roughness' on her part, if it could even really be called that by his experience and standards.
"Then listen close, because I won't be repeating myself."
Alduin let his silence serve as confirmation.
"First of all, you're done talking to the Governor-General. D-o-n-e. I don't care what it is you two are trying to cook up behind the scenes, it ends because I'm telling you to end it."
"That's easier said than done when I have one of his most prized possessions in hand." His contract with Fafnir didn't end until Kokabiel was dealt with.
Now if Azazel could deal with the Cadre on his own, and preferably in a timely fashion, that was fine. Alduin could just return the Artificial Sacred Gear to him. He wasn't Ultimate-Class anymore, he wasn't an existence that'd be rendered helpless before Kokabiel if they met face-to-face.
"I don't care. Give it back to him, throw it in the trash. It doesn't make a difference to me. If your connection to him was truly about peace and not just greed getting the better of you, your allegiance to m…"
Serafall paused midsentence, fearful that she was about to say something she couldn't take back.
"...to our species and your responsibilities will take precedence over some flashy toy."
Alduin's gaze fixed onto Fafnir's seal.
Perhaps if he and Azazel mutually agreed upon it, ownership could be returned to the Governor-General despite the existing contract's authority.
That said, Alduin had yet to figure out the mechanics behind Fafnir's negation, and he still wanted to get his hands on a drop of the Dragon King's blood if possible.
"He will have questions."
"Then he can pose them straight to my face, like he's supposed to." She emphasized her voice. "He's a faction leader, I'm sure he can muster up the courage. No more colluding behind my back with my own subordinate."
Alduin didn't see any point in trying to refute her, the Satan's opinion of Azazel had evidently hit rock-bottom. Trying to steer her opinion elsewhere was bound to do nothing but arouse her anger even further.
Besides, she did have a point. A faction leader ought to speak with a faction leader when they want to hold negotiations between one another's species. Alduin had done what he could to shield Grigori's failure to keep the organization's failure to prevent one of their Cadre's defections, but sooner or later, the truth was bound to come to light.
It always did.
Such was life.
"Secondly, I don't trust you to go to Kyoto on your own to handle the Yōkai negotiations. You've lost that right."
Alduin waited, aware that she wasn't finished.
"However, you are still going to Kyoto. Only now I'll be going there alongside you to watch over you to make sure you don't try anything with Yasaka while you're there." Her gaze hardened. "And it won't be happening in two weeks' time. I'm rescheduling it for tomorrow, first thing in the morning."
He withheld a coy smile.
So much for his 4 week vacation.
"Won't Yasaka take offense to the sudden rescheduling?"
"She won't, we have our own terms with one another." She replied without elaboration. "Oh, and as for your promotion, it's on indefinite hiatus until I change my mind. If that ever ends up happening."
Alduin just chuckled, stopping himself from hitting her with another 'fair enough'.
"And thirdly, you're no longer allowed to leave the Underworld without my explicit permission."
This time, the Buné's shell of indifference broke.
"That seems excessive."
"Is it?" She tightened her clasp. "I think it's punishment suiting the crime, you've proven you can't be trusted to be out and about on your own. So I've decided you aren't authorized to leave without someone keeping you in line, and no, your maid doesn't count. If she could hold you then you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."
"Alright then," he closed his eyes in acceptance. Pretending as if he hadn't come up with a dozen methods in his mind to work around that condition. "Any other stipulations you want to stick onto me?"
"None that come to mind just yet." She released his chin, but remained atop him. "But I'm sure a few will come to mind when I sleep on it."
"You two seem to be having fun."
The employee and employer's heads turned to the garden entrance, where the former's mother could be seen leaning against the doorframe with the latter's colleague looming behind her. A slight flush of second-hand embarrassment visible on the Satan Lucifer's face.
When he realized Serafall and Alduin needed some alone time to work things through, the sight before him was the last thing he envisioned.
"Honestly, your escapades with women far too old for you never cease to entertain me." A wry smile tugged at her mouth. "Though I'd suggest you two find somewhere more hygienic to get intimate."
"Hilarious," Serafall deadpanned.
"I was just offering a helpful word of advice." She turned her attention to her son who was currently in the process of being topped by the Satan. "Come. There's something important we ought to discuss now that you've concluded your affairs with her."
///
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Side by side, Alduin wandered with his mother through the halls of Ajuka's facility.
"I'm still not telling you how I suppressed your Demonic Ki if that's what this is about." He said idly, side-eyeing her figure as they sauntered.
"I don't care about that, nor is it what I want to talk to you about."
Alduin simply smoldered in return. His mother was a once-in-a-generation liar, but a statement like that was way too audacious even for her.
"Fine. I do care," she rolled her eyes and exhaled. "But I'm bound to figure it out sooner or later, regardless of what games you try to play."
"Sure." He flicked his brow dismissively, as if she were an elementary schooler who had just yelled out their dream to become president.
Alduin didn't know what kind of existence his 'heaven-piercing tree' was exactly, but he had a gut-feeling that it was at least Super Class.
At least.
It had that same, imperceivable air of dominance and mystique Sirzechs and Ajuka possessed after all. The kind that made one feel like an ant attempting to comprehend the infinite reaches of the universe.
"This is about your father."
She gave her statement a moment to really sink in through Alduin's ears.
"Now that you're Satan-Class, he'll be coming to kill you once he finds out. It's important you're aware of that from this point onwards."
"Well, that isn't a very fatherly thing to do, now is it?" He chuckled with sarcasm.
Not a single discrepancy or fluctuation was evident in his posture: not a twitch of the eye, not a tremble in his fingers, not even a slight furrowing of his brow.
He was unmoved, calmly continuing to walk alongside his mother.
"You knew?" She asked with a rare note of disbelief.
