— — — — — —
"Meeting again, Azazel."
At the shrine entrance, Ryo stepped forward with a bright smile and extended his hand.
If everything went as planned, this man in front of him would soon be handing over the position of Fallen Angel Governor.
So naturally, Ryo wasn't about to treat Azazel the same cold way he had before. After all, this was a man delivering money, manpower, and even his own seat. A triple gift package.
Azazel's expression shifted the moment he saw that smile.
'This kid definitely wasn't this friendly last time…'
Outwardly, he remained composed. He shook Ryo's hand and chuckled. "Well now, this sudden enthusiasm of yours is making me a bit uneasy."
Ryo feigned confusion, "That's strange. I don't recall doing anything unusual. Why would the great Governor of the Fallen Angels feel uneasy?"
'You know exactly what you did. You weren't this warm when you tried to take my position last time…'
Azazel grumbled inwardly, but kept up his easygoing expression. "I'm just worried certain matters haven't been properly handled."
He didn't specify what matters.
Those who understood, understood. Those who didn't, weren't meant to.
A seasoned riddler through and through.
Until Ryo could prove he had a solution to the Fallen Angels' population crisis, Azazel had no intention of fully committing.
He'd been governor for thousands of years. At the very least, he had to see things through responsibly to the end.
"If that's what you're worried about, then you can relax. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Ryo's smile didn't falter, though inwardly he was already cursing Azazel for being difficult.
This was a public setting. Sure, no other factions were openly present, but there were definitely spies lurking in the shadows.
If Ryo bothered to sweep the area, he might not catch a hundred, but pulling out a dozen wouldn't be hard.
And here Azazel was, casually dropping hints. Just short of announcing to the world that the Fallen Angels and Kyoto's yokai were working together.
Working together on what?
Azazel's answer was basically: 'Guess. The wilder, the better.'
It was practically an invitation for every faction out there to flood Ryo's territory with spies.
'Old bastard. Already one of us, and you still stab me in the back like this… No wonder the Fallen Angels can't grow stronger.'
"Guarantee I'll be satisfied? Now that's a bold claim." Azazel clearly didn't expect that answer.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since their negotiation. And Ryo was saying he'd already solved the Fallen Angels' reproduction problem?
Azazel couldn't shake the feeling that something about this was off.
Still, since he was already here, he might as well see what Ryo was playing at.
After a moment's thought, he asked, "Then… could we take a look at the results?"
"Of course."
Ryo didn't hesitate.
Solving something like the Fallen Angels' population issue? If he couldn't handle that, that would be the real joke.
And even if he couldn't, someone like Algol had plenty of ways to deal with it.
"Then please, follow me." As he spoke, Ryo glanced sideways at Baraqiel, who looked far more agitated than Azazel.
Of course, Baraqiel wasn't excited about the population issue.
He was excited because his runaway daughter was finally willing to see him.
Even if she was just standing behind Ryo with a cold expression, refusing to greet him or say a word…
At least she came.
Baraqiel understood her attitude instantly.
'Still mad at me…'
But honestly, he felt relieved.
At the same time, he was more certain than ever of his earlier guess.
Akeno definitely had some hidden connection with Ryo.
Possibly even with the devils.
Wasn't the proof standing right there? The younger sister of Sirzechs was quietly standing behind Ryo.
That pretty much confirmed it.
Which meant that Ryo humiliating him before might really have been part of some "plan."
Sure, having your own daughter arrange for someone to beat you up at your age was a bit embarrassing.
But hey, she was still angry. That meant she still cared.
Strangely enough, Baraqiel suddenly felt like all his injuries from yesterday didn't hurt anymore. His back didn't ache, his legs didn't feel weak. He could probably go run a marathon.
Meanwhile, Akeno was having her own thoughts.
'The leader of Kyoto's yokai… secretly working with the Fallen Angel Governor?'
And judging by the way Ryo and Azazel were smiling like old foxes, whatever deal they had going was big. Big enough that Azazel himself had to show up.
That only reinforced her suspicion.
The Fallen Angels and the yokai, or rather Ryo specifically, were definitely allied.
And suddenly, Ryo's insistence on keeping her here, ignoring the devils' objections, made perfect sense.
She glanced at her father.
That idiot was practically glowing with excitement.
Yeah. That explained everything.
He must've asked Ryo to help catch her.
She'd been wondering how a Fallen Angel cadre, a being on the level of a Satan, could lose in a straight fight… and in such a humiliating way.
Turns out, it was bait.
Of course she'd come if she heard her father was seriously injured.
No matter how strained their relationship was, she wouldn't ignore something like that.
But the moment she showed up, Ryo caught her.
Well, of course he did. The whole thing had been a trap designed for her.
'Impressive. Been a few years, and the old man's actually gotten smarter. Even knows how to lure the snake out of its hole now.'
The more she thought about it, the worse her mood got.
Her gaze toward Baraqiel grew colder and colder.
As for Ryo?
He was just the tool her father used.
You don't hate the net. You hate the one holding it.
'Ah, that look… exactly the same as when her mother first looked at me. Like I'm some kind of non-burnable trash…'
'It's been years. My daughter's really grown up…'
Baraqiel sighed inwardly, full of emotion, but his steps remained steady as he followed Ryo alongside Azazel.
Soon, the group arrived at the underground prison beneath Yasaka Shrine.
Before the yokai took over, this place had been used by shrine officials for… less-than-holy purposes.
Shrine maidens, after all—everyone knew the history.
Officially, they served the gods. In reality, whoever paid was "god."
Religion had its share of dark pasts everywhere.
After the yokai took control, though, things became a lot more… restrained.
Yokai didn't really have those kinds of needs. And even their old habits, like eating humans, had long faded with the times.
After all, the Sacred Gears created by Creator God weren't something to mess with.
Imagine harming a human, only to find out they had a Longinus embedded in them.
That was a one-way trip to disaster.
In fact, the fearsome reputation of Longinus weapons killing gods? A lot of that came from yokai and rogue deities learning the hard way.
...
..
The group descended to the lowest level of the underground prison beneath Yasaka Shrine.
And there, they saw it.
A massive "tree," pale gray, with no branches. Just a thick trunk.
Its roots spread out in a dense web across the ground.
And entangled within those roots…
Were human heads.
Dozens of them.
Their bodies buried beneath the roots, with only their heads exposed above the surface.
Everyone froze.
.
.
.