Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.
Mag’s Garden, Bael Territory, Underworld
–Magdaran Bael–
The words continued to resonate in his mind, even as he continued to look at the now retreating figure of his sperm donor.
This is the greatest gift she could have given me.
There it was. The first clue regarding his mother. The same mother, everyone acted as if she did not exist, as if he had just popped up out of nowhere. Earlier, he hadn’t [ushed too far looking into it because he did not have the shield that he had right now. The shield of being Heir Bael. He was afraid that looking at the right places might garner the wrong attention at a time he could not afford to be blindsided by something else.
But now? Now Zekram knew of his power, so did the New Satans and everyone else they told about it, and in some capacity, Zephyr and his secretary knew as well. So, why not ask the man himself? Now that the man knew about his power, he should be more than receptive to his answers.
Which is why he spoke up right before they disappeared from his vision, “Wait.”
He spoke softly, but since they were all Devils, it might as well be coming from a headphone right next to their ear, as both of them stiffened and turned around. So, they were aware of what he could do to them with his powers, which was good to know.
Deciding to take the cover off some of his powers, he covered his feet in his powers, and with a burst of demonic energy, he was right in front of both of them, having cut through any resistance to his speed using his Power of Destruction.
“You said she gave you the greatest gift. I assume you are talking about my mother. I wish to know more about her.” He only pretended to ignore the minutest of twitches on the Furcas’ face as Zephyr looked at him deeply before replying with a steady nod. “Sure. It is about time you got to know of her and her valiant sacrifice.”
Valiant sacrifice? His fists clenched as he assumed the man was talking about his mother feeding him even at death’s door. Maybe there was something wrong with him? Something that resulted in his mother’s death? The mere assumption that he could be the one responsible for his mother’s death sent a fresh wave of agony in his mind, something that he tried to control but must have shown on his face, judging by both of their reactions.
He barely controlled the tremor in his voice as he spoke, “Tell me.” If he instinctively released some of his demonic energy, then no one could blame him.
“Your mother was a loyal soldier of the House of Bael, having served us for centuries. She was a High Class Devil tasked with a small legion of her own, back when Pillars still bothered to send their personal forces to the Pits, to safeguard it and bring back any material.”
He knew of that. A period when both the New Statham faction and the Senate worked together to facilitate the hunting of Demonic Beasts and the attempted purification of the quarantine zones in the Pits. It was clear that some of the areas that had been quarantined had potential for agriculture and that was valuable land in the Underworld, but it was soon made clear that the only ones who could permanently seal the Dimensional Gap bleedout were the New Satans, and even among them, only Ajuka could do it properly, without destroying some of the surrounding area as well.
The initiative then focused on hunting down the Demonic Beasts and harvesting them for parts, but even that fizzled out soon after because that job could be done by others as well. Why would the Pillar houses risk their own elite forces if they could just throw some money and get dozens of Low Class Devils to throw their lives at risk for some coin? Especially since the New Satans had just begun to import a new class of Low class reincarnated devils. It was expected that the Pillars would pull back.
That part was acceptable and very much verifiable, but he smelled bullshit in the explanation because his mother did not seem very much like a warrior when he last saw her. No, she felt more akin to a maid who worked there, but apparently, Zephyr was under the impression that he had no recollection of her as a baby. A reasonable assumption, one that was going to lead to his death, though.
Then, Zephyr had the audacity to look sad as he delivered the news, “Unfortunately, giving birth to you weakened her. She had to retreat from her position as commander and took a position inside the Main Compound. By the time you were only two years old, she could no longer hold on.”
“She passed away in her sleep. I’m sorry for keeping this from you.”
He looked at Zephyr, his eyes narrowed, sensing that what he spoke was composed of truths and lies.
“Why hasn’t anyone told me of this?” He demanded, and some part of his mind delighted in the fact that Zephyr seemed to barely be holding on, that he was afraid of screwing up in his lying campaign. But the bigger part of his mind was furious at the fact that he still hadn’t told the truth about everything.
A sad look passed over his face, and for a moment, he was tempted to commend the man on his acting, “That is my fault. I sought to spare you the pain and guilt. My mother also died before I could get to know her. I know the pain quite well. For that, I am sorry. I hope you can forgive your father for that.”
