As Ichigo sat there across from the ancient Demon, it took a great strength of will to not snigger. It looked so human with those green eyes wide and expression utterly stunned.
He had been deeply contemplating his next peerage piece for months now, as he had taken Tiamat's advice to heart: that he needed someone who made up for his weaknesses. Chiefly, his utter lack of stealth and subterfuge, and his glaring inexperience in the more subtle and advanced arcane arts.
Just before leaving for Karakura Town, he had discussed his idea of binding Gremory into his servitude with Yasaka and Tiamat, and neither of them had been thrilled with his potential choice. Especially after Tiamat revealed Gremory's less than healthy... err, crush on him. Yasaka had pouted as she poked and prodded him with her tails. Nevertheless, both agreed that in the immediate space, no one was more qualified than Gremory as a Bishop piece.
She had soundly proved her mettle and ability during his incursion into Malebolge and, even if he didn't trust her as a person, he definitely trusted her ability. There was also the added security that the Evil Pieces essentially enslaved the person they were implanted in; though most Devils didn't possess the ability nor the creativity to fully make use of that little caveat.
So, with their tentative and begrudging blessings, Ichigo had deftly placed the Bishop piece on his desk to make his offer plain and obvious. Because Ichigo really wanted a powerful and capable spellcrafter under his direct command.
Oh, and the look on Sirzechs' face would be priceless. That too had been an important factor in consideration.
Still, as Gremory checked off every requirement for a powerful sorcerer, it still left him without an assassin or espionage specialist. But, for now, that wasn’t a major concern. Virtually all of Ichigo’s conflicts were wars being waged out in the open. He didn’t need a -hides-in-shadows type of servant.
Not yet.
Her eyes staying fixed on the Bishop piece sitting innocently on his desk, the ancient Demon asked, “What does this mean?”
Ichigo raised a single eyebrow in response. “I thought it fairly obvious,” he said sardonically.
Her gaze still affixed to the piece, she gravely asked, “… do you understand the repercussions of what you ask?”
“Of course,” Ichigo said as he leaned back into his throne. “It means you’ll obey me.”
Green eyes jumped to meet his.
That wasn’t what she meant and Ichigo knew that. Gremory was speaking of the political repercussions because, while she was technically retired from the role, she was still, unquestionably, the Pillar Gremory. One of the original Seventy-Two Demons and the very same name recorded into the Ars Goetia. And her role in the history of their people, their culture and society was legendary.
It was unprecedented for a Pillar Lord to submit themselves into the peerage of another King – it would shake the very foundations of all the power plays within the Empire. The Satans generally did not directly meddle in the matters of the Upper Nobility, so long as it did not concern the Empire as a whole. But by bringing her into his peerage, he wasn’t just adding an incredibly powerful piece, he was essentially bringing the entire House Gremory under his direct thumb.
It was ironic, when Sirzechs ascended and usurped Lucifer’s throne, he had simultaneously rid himself of the title of the Gremory family’s heir. As had the other three Crown Princes. It was done in the sense of fairness; that no one house would be elevated above the rest and some semblance of impartiality remained. Even if that wasn’t entirely true.
What Ichigo was doing was spitting in the face of all of that, he was tearing down centuries of the Satans keeping the Pillars beneath them but on an equal footing.
Ichigo was well aware of all of this, of course. But he needed to know that, ultimately, everything in the Empire came down to one thing: obedience to the Sins.
No matter what the Pillar or the rest of Nobility clamored for, it was all beneath their notice and dignity. They were simply that much more powerful than the rest of them.
“Your Highness truly does not care for the consequences, do you?” She asked in a subdued manner.
He shrugged carelessly. “Politics are for those who need to negotiate and compromise. Satan doesn’t do either. I just take.”
The ancient Demon’s face became flat and expressionless; it then tilted its head in a way that vaguely reminded Ichigo of some sort of insect – an alien and starkly inhuman movement.
“Then… do you intend to take me?”
Ichigo met that otherworldly gaze and pressed back, allowing the weight of his presence to descend down onto this reality and causing every shadow in the Underworld to jump and twitch momentarily.
“I’m asking because it’s the more time efficient way,” he said curtly, resting his cheek against his fist. “But if you want, we can do things the old-fashioned way where I beat you bloody into the ground and force you into submission?”
Gremory shivered, her shoulders giving a small tremor as she tried and utterly failed to compose herself. Slowly, almost unnaturally, her lips peeled into a widening smile while her emerald eyes took on a feverish, unhinged gleam. The air around her rippled as her magic briefly flickered, and Ichigo could feel it twist in her: a ravenous desire coiling within the ancient Demon like a frenzied serpent, writhing and tightening around itself as though it had finally glimpsed prey it had hungered for all its life.
Although if Gremory, for a single second, deemed him prey, she was in for a sorry time.
She let out a shivered breath and hugged her pale arms to herself.
“My Prince,” she said almost feverishly. “To have a piece of you inside me? Like a burning brand upon myself? A scar of commitment and enslavement, like a twisted knot of a wedding ring?”
“… a Bishop. The offer is being a Bishop,” he clarified, stressing each syllable to ensure his intentions were not being misinterpreted. But given the near manic look in her eyes, Ichigo wasn’t sure if she even heard him.
“Like the olden days,” the ancient Demon breathed reverently. “To writhe under the touch of my father once more! I would be your slave! Your faithful whore! Your captive mutt happily wearing your chain ‘round my neck! I would go wherever you bid and kneel wherever you commanded!”
Ichigo closed his eyes with a defeated sigh. “Please don’t make this any weirder than it has to be.”
He then reached out with one hand and grabbed the Bishop piece that rested on the table and held it between his fingers, giving it a slight twirl. Upon his touch the piece briefly lit crimson but then there was a multicolored, iridescent hue beneath the bright red to signify that it was a Mutation piece.
Within the Evil Piece system, the Mutation pieces were a way to bypass the restriction of King binding beings within their means and ability to control. Some entities were too powerful to bind with a single piece and required multiple ones to bend them to their King’s will. It also ensured no peerage grew too powerful, being able to challenge the authority of the Satans. Mutation pieces, however, were a clever way around that. They could bypass the restriction of needing multiple pieces for more powerful individuals.
