Sylvanna stirred awake with a content hum of pleasure, even as she stretched her arms above her head to let loose the dull ache and tension built up in her body. But as she did so, she felt a slight weight on her chest shift. Actually, not just her chest, she felt several somethings press lightly down on her.
What?
She blinked the drowsy pull of sleep away and tilted her head off her pillow, staring at confusion as she beheld a mop of dark hair and a handsome, youthful face resting happily between her breasts. And there was another blonde-haired man nestled against her shoulder. In fact, her bed was covered with incredibly attractive and striking young men lying nude with her.
She stared in confusion for a few seconds before recollection set in.
Oh, that’s right, now I remember…
Sylvanna had made a significant breakthrough in her alchemical research, the once-in-a-century kind. In celebration, she had gathered her harem, her husbands, and spent a full day and night in debauchery with them.
She raised her hand and gently ran it through Wulfstan’s dark hair, her husband who was blissfully resting against her chest. But as she looked around her bedroom, she also noticed the numerous empty glass vials littering the floor. And it was along with them that she also realized much of the furniture in her bedroom was quite broken and ruined.
She suppressed a quiet chuckle even as her chest hummed with amusement.
Some of her private alchemical stock; potions and pills that acted as stimulants, aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens. Most of them highly illegal and banned within the Empire, but such were perks of being a Pillar Lord, the Deputy Minister of Law and one of greatest living alchemists in the known realms – no one ever asked her questions.
But as she looked back down towards her husbands, her small smile dipped into a frown as she only counted five naked men… there should have been six.
However, with that very thought, the side door to her bedroom quietly opened and in walked a tall and handsome Devil with dusky blonde hair and piercing green eyes. In one hand he held a neatly folded red silk robe, and in the other, he held a tall glass filled with a viscous purple liquid.
Ah, there he is.
Sylvanna smiled as she unwound herself from her husbands’ embraces, careful not to wake them up, and gracefully slid onto her feet. But as she did so, she felt a stickiness all over her skin and looked down at herself with a frown. And it took her all of one second to realize she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and semen – the evidence of the previous day’s lustful endeavors.
With a lazy flick of her wrist, she magically cleaned herself and accepted the red silk robe with a quiet thank you. And as she draped herself, she looked over her lone conscious husband and noted his immaculate state and state of impeccable dress. With a roll of her eyes, Sylvanna said, “Four thousand years and it still annoys me you’re always the first one to get out of bed, Markus. Would it kill you to cuddle just a few hours more?”
Markus’ green eyes shone with mirth as he said, “I get restless being still for too long. I much prefer being up and about. But then, in four thousand years, we’ve had this conversation ten thousand times.”
She snorted in amusement but then took a soft step forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against him and tilting her chin to look up at him with a salacious smile. “Oh, but I know you can be a bit more up and get me about.”
He let out a low chuckle and leaned down to kiss her on the lips, murmuring, “You are voracious… but you have a meeting to get to.”
She blinked in surprise and pulled back with a frown. “Who in blazes wants a meeting with me at this unreasonable hour?”
With another small laugh, Markus said, “For starters, my love, it is late into noon, the morn long gone. And as for who: ‘twould be our Venger. He’s been patiently waiting for some time in the lounge.”
Sylvanna stepped away at the mention of her oldest son and pouted to herself. Her eldest child was a bit of a stick in the mud, which was a good thing because Sylvanna herself tended to sometimes lose herself in erratic behavior… like organizing a magic drug-filled orgy after a massive alchemical breakthrough instead of carefully maintaining observations in the follow up of the experiment.
Markus gave her a knowing smile and handed her the glass he had brought alongside her robe, and Sylvanna quickly downed its contents. It was a concoction of powerful poisons and toxins. For even Ultimate-class Devils, it would have been an instant lethal dose, but she was the lone surviving child of the Valac, the Envenomed Cloud. The most powerful poisons in the universe were her favorite energy drinks.
As she finished the last sip and her bloodline began making quick work of all the toxins and converting them into demonic magic, Sylvanna lightly massaged her neck and asked, “Is he in my office?”
At Markus’ quick nod, she continued and said, “Very well then, I’ll go see what new scolding he has in store for me now. In the meantime, could you be a dear and clean up for me?”
