The Underworld.
After some time, namely, while Goetia had calmed down somewhat, we teleported into the sky above the Underworld, where we were already joined by the four Demon Lords and Rizevim, who was without her dragons.
It was like a typical scene from a typical Wild West movie, where cowboys looked at each other pompously, slowly and dramatically rubbing the handles of their revolvers. The only things missing were old wooden buildings, dusty roads, tumbleweeds, and, most importantly, appropriate background music, which I proceeded to add.
- "Romani-san..." Sirzechs began, his eyebrow twitching as he heard the music coming from the speaker in my hands. "Do you know who this lady is?"
Oh? So, Rizevim never showed herself to them, and even their spies couldn't report on her changes? Well, either the latter were doing a very poor job, or Rizevim was simply excellent. However, I was perfectly fine with this turn of events.
- "She looks familiar..." Ajuka said thoughtfully.
- "Me too," Falbium nodded. "But I can't remember where I've seen her before."
- "Hmm..." Serafall put her finger to her lips and struck a pensive pose typical of an anime heroine. "Brown eyes and silver hair? But Rizevim didn't have any other relatives besides the White Dragon Emperor, right, Ro-tan, Sirzechs-chan?"
- "Yes, Serafall-kun," I nodded with the air of a wise expert. "If there were any, Vali would definitely know about them."
- "Exactly," Serafall repeated after me, then slammed her fist into her palm as if she had just had a revelation. "Maybe it's Rizevim himself?"
- "That's absurd," Sirzechs immediately declared. "Rizevim would never..."
- "Silence," Goetia interrupted, causing the Demon Lords to fall silent, while I giggled, sensing a storm brewing. "What does this mean, Rizevim Livan Lucifer?"
As soon as he said that, the eyes of every Demon Lord nearly popped out of their sockets. Falbium clutched his heart as if he were having a heart attack. Ajuka froze as if all the secrets of the world had been revealed to him and he had reached the Root. Serafall staggered when her wings momentarily ceased to function, then pointed her finger at Rizevim-chan. But Sirzechs...
- "Wh... what...?" he asked, his eyes wide open. "R-Rizevim...?"
- "Yes, Sirzechs Lucifer. It's me, Rizevim Livan Lucifer, and no one else," Rizevim nodded with a sweet smile, then covered her mouth aristocratically to hide her laughter. "Don't tell me you've got your eye on me because I look like a fusion of your wife and your younger sister?"
- "Th-that's..." Sirzechs covered his mouth with his hand, as if trying to suppress a gag.
- "Oh, come on, it wasn't meant for you anyway," Rizevim dismissed him and looked at me. "How do you like my new hairstyle and outfit? I thought that by changing my style, I could get your attention. Did it work?"
Yeah, now, just as Rizevim herself had said, she looked like a fusion of Rias and Grayfia. It was a maid outfit, almost identical to the one Grayfia wore, and her hair was no longer neatly styled, but slightly tousled.
- "Well, I can give you a couple of points for Sirzechs' reaction," I chuckled.
- "Oh, that's fine with me," Rizevim giggled in response.
- "Me too!" Serafall suddenly came to her senses and began flying around Rizevim, examining her from all angles. "That's so cool! Do you want to be in my show? The role of a teasing and beautiful villainess would break all the ratings!"
- "I think I'll pass," replied Rizevim. "I have more important things to do than just a show."
- "You don't even have to act!" exclaimed Serafall. "It's so cool!"
- "Well, in theory, I'd watch a show like that," I said thoughtfully.
- "Then I'm willing to reconsider your offer, Serafall," Rizevim added immediately.
- "It's just a dream..." repeated Sirzechs.
- "I thought I met death itself... That's even worse than work..." said Falbium and looked at Ajuka. "Hey, Ajuka, are you okay?"
- "Not just the floor, but the person... What kind of monster could make such a perfect transition...?" whispered Ajuka.
