"Leon! Rias!"
"Sona? You're here too?"
Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory both noticed each other's presence after Leon spoke and quickly hurried over.
The three converged first before beginning to observe their surroundings.
They were in a spacious area with low visibility, resembling a sealed basement. After a brief assessment, Leon, Rias, and Sona managed to distinguish several key details.
"This likely isn't the Human World; it's a separate, isolated pocket dimension," Sona judged calmly.
"Is it artificial? Or naturally occurring?" Rias asked, her brow furrowing.
Pocket dimensions were not rare occurrences. Devils possessed the technology to create them, frequently utilizing such spaces as arenas for Rating Games. Consequently, Leon's group was quite familiar with their existence.
"It should be an artificially constructed space," Leon said, walking to a wall and running his hand over it. "Naturally occurring pocket dimensions wouldn't contain such obvious man-made structures."
It was an easy distinction to make based on the environment.
If a pocket dimension consisted mostly of natural landscapes, it was likely a fragment born by chance within the cracks of the world. Such spaces were highly unstable—born today and annihilated tomorrow. Therefore, unless there was a special circumstance, no one bothered to use or pay attention to these natural fragments.
Artificial dimensions, on the other hand, were filled with man-made objects: cities, small towns, malls, plazas, or skyscrapers. Without human intervention, such sights would not exist.
While this basement was vast, it was still a basement. How could it be anything other than man-made?
"Then the situation is clear," Rias said, her eyes flickering slightly. "We've been ambushed, haven't we?"
"Beyond a shadow of a doubt," Sona added, the light reflecting off her glasses. "A forced spatial transfer that directly locked onto our demonic power. This isn't just an attack; it's a targeted strike."
"Then the next question is simple," Leon said tonelessly. "Who exactly has their eyes on us?"
The three "Kings" who had received Evil Pieces organized the current situation with maximum efficiency, pinpointing the critical issue through their rapid exchange.
Clap, clap, clap—
A sudden burst of applause echoed through the space, followed by a laugh.
"As expected of the new generation drawing the attention of the Devil world. I thank you for understanding the situation so quickly; it saves me the trouble of a redundant explanation."
The sudden voice came from all directions, sounding as if it emanated from the space itself, making it impossible to locate the speaker.
"Who are you?" Rias demanded immediately. Her question was met with a sneer.
"Do not concern yourselves. We are the ghosts forgotten, marginalized, and even betrayed by the Devils. We exist only to reclaim everything we have lost, and for—revenge."
Hearing this, Rias and Sona were still somewhat confused, but Leon understood instantly.
"You're from the Old Satan Faction, aren't you?"
The moment those words were uttered, the expressions of Rias and Sona shifted.
"Old Satans" referred to the original Great Maous, the ancient Satans recorded in the Bible familiar to all: Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus.
They were the first Devils to be born, the ancestors of all Devils regarded as evil by Heaven and the Human World. Unfortunately, they had perished one by one during the long, unending Great War, leaving only their bloodline descendants behind while they themselves became history.
The current Satans were merely leaders of the Reformist faction who had inherited those titles. For example, Rias's brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, was originally known as Sirzechs Gremory. He was Rias's biological brother, but because he became a Satan, he inherited the name Lucifer and changed his name to Sirzechs Lucifer. He was not a descendant of the original Lucifer's bloodline, but a Devil born of the Gremory House.
Sona's sister, Serafall Leviathan, was the same. Her original name was Serafall Sitri; she inherited the name Leviathan upon becoming a Satan while retaining the bloodline of the Sitri House.
None of the current four Great Satans of the Devil world were bloodline descendants of the original Satans; they all came from the various surviving Devil Houses.
As for the bloodline descendants of the Old Satans, they had been driven out several hundred years ago.
"I will not permit you to call us the Old Satan Faction! We are the True Satan Faction! We are the followers and loyalists of the true Satans!"
The speaker's emotions became agitated, their voice filling with rage and hatred.
"You are nothing more than traitors who stole the title of Satan. Have some self-awareness!"
Clearly, this person was a member of the Old Satan Faction driven out centuries ago, an entity opposed to the current Devil government.
Hundreds of years ago, the helm of the Devil world was not held by the current Satans, but by the true bloodlines left behind by the original Satans. They were the hardliners who had ceaselessly clashed with the Angels and Fallen Angels—the "Hawks" who insisted on fighting to the bitter end.