“Of course.”
And she gave him a quick kiss and spirited herself away to her office.
With a single glance through the room, her eyes fell onto her son. He was nearly identical in looks with her, the same heavy blonde hair, but neatly combed to one side and the sharp contour lines in his jaw and cheek bones. But he had his father’s emerald eyes. Sylvanna quickly strode over to where he sat and, as he respectfully came to his feet, she kissed him on both cheeks. “Hello darling, how are you?”
“I’m fine mother,” Venger said plainly, his neutral expression not changing a bit. “I apologize for disturbing you while you were resting, but there are things I felt needed to be brought to your attention.”
As she held him by the elbows and looked up at him, Sylvanna couldn’t help the twitch of amusement at the corner of her lips, not to mention a bubble of maternal affection fluttered in her heart. That was her Venger, straight to the point without so much as a ‘how are you?’
It always amused her just how different he was when compared to herself and Markus. But then, of her children, Venger was the only one who had lived through the full chaos of the Great War and the absolute bloodbath that came upon House Valac after her parent died. She and her siblings fell upon one another in brutal battles over their Demon progenitor’s inheritance. More than that, as the Great War still raged on, House Valac was left without the protection and influence of its founding Demon, and the remaining Demon Lords demanded obeisance and their House’s continued presence on the battlefields.
Back then, in that madness, when she was besieged by her own siblings, when doubts and paranoia ran rampant in her mind from the constant treachery of allies, when she was forced to the frontlines against the spears of Angels and Fallen… her greatest respite and source of strength was knowing she had a child to take care of.
There had been so many nights where she had clung to her son, desperately grasping onto him and holding him to her bosom, fighting the encroaching insanity pressing into her mind from the sheer stress she was incessantly under. And deep within, a part of her heart lay broken, because she knew that watching his mother slowly crumble under duress had traumatized her son. It had battered him into the cold and ruthlessly efficient Devil he was today.
But he never left her side.
Over the span of centuries and millennia, Venger never once threw a tantrum, never once said a word of blame or anger against her. Quite the opposite, he always supported her, always put his utmost effort to keep her on track when her focus became too narrow or her passions went too far, as was so oft the course for Devils.
More than anyone in her life, Venger had been her rock, her anchor of sanity and security.
“Mother?”
She blinked rather suddenly as her son’s voice broke her from the memories of ancient days, and she looked up at him and the hint of confusion in his eyes.
“Are you alright?”
She smiled and cupped his cheek tenderly. “Quite, my dear. I was merely mourning the tragedies of being mother.”
And it was in the way his mouth set firm and the concern in his eyes melted away that made her laugh on the inside. Always so predictable, her son.
“This again?” He asked with a tired sigh.
Sylvanna hugged his arm and drew him down to the soft sofas in her office.
“You will never understand, Venger,” she said dramatically with a sigh, even as she laid her head on his shoulder, “the pain of raising your son into what you deem the ideal man, only for some other harlot to come and snatch him away. Like a gardener who passionately tends to his garden, only to watch as another plucks the fruit of his favorite flower.”
He gave her a stare dryer than the greatest deserts of the Underworld. “You were the one who arranged my marriage, mother.”
Yes, she had, and it damn near broke her own heart. Venger’s wedding day was probably the most bittersweet day of her life. She was happy for her son, that he would have a chance to build his own family and know his own happiness, especially after millennia of slaving away for both her sake and the family’s. But at the same time… it was like cutting off a piece of her own flesh.
Devils did not take well to sharing, after all.
“And Eupraxia will be thrilled to know you think her some harlot.”
“Oh hush,” she said, lightly smacking his arm. “You will tell her no such thing; she’s a delightful girl who I care for as if she were my own. You should know by now to humor your mother’s nonsense. Now, what is this important business you have to share with me?”
And without missing a beat, Venger’s tone became somber and serious. “The Satans are committing a wide-scale purge throughout the Empire; anyone suspected of being a spy or having allegiances to Houses other than theirs have been arrested. Over a dozen families of the lesser nobility have been rendered extinct already.”