Officially, they were considered a bug in the Evil Piece system that were never patched out because Ajuka found them amusing. Unofficially, Ajuka was a duplicitous bastard who liked playing favorites. Nonetheless, Mutation pieces were exceptionally rare; Ajuka only gave them to those that caught his personal eye.
But Ichigo dismissed those tangent thoughts and returned his attention to the enamored Demon before him.
He looked her over once, before dryly asking, “So it’s safe to assume your answer is yes?”
Gremory shivered once more but she seemed to finally manage to steady herself, her fingers relaxing and the madness in her eyes receding just a touch. She put a hand over her heart and smiled modestly. “I am thrilled to call Satan my master once more.”
“Let’s get this over with then,” Ichigo said and rose to his feet, to which Gremory immediately followed as well. But then the ancient Demon swept around his desk, her dark dress billowing behind her and she came to stop just before him. And in one fluid motion, Gremory dropped to her hands and feet and kissed his shoe.
Ichigo instantly let out a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What did I just say about not making this weird?”
But Gremory merely looked up at him with an unapologetic smile.
“Whatever,” he muttered.
And suddenly his irreverence gave way to an enormous mythic weight as his eyes bled a fiery red and the Demon Lord emerged from beyond the soul.
Satan reached out and pinched the Demon’s chin, her alabaster skin unnaturally cold against the infernal heat that ran beneath his flesh. And without a word, he pressed the Bishop against the space between her brows, and immediately the black piece radiated a dark, crimson light as it broke the skin of her forehead, cutting past sinew and pulsing blood until it dug and chipped into bone of her skull. And soon enough, Gremory’s own flesh twitched and spasmed in response, and a minuscule tendril of flesh and blood reached from the open wound and grabbed onto the piece, pulling and dragging it into the Demon’s core.
The ancient Demon suddenly gasped and convulsed upon her knees, her entire body locking rigid as the black of her sclera pulsed with throbbing crimson lines. Bulging veins spread down her face and neck like tunneling maggots racing beneath her skin, and her demonic power surged wildly in answer, rising and twisting with enough weight to threaten the very fabric of the realm.
But this was Infernity.
And here, reality was whatever Satan willed it to be… and Satan willed his Demon silent.
A sickening crunch then echoed through the office as flesh and bone shifted beneath her skin, and Ichigo felt his own demonic power seep into every corner of her being. It coated her very demonic core, stained it, and marked it as his. It was ironic, in some ways. Gremory was already an abomination of the highest order yet now she was made a touch worse, a little more broken and wrong. Like a malignant cancer that suddenly became putrid from an outside infection.
But at last, her aura settled. Amidst the familiar darkness of her power lingered the faint, unmistakable trace of his own, and Gremory let out a long, trembling breath before slowly rising to her feet.
Gremory slowly raised her hands before her face and experimentally flexed her fingers, staring at them with feverish wonder. Then she looked up at him, her cheeks deeply flushed and her emerald eyes shining with almost religious fervor. Closing the distance between them, she placed both hands upon his shoulders and pressed herself against his chest.
Her gaze never wavered from his face as she continued to take ragged breaths.
“This Gremory is your slave, forevermore, my master eternal,” she whispered fanatically. She then closed her eyes and leaned forward, her red stained lips inching closer to his.
And Ichigo immediately put a stop to all that as he pressed a finger to her lips.
“Mmm?” Gremory’s eyes opened in surprise, and she looked down at his finger in confusion.
“Uh-huh,” Ichigo said unimpressed. “Nice try. But that’s not happening. And if you try and sneak a kiss on me again, I’ll burn your lips off.”
And she actually had the audacity to then pucker her lips and kiss his finger.
“Hurt me, punish me, as much as your heart desires, my master,” she said sultrily.
“I’m already regretting this,” he said to himself with a sigh. “Alright, let’s put you to work right away.”
And he took his finger and wiped her lipstick on her dress as he turned around and snapped his fingers, opening a magical portal.
“I’ve got this idea I need your help with.”
=======
The portal deposited them within the familiar gloom of Iravex's dungeons, where dark stone corridors stretched into the distance and dim purple lights glowed from within the floor like veins of amethyst. Warden Halvrick had nearly tripped over himself in his haste to salute when Ichigo stepped into the Devil’s line of sight. But Ichigo merely nodded and said nothing, having previously communicated to the sycophant jailer that he would be coming. And as Helvrick guided him through the winding, magical pathways and barriers, Gremory silently strode just behind him.
It didn’t take long before they eventually stopped before a solitary cell, and Ichigo looked on at the familiar piteous sight of Katerea Leviathan.
As before, she still hung from her chained wrists, looking just as miserable as when he had left her. Her hair hacked apart and hanging in matted clumps, dried blood staining her skin and clothing, and her legs bent at angles that made it painfully obvious they were cleanly broken.
Once more, Ichigo had to hold back the wince at Sera’s brutality. Behind that bubbly and energetic beauty of a pop icon, was the cold-blooded monstrosity of a full-fledged Demon Lord.
“Still looking like shit, I see,” Ichigo commented idly.
Katerea's swollen lips peeled back in hatred.
"You filthy pretender!" She rasped, blood flecking her teeth. "I’ll flay your skin and dig out your eyes for this! You're nothing but a human mongrel daring to sit at the table of your betters! A fake! A parasite! Once I’ve killed you, I’ll hunt down everyone who’s ever had the misfortune of being loved by you. I’ll-!"
Ichigo began tuning her out as he simply stood there with his hands in his pockets.
It was somewhat impressive how dumb the descendants of the Old Satans were. Dumb and repetitive. A part of him wondered if centuries of isolation and exile had driven them into insanity, where they lived in delusions and just kept repeating the same points to convince themselves of their own alleged superiority.
But even as Ichigo silently watched as Katerea spewed venomous threats, from his side, Gremory imperceptibly tilted her head and the Demon’s eyes glowed a sickly green.
