Dimensional Gap
The Dimensional Gap. The space between worlds. A void that was lit with a kaleidoscopic myriad of colors. The plane was decorated with small islands and land formations that floated endlessly amidst a cornucopia of worlds that could be seen flying by.
A small girl sat in the void. She had long silky black hair that covered her pointed ears. She wore a gothic lolita dress with her frontside completely exposed with two X strips covering her chest. Her eyes opened revealing pitch black eyes with slitted pupils.
In front of her, a titanic red western dragon flew by doing flips and barrel rolls in the air, all the while cheering.
"Could you not do those annoying stunts for one second!?" the girl said, flaring her power and shaking the void.
The dragon stopped and flew over to her. Its golden eyes bore into her black ones as it huffed.
"Don't be such a stiff, Ophis," the dragon said in a male voice.
"Shut up Red," Ophis said as she floated over to his head. She sat down on his snout and looked out over the Gap.
"What was it? You just expressed more emotion in those last few seconds than you have in a few hundred years," Great Red said as he "landed" and laid down.
"Something's wrong with Ddraig's Host," Ophis said.
"The Oppai Kid right?" Great Red said.
Ophis simply nodded as she waved her hand. The image of Haru eating breakfast appeared in front of her.
"He seems fine. I don't know what you're so worried about Onee-sama," Great Red said as he got up.
Ophis remained silent as she stared at the image once more.
"I need to consult someone on this," Ophis said.
"Really? You, the Great Ouroboros Dragon, need someone's opinion?" Great Red said as he shook Ophis off his snout. "Oh dear, the Apocalypse is starting."
"I'll go talk to them," Ophis said as she began to float.
"You're going to travel all the way back to Adam Kadmon just to talk to them," Great Red said. His golden eyes looked at her with slight interest.
"Not all of us have time just to perform tricks," Ophis said. "I swear you act like a mortal."
"Hey, that hurts me… here," Great Red said, placing his paw over his chest.
Ophis rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance before her entire form rippled and disappeared in a small vortex of black energy.
Lilith
Vali ran through the streets of Lilith, weaving around the people walking about on the streets. He ignored the people who greeted him in favor of trying to get to his intended destination as fast as possible.
"Hey! Vali, wait!" Bikou yelled as he and Arthur struggled to catch up with the Devil Prince as he sprinted at top speed.
"Vali, the Ars Nova isn't going anywhere just calm down!" Arthur said.
Vali ignored them and turned the corner. After several minutes of running, Vali arrived at his destination. The capital building of Lilith, the Ars Nova. The Ars Nova was a large building, larger in area coverage than the Pentagon from the U.S which was the largest office building on Earth. Each corner had four cubic towers in which each of the Four Satans performed their duties. The tower Vali was heading for had arcane symbols alongside an emblem that contained a small crown that had batlike wings sprouting from the sides.
Vali rushed through the front door, practically breaking it down. The secretary yelled at him as he ran by and headed for the elevator on the right side of the hall.
"We are very sorry about him," Arthur said, stopping for a few seconds by the desk before running to catch up with Bikou and Vali. Vali stood, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to open.
The elevator dinged and the door opened as Vali rushed inside with his compatriots. Sirzechs's office was located at the top of the six-story tower.
"Geez, don't smash the six on the elevator," Bikou said.
Vali ignored him as the door closed.
"Vali, you need to stay calm," Arthur said.
"I am calm. It's just that this information we need to get to them is crucial," Vali said.
Arthur and Bikou looked at each other before nodding.
"We know but fretting over this isn't going to help anyone," Bikou said.
Vali inhaled deeply before leveling his breathing. They waited patiently as the elevator took them to the sixth floor. After a ding, the elevator door opened and Vali and the others walked out into the hallway. Sirzechs's office was located on the far end of the hall on their left side. As they arrived, Vali knocked on the door.
"Enter," a voice called from behind the door.
Vali pushed the door open and entered the room with Bikou and Arthur.
Sirzechs's office was simply designed yet elegant at the same time. Several desks with large stacks of paper could be seen as a different person, each belonging to Sirzechs's peerage, worked on the ever-growing piles. A small silver chandelier hung from the ceiling as bookshelves stood proudly, lined up against the walls.
Sirzechs sat at the very back of the room in front of a large window. Sirzechs Lucifer, the current Maou Lucifer of the Hell, was a fairly tall man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He had shoulder-length hair with bangs that framed his jaw and a single ahoge standing atop his head. His hair was the famous Gremory red and his eyes were a deep shade of blue. He wore a simple white suit with red embroidery on the sleeves.
His desk was larger and more ornately designed than the others with the designer taking into account the man's comfort preferences yet also taking in efficiency at the same time.
Beside him stood a woman, that if Vali had, to be honest, was extremely beautiful. She had long back length silver hair that was split into two long french braids. Two smaller braids adorned the sides of her face. She had silver eyes that held an aura of strictness within them but also had the look of a loving wife and mother. The oddest thing about her was that she wore a maid's uniform when it was clear that she did not have the position of one.
"Lord Lucifer," Vali said, getting the attention of the duo. They stopped what they were doing and looked up at Vali.
Sirzechs's eyes shined with relief upon seeing Vali, Arthur, and Bikou. Next to him, the woman let out a small sigh as she smiled slightly.
"How was the mission? Did you complete all your assigned objectives?" Sirzechs asked as he took his hands off his keyboard.
Vali nodded and began his report.
"As the intelligence showed, we were able to locate and destroy the cell of individuals that belonged to or were associated with Qliphoth. They consisted of a dozen devils, most of them high-class in strength while there were a few ultimate-class, a couple of fallen angels, some vampires, and stray exorcists. We managed to eliminate them and halt their project with minimal injuries to our persons," Vali reported with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Good. Was there anything else at the territory?" Sirzechs asked.
"Yes, we found attempts to clone evil dragons. They managed to succeed it seems with a few," Vali said. "However, they lacked the resources to pull off anything on the level that Qliphoth was capable of doing."
"I see," Sirzechs said. He turned to the woman. "Grayfia, please hand Vali his next mission."
"Of course, Lord Lucifer," Grayfia said as she grabbed a piece of paper from a small pile at the edge of Sirzechs's desk. She walked over and handed it to Vali, who looked at the paper with slight confusion.
"Azazel?" Vali asked, looking at the details.
"Ah yes, Azazel-dono said that he needed you for something. Just you," Sirzechs said.
"What about us?" Bikou asked.
"You are free to return for the time being until we need you for another mission," Grayfia said.
"Oh sweet," Bikou said, grinning.
[Vali.]
Right. I got to tell them what I sensed. But what are the chances they'll even believe me? Vali asked.
[Just do it. We have nothing to lose as it stands. At least we'll have peace of mind.] Albion said. Vali nodded internally at him and spoke one more time.
"Lord Lucifer. Lady Lucifuge. There's something else I would like to report and if possible, have it looked into," Vali said.
Sirzechs and Grayfia gave each other a glance before turning back to the white-haired cambion.
"Go on," Sirzechs said.
"Following our mission, I detected an odd energy signature that I believe came from Haru Hyoudou. The nature of the signature leads me to believe that he is in some sort of danger," Vali said.
Grayfia's eyes widened while Sirzechs's face became more serious than Vali had ever seen. The Maou motioned for Vali to continue.
"Earlier today, I sensed Haru entered the [Juggernaut Drive] ," he stated.
Sirzechs and Grayfia paused for a moment, thinking about what Vali had just stated. Finally, Grayfia spoke up.
"Are you positive that what you sensed was Haru?" Grayfia asked.
"I do not doubt it for a second," Vali said, irritation clear in his voice.
"If what you say is true, then why have I not felt anything or received any calls from my sister or the other leaders?" Sirzechs asked.
"It was very brief," Vali answered.
Sirzechs glanced at Grayfia and the two had a silent conversation with their stare alone. The interaction reminded Vali of Haru and Irina. The two knew each other as well if not better than they did the back of their hand. Despite Rias's many claims of knowing Haru the best, that position belonged solely to Irina and no one else.
"We shall look into it," Grayfia answered as she looked at Vali.
He nodded and turned around.
[She's lying] Albion said.
I know.
[It's no longer in our hands] Albion said.
I wouldn't say that. We can always go check ourselves since the two can't take a few minutes to call or send someone to check, Vali said as he walked out of the room with Bikou and Arthur.
After a few minutes, Sirzechs glanced outside the window and watched the three disappear within a magic circle.
"Would you like me to send someone?" Grayfia asked.
"Grayfia, tell me honestly. Do you believe what he said? About Haru?" Sirzechs asked.
"I… have my doubts but if something did happen, we would have been notified immediately by Rias and Sona, or Michael and Azazel would have called us," Grayfia said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"Still though," Sirzechs said.
"Don't worry dear. I'm sure that he's okay," Grayfia said. Sirzechs smiled. She always knew how to calm him down.
"And besides, in a few weeks, we'll be done with this and we can take a vacation to Kuoh. Enroll Millicas there for school even," Grayfia said. "And we can visit Haru and tell him about the good news."
Sirzechs smiled.
"I'm sure he'll love it," he said as he rubbed Grayfia's stomach lovingly all the while unaware of the torment a certain red-haired boy was going through.