Sylvanna pulled her head away and looked at her son in alarm, but after a moment, she bit the nail of her thumb and tried to gather her reeling thoughts.
She let out a tired sigh, “So it’s come to this after all.”
Her son frowned as he asked, “You foresaw this?”
She hesitated but then gave a nod. “But I did not expect it to happen so soon.”
In the conclusion of the Devil Civil War, Lord Sirzechs and the other Sins had poured their efforts into rebuilding and safeguarding their disintegrating society and species. Century after century, they restored the Devil population from near extinction and heavily invested in building infrastructure and promoting prosperity and growth. All the while, they fought tooth and claw against the remnant influence and malignance of the surviving Demons of the Old Empire; suppressing them to the utmost of their abilities.
Which was unheard of. This new generation of Demon Lords was consciously putting their power towards strengthening the Empire, rather than focusing towards destroying and taking what others had. As their accursed predecessors did.
As such, in the conscious effort to distance themselves from brutality and tyranny of the original Satans, the new Sins were far more forgiving – the simple fact they were capable of forgiveness was a miracle in and of itself – and tolerant of slights. However, this compassion and leniency was easily taken advantage of by the inherent wickedness of the Devil race. Yet, so long as their bottom line wasn’t crossed, the Satans would not wantonly annihilate those that earned their ire.
There were laws now, there were courts. Procedures and bureaucracy now stood where in ancient days past, there would have been bloodshed and murder.
But it seemed that the Crown Princes were no longer holding themselves back. And she had seen the signs for several months now.
“The Sins have become increasingly more belligerent and militaristic in the last year,” she said softly.
“Because of Lord Ichigo,” Venger said, and she knew her son was savvy enough to have deduced things on his own.
“With a fifth Sin to significantly bolster their power, they feel more comfortable with expressing their outward reach,” she concluded. It was obvious to anyone with a shred of political acumen: Lord Ichigo’s accosting and deforming two Pillar Lords, his open challenge and incursion against the Great King in Bael’s own territory, not to mention the increasingly bad mood he was in the last several weeks. And on top of everything, the reignited Civil War.
Venger gently took her hand in his own. “We’ve enjoyed their kindness for quite some time.”
She squeezed his hand back and whispered, “Enjoyed and abused. No more will the Sins sit quiet in the darkness, our distant but watchful parents. Their fingers now tighten around everyone’s throats. The age has turned, my son. And Lord Ichigo is the axle upon which it moves.”
“In regard to the Lord Wrath,” her son said heavily, “you should know that, as of yesterday, he has taken to the frontlines against the forces of the Old Satan Faction. Within the span of a single day, he has captured half a dozen strongholds already.”
“He deployed personally? Not his peerage?” Sylvanna asked amazed.
Venger gave a sharp nod. “Lord Falbium continues to mobilize and command the Legions and Lord Ichigo is coordinating with him in breaking the most troubling fronts and sieges. Though, so far, there has been no announcement from the Department of Propaganda of any sort of confrontation with the descendants of the old Satans. Nevertheless, morale and support have surged with Lord Ichigo at the helm.”
Sylvanna put a hand over her heart and looked down at the ground, her thoughts a chaotic whirl. Lord Falbium commanding from a distance was one thing, but a Crown Prince of Hell personally waging war against their enemies? In the Underworld itself? The Satans had gone to great lengths to limit their powers as much as possible within their homeworld, for fear of scouring it and their own Empire with demonic taint. But if that was no longer an immediate concern…
Her eyes went wide in realization… Oh, Lucifer.
Sylvanna stood sharply and said with all the austerity she could muster, “Venger, send word to your siblings. Tell them to recall all their children and grandchildren. Tell everyone in the family from now on, they are to dedicate themselves to strengthening themselves and their peerages.”
Vergen’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at her in question but then, slowly, those same eyes widened and a touch of horror etched onto his face. “It’s not just Lord Ichigo… you think all the Satans will go to war.”
She gave a slow but grim nod.
Vergen’s mouth parted slowly and he looked about her office for a second before saying what she was thinking, “Lucifer.”
