While chaos engulfed Itogami Island and noisy commotion carried over from the distance, the ruins of the former hotel were eerily quiet.
Just how bad was the situation here?
Having finally regained control of herself, Rias surveyed the area. She then looked at the companions who had only just regrouped around her. They were covered in wounds from the infighting they had been forced into, and most had already lost the ability to fight. She helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
There was the Fallen Angel Governor General Azazel, who had appeared here for reasons unknown, Epsilon's extremely mysterious trio of elves, a smiling Witch who clearly was not to be trifled with, and, most formidable of all, the Third Primogenitor, Giada.
Compared to them, Rias's battered group looked painfully out of place. Apparently, they were the only ones in such terrible condition. Especially...
Without drawing attention to herself, Rias glanced at Sairaorg. His entire body was a bloody mess, and he lay unconscious on the ground. During the infighting caused by their loss of control, everyone had focused their attacks on him, yet before going down, he had still taken most of their fighting strength with him.
Rias was honestly curious just how much resentment Sairaorg's background and position had earned him behind the scenes.
Forget it. There was no point dwelling on that now. After all the bad luck they had suffered today, this was hardly worth worrying about. They needed to survive their present predicament first. In their current condition, one wrong move could get all of them killed.
"Um, ahem... Let me make one thing clear. I knew absolutely nothing about anything the terrorist Laugus was planning. I merely heard that an interesting press conference was being held here and came to take a look. So today's incident has nothing whatsoever to do with me, Azazel. I'm an innocent victim too..."
Azazel was the first to break the silence.
The moment he opened his mouth, Epsilon could only marvel that he truly deserved to be called the Governor General of the Fallen Angels. He had no shame whatsoever.
Earlier, while leading the way, he had gone on and on about how close he was to Laugus. Epsilon had also been the first to step in and try to stop Laugus. Yet the moment things spiraled out of control, Azazel immediately distanced himself from the whole affair.
He truly was a hero among Fallen Angels.
The problem was... who would believe him?
The Third Primogenitor had been directly involved. Aya Tokoyogi had only been released from prison today. Epsilon and the others had come to kill someone. Rias and her group had been unlucky enough to be chosen as sacrifices for the summoning.
Yet Azazel alone claimed to be an uninvolved bystander who had merely accepted Laugus's invitation to attend a press conference.
Did he really have nothing better to do?
Yeah, exactly. I really did have nothing better to do. The negotiations had already dragged on until there was nothing left to discuss, and a friend from my circle happened to be holding a press conference nearby, so I came with a sincere desire to learn.
Azazel desperately wanted to answer that way. Unfortunately, he knew no one would believe such an explanation, so he could only force a smile and try his best to look sincere.
"You will pay the price..."
Epsilon spoke in a low, ominous voice as she assumed a fighting stance against Azazel.
Her hatred for the raven before her had already surpassed her hatred for a certain silver-haired elf. In Epsilon's eyes, that silver-haired elf had already been reduced to a loser. By comparison, this Fallen Angel, who had caused her mission to fail and nearly turned her into a loser as well, was far more detestable.
Besides, victory was not impossible.
Azazel had only just broken free from the control. It was difficult to say how much of his true strength he could still use.
Sixty percent.
As long as Azazel had fallen to sixty or even seventy percent of his full strength, she would immediately abandon all restraint, activate the Magical Power seed, and kill the idiot who had ruined everything for her.
"Do as you please. I don't care whether the Fallen Angel lives or dies..."
Enduring the itching and pain of her flesh growing back, Giada smiled and made it clear that she had no intention of interfering with Azazel's fate.
"Hey, hey, hey. Isn't that a little harsh? I really was dragged into this by that man through no fault of my own. If I'd known Laugus intended to destroy the world, I would've been the first to attack him. Besides... compared to an innocent spectator like me, Tokoyogi was explicitly identified by Laugus as the one who supplied him with information."
Cold sweat ran down Azazel's face as he frantically defended himself.
His actual condition was even worse than Epsilon had guessed. He had paid a heavy price to break free from the control, leaving him with less than a tenth of his normal power. Even an ordinary Class A warrior might be able to kill him single-handedly.
To avoid the absurd fate of dying here despite being the esteemed Fallen Angel Governor General and leader of the Grigori, Azazel pointed at Aya Tokoyogi and tried to drag her into the mess with him.