I think we would have continued to joke about the reaction of not only Sirzechs, but also the other Demon Lords, but apparently Goetia did not find this amusing.
- "I'm surrounded by idiots," Goetia said in an icy tone, casting a contemptuous glance at us. "And you are testing my patience, child of the First Fallen."
- "Come now, Your Majesty," Rizevim said calmly. "I'm just following my heart."
- "Hmm... Now you feel neither fear nor trepidation before me," Goetia remarked, his eyes flashing for a moment. "I see. You are nothing but a demon in name."
- "Perhaps," Rizevim agreed. "But it makes me happy, and that's all that matters to me."
After these words, there was another dramatic pause that needed a different melody. So I decided to change the background music, but instead of the epic melody I wanted, a circus drum roll started playing. Of course, the reaction to this was more than predictable.
Rizevim giggled, finding it funny. Goetia glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, literally saying that I was the biggest piece of shit.
- "You're doing it wrong! This music is completely wrong for this scene!" Serafall interrupted and took my phone, starting to switch from one melody to another. First there was the barking of dogs, then singing cats, then the sounds of renovation, and then the sound of a child crying. At the very end, she couldn't take it anymore.
- "This is all wrong!" Serafall shouted indignantly, throwing my phone as far as she could and taking out her own phone.
- "Hey! Don't throw other people's things!" I said indignantly.
She had no idea how much time I had spent searching for all the most annoying sounds I could find! I mean, how else am I supposed to annoy Archer, Gil, Runeas, and the rest?
After a couple of seconds, Serafall finally found the right melody, reminiscent of one that played in the games of a game developer named Miyazaki. And during all this time, Goetia's gaze grew darker and darker, and I even thought that his now human body was beginning to crack with golden fissures...
And, as a good friend, that is, a brother, I decided to show him some concern.
- "Are you okay, my friend?" I asked Goetia with the most sincere concern and desire to help, then patted him on the head. "There you go, everything's fine. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat after me. Breathe in. Breathe out."
- "Yes, Your Majesty!" Serafall supported me. "Smile, and everything will be just fine!"
Now Goetia clenched his fists so tightly that his palms almost completely lost their human form, but it wasn't me who finished him off, it was Rizevim.
- "So, Your Majesty, you're a pet, and Romani is your master?" she asked innocently, apparently picking up on Serafall's and my mood, to which I gave her a thumbs up.
The moment she finished speaking, Goetia spun around and punched me in the face, sending me crashing into Lucifer's castle, destroying a couple of defensive walls and towers in the process and raising an incredible cloud of dust.
And while I was embedded in one of the walls, which was covered with huge cracks with a natural crater in the center, massive explosions occurred throughout the capital of the Underworld.
The evil dragons, having taken their true form, began to do what they were created for and what they were named for. Seven giant dragons began to destroy everything around them and flood the city with fire, poison, and everything else their mouths could spew.
The cries of panic and horror of the townspeople rang out, but there were far fewer of them than I had thought. Apparently, Sirzechs and the others had called on the capital's residents to evacuate as soon as they noticed the presence of Rizevim and the Evil Dragons approaching the city.
I smiled and, restoring my presentable appearance, teleported to one of the surviving towers of Lucifer's castle, after which I began to observe what was happening. After all, I had no need to intervene, since Goetia and the demon Pillars could handle everything.
However, I still had a couple of things to do, and so...
- "Great Red, how are things going?" I asked, telepathically contacting the dragon god.
- "The body of the Ddraig carrier is ready," he replied. "And I hope you will keep your word, Magician."
- "Of course," I smiled. "As we agreed? Not to bother you for the next thousand years?"
- "Yes."
- "Of course, of course," I waved it off. "It's just that..."
- "It's just that what?" he asked suspiciously.
- "Will you say the same thing to Tia?"
- "Ah, you bastard..."
With that, I broke the connection and made myself a cup of coffee, then took a sip, inhaling the aroma of this wonderful drink.
Well, let's see how it goes..
-0-
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