=======
Steam drifted lazily through Yasaka’s private bath as she stood behind the carved wooden partition that separated the dressing area from the pool beyond. The chamber was vast and serene, its walls fashioned from pristine white marble that reflected the warm glow of lanternlight. The bath itself was immense - closer to a tranquil pool than a simple tub - and its surface was dotted with floating jasmine petals that released a gentle fragrance into the humid air. A small waterfall spilled quietly from a natural stone outcrop on the far edge, while smooth rocks arranged along the perimeter gave the entire chamber the feeling of a secluded mountain hot spring.
Yasaka slipped the last of her robes from her shoulders and let the silken fabric fall onto a nearby table. Several of her attendants approached immediately, bowing politely before beginning their work. Warm oils were carefully poured into their hands before being worked across her skin, into her hair, and through the soft golden fur of her tails. Skilled fingers kneaded the tension from her shoulders and arms while another maid gently massaged the base of her neck.
For a brief moment, Yasaka allowed herself to relax beneath their care.
And tension aplenty I have.
Her thoughts drifted inevitably back toward the turmoil within the High Celestial Planes. Takamagahara stood dangerously close to fracturing, oh who was she kidding? It had been fractured for quite some time now, they were now simply living with the dire consequences of the ancient rivalry between Izanagi-no-Mikoto-sama’s twin tears.
Tsukiyomi-sama and the Shinto Constellations had begun openly gathering allies. What were once quiet whispers calling for Amaterasu-sama’s abdication had now grown into very public declarations and demands. And beyond the Immortal Planes, delegations bearing the Golden Moon’s banner had already begun traveling to distant Yōkai clans and minor nature spirits across Japan.
And sadly, some were showing to be receptive.
Day by day, the Shinto Pantheon was falling into a full-blown civil war was becoming a clearer reality. And, inevitably, the mortal world would soon follow as the supernatural factions of Japan would be forced to choose sides between the Sun and the Moon.
Yōkai clans, wandering spirits, shrine guardians, human spiritualists and priests: every power would be drawn into the conflict. The unintended consequence of the noble Soul King being restored to his ancient power, the afterlife was no longer in danger of collapsing into the living world. Thus, Tsukiyomi-sama no longer had to strike from the shadows. War could be openly waged without the threat of total collapse of the barriers.
She sighed silently to herself as she thought of the countless new worries and duties that sprung up in the brewing storm: she had already begun sending envoys across the country, reinforcing alliances and quietly strengthening Kyoto’s defenses. All the while silently encouraging her allies to shore up supplies and strengthen their military prowess.
Yasaka forced the thoughts aside and closed her eyes in practiced meditation, even as her maids continued their ministrations. After several quiet moments passed and she felt herself relax, even if only a minute degree, she gave a silent gesture of dismissal and the attendants bowed and withdrew, leaving her alone in the quiet chamber.
Well, not fully alone.
Wrapping a white towel securely around herself, she stepped out from behind the partition, and across the bath, Ichigo rested against the stone edge of the pool, half submerged in the steaming water.
His posture was relaxed, yet there was a stillness about him that felt almost unnatural. His gaze stared forward into nothingness, and the crimson glow of his eyes had not yet faded back to their familiar warm brown.
She stood there quietly, watching him for a heavy moment, her eyes tracing over the lines of his carefully sculpted muscles. Yasaka couldn’t help the brief stir of arousal within her, her husband really was the perfect man for her. He was absolutely her type.
But again, she pushed away those more primal urges and instead she walked to a curved chaise set near the bath and reclined upon it, allowing the oils to settle into her skin and fur before entering the water. And as she reclined there, she watched him quietly.
While she stood on the edge of one civil war, Ichigo was already fighting another.
For the past week he had been moving across battlefields and shattered pocket realms, dismantling strongholds of the Old Satan Faction and Khaos Brigade alike. Fighting non-stop and unleashing torrents of his baleful might against all those who threatened his Empire and its denizens. And she knew him well enough to know that the battles were beginning to take a toll.
“Kunou has graduated from her introductory courses in elemental mastery,” she said softly, carefully observing his expression. “She’ll begin her intermediate lessons this week. Her tutors have nothing but praise.”
Ichigo’s eyes flickered toward her briefly before returning to the empty distance.
“That’s good.”