"If you wish to die, then by all means, try!"
Aya Tokoyogi had not died in the end, and she had also learned what she wanted to know, so she did not hold much of a grudge. Until now, she had simply stood to the side with a smile and enjoyed the show.
She had not expected the conflict to suddenly shift toward her. Her expression immediately darkened as she issued a threatening warning.
Epsilon silently turned toward Aya Tokoyogi.
She seemed to have genuinely been persuaded by Azazel. Her expression grew hostile as she stared at Aya Tokoyogi, her eyes flickering with thought.
Witches were all idiots!
The Witches' Guild was an organization filled with idiots so monumentally stupid that no one could possibly surpass them!
That was the conclusion Epsilon had reached after spending some time struggling to establish herself in Netheril. This operation had only proven her right.
As far as Epsilon was concerned, she herself bore ten percent of the blame for this operation's failure. Bad luck accounted for another twenty percent. The Witches' Guild was responsible for the remaining eighty percent.
Who could possibly have expected it?
When their former leader asked them for help, those idiot Witches had turned their backs on her. They intended to leave their old leader in prison for the rest of her life and had even handed Yuuma Tokoyogi directly over to the other side.
Epsilon had finally received instructions from Shadow-sama and understood the mission she was truly supposed to carry out. Then a Witch had suddenly dropped from the sky to interfere.
Worse still, that Witch possessed the proper authority and was technically an ally Epsilon had never met.
It had infuriated her beyond measure.
Now, however, she seemed to have a perfectly legitimate reason to teach the troublesome woman in front of her a harsh lesson.
Yuuma Tokoyogi appeared to be beyond saving, which meant Epsilon had lost her original candidate. She needed to consider whether she should defeat Aya Tokoyogi here, force her into submission through threats and incentives, and make her a subordinate.
She could then use that opportunity to seize control of the Witches' Guild. At the very least, she could ensure that the Guild would never interfere with her again.
At that thought, Epsilon's clever mind finally regained control.
Compared to that objective, killing Azazel merely to vent her anger suddenly seemed insignificant. Killing him would only leave her with a filthy mess to deal with. If word got out, the incident might even become a weakness the Witches' Guild could use against her.
Epsilon viewed the Witches' Guild as nothing more than a stepping stone toward reaching the "highest" position and rebuilding Shadow Garden along the way.
Likewise, the Witches of the Guild had long despised Epsilon. She was not even a Witch, yet she had appeared out of nowhere, joined with an entire group of subordinates, and started climbing the ranks like some insignificant upstart.
Given a righteous excuse to kick her back down into the role of a mid-level functionary while also improving their own reputation and repairing their public image, Epsilon was certain those idiots in the Witches' Guild would do it without hesitation.
"For His Majesty's sake, I had intended to get along with you. But it seems you will not speak to me properly unless I teach you a lesson you will never forget, His Majesty's pianist, Miss Epsilon."
Sensing Epsilon's hostile intentions, Aya Tokoyogi refused to yield. The faint silhouette of a black knight appeared behind her.
She was no helpless victim who would allow herself to be beaten without fighting back. If Epsilon attacked her, she would retaliate immediately.
"From Netheril? Interesting. It seems there's some discord among you..."
Giada keenly noticed the information hidden in Aya Tokoyogi's words. One elegant eyebrow rose as she realized she might have found a new source of entertainment.
Admittedly, her attempt to enjoy the spectacle this time had gone badly wrong. She had nearly been reset by the Angel Laugus summoned.
Still, the great Third Primogenitor did not believe she could possibly suffer two disastrous failures in immediate succession.
In that case, what was there to fear?
It was no boast to say that even in her current condition, she could defeat everyone present by herself. There was nothing else to discuss.
She would enjoy the show and fan the flames.
"Actually, I do believe someone needs to give the world an explanation for this disaster. The destruction caused by this incident was far too severe. Even I will have to accept some responsibility..."
Giada spoke with such righteous conviction that those familiar with the personalities of the Three Primogenitors began to wonder whether the Third Primogenitor had somehow changed.
Then Giada broke into a delighted smile.
"So, is this Devil the mastermind behind today's disaster? If she is, I'll take her before the others and have her explain the entire course of the catastrophe."
Her tone was casual, but her words made Rias and the others stop dead.
