Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Devil Maid (4)
When Grayfia opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. One thing was certain: she was lying on some sort of couch, and the sound of multiple fans reminded her of the computers in Ajuka's lab.
Had she been moved to some kind of lab?
She tried to move but was immediately assaulted by a sharp pain in her head.
"You're finally awake! I hope I didn't hit you too hard!" The familiar voice of Serafall reached her ears. Grayfia quickly pushed through the pain and looked around.
She saw the black-haired Satan, Leviathan, sitting not far from her on another couch.
"You!" Grayfia snapped, her red eyes nearly glowing. "You knocked me out! What is the meaning of this!?"
"Because you can't tell anyone what you find here. There's a reason why I'm hiding my movements," Serafall said with a sigh.
"Who could possibly need such secrecy!? Even from Lucifer himself!?" The silver-haired maid wasn't buying it.
"Because my allegiance, just like yours, has changed," the black-haired devil said sharply.
"What!? What are you talking about!?"
"Just check yourself and tell me what you feel," Leviathan said calmly.
Grayfia quickly inspected herself and felt something… had happened to her very being. It was as if she had been rearranged at a spiritual level!
"What… is this!?"
"Ars Goetia."
"…"
"…Impossible! Solomon is dead! His heirs are dead, and his magic is lost to time!" The silver-haired devil lady screamed, shaking her head in disbelief. She was in denial, but deep down, she could tell this was what had happened to her.
How had a simple, absurd mission led to her being at the mercy of the Devil race's boogeyman?
"Well, Solomon is indeed dead, and he had no heirs, but his magic is very much alive," a male voice suddenly spoke from behind.
In that moment, Grayfia knew it was her master. It was a gut feeling, a strong instinct. Her senses screamed at her to serve him, and she couldn't shake it.
"Y-You're the successor to that man's magic?" Grayfia turned around, now no longer seeing him as just a mere human. No, that perception evaporated the moment she realized he had inherited that man's diabolical magic.
"Not just succeeded in his magic, but improved it considerably. To the point where I can enslave extra-house members like you," he said with a simple shrug.
"…I see…"
"Indeed. You'll be working for me now as well. But don't worry. Serafall does an admirable job of keeping me company. You can return to your usual duties as Lucifer's Queen," he said plainly.
"I see… you want me to spy on my King?" she asked with a dull look, as though resigning to her fate.
"I have no interest in regular affairs. I'm an inventor. I'd prefer if you were Ajuka's Queen, but beggars can't be choosers. So, I'll stick with Lucifer's Queen instead," he explained simply and shrugged again, showing he truly didn't care.
"That's the best part, Grayfia. He's better at inventing than Ajuka!" Serafall found the perfect moment to brag about her man.
Grayfia followed the black-haired devil's gaze and saw something straight out of a sci-fi movie she had watched with Rias a few times as her babysitter—a holographic display showing magical circles and pieces that looked like a… gun of some sort.
"Master is designing something that could be considered a high-level Sacred Gear!"
Serafall's words were like thunder in clear skies. That moment, Grayfia remembered that Solomon had been the Biblical God's true disciple—at least to some extent—and he had inherited the secrets of the Sacred Gears, along with the ten rings!
Grayfia placed a hand over her mouth, trying to process what this could mean for the Devil race.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Serafall said proudly. "I saw this weapon evolve from nothing more than a mere metal construct. When it's finished, even a regular person will be able to easily kill a High-Class Devil without any issues!"
By this point, Grayfia realized that Leviathan had completely, fully switched sides to support the second Solomon.
"Do you even realize what this means for our race?" Grayfia asked, her voice trembling with urgency. "We were this close to being enslaved by a human 3,000 years ago!" She motioned with her fingers to demonstrate just how close they had come to their downfall. The only reason they had escaped was that Solomon had grown old—nothing more. If not for his natural human limitations, nothing could have stopped him. Meanwhile, the Biblical God had simply sat back and watched as Lucifer was consistently defeated by a mere human.
"And who said we're getting enslaved by him now?" Serafall raised an eyebrow at Grayfia. After all, she had observed Marcus for years, and there was no indication that he intended to enslave the Devil race.
"…Well… you were enslaved?" Grayfia reasoned, still processing everything.
"Right… so, you two can discuss my 'invasion' of the Devil race while I return to my work. I love conspiracy theories, but I prefer the technological ones. I usually try them out for fun, but a possible invasion? That's a topic for nerds obsessed with military stuff," Marcus said, shaking his head as he turned around and walked back to his PC.
"As I was saying… I was enslaved because he wanted an expert in water manipulation," Serafall clarified, her voice tinged with a hint of embarrassment. "And because I was a Satan…" She looked at Grayfia, who blushed bright red, utterly mortified. The unnatural fear she had for Solomon, which she never thought she would experience, had manifested the moment she realized the boogeyman of the Devil race was real.
"And now I'm his pet, slave, or whatever you want to call it," Serafall added, acknowledging her new role with surprising calmness. She felt the overwhelming urge to serve him, undoubtedly a result of the binding magic Marcus had used on her.
"I see… so he has no interest in invading the Underworld and enslaving our people?" The Queen of Lucifer asked, relieved.
"Most likely not. As long as our people don't provoke him to the point where he has to act, there's no reason to fear him," Serafall explained.
"Easier said than done! Serafall! He enslaved both me and you! There will be war if our people find out about this!" Grayfia sighed in frustration.
"That's why I approve of his secrecy! But you just had to stumble upon my location like that!" Leviathan pouted angrily.
"I had a mission from my King! Now that you've reminded me, how do you do it!?" Grayfia asked, her tone filled with annoyance. Here she was, a slave to the second Solomon because of some silly paperwork.
"Do what?"
"Don't play games with me. How do you do your paperwork so fast?" Grayfia asked, her voice tinged with exhaustion.
"Oh, that! Marcus invented an electronic device to handle it! Now I can spend almost all my day with him!" The black-haired devil said happily. The threat of paperwork, the thing that used to drive her insane, was now completely subdued.
"I see… I still need to report this information to my King." The strongest Queen sighed, massaging her temples. How was she going to explain this?
"Indeed, we've prepared the information for you if you're out of commission," Serafall said, handing her a piece of paper with the necessary details.
Grayfia read through it a couple of times before freezing it with her magic and turning it into dust.
"Are you sure this is wise? If Sirzechs learns about the genius of… our… Master…" The Queen of Lucifer grimaced, "then the rest will also learn, and the connection between us and him will be made…"
"Our master won't be hiding forever. Once he builds up his power, he won't need to stay in the shadows anymore," Serafall explained plainly.
"And that's what I'm afraid of… what comes after that?"
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