The flatness of his voice made Yasaka sigh quietly within herself.
For days now he had been immersing himself in the depths of his own demonic power, wearing the mythic mantle of Satan and reminding the cosmos why the name was so feared. But when he sank so deeply into that role, when he allowed himself to fully drown in the psyche of the Demon, the gentler parts of Ichigo - the empathy, the humor, the easy warmth – they all receded into the depths of his soul.
But her husband had not disappeared entirely.
After all, he had still come to see her tonight.
Yasaka touched her lips lightly, her cheeks flushing faintly as the memory of their earlier passion surfaced. However distant he sometimes became beneath the weight of his power, her husband had not forgotten her. Even if he had been a little rougher than usual in their lovemaking.
“I was thinking of having something on the heavier side for dinner, some read meat,” she said lightly.
“Sounds good,” he replied absently.
“What would you prefer, Nikujaga or Gyudon? Personally, I’m somewhat craving potatoes too. Oh, but I know how much you like beef with your rice.”
“Whichever is fine.”
She gave him a hard look which went completely unheeded. Nevertheless, she tried again. “Would you like to go for a walk after dinner?”
“Sure.”
She raised a fine brow in question. “Any place in particular you’d like to go to? The gardens? Or around the city?”
“Anywhere is fine.”
She closed her eyes and let out a small huff and then rose to her feet in one fluid motion. “Husband,” she said, with the slightest hint of an aggrieved tone, “look at me.”
And as those red eyes fell on her, Yasaka reached up with one finger and deftly pulled her towel apart, allowing gravity to pull it down and unveil all her nude glory. The effect was immediate: the red in his irises sharpened and she could instantly see the naked want and desire there, the Demon’s possessive nature rearing its head as it beheld its mate.
She gave Ichigo an imperious look as she placed a hand to her hip, and after a lone second, she gracefully stepped into the bath, her hips swaying as every step she took submerged her deeper into the steaming water.
As she strode through the warmth and came to stand before Ichigo, she gently turned around and sat herself down between his legs, and instinctively Ichigo wrapped his arms around her waist.
Yasaka leaned back onto his shoulder and looked up at him, meeting his burning gaze even as her own eyes went wide and expectant.
“Am I beautiful?” she asked.
“Very,” he responded immediately.
“Do you love me?”
“More than anything.” And his arms wound around her tighter.
Yasaka slowly turned herself in his embrace and pushed herself up onto him, until she was straddling him. Slowly, she reached down into the water and grabbed his already hard member. And as she lowered herself and guided him inside of her, she leaned forward and kissed him, huskily whispering against his lips, “Then don’t ignore me.”
=======
Ichigo sat still in the hot waters of the bath, gently holding Yasaka in his arms as she leaned against him, her back to his chest as they both basked in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Idly, he fixed a strand of wet hair and gently pushed it over her shoulder before setting his arm back around her waist.
Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to space out like that.”
Yasaka let out a soft chuckle, and she closed her eyes and leaned back against his shoulder. “Back when I first gave birth to Kunou, I often struggled with being a mother instead of an Empress in front of her. I understand all too well how the role can take on a persona of its own.”
He kissed her again.
In truth, he hadn’t even realized it, how deeply his immersion in the role of Satan had overtaken his personality. And again, he found himself thinking back to the other Satans, specifically, Sera and Sirzechs and their ridiculous antics. It was how they grounded themselves and kept their darker and more primal urges from taking over.
Ironically, Falbium used his own Sin to curb his demonic mindset, lulling himself and his instincts into a constant state of drowsy slumber. As for Ajuka, well… Ichigo wasn’t really sure if he even had to keep his instincts and urges in check. Ajuka was just that alien.
“Still,” he said calmly, “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you so dismissively.”
Yasaka let out a long hum as she pressed herself firmer against his chest. “You have no need to apologize, dear. It’s a common consequence of having a mythic role. So long as you remain true to yourself and come back to me; that’s all that matters.”
Yasaka tilted her head and looked up at him with a tender smile, and then she reached up with one arm, snaked it around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. And as the seconds ticked by, their lips grew more fervent and he tasted her tongue. Instinctively, Ichigo reached up and fondled her heavy breasts, giving them a rough squeeze.