They had been secretly relieved that everyone was ignoring them and were preparing to slip away. Now their expressions froze as they turned toward Katerea, who was pinned to the ground by Giada's Beast Vassal and struggling desperately.
How should this be put?
Technically, Katerea was indeed one of the culprits responsible for the world nearly being destroyed today. Having Giada take her away to answer for her crimes was entirely appropriate.
Rias understood perfectly well that allowing Giada to take Katerea was the correct course of action.
The true mastermind had already been reduced to ashes by a single blast of Giada's flames. Of everyone still present, Katerea was the one whose role most closely resembled Laugus's.
But they could not allow it.
The real culprit had already been burned to death. What would happen if Katerea turned around and blamed everything on the Underworld?
Given Katerea's hatred for the current Underworld government, she was entirely capable of doing so.
There was no telling what irrational retaliatory action the major factions might take after suffering such severe losses in today's sudden disaster. Azazel had already severed all ties between himself and Laugus without hesitation.
What would happen afterward was easy to imagine, especially considering the Underworld's previous record.
Rias exchanged a glance with Sona Sitri beside her. The stiffness in Sona Sitri's expression made it clear that they had reached the same conclusion.
Giada's words had been a warning.
Were they going to fight for custody of Katerea?
Once Giada took her away, there was no telling what might happen next.
"Mmm..."
Giada gave a pleased hum and met Rias's gaze meaningfully. She winked playfully, then glanced toward Katerea on the ground.
If you have no objections, I'm taking Katerea with me. Whatever happens afterward will have nothing to do with me.
She did not say the words aloud, but her expression conveyed them perfectly.
"Do not interfere in our affairs..."
Sensing the unrest caused by the Third Primogenitor's blatant attempt to fan the flames, Epsilon turned and swept a sharp gaze over Azazel, Rias, and the others, warning them not to make any reckless moves.
She merely wanted to stand beneath one person and above everyone else. She had no intention of selling out her allies.
The instant Epsilon's gaze passed over them, Rias, Azazel, and the others erased the stiffness from their faces and adopted perfectly natural expressions. No one could have guessed what they had been thinking moments before.
A difficult choice now stood before them.
If they acted, they would probably offend someone and people might die.
If they did nothing, disaster would probably follow and even more people might die.
Which should they choose?
"Sona-chan!!!"
At that tense moment, an anxiously shouting figure in flamboyant clothing descended from the sky and landed in front of Rias.
The moment she arrived, she realized something was wrong.
"Big Sis!?"
Sona Sitri was both surprised and delighted to see Serafall. The arrival of a Demon King immediately gave them more options.
"Ah, Sona-chan, are you... Katerea!"
Serafall started to respond to Sona with a smile, but halfway through her sentence, her voice suddenly rose.
She stared in surprise at Katerea, who was pinned beneath a Beast Vassal, then at Giada, who was controlling it. Pointing at them, she turned toward Rias, clearly wanting to know what had happened.
Before Rias could explain, Giada greeted her warmly.
"I didn't expect you to come as well, Serafall. Still, this works out nicely. Someone capable of making decisions has arrived. May I take Katerea away so I can investigate the matter and give everyone an explanation?"
Giada's smile grew even brighter when she saw Serafall.
She had not done anything wrong, after all. If the situation became even more entertaining, she would gladly welcome it.
Serafall did not know exactly what had happened, but the few details revealed in Giada's words were enough to tell her that something serious had occurred.
She gave Katerea a suspicious look, then immediately began talking her way around the issue.
"An explanation... Of course, an explanation is necessary. But Katerea is still from the Underworld, no matter what she's done. She knows a great deal of important information concerning us, so surely we should at least have some right to know what happens to her..."
"That has nothing to do with me..."
After all that talking, Giada responded with a complete lack of sympathy.
Serafall, who knew how twisted the Three Primogenitors could be, silently cursed. This woman was clearly trying to drag the Devils into the mess.
Left with no other choice, Serafall turned toward Epsilon and the others, who were watching her warily. A thoughtful look passed through her eyes.
"All right. We'll provide an explanation..."
There was no avoiding the blame.
Whether they should muddy the waters, however, was another matter.
Doing so might make the situation even more chaotic. But right now, if they did not stir things up, the Devils might end up being caught in the fallout.
"An explanation? What explanation?"