Katerea immediately folded in on herself. Her back arched so violently that her chained wrists creaked and strained against their bindings, and a raw, animalistic scream tore from her throat. Every muscle in her body seized at once. Her neck snapped back, veins bulging beneath her skin, while her fingers clawed so hard at the wall behind her that her nails split and bled against the stone.
Her torso twisted and bucked so hard that her shoulders repeatedly slammed with such force against the stone that he could clearly hear the crunch of her flesh being battered and crushed. Her broken legs kicked and jerked in grotesque spasms, jagged bone breaking through the skin and spattering fresh blood across the ground. And the entire jail echoed with the savage screams that ripped from Katerea’s throat.
Then, just as abruptly, it ended.
The she-devil hung limply in her chains, trembling and twitching, every few seconds another involuntary spasm rippling through her body as ragged breaths hissed through her clenched teeth.
Ichigo turned towards Gremory with a raised eyebrow. “That was impressive.”
His brand-new Bishop inclined her head in thanks. “Nothing too grand, master. Merely a simple curse that forces the mind to reinterpret all stimuli as agonizing pain.”
Given Katerea’s still convulsing body, it seemed a bit more than ‘a simple curse’ to him. But Ichigo imagined, for a sorcerer of Gremory’s caliber, it was probably one of the easiest spells in her repertoire. She didn’t even need to incant to cast it.
Gremory's lip then curled in open contempt as she turned towards the broken Devil, loathing and disgust seething plain within her emerald eyes.
"Vermin," she hissed. "An age ago the Heavenly Father himself stirred to cast mighty Leviathan into the depths of the Underworld. That the Old Master’s blood has degraded so piteously, how revolting. And what would you say, Sin of Yore? That your children are nothing more than deluded thugs, base creatures so bereft of their own strength that they go bowing and scraping for power from that thing lurking in the Void?"
Katerea offered no retort. She simply glared at Gremory with naked hatred, though the fury in her eyes was heavily marred by layers of apprehension and terror. And Ichigo could easily see that Gremory’s torture had easily undone whatever bravery and resistance the weeks removed from Sera’s less than merciful hands had given Katerea.
But, in Ichigo’s defense, he really did have numerous other things that ranked significantly higher on his list of priorities. Actually, if Ichigo was being honest with himself, there were still thousands of other things that ranked higher than one Katerea Leviathan.
If it wasn’t for the ongoing civil war and his plan to leverage her life, Ichigo would have already rid himself of the insanely entitled she-devil.
Giving Katerea one more exasperated look, Ichigo turned to Gremory and gave her a quick command. "Cut her down and bring her with us."
Gremory gave a lazy flick of her wrist and the chains around Katerea's wrists suddenly uncoiled. She dropped to the floor and gave a pained cry as her head hit the stone floor with a sickening thud.
Before she could even recover, Gremory stepped forward, buried a hand in her matted hair, and began dragging her from the cell most unceremoniously, as though she were just a sack of potatoes. In fairness to sacks of potatoes through all of existence, they were far more valuable than the Leviathan descendant ever could be.
As Gremory walked past him, pulling a whimpering and groaning Katerea, Ichigo turned towards a very disturbed looking Warden and curtly told him, “You can return to your office, Halvrick.”
“Yes, my Lord! Thank you, my Lord!” He responded with a relieved salute and then promptly ran away.
Ichigo walked on through the prison for a few short minutes, the only sound being Katerea’s quiet cries and her skin scraping against the stone floor. Since Ichigo himself had no interest in taking prisoners, his personal dungeons were entirely empty. Of course, that didn’t apply for the rest of Infernity. There were prisons and work camps scattered through the realm for those who broke the laws that governed the land. But then, for those foolish enough to commit the most heinous crimes, instead of prison, Ichigo had given his Reavers permission to devour them on the spot, with their souls being consigned to Hell.
Finally, they arrived to a large antechamber with a high vault ceiling. The room itself was bare and was initially designed to hold gladiatorial bouts between prisoners to amuse the fortress denizens. Sera was most disappointed when Ichigo told her he had no such inclinations.
Regardless, Gremory hurled Katerea through the air and she landed and tumbled across the floor with a deep groan. Her legs still broken, she couldn’t muster the strength to stand, but Katerea did manage to use her one good arm to push herself up and stare dejectedly at the two of them.
She began to cough, a deep phlegm-filled cough and she began hacking up globs of blood. “J-just… kill me… already,” she managed to say through ragged breaths.
“I'd be happy to,” Ichigo said plainly, “but I'm fighting a war and, unlike you, I actually know how to win one.”
Katerea grit her teeth, but Ichigo just shrugged unapologetically. “The simple reality is that your camp is nothing more than a cancer on society, stagnant and dead water clinging to dying ideals of traditions and inherited deference based on bloodlines. Which is hilarious because this whole thing started with a son rebelling against his father. Imagine being a Devil and holding traditions sacred.”
Katerea spat another mouthful of blood as she glowered “The Devil race was born from our blood! Without us they wouldn’t exist! They owe us everything! If we, the true descendants, cannot rule our people, then they deserve extinction!”
Ichigo stared at her for a long moment before letting out a quiet, almost disbelieving breath.
“You know, I’m not really interested in rehashing this conversation,” he said with a hint of irritation. “Swear fealty to me, and I'll spare you from a fate worse than death.”
She barked out a laugh, but then immediately fell into a coughing fit. After several seconds, Katerea smiled madly at him. “Serve? You? A pretender to my throne? That is a fate worse than death. Just kill me and put us both out of this misery!”
“Uh-huh,” Ichigo said dryly. “Let’s put that statement to the test, shall we?”
Ichigo promptly snapped his fingers and the world fell ashen grey, robbed of its color.
The stone beneath their feet let out a pained groan as the air grew heavy and foul; the very fabric of reality seemed to strain and split apart as immense iron doors slowly manifested in the chamber. They stood impossibly tall, black metal with colossal skeletal guards embedded into each door.
Beside him, even Gremory took a small, uneasy step backward.
But Katerea broke.
Not a tremble of fear, but violent, uncontrollable shaking as she stared at the Gates of Hell and the inevitable, doomed call of the First Flame.