Yasaka broke the kiss with a delightful moan before letting out a low laugh. “You are insatiable,” she said, nuzzling against his shoulder.
Ichigo dipped his head down and laid small, soft kisses against the bare skin of her shoulder and neck. “As if I could ever get enough of you.”
She let out a long hum and then said, “But we really should get going, it’s almost time for dinner. Kunou will be waiting.”
He rubbed his nose against her skin, inhaling the steam and scent of jasmine that always clung to her. “Five more minutes,” he pleaded. “I just want to hold you a bit longer.”
Ichigo continued to sit quietly in the steaming bath, Yasaka resting comfortably within the circle of his arms as the warm water lapped gently around them. For the first time in several days, the weight of war and crowns felt distant, and he simply held her, content. Even though he knew that this wouldn’t last much longer. Within the next few hours, he’d be back in Infernity, readying his latest incursion and furthering the plans of the Satans against their enemies.
“Dear,” Yasaka said gently, stealing him from his thoughts.
“Hmm?” He answered with a noncommittal hum.
“I’ve been thinking,” and there was something in her tone, the way her voice went quiet but remained firm, that made him look down at her. “I think, once all this is done, the war - yours and mine - I think I’d like to have a baby.”
The breath in his lungs froze.
Wait… what?
He could feel one of Yasaka’s hands rest on his own, where he had carefully folded them over her navel.
“I know with war, things are never certain,” she then said hesitantly. “We have no way of knowing what will come but-”
“We’ll win,” he said with strong conviction. He would put an end to the Old Satan Faction, and he would personally put an end to Tsukiyomi’s rebellion by casting the vengeful Shinto Moon into the darkest depths of Hell. There was no doubt in Ichigo’s mind of that.
And Yasaka squeezed his fingers at his words. “I think I’m ready to have a second child, I want to have a second child. With you.”
Ichigo’s lips parted, but no words came out. Fatherhood was still a distant concept in his mind. With Kunou, he was more of a friendly older brother than a proper step-father… but it’s not as if he hadn’t thought about kids with Yasaka or Tiamat before. Hell, the latter was the literal Primordial of Motherhood, it was essentially a done deal once he had accepted his chaotic familiar into his life.
But still… the idea of having kids was something he always thought would happen far, far into the future. Given his near immortality now, there were so many things he simply hadn’t considered in the immediate future.
And yet…
“I haven’t really thought about it,” he admitted softly.
Yasaka gave a small laugh even as she said wryly, “I am aware. You’ve taken full advantage of your species' miserable fertility rates to avoid protection and birth control altogether.”
He felt a certain heat in the tips of his ear… it was true. Ichigo never used any form contraception when it came to sex, at least not since his reincarnation.
“But I feel quite comfortable in where we are now to become pregnant,” she then said. “At least, once this cosmic mess has cleared up.”
Ichigo closed his mouth and settled deeply within his own thoughts. He wasn’t averse to having children, not in the least. But then, how does one even learn about parenting? Were there classes he could take? Online courses or videos? He would have to do so much research.
Who would he even ask… his father?
The thought made him shudder. Lucifer, the idea of old goat-face of all people giving him fatherly advice on how to properly raise kids.
Ichigo frowned imperceptibly.
But then, his father hadn’t done a bad job. Not all. Aside from their mother, he and the twins never grew up want of anything. And, again, barring the tragedy of their mother’s murder, they had a relatively normal, happy upbringing.
And it was there, as he recalled the distant and bittersweet gaze of his father recounting how he met his mother when they had that candid conversation in Urahara’s shop, that Ichigo made up his mind.
“Yeah,” he said softly.
“Yasaka turned and blinked at him. “Yeah?”
He gave her a small smile, “Yeah. I’d love to have a kid with you.”
Her eyes widened just a fraction and she all but leapt at him, as she grabbed him around the neck and kissed him wildly. As his hands landed on the small of her back and she broke away laughing, Ichigo chuckled as he said, “But I do have bring up that ‘miserable fertility' rate you spoke of. It could take us decades, maybe longer.”