The war between the three factions of Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels had lasted for thousands of years. By the end, all three sides were exhausted, suffering catastrophic casualties. Not only had the Devils lost their Satans, but the Angels and Fallen Angels had also lost many of their most important figures. Ultimately, as Leon had always emphasized, they fell to a point where they had to rely on humans just to survive.
At that time, two voices naturally emerged within the Devil world.
One was the "War Faction," dominated by centuries of hatred and ambition, wanting to fight to the finish to completely annihilate the Angels and Fallen Angels and rule the world.
The other was the "Reformist Faction," which realized things could not continue this way. They believed the war must stop to prevent the total extinction of the Devil race, seeking to preserve their species.
The former consisted of the bloodline descendants of the Old Satans and their supporters. The latter was an alliance led by several Devil Houses, including the Gremory, Sitri, Astaroth, and Glasya-Labolas families.
Due to their different ideologies, beliefs, and convictions, a war eventually broke out—the Devil Civil War of several centuries ago.
The civil war lasted for years, finally concluding with the victory of the Reformist Faction. They elected new Satans and established a new government. The supporters of the Old Satans insisted on fighting to the end and were ultimately driven to the corners of the Underworld, where they became remnants lingering on the brink of extinction.
This history was something no Devil could possibly be ignorant of.
Therefore, once they realized they were being targeted by the Old Satan Faction, Rias and Sona understood exactly why they were being attacked.
"Have you still not abandoned your mistaken ideologies?"
Sona spoke loudly, but the opponent's heated voice turned into a cold sneer.
"It is you—who forget hatred, forget glory, and stand by idly while Angels and Fallen Angels flaunt their power before your eyes—who are the truly mistaken ones. You are the ones who must be corrected, purged, and used by us as offerings to sacrifice to our great ancestors who perished in the war!"
"Minions of the false, sham Satans. I shall see if you can survive this war of purging."
"And we shall see if, after losing you, the Satans behind you can still sit securely in those stolen seats, continuing to defile the noble names of the True Satans."
The reason Leon, Rias, and Sona were targeted by the Old Satan Faction was naturally because of their deep connections to the current Satans.
Rias and Sona went without saying; their elder brother and sister were among the current Satans. It was only natural for the Old Satan Faction, who loathed the current regime, to harbor a grudge against them.
Though Leon had no siblings serving as Satans, ever since he awakened his Mutation characteristic and linked it to the Evil Pieces, the current Satan Ajuka Beelzebub had taken a keen interest in him. Not only had Ajuka granted him an audience, but he also monitored him silently from the shadows, acting as a backer of sorts.
Furthermore, his financial patron was the Sitri House, the family of the current Satan Leviathan. He himself was close with the next head of the Sitri House and had now befriended the successor of another Satan's House. No matter how one looked at it, there were plenty of reasons for the Old Satan Faction to target him.
The three of them had met at Kuoh Academy today; perhaps word of this leaked to the Old Satan Faction, triggering this ambush.
"This underground labyrinth space is the graveyard we have prepared specifically for you."
"The room you are in now is but one of many in the labyrinth. Compared to the entire space, it is but a negligible part."
"Your peerages have been scattered to other locations, where they are facing trials of their own."
The speaker let out a cold laugh before continuing.
"Every room here is set with a trial. Only by passing the trial can you open the door to the next room."
"We shall be waiting for you in one of the rooms of this labyrinth—provided you do not die during the trials in the preceding rooms first."
"Struggle with all your might, minions of the false Satans. Hahahaha!"
Accompanied by a burst of loud laughter, the voice echoing in the room vanished.
Zhen! Zhen! Zhen! Zhen! Zhen!—
The next moment, magic circles suddenly appeared in every corner of the room, one after another, emitting the red light of teleportation.
"Leon! Rias!"
"Watch out!"
Sona and Rias both turned pale, quickly converging with Leon and assuming a back-to-back defensive stance.
Leon, however, had not moved from the beginning, watching with narrowed eyes.
"Roar—"
"Roar—"
Low growls and roars began to emanate from within the magic circles.
One by one, grotesque, alien figures emerged from the circles, gradually filling the entire room.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi