Serafall felt a strong headache beginning to form. On one hand, she did not like the Sun Goddess's negative attitude at all. On the other, she had no choice but to swallow it, because confronting Amaterasu directly was not an option. To make matters worse, she did not want to return to the Underworld empty-handed either. Every attempt to develop the proposal had been stopped before she could explain the terms prepared for the meeting, causing the tension inside the room to rise more and more.
"With all due respect, Lady Amaterasu, the circumstances are different," Serafall insisted, being the first to break the silence. "The devil faction is no longer in the same position, and precisely because of that, we are willing to accept restrictions that we would not have even considered before."
"Exactly," Amaterasu replied, agreeing with her in a way Serafall had not expected. "Now you are desperate. Your reputation is in ruins, and you need to obtain something you can present as a victory." The Sun Goddess held the Maou's gaze before continuing. "That is the only reason you are trying to use the death of the Neberius to recover some dignity, not only before the supernatural world, but also before devil high society itself."
Serafall's expression tightened. She could not believe that Amaterasu had practically deciphered the entire plan in only a few exchanges. She had always known the Sun Goddess was powerful, but at that moment she also understood that Amaterasu had not maintained leadership of the Shinto Pantheon for so long through strength alone. The ease with which she had understood Serafall's intentions sent a small chill down her spine.
The Maou slowly released the breath she had been holding. There was not much else she could do. It was obvious that she would not manage to change the queen of the Shinto Pantheon's opinion, no matter how much she tried to explain the benefits of the agreement.
"Then..." Serafall began with some hesitation. "Does that mean you are rejecting any kind of future relationship between our factions?"
Amaterasu did not answer immediately. She took a few moments to consider the question while raising her cup and taking a small sip. After thinking it over, a faint smile appeared on her face, as though she had finally found the exact answer she wanted to give.
"Not exactly," she said calmly. "There is only one way I would even consider an alliance with the Underworld."
At those words, Serafall focused all her attention on the black-haired woman. The absolute rejection she had received up to that point had left her expecting nothing, so that small possibility managed to restore a little hope.
"And may I know what that way would be?" she asked cautiously.
"It is simple. As you probably already know, Damon is someone very important to my pantheon for several reasons." Amaterasu placed her cup back on the table. "So first, you would need to receive an affirmative answer from him. If you manage to repair your relationship with Damon and become allies of the Greeks, I see no reason why we could not consider doing the same."
Yasaka cast a brief glance toward her friend, surprised by what she had just said. Amaterasu was making it clear that the Greek Pantheon and the Shinto Pantheon should not be considered completely separate groups when it came to outside threats.
Serafall had reached the same conclusion. "Then any agreement with the yokai would first depend on our relationship with the Greek Pantheon."
"That is correct," Amaterasu confirmed. "As I already told you, I have no reason to create an alliance with a faction he does not trust."
"But we are not enemies of the Greeks, Amaterasu-sama," Serafall replied, although her voice no longer held the same firmness as before.
Amaterasu raised an eyebrow, slightly amused by the way the Maou was trying to describe the situation.
"The fact that you are not fighting each other right now does not mean you are on good terms," she pointed out. "Do not confuse mercy with genuine friendship."
The room fell silent. Serafall lowered her gaze toward the closed box for a few moments. She knew perfectly well that Amaterasu was right. Damon had allowed them to preserve their faction after imposing his conditions, but he had never said that he trusted them or considered all their problems resolved. "Then what exactly do you expect us to do?" the Maou asked as she raised her gaze again.
"I do not know. That is something you need to discuss with your companions," Amaterasu replied before taking a small sip of tea. "Do you truly expect me to simply hand you a path forward? Please, Serafall. You know you are better than that."
Serafall clicked her tongue in frustration. "That does not help at all. The Underworld is in a very delicate position. Do you want more stray devils entering the human world and beginning to cause problems inside Japan?"
The question caused Amaterasu to narrow her eyes. A small spark of her power escaped from her body, and the temperature inside the room rose enough for Serafall to immediately understand that she had gone too far.
"Be very careful with what you say, child. I remind you that you are inside my territory," Amaterasu warned, barely restraining her fury. "I have already been indulgent enough with you. Problems involving Japan are mine to resolve, so do not come here and threaten me."
The pressure radiating from the Sun Goddess left the other two women speechless. "Your urgency and the Underworld's problems are not my responsibility," Amaterasu continued. "Perhaps you should ask the Fallen Angels for help. And when you do, tell Azazel to stop snooping where he does not belong, or I will personally go and burn his pathetic ass."
A deathly silence fell over the room.
Yasaka was the first to react. She had seen Amaterasu angry before, but she had rarely seen her lose patience like this during a diplomatic conversation. "A-Amaterasu-sama, please calm down," the kitsune asked cautiously. Part of her still wanted to find a less confrontational solution, but at that moment she did not dare directly contradict her goddess.
Amaterasu clicked her tongue. The tea in front of her had already begun to taste bitter.
"Forgive me, Yasaka. I should not have reacted that way inside your home," she admitted, taking a deep breath to control her temper. "I simply do not like anyone trying to take advantage of me or Damon when we have already been reasonable enough."
"Do not worry, Amaterasu-sama. I understand," Yasaka replied quickly with a slight bow of her head.
The truth was that she did not completely understand. She had never seen her goddess become so angry over an external matter, much less during a meeting with a foreign representative. Even so, at least the pressure inside the room was beginning to fade.
Serafall sighed internally, although she could still feel a small tremor running through her body. She had never intended to make an enemy of another pantheon, but it was obvious that Amaterasu did not think very highly of the Biblical faction. The Maou cursed Azazel internally for making an already complicated situation even worse.
Despite everything, she also knew that the condition imposed by the queen of the Shinto Pantheon was neither impossible nor unreasonable. In fact, repairing their relationship with Damon was an idea Sirzechs had already proposed, although almost no one in the Underworld had paid much attention to it.
First, because the devils were too proud to accept that they needed to approach someone who had nearly destroyed their faction. Second, because very few people were willing to listen to any proposal coming from Sirzechs at that moment.
Even so, the former Lucifer was not completely alone. His mother, Venelana Gremory, had strongly supported the idea, going so far as to personally offer herself as a mediator in future negotiations. The proposal had seemed strange to many members of devil high society, although no one truly saw anything wrong with Lucifer's mother trying to help repair the situation.
Now Amaterasu was demanding practically the same thing.
"Hm... I suppose I should leave," Serafall said with some nervousness, not wanting to push the Sun Goddess any further. "If this is your answer, Lady Amaterasu, I will relay it to the other leaders."
"Do me that favor and leave," Amaterasu replied seriously. "And make sure this never happens again."
Serafall shuddered slightly before nodding respectfully. "I will make sure of it. Please forgive me for what happened today."
Amaterasu responded with a short nod. Serafall took that as her signal to rise from the cushion. Yasaka also stood, maintaining the courtesy expected of Kyoto's ruler despite the tension still lingering inside the room.
"Lady Serafall," Yasaka called before she could leave. "Despite everything we discussed, I appreciate that you came personally."
Serafall's expression softened slightly. "Thank you, Lady Yasaka," she replied sincerely before bowing her head toward both women.
Serafall left the room without adding anything else. The tension accumulated during the meeting still weighed on her shoulders as she walked through the shrine corridors. Perhaps she had not obtained what she wanted, but she was not leaving completely empty-handed either.
As she turned into the main corridor, she came face-to-face with none other than Kuroka, an SSS-class criminal, walking in the opposite direction. The Nekoshou was accompanied by Kunou, who was speaking enthusiastically while clinging to one of her arms.
Serafall slowed down upon recognizing her. For an instant, she nearly attacked out of pure reflex, but she managed to restrain herself before making a mistake that not even Satan himself could have helped her escape from. Kuroka was inside the shrine, walking beside Yasaka's daughter, so it was obvious that her presence was permitted.
Kuroka also stopped dead in her tracks. Surprise briefly crossed her face upon encountering one of the Four Great Maou inside the shrine, but she said nothing. Serafall quickly regained her composure and found no reason to stop and explain her presence either.
The two merely exchanged a brief look before continuing in opposite directions.
Kunou watched Serafall curiously as she walked away, but Kuroka placed a hand on her head and continued guiding her down the corridor as though nothing had happened.
Serafall did not look back. A few seconds later, a magic circle appeared beneath her feet, and light covered her figure, transporting her out of Kyoto.
When she opened her eyes again, she was inside the room prepared for her return. Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Falbium were gathered around a long table, while Zekram Bael occupied one of the main seats. All four immediately turned their attention toward her.
Serafall's expression was enough to reveal that the meeting had not ended as they had hoped.
"I assume the proposal was rejected," Zekram commented calmly.
"Unfortunately," Serafall replied as she approached the table and took a seat. "Amaterasu has no intention of allowing us to regain a presence inside Japan. It does not matter what restrictions we offer or what kind of agreement we prepare with the yokai."
Ajuka narrowed his eyes slightly. "How unfortunate. Does she not understand how important a relationship with us could be? We can help her preserve the peace they value so much."
"Hmm, I am not sure. Amaterasu does not seem very pleased with us for several reasons," Serafall replied. "Although she did propose one condition."
That last part immediately drew the attention of the other four people in the room. Seeing that every gaze was now fixed on her, Serafall rested her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers in front of her face.
"First, we have to repair our relationship with Damon. As long as he does not trust us, Amaterasu will not consider any alliance with the Underworld either."
For several seconds, everyone present carefully analyzed Serafall's words. Sirzechs was the first to break the silence.
"Then I was right. We need to approach Olympus before trying to rebuild our relationships with other factions."
No one responded to him. Sirzechs was ignored once again while Zekram considered the possible benefits and risks. His expression remained calm, although his fingers tapped the surface of the table once. "Is that all?" he finally asked.
Serafall hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head. "Not exactly. Let us say I have a small suspicion."
The Maou remembered the way Amaterasu had spoken about Damon. No leader took matters so personally unless there was a deeper reason behind it. Nor was it common for someone to place the interests of another person ahead of those of their own faction so naturally.
After so many years negotiating with nobles, leaders, and representatives from different factions, Serafall knew how to recognize a close relationship when she saw one.
"I believe Damon and Amaterasu are lovers," she finally declared with complete seriousness.
The room fell silent.
Sirzechs's eyes widened slightly, as did those of the other Maou. If the information proved true and was used correctly, it could be extremely valuable to the Underworld. Zekram was the only one who maintained his composure.
"How certain are you?" he asked.
"She did not say it openly," Serafall clarified. "But the way she spoke about him and the way she made it clear that she would do nothing that could go against his interests did not seem like the behavior of a simple ally."
The Leviathan remained silent for a few moments before continuing. "Of course, I could be wrong, but I don't think so."
Zekram slowly leaned back in his seat as he processed the information. If Serafall was right, the relationship between Greece and the Shinto Pantheon was far deeper and more personal than anyone in the Underworld had considered. "This makes our situation even more delicate than we thought," he murmured. "We truly were fortunate."
Serafall let out a tired sigh. "We really were. Even I find it difficult to believe that we are still here."
The room fell silent once again as the devil leaders began to understand the true significance of the information Serafall had brought back.
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