"No. I had my speculations, but only now have they been confirmed. Neither of you hold any affection for me, but you both had your own separate reasons for having me."
It was brief, but Martha noticed a faint flicker of hollowness flash through his pupils.
"It's obvious what you want, and while I couldn't figure out what father's direct reason for having me was. We both know exactly what his main obsession has been for quite some time now, don't we?"
A cold grin crept up her face. "Yes, we do."
Unashamed, she allowed Alduin to see how pathetic she believed her husband to be through her face. Practically writing her opinion of the man onto her skin with a permanent marker.
"I did some research on sleep disease in my spare time, and I found out something rather interesting about where its spread begins in an afflicted devil." Alduin spoke while tapping his chest.
According to public documents posted by the Serafall Memorial Hospital, sleep disease started in a devil's heart before proceeding onwards to the brain.
Why?
A devil's heart was where the root of their demonic power came from. The heart pumped blood to the rest of the body, a devil's blood contained their demonic power, two plus two equals four.
Against infections and whatnot, a devil's demonic power was in a sense no different from a human's white blood cells. As long as their demonic power remained functional, they'd still have the means to naturally fight off diseases, especially those of supernatural origin.
Kind of like how Alduin's Sallos bloodline circulated Ki through his brain to drastically reduce, if not outright nullify the chances of him succumbing to draconic deviation. A phenomenon Halibel pointed out when he activated Dragonification for the first time.
Sleep disease's lethality came from its ability to shut down a devil's natural defense system before attacking their brain. It's why it was the only strain one of the strongest supernatural races in existence had yet to find a cure for despite the technological brilliance of their existing Satan Beelzebub.
Technically speaking, the only way to fight sleep disease is through prevention. To become strong enough so your demonic power's able to fight it off before it gets the better of your body.
To date, no devil below Satan-Class has been reported to fall victim to the disease. Which more likely than not makes that the bare minimum threshold to become immune, so to speak.
Or alternatively, be born a Sallos.
The noble bloodline with the highest natural regenerative factor embedded into their genome.
A bloodline possessed solely by none other than the mother-son pair strolling through Ajuka's halls.
"Theoretically, he wants to give Gilda a Satan-Class heart that'd supposedly free her from the disease." Alduin continued. "But it can't just be any Satan-Class heart, can it? Her body would implode if she tried to fill her form with all that power at once."
"You really have grown quite a bit, both mentally and physically speaking." A strange sense of pride welled inside her. "Indeed, he needs a heart that's not only strong enough, but adaptable enough to accommodate for his wife's frail state and assimilate with her without destroying her from within."
"And Sallos DNA is capable of that?" He concluded.
"Mm. My blood is fairly adaptable, but I'd be lying if I pretended like it was anywhere near the adaptability of a Buné's." There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice. "Think about it, your father's bloodline is quite literally designed to do nothing but adapt to other bloodlines. Namely that of other dragons. As a Low Ultimate-Class Devil you were able to digest the blood of the Strongest Dragon King in existence, if that doesn't speak to unparalleled adaptability then I don't know what does."
Alduin hummed, internally putting the pieces together.
"I see. So the Sallos blood isn't about assimilation, it's about stabilization. Even if she wakes up she'll still have to deal with the chaotic nature of a Buné heart, my Buné heart in particular." He took his mother's silence as confirmation that he was on-track. "My maternal blood's already proven its ability to regulate my paternal one in a way none of my ancestors ever had the luxury of experiencing, which I imagine was father's hypothesis before he had me."
"That about sums it up."
If Martha possessed even the slightest drop of motherly affection, now would be the time where she'd reach over and ruffle her son's hair in praise.
Alduin breathed a dry exhale. "I guess that means at least one of you is interested in my heart."
"I doubt he'll stop there," she added. "He probably wants your blood too, down to the very last liter."
"Because?" He asked expectantly, his brow creased.
"Because it could recover your half-brother the aftereffects of his deviation too through a complete blood transfusion. Who knows? Maybe his firstborn would finally possess an ounce of talent afterwards." As per usual, she loved to mock whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Alduin ignored the comment, if he were to brood over each and every one of his mother's words he would've been checked into a mental asylum by now.
"A test subject to one parent. A sacrifice to the other." He nodded to himself. "What a fun little family I have."
"It builds character," she smiled. "I don't have any intention of telling your father you've reached Satan-Class, however, even his foolishness had limits. Sooner or later, he'll find out that you've advanced. And when he does, he won't hesitate to come for you."
"That sounds about right." Alduin murmured a low, thoughtful hum. Reactionless, he continued to stroll alongside her.
A level of indifference that even Martha found somewhat disturbing.
"You do realize how easy it'd be for him to kill you as you are? I'm not going to help your father, but I'm not going to go out of my way to protect you from him if that's what you're thinking. You know that's not how I function."
"I know," his tone was oddly light. "You don't have to worry about me, if and when he comes, I'll handle him."
She narrowed her eyes.
Something wasn't adding up.
"This confidence of yours, it has something to do with your ability to suppress my Demonic Ki, doesn't it?"
"Possibly," he nodded his head to the side. "You know, you really ought to put a little more effort into building a relationship with your son."
She breathed an amused exhale. "Like I said, I'll find out one way or anoth—"
"It's not about that." He sighed, as if he were disappointed. "It's because except for me, you have no-one. And the way I'm growing and developing, I may end up the same way sooner or later. It'll be important for us to stick together once that time comes."
Without waiting for a response, he walked ahead of her. He doubted he'd get one anyway. His words served no other purpose than to hopefully give his mother some food for thought, if she had any interest in chewing at all.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a whole lot of explaining to do to my fiancée and Thora."
///
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I'm with Martha on this one, Alduin's interactions with older women are way too much fun to write.
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