Ichigo stepped forward and crouched before her, and none too gently he pinched Katerea's chin between his fingers and forced her trembling gaze away from the Gates and onto him instead.
But she found no respite as Hell burned just as fierce in his eyes.
“Dying is easy,” he said deceptively soft. “It's what comes after that's terrifying.”
Katerea's breath hitched.
“If you refuse me,” Satan continued, his voice going cold, “I will personally cast you into the deepest, most heinous pit of Hell. And I promise you this: there are no words in any language ever spoken that can describe what will be done to you there.”
“Y-you can't…” Katerea stammered.
“I can,” the Dark Lord stated. “And I will.”
She trembled violently, her terrified gaze darting between the burning Gates and his infernal eyes. Then, as every last shred of defiance had finally shattered, Katerea slowly lowered her head and gave a shaky nod.
Ichigo released Katerea's chin and gave her a small shove, sending the broken woman back onto the cold stone floor. He then looked toward Gremory and said, “Bind her to me. Use the strongest curse you know.”
The ancient Demon blinked in surprise before a delighted, almost feverish smile spread across her face.
“You truly are the perfect Prince,” she breathed.
She then glided forward and knelt before Katerea, extending a single finger and Gremory's nail shone with into a poisonous green light and she slowly dragged it across the she-devil's forehead. Fresh blood dripped from the cut, and with a casual movement of her hand, the scarlet liquid lifted into the air and began to twist into intricate runes.
“Do you swear,” Gremory asked softly, her voice carrying a ruthless delight, “to pledge your soul and existence in servitude and loyalty to the Lord Wrath?”
Katerea looked up at him tentatively, but in that moment of hesitancy the Gates of Hell let out a long, metallic groan and she immediately began to panic.
“I-I do, I do!” she yelled in terror.
The blood runes burst into a red mist and wound themselves around her neck, forming a thin crimson collar. From it extended a delicate red thread that slithered through the air and wrapped around Ichigo's forearm like a leash before sinking into his skin and then disappearing.
Gremory stepped back and gave Ichigo a dramatic bow at the waist, and if it weren’t for the gravity of the moment he may have even rolled his eyes.
“It is done, my master.”
Ichigo looked down at the cowed Katerea, her eyes devoid of the vitrol and fire they once held. Gone was the defiance and the anger… only resignation and despair. Once, he would have pitied her. He would have even tried to spare her and let her go after defeating her. But Katerea and her kind had waged a shadow war over centuries that cost tens of thousands of lives, even more. They were the ones who forced the current Satans to reignite the civil war and put a preemptive end to a potentially even greater threat.
Worse, they had sided with Khaos Brigade and Ophis and whatever its unfathomable schemes were.
He could no longer be without iron in his hand. Nonetheless, he wasn’t needlessly cruel.
“Relax,” he said, dismissing the Gates of Hell and allowing Satan to dip into his flesh. “I'm not Sera. I don't torture people for fun. At worst, you're spending the next few centuries doing manual labor until you lose the psychotic spoiled-princess attitude. Understand?”
Katerea visibly swallowed before quietly muttering, “…yes.”
A sharp flick of magic struck her body and she let out a small yelp and Gremory raised an expectant eyebrow. “Yes what?”
Katerea's jaw tightened before she lowered her gaze.
“Yes…my... master.”
And while he didn’t enjoy or necessarily want to hear the words, Ichigo understood the significance of Katerea speaking them.
But then, Ichigo loomed over her and said, “Good, now that we've got that sorted out, tell me: where's the rest of the Leviathan family?”
=======
As Gremory quietly walked through the dark halls of Iravex, her eyes remained solely fixed on the back of her new master. She had not seen his offer for joining his peerage coming, in fact, she was quite certain no one in the Underworld had. Yet, that was Lord Ichigo in summary: unexpected and unpredictable.
An iconoclast, a blasphemer who cared nothing for the old ways. Because he was more powerful than the ones who laid them down in the first place. She was reminded of their encounter with Ipos – decisive and so very comfortable wielding apocalyptic power. And he had even more of it, hidden away.
Nonetheless, she never truly saw him as something resembling the previous Crown Princes. But not just the old ones, the new ones too – her grandson’s generation. Lord Ichigo lacked that inherent cruelty and savagery that was found in all Demons, that delight in brutality and debauchery. She had assumed it was due to his human heritage.
She had been wrong.
“Got something to say?”
And despite the casual and nonchalant tone of his voice, she couldn’t help the lance of fear that suddenly pierced her heart and quickened her pulse. Her ancient instincts instantly told her to lie, to smooth it over with a quiet denial. Yet, she knew that if she wanted to truly belong to this monster, if she genuinely wished to earn his confidence, she could not afford to hide her thoughts from him.
Well, at least not all of them.
“I was surprised, my Lord… I did not expect such magnificent cruelty from you.”
And just like that the Crown Prince stopped in his tracks, and Gremory’s heart slammed into her chest. The fresh terror of Hell’s doorways still looming at the forefront of her mind.
Slowly, the young Demon Lord turned his neck, and as their eyes met, Gremory’s breath coiled frigid in her lungs. Because, for a lone second, his image flickered, and she suddenly found herself staring at some towering horned abomination with the most oppressive and violent yellow eyes.
Eyes that seemed to laugh in maniacal carnage.
But just as quickly as it came, the impression left her gaze and the Crown Prince turned around and began walking again.
“You wouldn't say that if you knew the monster in me.”
=======
Yngol Leviathan was an Elder of the Leviathan Clan, tracing his lineage back to the first generation of Devils that were born when the Demon Leviathan melded its blood with Lilith.
He strode swiftly through the manor's broad halls, his polished shoes clicking sharply against the wooden floors. Once, he had taken great pride in these halls and the long line of ancestors whose portraits adorned the walls. Now, every familiar sight only seemed to remind him of how much House Leviathan had lost.
Following a few paces behind him, his cousin Lucrezia pinched the bridge of her nose and said in exasperation, “The Asmodeus and Beelzebub families have seized another three holds, two of them being key mining operations. At this rate, there will be nothing left of our family’s wealth by the year's end!”
Yngol's jaw tightened.