And through her delighted smile, Yasaka gave a shrug. “We have a Primordial of Fertility on our side. And even then, I am a descendant of Inari-sama. It wouldn’t be too hard to secure a divine blessing.”
Ichigo hugged her tightly and Yasaka pressed her forehead against his.
“I love you.”
“Love you too, princess.”
=======
The next day, as Ichigo stood upon the vast terraces before the gargantuan Dark Gates of Fellgrand, a familiar presence brushed against his mind.
Oi, Berry-head! Sera’s bubbly voice echoed within his thoughts, carried across the distance through the telepathic web the Satans shared with one another. Just to remind you, once you cross into Fallen territory, Baraqiel and Shemhazai will be the ones meeting you.
Ichigo’s gaze remained fixed on the colossal gates ahead as he answered her silently. Anything else I should know?
There was a brief pause before Serafall replied.
Hmm, no, everything else is already arranged. But… her tone shifted slightly, carrying a note of teasing caution, things might become interesting considering your plus one.
Ichigo’s eyes flicked sideways at that.
I’m sure it’ll be fine, he replied calmly.
Sera let out a small cheer in her. Go wild! Actually no, don’t go wild! That’d be too much work for me! Just go get your stinky souls and get Sirzechs’ ball rolling!
Ichigo rolled his eyes good-naturedly and thought back to her, Sure, later Sera.
He then turned his gaze back toward the Dark Gates of Fellgrand, the mountain-sized doors looming over the horizon and darkening the sky around them. The giant gates were forged to regulate all dimensional movement in and out of Infernity. While the clever and more unscrupulous denizens could find other ways of passage to and from his kingdom, for the vast bulk of the populace, the Dark Gates were the only way possible.
He slowly turned his head away from the giant edifices and met the patient, knowing gaze of his ‘plus one’ as Sera had so charmingly put it.
The Demon Gremory stood a short distance away, her posture regal yet somehow also a touch subservient - her crimson hair shifting softly in the hot winds rolling down from Fellgrand’s towering walls. As he looked into her eerie green eyes, he noticed an odd emotion there. There was a touch of amusement in her expression, but more than that, what truly caught his attention was the fixation within her gaze. The way she seemed to drink in the sight of him, observe every quiet movement he made.
Ichigo had chosen to grant Gremory her request to accompany him to Malebolge.
He still wasn’t sure what she wanted or what her goal was, but the faint whisper of his precognitive instincts lingered at the back of his mind like an itch, and he knew better than to ignore them. His sixth sense had stirred the moment she offered to join him, an elusive feeling that the ancient demon would somehow play a role in what was about to unfold in the Fallen’s territory.
And that it would be to his benefit.
Gremory’s lips curved into a faint smile as her eyes shifted towards the colossal gates, the black lace of her drift billowing in the wind.
“I remember when these were first raised,” she said, her tone a touch reminiscent. “Your predecessor had them forged from the mined remnants of a dead star and he consecrated them with the blood of tens of thousands.”
Ichigo gave the massive doors another brief look – that sounded about on par for the original Satan. A creature that, even when it built something of use, had to include the wanton slaughter of the innocent.
Gremory chuckled softly before continuing.
“As for Malebolge, my Prince” she added, her voice taking on a faintly nostalgic tone, “it is an ancient place that was once under our sway. Eons ago, when we first forged our Empire under the newly christened Sins, the land was ruled by my sibling Ipos. He was once one of the Fallen, amongst the first even, who followed our father Lucifer in his Fall. And when Satan made his pact with Hell, he left the Grigori and was soon anointed one of the First Demons. Ironically, Ipos and his territory were conquered by the Fallen in the waning years of the Great War. Though, by then, I had been grievously injured and sealed myself.”
Ichigo frowned slightly, having learned the same in his own research of the realm. “But there’s no actual record of his death,” Ichigo said grimly. “None of the Cadre ever claimed to have killed him.”
Gremory smiled faintly. “No, but he always was a weak fool. Ipos held little talent in direct battle; it is not impossible that the Fallen Lords crushed him and thought him another lowly Devil slain to their spears.”
She idly played with a lock of her red hair between her thumb and forefinger.
“But I will give that Devil his due: what Ipos lacked in the arts of war he made up for in his crafting of rites and rituals. Magnificent, terrible rituals of critical harvest: capable of even taking and reshaping entire realms and worlds. At the height of the Great War, the Satans reaped billions of souls from distant worlds through magicks born of his design.”
Ichigo found himself mildly unsettled by the faint wistfulness in Gremory’s voice, as though she were reminiscing about an old and fond memory rather than speaking of wars and rituals that had consumed entire worlds.
These ancient Demons were really the epitome of evil, he thought to himself. No wonder they all so readily condemned themselves to Hell in exchange for more power.
“So,” he said flatly, “you hoping to find some forgotten secrets Ipos might’ve hidden in his territory?”
Gremory’s crimson lips curved into a languid smile. She dipped into a graceful bow, and Ichigo immediately noticed how the motion was just deep enough to present a rather generous view down her ample cleavage.
“Far from it, my Lord. To bask in your presence is reward enough,” she replied smoothly.
Ichigo stared at her for a moment before inwardly groaning. Tiamat and Yasaka were going to kill him at this rate. But then, a sudden rush of wind swept across the terrace as something immense descended from the sky.
Nihil landed before them with a thunderous impact, the obsidian stone of the plaza cracking beneath the Imperator’s colossal weight. The towering Reaver straightened slowly, its monstrous form sending out waves of demonic energies, and its hulking form shuddering with the knowledge it was about to enter a great battle and not just a mindless slaughter.
Ichigo felt his Imperator’s mind brush against his own, a psychic impression pressing onto him and letting him know that everything was prepared and that they were ready for departure.
Ichigo gave a small nod and stepped forward, his gaze drifting past the Imperator toward the vast fields stretching between Fellgrand and the Dark Gates.
Normally the plains were filled with thousands of migrants and travelers from his kingdom, but now?
Hundreds of thousands of Reavers stood in silent formation, their towering bodies packed together in disciplined ranks that stretched across the landscape like a living tide of crimson and black. The air trembled with their collective power, their hunger simmering beneath the surface like a barely restrained storm.
For a moment, the entire host stood motionless.
Waiting.
Ichigo allowed his eyes to burn and let loose a flood of power, a thunderous display of might that colored the sky above a deep crimson, and the monsters answered in kind. Infernity shook under the might of thousands of roars, of a literal army of vile beasts unleashing their blood lust and calls for slaughter. He turned toward the mountain-sized doors of the Dark Gates and sent his dark will forward, touching them with his powers and activating their arcane energies.
With a groan that shook the ground, the Dark Gates parted, revealing an uncanny and purple glow from within as space and time were pressed and twisted by its magic.
And as Ichigo took a single step, at once, the army moved with him.
The thunder of countless monstrous footsteps shook the ground as the Reavers surged forward behind their Prince, climbing the immense stairway that led toward the colossal threshold. Nihil fell into step behind him like a silent phantom, as did Gremory, her dress billowing dark in the rough winds - while the endless horde advanced in perfect, baleful unity.
Beyond them waited the Fallen lands and the dark demesne of Malebolge. There Ichigo would collect the souls of Sinners who had long since hidden from the shadows of Hell and their due punishment. There he would carve out the first strike against the Old Satan Khaos Brigade by sealing whatever pathways of the dead they were using. And there would fall the first blow which would ensure the ultimate doom of the Old Satan Faction.
Satan stepped into the light.
And the army of Wrath followed.
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A/N: And that marks 70 chapters! I never once dreamed I would write this much for DMAW when I first started this story back in 2015, almost 11 years ago now! I just want to say thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys the story! I don't particularly consider myself a good writer, but I am glad that my meager ability is something you find entertaining!
Thank you all so very much!
With chapter 70 we have begun the mini 'Malebolge' arc which will expand on Ichigo's role as a collector of Sinners. I very briefly touched on this aspect of Ichigo's life way back in the beginning of th story, when he and Grayfia hunted that necromancer in the catacombs of Paris.
Aside from that, I can also touch upon other things that go bump in the dark of the Underworld and how some of its cosmology works, since the Underworld is more than just a planet. It's a series of planes of existence stacked on top of one another and further altered by the powers of the Demons and Fallen Lords.