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"As expected… using the Five Families as a probe just wasn't enough."
At the Fallen Angels' headquarters, Azazel held a glass orb in his hand and shook his head with a sigh.
The orb was a recording crystal, a small magical device modeled after human video cameras.
Azazel owned plenty of these things. They were useful in both everyday life and combat.
He handed the recording crystal to the vice-governor beside him, Shemhazai.
"I told you from the start this wouldn't work. You just wouldn't listen." Shemhazai glanced at the crystal and rolled his eyes.
He'd originally been the one to send Azazel off to investigate Baraqiel's situation. And what happened after that?
Azazel came back, dragged him out for drinks, and started going on about how the Fallen Angels had finally found someone to "take over the mess." It left him completely dumbfounded.
So he pressed for details.
And what he got?
Unbelievable.
Some young punk actually wanted to buy them out. Swindle the entire Fallen Angel race.
What kind of nonsense was that?
Was that even something a normal person could come up with?
And yet, somehow, Azazel actually seemed tempted.
That was awkward.
But then Azazel laid out Ryo's conditions.
Complete data on Sacred Gears. Handling the militant faction. And most importantly, solving the Fallen Angels' population problem.
The first one appealed to Azazel personally.
The latter two, though, were what Shemhazai truly cared about.
Compared to Azazel, who was lazy by nature, Shemhazai was the one who actually managed the Fallen Angels.
And only he knew how much of a headache that was.
Internal power struggles. Subordinates trying to undermine their superiors. And worst of all, no new blood for centuries.
He'd worried about it so much that he'd even secretly married a devil woman just to set an example.
He was practically one step away from begging his people to go have kids.
And what was the result?
Aside from Baraqiel secretly having a child out there…
Nothing.
Not a single one.
Everyone indulged themselves all the time, and yet none of them left behind any offspring.
Were they even men? Such failures.
…Well, technically, they weren't failures. They were really indulging themselves. They just never produced anything from it.
No one knew how repressed the Fallen Angels had been back when they were still angels. So after their fall, they threw themselves into temptation. Many of them even enjoyed corrupting pure church members the most.
But actually having children?
Out of the question.
How could they let anyone taint the purity of (Fallen) Angel blood?
Compared to that, the devils handled things far better.
Pureblood families arranged marriages, deliberately mixing bloodlines to produce potential Super Devils. At the same time, they expanded their numbers by reincarnating outsiders using Evil Pieces.
Ajuka Beelzebub really was a genius.
That single system had solved the devils' manpower problem.
Sure, the proportion of purebloods dropped significantly, but their overall power kept growing.
Among the three factions, only the devils had expanded after the war, gaining more and more influence. The Fallen Angels couldn't help but feel envious.
Honestly, if Azazel hadn't also been investing effort into developing a similar "Fallen Angel piece" system, Shemhazai might have already held a knife to his throat and forced him to get results.
"If he can really solve the new blood problem, I don't mind giving up the governor's seat."
Shemhazai let out a long sigh, speaking with rare sincerity.
"Oh? I thought you'd refuse." Azazel looked at him in surprise.
Anyone with half a brain knew that once Azazel stepped down, Shemhazai was the obvious successor.
As for Vali, he was more like Azazel's long-term candidate for a third-generation governor. The kid needed experience, and they also had to think about preserving top-tier combat strength for the future.
Which meant that in this whole matter, Shemhazai's stance was the deciding factor.
If he agreed, the deal was practically settled.
"I just didn't expect you to go out for a walk and come back ready to sell off the entire race." Shemhazai gritted his teeth as he spoke.
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating it became.
Better not think about it.
His expression darkened before he asked, "So, have you confirmed who this guy really is?"
"The earliest trace we found ties him to this yokai."
Azazel pulled out a photo of Kuroka in her black cat form. There was also a human-form image, though limited. She kept her guard up well.
After handing the photo over, Azazel continued, "She herself isn't anything unusual. But her recent experiences are… questionable."
"Oh?" Shemhazai raised a brow, intrigued. "How so?"
"She took part in that trial in the Underworld."
Azazel shrugged.
"You mean—?" Shemhazai's eyes widened in shock. "That's impossible. No one's passed that trial in centuries. The devils shouldn't have anyone capable of that."
"That's because pureblood devils aren't allowed to participate," Azazel said, rolling his eyes.
The trial created by the Devil Progenitor had banned purebloods from entering. Back then, it had caused quite the uproar.
Rumor had it that Lilith simply thought modern devils were too ugly.
Azazel had laughed his head off when that rumor was confirmed.
Because of that rule, every major faction had secretly planted agents among the devils to take part in the trial.
A lot of materials tied to Primeval Power had been "borrowed" that way.
Training spies was costly, but the payoff made it worthwhile.
And the Fallen Angels, of course, had intelligence on the treasures and powerful figures within Lilith's palace.
If Ryo really came from there, it would explain a lot.
"If he's connected to the devils… letting him become governor…" Shemhazai hesitated.
"Oh, come on. You married a devil yourself."
Azazel rolled his eyes again.
"And even if he is, so what? You really think the Fallen Angels could just merge into the devil faction? Lucifer himself couldn't pull that off. What makes you think he could?"
"At worst, we just end up like an unofficial 'Pillar.'"
Azazel stroked his chin with a faint smile, clearly having already weighed the pros and cons.
In his judgment, replacing the governor would benefit the Fallen Angels more than it would hurt them.
"If that's the case… then I guess there's no problem."
Shemhazai sighed in relief before asking, "So who do we send to negotiate? One of us has to stay here."
Azazel rubbed his chin, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Send Baraqiel. We just got word they've caught Akeno-chan."
"Baraqiel, huh…"
Shemhazai immediately understood.
With Akeno Himejima involved, Baraqiel was the natural choice.
They'd all been brothers-in-arms for thousands of years. Watching a comrade's family fall apart wasn't something they could ignore.
If not for the peak of Indra's invasions against the three factions a few years back, the Fallen Angels might have already wiped out the Five Families over that incident.
In the end, Baraqiel himself chose to let it go.
Partly because of his dying wife's request. Partly to give Suzaku Himejima some time. And most importantly, to avoid giving Indra an opening to strike.
All those reasons combined forced him to endure it.
And that, in turn, led to Akeno running away from home.
After all, her mother was killed, and her father chose to endure it. No child could accept that, especially not one who was barely ten years old at the time.
Now that there was a chance for the father and daughter to finally talk things out, neither Shemhazai nor Azazel had any objections.
"So that's settled?"
"That's settled. The rest can wait until we meet him face-to-face."
As their discussion came to an end, the question of who would take the seat of Fallen Angel governor was finally beginning to take shape.
.
.
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