“What’s to be done,” he said tersely. “Katerea is dead, and with her died the only person in our family with enough power to stand against Shalba and Creuserey. The only reason those backstabbing, ungrateful sharks haven’t rounded us all up and sent us off to the front lines is because we have this secret world our ancestor sequestered away from the other Sins.”
“The other elders are becoming restless,” Lucrezia warned.
Yngol abruptly stopped and turned, anger flashing across his handsome features.
“Yes Lucrezia, thank you for stating the obvious!” She merely rolled her eyes in response, but he continued to rage at her, his voice rising with anger. “If any of them have a solution, I am more than willing to hear it!” he snapped. “Because I, for one, have grown rather tired of being blamed for problems that are ultimately the fault of Katerea!”
The pair stepped into a small sitting room and Yngol immediately made for the liquor cabinet. Pouring himself a generous glass of amber spirits, he downed half of it in one long swallow.
Across from him, Lucrezia put a hand to her temple and let out a weary sigh. “This war has proven to be nothing but an utter disaster on every front! We’ve lost too much!”
Yngol gave her an irritated look over the rim of his glass.
“Again with the obvious,” he said scathingly. “But what can we do? The usurpers struck first and reignited the war before we were ready. Otherwise, we'd still be building our strength and biding our time. Even with Khaos Brigade's support, they're proving far stronger and far more aggressive than any of us anticipated.”
Lucrezia hesitated before quietly asking, “Could we… independently from the others… could our family sue for peace? Withdraw from the war?”
Yngol nearly choked on his drink.
“Peace?!” he barked incredulously. “What peace? Do you think that performative Sitri whore will spare us after stealing our name and birthright? They'll make trophies of our bones and use our skulls as vases!”
No, there was no peace. Not even the slimmest chance of it! Their very name had been stolen! Their birthright, their kingdom! Their ways and traditions trampled on by the children of their forefathers’ lessers! The Pillars once served their family hand and foot, crawling over one another’s heads for even the briefest glance of the Sins. And now their children rose up and took it all away?
Reform? Revival? Repercussions?
Bah! There only needed to be subservience! There only-
Suddenly, the entire ground lurched violently and he was nearly thrown off his feet. Lucrezia had fallen against the walls and clutched at them to keep her balance.
And then the deafening thunder of some gargantuan blast boomed through the skies; so loud that the windows rattled within their frames and paintings and decorations fell from the wall. At the same time, Yngol felt every protective ward woven into the ancestral lands flare to life.
He and Lucrezia exchanged a brief glance, and then they both ran.
By the time they burst into the Elder Council chamber, other members of the family were already pouring inside, shouting over one another in confusion and alarm. Then, amidst the chaos, a magical communication screen flickered into existence and revealed a terrified Leviathan soldier.
“M-my Lords!” the Devil cried. “We're under attack! The enemy has breached the dimension! We're being invaded!”
"What? Impossible!"
"Who dares!"
Several magical screens burst into existence throughout the chamber, and the sight that greeted them sent a chill through Yngol's blood.
Great gashes had been ripped into the skies of their hidden world, vast dimensional rifts wreathed in white lightning and dark fire, and from within poured out entire armies of brutish looking monsters.
They were towering behemoths of reddish-brown skin, with molten veins and burning eyes and they exploded from the rifts in the thousands, the fall of their feet shaking the earth beneath them. Some landed heavily enough to crack the ground, while others simply hurled themselves through the air, a living tide of horned horrors that quickly spread across the countryside and flung themselves against the Leviathan family's magical fortifications.
One of his cousins pointed a shaking finger at the screens. “Wh-what are those creatures!?”
“Reavers,” Yngol grounded out in answer, having seen the creatures from numerous frontline reports. And if those beasts were here, then that meant…
“That upstart child Satan is here?!” Lucrezia asked in astonishment.
As though in answer, the world shook again.
Another rift tore open high in the heavens and from it descended a colossal pillar of black wind. A cataclysmic towering cyclone that gouged the earth and sent a blast of exploded dirt and dust flying in a shockwave that ripped over dozens of miles. The very earth of the Leviathan world ripped towards the sky in great chunks and trees shattered into splinters under the force of the howling winds.
But Yngol’s sharp eyes caught something, behind the dark of the funnel of wind, something moved.
A vast silhouette stalking their world from inside the heart of the tornado itself, its form little more than a living shadow. Two smoldering red eyes burned from within the blackened winds, and above them rose a pair of immense, curved horns.
The giant took a single step.
And the entire world trembled.
The giant moved with terrifying carelessness. Each sweep of its colossal arms ripped up several cities' worth of earth, hurling mountains of stone into the sky and carving canyons where none had existed moments before. The entire pocket world convulsed violently, throwing the Elders from their feet.
Sprawled upon the floor, Yngol could only stare in horror as his ancestral homeland was quite literally being remade before his eyes.
A magical screen flickered and a bloodied soldier appeared within it, his face twisted in absolute panic. Behind him, Yngol could see flashes of crimson skin and burning eyes, while the ground itself shook with the thunder of countless feet.
“We're being overwhelmed!” the Devil screamed. “The lines have collapsed! We need to retreat! Call a withdrawal! We ne—arghhh!”
His words ended in a wet shriek.
The entire battalion behind him suddenly exploded into a storm of blood and gore. Limbs, weapons, and chunks of armor were hurled through the air, and when the crimson rain settled, a giant white wolf stood amidst the carnage, its enormous fangs bared and dripping fresh blood.
Then it vanished.
A heartbeat later, another screen from a completely different part of their world showed another army being torn apart in precisely the same fashion. Hundreds of soldiers shredded to ribbons, as if put through a blender, and when the blood mist cleared, the same monstrous wolf stood there once more.
Around him, the Elders stared in mute horror. Then one of them finally found his voice and screamed, “Activate the emergency teleport! Evacuate the family immediately!”
The elders immediately descended into chaos. Several of them rushed toward the room's magical arrays and began pouring their demonic power into the emergency wards. Yet, instead of activating, the intricate circles simply flickered and died, the magic shortening.
“No!” Lucrezia cried in disbelief. “We've been dimensionally locked!”
As if to accentuate their imprisonment, the skies then turned a dark and foreboding red.
A foulness seeped into the air, something revolting and deeply malicious that made Yngol's stomach churn.
“Lucifer,” someone breathed. “Look!”
Across the magical screens, every corpse and every pool of spilled blood left in their invaders’ wake suddenly stirred. Torn limbs twitched and flesh writhed.
And then the blood began to crawl.
It slithered across the ground in thick, viscous streams, flowing against gravity and pooling together in great crimson masses that pulsed like grotesque, beating hearts. Bones snapped and cracked as the dead jerked upright with impossible movements, while spilled entrails and severed limbs were greedily swallowed by the living tide of blood.
The dregs of flesh then rose.
Tentacles of gore undulating into gaunt, long-limbed things with distended jaws and clawed hands, their bodies appearing half-liquid as dark blood continuously dripped from their skin. Empty mouths split open and let out a wet, screeching howl before the newly born blood-fiends hurled themselves at the surviving soldiers in a ravenous frenzy.
One of the screens suddenly showed a woman descending from the crimson skies, clad entirely in red and wreathed in a poisonous green aura that seemed to rot the very air around her.
“Lucifer's blood…” one of the elders breathed in horror. “That's Gremory… an original Demon!”
Yngol remained where he had fallen, his legs no longer possessing the strength to carry him. Across the magical screens, his ancestral lands burned and blackened beneath demonic miasma while armies of walking corpses overran the last pockets of resistance.
They had lost.
A soft, almost demented laugh escaped his lips.
“It's over…” he whispered, his voice hollow and disbelieving. “The Leviathan family… is over.”
=======
Sylvanna Valac stood with her hands neatly folded before her, while Bennuides Phenex waited silently at her side. At the far end of the office, the Crown Prince of Wrath stood before the balcony windows with his back to them, his attention seemingly fixed upon the night beyond.
The office was dimly lit, leaving much of his figure obscured in shadow. Yet, even in stillness, he remained an oppressive presence. His aura was quiet and subdued, as it usually was, but it nevertheless weighed upon the room like a mountain, a silent reminder that the being before them could unmake them with a whim.
And yet, despite his presence infused into the very air she was breathing, her mind was racing with frenetic thoughts after the revelation he had just given the two of them. She found herself struggling to fully comprehend the sheer gravity of his proclamation. A Crown Prince had inducted one of the original Demons of the Seventy-Two Pillars into his peerage?
It was an utterly unprecedented act! One that would send shockwaves through every corner of the Empire.
Ever since Lord Sirzechs and the others had forged a new empire out of the ashes of the civil war, the surviving Demons of the Old Empire were systematically oppressed and pushed out of the political spheres, save for Old Bael. But the new Crown Princes had spent much power and acumen to ensure the old masters would have little to no say in the new empire.
Which made Lord Ichigo’s decision to bind the Demon Gremory as his Bishop all the more mindboggling.
As though summoned by her thoughts, the shadows cast by the Prince himself suddenly twitched and bent, and from their depths stepped the red-headed Gremory.
The ancient Demon gave a graceful bow to Ichigo's back and said, “It is done, my master. Every captive member of the House has been bound by the blood oath. It shall endure until the bloodline itself perishes.”
Sylvanna stared at the elder, confused by her words. Blood oath? Captured house? Did Lord Ichigo bind some lesser house with blood magic? And yet, the Crown Prince offered no response, and the silence stretched just long enough for Sylvanna and Bennuides to exchange a brief look. Unfortunately, the movement did not go unnoticed.
A single crimson brow arched, and amusement flickered across Gremory's hauntingly beautiful face as she turned and glided toward them. She stopped before Sylvanna first, her emerald eyes slowly roaming over her features.
“Ah,” the ancient Demon purred, her pale fingers coming up to gently stroke the sides of Sylvanna’s face. “Dear niece, I remember you well. Valac's most heartless child… the one who so wonderfully slaughtered her own siblings.”
The words were obvious bait, and she knew better than to engage in the cruel teasing of a Demon - she was raised by one, after all. Instead, Sylvanna merely inclined her head and offered a polite bow at the waist.
“It has been a long time, my Duke,” she replied with an even smile, gracefully stepping past the provocation. “I hope you have been well?”
Instead of answering her, the ancient Demon smiled in an unsettling way and then turned her attention toward Bennuides. And before he could react, she reached up and pinched his chin between her fingers, tilting his head this way and that as she studied him.
“But this face is unknown to me,” she mused. “Though the Phenex blood within is all too familiar.”
Without so much as a flinch, Lord Phenex calmly answered, “I am Bennuides, my Duke. Grandson and heir of your sibling Phenex.”
Gremory let out a noncommittal hum. “And what became of the previous Marquis? I did so enjoy that little firebird’s insults; she was far more amusing than her parent.”
“Mother retired from her position some seven-hundred years ago, Your Grace,” he replied evenly. “She tired of politics and decided to travel the cosmos.”
“Pity,” Gremory said with a small sigh, “I will have to find her some other time, then.”
And Sylvanna couldn’t help but think that sounded like quite a threat. But then Gremory let go of Bennuides and turned around, her red hair flowing like waves in the movement. But not two steps taken, she paused and looked over her shoulder. “And it was your son who was engaged to my Rias?”
Ah, understanding flooded Sylvanna. That’s what this was all about, young lady Gremory’s loss to Bennuides’ youngest son.
The Phenex Lord hesitated only briefly before nodding. “Yes.”
Behind the curtain of her red hair, a single emerald eye glowed and the ancient Demon said, “They should have another one of those little games, then. I would like for my Rias to have an opportunity for revenge.
“Young master Millicas has already avenged that loss,” Bennuides replied evenly yet managing to instill an iron note of paternal protectiveness.
Gremory’s smile slipped off her lips and the mask of politeness fell away, revealing the murderous irritation dancing mad in the vile creature’s eyes
“One child's battles,” she said coldly, “are not another's.”
She felt the barest flicker of magic within Bennuides’ aura, not that she could blame him. She too would be furious if a Demon of another House so artlessly tried to maneuver one of her children. But since she managed to sense the iota of rage in the Phenex’s aura, Gremory certainly did as well. And in response, the air in the office turned a deathly cold and the Demon seemed to grow several feet in height as its form flickered into red and green shadows.