A moment of silence lingered in the clearing as Zephyr then perked right up, giving his game away, “But! Look at you now! You’ve become so strong, stronger than me, stronger than your mother. She would be so proud!”
“What is her name?”
“Huh?” Zephyr blinked at him.
“Her name?” He repeated the question, looking at the man as if he were an idiot.
“Mila.”
He gave the man a deep look at that before nodding, “I see. I assume there are records of her? Ones that I can read?”
“Yes, of course," The man complied readily, his behavior such a stark contrast from before that he briefly debated the identity of the man, only to swiftly reject the very notion and attributing the whole change to the man finally realising that his son had more than enough power to kill him with ease, “I will have them delivered to your room at haste.”
Saying so, the man fled the area. This time, he actually teleported away, instead of walking away.
As soon as they left, he flew back to his garden, and the moment he was inside the safety of his wards, he slumped and all but crashed on the ground, his mind in a turmoil. Part of him screamed bloody murder at him, to crush that pest right there on the spot and force the truth out of him, but the other part, the more rational bit, told him to hold off.
Eventually, as had been the case most of his life, the rational, calm part won, and he managed to hold back. Barely, but he held back from disintegrating the worm’s limbs to get a proper answer, instead of the half truth half lies he got just now.
While he didn’t get proper answers, and he was sure that he would come back with documents that would be at the very least, semi polished, but the biggest mistake the man was making was assuming that he did not know how his mother looked.
That memory was seared into his mind. The visual of his mother telling him his name, apologising to him, and then keeling over dead, her eyes vacant and her mouth open, still plagued his nightmares sometimes. Every time he’d sleep outside the safe haven he’d carved for himself right under his garden, the chances of him getting that nightmare increased.
They were both spooked about his line of inquiry, the Furcas woman more so, but that was to be expected. Zephyr was a narcissist who believed he was perfect in everything he did, so he probably thought he sold his act very well, but his secretary? She was most likely a plant from Zekram, the true Head of the Bael House and thus, the one who knew about Zephyr and just how incompetent he was.
Sighing, he looked at the purple sky, slightly distorted because of the anti perception wards, and decided.
He will give them one chance. One chance only. The next time they come to him with the fabricated documents, he will ask them once more for the truth. If they don't tell him that, then it was good that he was going to move his garden out soon enough. Once he had that weakness taken care of, he will properly take care of Zephyr.
He would have to sacrifice the other trees, prioritise the Mother Tree, and also stay close to the tree for weeks on end to make sure it did not die, but he did not want his Garden to be used as leverage against him. Sure, until now, neither Zekram nor Zephyr had asked anything of him, save for becoming the Heir, but things will not remain the same in the future.
No, it would be far better to relocate his entire garden to a secure place before moving against the head of the Bael House. Chances were that Zekram would not mind Zephyr dying at his hands if that alone could solve his grudge against the House, but he knew that nothing of note happened in the House without that old monster’s say so.
Just as Zephyr’s days were numbered, Zekram’s were as well. Only the monster had a bigger timer than his sperm donor.
With that significant, perhaps the most important one in his life, decision made, he sat up and thought of ways he could move the garden.
Sure, there was the option of physically moving the whole thing and moving to a different place. The Mother Tree was resilient enough to survive transportation, especially if he was at its side for the entire time, but adapting to different soil types in the Underworld was one thing, but having to survive in something like the Earthen soil? Whole different thing.
But if he could move the whole garden, and a large part of the soil as well, just like he did a few days ago, and keep it secured in a pocket dimension? That would be best.
Pocket dimensions were nothing new to devils. Especially powerful and analytically oriented ones. Creating one was an easy task, keeping that active was another, and creating a self-sustaining environment where something like trees could survive and thrive while not being sucked out of juice all the time? Now, that was the realm of the Divine.
And it just so happened that the Big G had made an artefact that could do just the same.
It was time to hunt down the wielder of Dimension Lost.
A/N - I know, I know. You wanted him to kill off Zephyr right there and see! Some part of Mag agrees with you. Unfortunately, he is a cautios fucker and will shore up his weaknesses before moving in for the kill.
Hope you agree!