“That’s enough, Gremory.”
And though it was quiet and calm, like fire, Lord Ichigo’s voice swept through the room and fell tyrannically on their shoulders. Sylvanna’s knees briefly buckled and she felt a sharp thorn of fear pierce her heart – that instinctive terror that all Devilkind felt when faced with the command of a Crown Prince of Hell.
A flash of irritation passed through Gremory’s eyes, but the perfect mask slipped back on and she turned away from the two of them. With little fanfare she crossed the room and came to stand behind the Crown Prince, then, rather shamelessly, she pressed herself against his back in an intimate fashion.
“As my master commands,” she said sweetly.
Sylvanna frowned – it was a familiar sight from eons past, back before the Great War where Gremory had come and gone from the bedchambers of the previous Crown Princes.
She had always been one of the most wily and dangerous creatures in the Underworld, a manipulator who stole and sold secrets even as she plotted and planted daggers for every back. She recalled her father having more than a few loathsome words to describe his utter disdain for his sibling… didn’t stop him from lusting after her though.
But that’s how the Demons of the Old Empire were.
Paranoid and hateful creatures, yet reckless and unchained when it came to fulfilling their passions and desires. They had little self-control and monstrous power on top of it.
And all of that just highlighted how dangerous Lord Ichigo himself was; that he bound such a creature to himself.
Lord Ichigo finally turned from the balcony, wearing the sort of patient exasperation that suggested this was far from the first time he had dealt with such behavior. And with little grace, he pushed his new Bishop away from him with a firm hand. Gremory yielded without complaint and merely stepped aside, though the faint smile lingering upon her lips suggested she was amused by his reaction… perhaps even enjoyed it.
A part of Sylvanna understood, every now and then she also had her husbands treat her roughly. What was it that the kids called it? Toxic boyfriend kink?
“Anyways,” he said casually, his gaze settling upon the two Pillar Lords. “I sent my peerage and an army to apprehend House Leviathan. Oh, and I had every surviving member placed under a Blood Oath. Gremory here magically bound them to be loyal to the Satans, so there goes one entire branch of the Old Satan Faction’s justifications for this war.”
Sylvanna blinked twice.
Wait… what?
Throughout the Empire’s history, the Satans had never been above punishing rebellious houses. Yet, most of the time, this punishment came in the form of summary execution. But to magically enchain an entire lineage and condemn even the unborn to inherit the sins of their forebears…?
Her blood ran cold – this was far more consequential than just punishing a rebellious house.
No, this went beyond merely castigating the Leviathans for their refusal to acknowledge the new Satans. It was a declaration and stark threat directed at every noble house in the Empire, a chilling reminder that the Crown Princes possessed both the strength and the authority to swallow an entire bloodline whole should they deem it necessary.
She exchanged another look with Bennuides, and the same dark understanding lit his eyes. The Satans truly were out of patience – they weren’t just purging the Empire of dissidents; they were ensuring that the generations that followed would be just as obedient.
“Oh yeah, make sure to tell the rest of the Parliament,” Ichigo said calmly. “The Satans are going to make the announcement publicly tomorrow morning that House Leviathan has surrendered and sworn allegiance, but we’re giving the Pillars a courtesy heads-up beforehand.”
Sylvanna managed to push past her shock and she quickly gathered herself and inclined her head.
The decision was a sound one. Not just that Katerea Leviathan had been apprehended, but the entire House Leviathan as well had sworn loyalty? It would spread through the Empire like wildfire and serve as a devastating propaganda blow to the rebellion. A logistical one too if Lord Ichigo managed to capture much of their supplies and resources. Alas, Sylvanna did not have access to the military insights of the Satans. There were some things even the Pillar Lords were excluded from knowing, and, despite their grumblings, no one was foolish enough to demand military intel from the Sins.
“As you command, sire,” Bennuides said with a bow.
Sylvanna mirrored him and asked, “Do you have any other commands for us, my Prince?”
“Nope, not that I can think of,” he said with a shrug. “You can both go.”
Without another word, she and Bennuides bowed in unison and vanished in twin flashes of teleportation magic.
=======
Ichigo sat crossed legged on his bed. It had been a rather eventful day, what with his return from Karakura, giving Gremory his Bishop, invading another world and capturing an entire Devil family… honestly, what had his life become?
But at this point, he knew better than to grumble about the many twists and turns that were the unpredictable life of Kurosaki Ichigo. He just had to go along with it.
Nonetheless, with Katerea and her entire family subdued, they were one step closer to ending the civil war and uniting all Devil Houses under their Empire. Because the Asmodeus and Beelzebub clans were either culled or chained, the other houses that supported them would have no choice but to surrender.
He was sure this would be the final push that lit the fire of recklessness in the Old Satan Faction. The Youth Rating Game tournament was tomorrow, and it would be heralded with the announcement that they had secured a major victory in the civil war.
But, on the subject of the tournament, his thoughts drifted to his teenage wards. He hoped that both Sona and Rias would put up a decent showing. Not just their siblings, his reputation was also on the line! And Ichigo had to admit; he had a bit of a competitive streak. Watching Sona and Rias climb high through the tournament would be like watching Pokémon he had trained clear a gym battle.
Huh… when was the last time he even touched a video game? Man, was he that busy these days? Once all this nonsense was over, Ichigo promised himself he would sit down and spend a full month doing nothing but playing video games. He’d get Kunou to sit with him too.
It was a secret between him and the little vixen, one they kept from Yasaka, but Kunou was surprisingly good in first person shooters.
But that was for much later in the future. For now, Ichigo had to pick the fruits of his many epiphanies from his visit to Karakura Town.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and with practiced ease, he dipped into his soul and touched the golden threads of immortality within. As he felt his mind open and encompass the innumerable threads of fate, he found himself both falling and soaring through the layers of reality, and it was like being surrounded by heavy water. A churning sea where the currents pressed against him from every direction and threatened to drown him.
Though the sensation only lasted a moment, and the wetness of gold slipped away, and Ichigo felt a cool and dry air touch his face, even as warmth lifted from the ground below. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and he found himself staring into an expressionless green animal mask framed by deep locks of bold and bright red hair.
Ichigo smiled warmly. “Hey there, Set.”
“Welcome back, my friend. It seems we have much to discuss.”
=======
I couldn't figure out how to fit the scene within this chapter, so I'm gonna publish it separately.
Omake:
Grayfia’s mouth parted in a small ‘O’ as she stared in shock at her once-upon-a-time young ward. While she had encouraged Ichigo to act more the part of a Dark Lord and put up certain appearances, his most recent action was rather…
“Unacceptable!” Sirzechs roared as he pointed accusatorily and jumped on the spot. “Completely, unacceptable! I shan’t allow it!”
“Sirzechs…,” she said softly, trying to soothe the emotional turmoil she could feel roiling within.
“No! I’ve had it with this brat!” Sirzechs turned to her with a wail. “First, he becomes Millicas’ favorite! Then he becomes your favorite! Then he steals Ria-tan away from me! And now this!?”
“Sirzechs, don’t be unreasonable.”
And her husband turned back around as the Demon Gremory smiled smugly.
“I’m not being unreasonable!” He yelled. “And stop standing so close to him, grandmother!”
Said grandmother only smiled wider and wound her arms around the crook of Ichigo’s elbow, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. At the very least, Grayfia was thankful that Ichigo looked mildly uncomfortable with the sudden contact. Which meant that the boy hadn’t completely lost his mind.
“Stop that! I forbid it!” Sirzechs angrily said as he continued to point at the two of them.
“Sirzechs,” and there was a touch of censure in Gremory’s voice, “I’m a grown woman, I can be with any man I wish.”
Ichigo looked at her with some protest. “Uhh, wording?”
“Absolutely not!” Sirzechs yelled back at her. “Not that one! Any man but that one! Hell, you can even hook up with Sera for all I care!”
Grayfia let out a sigh and put a hand on her forehead. While she did agree with Sirzechs on some fundamental level, at the same time…
“Sirzechs… they’re consenting adults, they can do what they want.”
Ichigo threw her an incredulous look. “Again, wording. That’s not what this is!”
“What it is, is an abomination!” Sirzechs cried. “Undo it! Undo it immediately!”
“Okay, first off, fuck off, asshat,” Ichigo said with some minor annoyance. “Secondly, why on earth would I undo it? Tell me, where else am I gonna find a Bishop of this caliber?”
Gremory seemed to preen under his words as she pressed herself closer against Ichigo and Grayfia let out another sigh.
“I don’t care! Not my problem! Just get your filthy claws off my grandmother!”
“You don’t even like her!” Ichigo shot back with incredulity. “We literally had a conversation about murdering her!”
Gremory blinked surprised. “You’ve plotted my murder?”
And Grayfia couldn’t even begin to feign amazement at how proud the Demon sounded, as if she were being told her grandson just graduated college.
“Of course I’ve plotted your murder! I’ve plotted everyone’s murder! It’s how I pass the time! But none of that is important! What is important is how much more of my family do I have to watch this uncouth, traitorous protégé of mine steal from me!” Sirzechs raged.
“Fuck you!” Ichigo retorted angrily. “Let’s set one thing straight! I never wanted to take Rias and Sona in! that was literally done as a favor to your dumbass! Also, maybe take some time out of your schedule to spend some time with Millicas so he doesn’t come running to Tiamat every other week you dogshit-tier father!”
“Gah!” Sirzechs grasped at his heart, as if Ichigo just stabbed him.
And Grayfia looked at him reproachfully. “Ichigo…”
“Oh, come on, nee-san! Remember that time he forgot to pick up Millicas from that thing you signed him up for? Souji and I had to go get him! The poor kid was standing there all by himself because all the other kids had left for home!”
“No, no I don’t remember such a thing!” And she turned an accusatory glare towards her husband.
“Now, now dear,” Sirzechs said fretfully, realizing that the tide had completely shifted against him. “It was an emergency situation! And-and I was swamped with work! I-I… it’s not important right now! We can discuss it later! But the point still stands! Ichigo, I forbid you to see my grandmother!”
Ichigo glared at him for a full second before growling out, “You know what, asshole? This is just because of how much you’re pissing me off!”
He then wrapped his arm around Gremory’s waist and spun her round. The ancient Demon looked momentarily stunned as she held on to the young man. “Oh my…”
And then, much to everyone’s shock, Ichigo kissed Gremory on the lips… and it wasn’t a chaste kiss either.
“Mmph!? … ~Mmm.”
Gremory let out a startled and muffled sound but soon enough, her arms wrapped around Ichigo’s neck, and she pulled him deeper into the kiss. Within moments, both of them were full-blown making out in front of them.
Grayfia could only watch with the corner of one of her eyes twitching, even as Sirzechs let out strange, choking noises.
When the two of them finally pulled their lips away, Ichigo was scowling as fiercely as ever and Gremory had a flushed and dazed look on her face. Their former pawn then leveled his most heated glare at her husband and growled out –
“Who’s your daddy!?”
And Grayfia could only pinch the bridge of her nose as she helplessly watched her husband faint dead to the floor.
=======
A/N: Hey! We got an early release!
The theme of this chapter is undoubtedly authority. Nearly every scene revolves around the question of power and who possesses the right to wield it. Gremory submits herself to Ichigo because he possesses the strength to command her (and she's batshit crazy). Katerea is finally broken when confronted with the reality that the true Satan can condemn her to Hell. House Leviathan is extinguished because the old authority of their inheritance is meaningless against overwhelming power. Sylvanna realizes that the Satans are capable of swallowing entire bloodlines if they so choose. Even the final scene with Set carries an undercurrent of this idea, as Ichigo is now beginning to garner wisdom that transcends mortality.
Gremory is fun to write because she's completely crazy: her prose switches to fanatical devotion, to murderous ire, to condescending teasing all in the same scene. Can't wait to write Rias' reaction too...
I don't know why, but in my head, when she's not being an demonic horror, she gives a very 1950s American hollywood vibe.