The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 63: Consequences

"Did you hear the news, Governor?" An older-looking man with a thick gray beard asked. The man was tall, with a hard-set face and squinted eyes that looked like they were constantly closed.

"Nope," Was the lazy response he got, the voice belonging to a shorter man who was reclining back in a chair with his feet resting on a table, "But it's pretty important if you're calling 'Governor,' eh, Baraqiel?"

The second, much lazier, man was known as Azazel, the Governor of the Grigori, and the man considered the leader of all Fallen Angels.

Azazel looked a fair bit younger than Baraqiel, though one's appearance usually didn't match their true age amongst ancient races, with a mixture of blonde and black hair, a muscular physique, and a somewhat handsome face.

"The devils have made an alliance," Baraqiel continued, "An alliance with the Beast King."

"Good for them," Azazel just shrugged, not even turning to look at Baraqiel as he continued to watch a television lazily.

"This isn't some casual matter," Baraqiel huffed at his longtime friend and boss's attitude. "The ceasefire between us, the devils, and heaven is very fragile. You know as well as I do that anything could cause it to break."

"Oh, sure," Azazel just nodded distractedly, "But who negotiated the alliance?"

"If you already knew about this, then you should've just said so and not wasted my time." Baraqiel grunted, as it became evident that Azazel already knew about the alliance despite his earlier words, "The Maou made it official yesterday, and our spies have already picked up on infighting within devil cities. The pillars aren't happy with the decision."

"What the pillars want doesn't matter," Azazel just waved his hand dismissively. "If the Maou officiated the alliance, then that means Ajuka Beelzebub wants this."

"Which is all the more concerning, is it not?" Baraqiel raised an eyebrow at Azazel's continued uncaring attitude, "I know you've been keeping an eye on him. He has the Dragon King Tiamat as his familiar, which means he was strong enough to subdue her. He's a very strong ally for the devils to have, and one that tips the balance of power in their favor."

"One that could tip the balance of power in their favor," Azazel corrected, "If their alliance was united, that is. Sirzechs Lucifer, Ajuka Beelzebub, Dragon King Tiamat, the Beast King, and the combined armies of both factions. If those forces were to truly unite, even allying with heaven wouldn't be enough to stop them."

"Something heaven would never do," Baraqiel nodded at his words, "We would need to ally with Asgard, heaven, the Youkai, and even a divine pantheon to hold them off, which is why this is urgent, Azazel!"

"No, it's not," Azazel just shook his head again, "I told you, that's if they're united."

"They made an alliance," Baraqiel replied bluntly.

"An alliance in name, not in reality," Azazel said simply, "It's quite easy to see what kind of man the Beast King is. He wants soldiers, he wants land, he wants power. And, he's not the type of person to consider anyone else an equal, much less bend to someone else's will."

"So..." Baraqiel just looked at him curiously, so Azazel continued.

"The devils are too greedy, prideful, and their egos are too big," Azazel explained easily, "The Maou are willing to humble themselves to get what they want, but the noble clans aren't. You already said it - they're upset with the decision, and they've made that displeasure known, even though it's only been a day. They hold the real power amongst the devils, and they won't let the Beast King have any real power in the alliance - they'll do everything they can to hold power over him."

"Then, the alliance will crumble quickly," Baraqiel made the assumption.

"No," Azazel surprised Baraqiel by shaking his head lightly, "If the alliance crumbles, then the war will restart, and there will be no hostages this time. The Beast King will be enraged, and nothing will stop them from going at each other's throats. It'll be a bloodbath."

"Which is perfect for us," Baraqiel deduced, and Azazel grinned.

"It would be. It would be a bloodbath where the factions vulturing on the outside are the ones who gain the most. One of our strongest enemies would lose a lot of power, and..." Azazel's grin took a slightly greedy look as he leaned forward in his chair, pulling his legs off the table, "I'd be able to swoop up the remains of Ajuka's inventions! If I could reproduce his Evil Piece system, it would be great! But, either way, we would be able to bolster our numbers. Our faction is open to taking in stragglers because our race struggles to regrow our numbers, and there would be a lot of stragglers left from the battle."

"You keep saying 'would,'" Baraqiel picked up, and Azazel's grin faltered.

"I am. If I know that would happen, then so does Ajuka," Azazel sighed, leaning back in his chair again. "He wouldn't make the alliance in the first place if he wasn't confident he could manage it. It'll be a political war between the Maou, the Beast King, and the pillar clans - or, more specifically, Zekram Bael. If the Bael Elder wins, then the best scenario, being the alliance crumbling, will come to fruition."

"But, if the other two win..." Baraqiel raised an eyebrow at him.

"If Ajuka wins, then we're another step closer to peace," Azazel said bluntly, "The Maou value peace as much as I do. They'll use their position of power to hold peace conferences."

"And, if the Beast King wins?" Baraqiel asked. Azazel just chuckled lightly at his words, shaking his head dismissively.

"We're all fucked."

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"Katerea," A sharp tone rang out into the small meeting room, which belonged to a somewhat handsome man with long chestnut hair, a muscular physique, and who was wearing a thick set of armor with two fluffy shoulder pads.

"Shalba," Katerea's disinterested tone answered, looking over at the form of Shalba Beelzebub, "What is it?"

The duo were in Katerea's estate at the moment, which had been a frequent meeting place for the two satan descendants since Katerea's return. Usually, said meetings were formed from Shalba barging in without warning.

"Don't have that tone with me," Shalba hissed, his eyes hard as he stared down the woman sitting in her chair, "You said the Beast King shared our goals! That he could be an ally!"

"He does, and he would be a perfect ally," Katerea answered, not cowering under his harsh gaze.

"Then why was there an official announcement from Ajuka Beelzebub," Shalba practically growled, his power starting to leak out around him in his anger, "That the Beast King made an alliance with those fake bastards?!"

In all honesty, Katerea had no idea, but she wasn't just going to say that.

"That man is far smarter than you'll ever be, Shalba," Katerea spat out his name in annoyance. "It's obviously a trick. He's going to take them down from the inside."

"Are you sure about that?" Shalba shot back, his tone just as annoyed, "You're letting your feelings cloud your vision, Katerea! You slept with that bastard to save your life, and now your-"

"You're very lucky, Shalba," Katerea shot up from her chair, interrupting him mid-sentence, "I'll remind you that I am the descendant of the Leviathan! You being the descendant of Beelzebub is the only reason I'm letting that slide! Speak to me like that again, and we'll see whose family truly deserves to rule the Underworld!"

Her own power flared out as she spoke, glowing around her in an orange aura. For a moment, both of the descendants didn't back down, glaring at each other as they barely restrained their rage.

Then, finally, Shalba sighed and took a step back, "I just hope you haven't lost sight of our goal, Katerea."

"And I'm assuring you that I haven't, Shalba," Katerea nodded, her face set in stone. "Those fakes will pay for taking what is rightfully ours, and the Beast King will be the one to help us get there. Trust me, he despises those devils nearly as much as we do."

Shalba just stared back at her, his face not breaking, but then he finally nodded with a sigh.

"I'll trust you for now, Katerea," He spun around, his cape flaring dramatically as he walked out of the room, "But, if I think you've truly sold yourself to our enemy..."

He stepped out of the room, his words being muffled to Katerea's ears.

"I'll have to inform Ophis."

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Footsteps echoed throughout a grand hall, which was fit with deep obsidian pillars, skulls hanging on walls, and a blood-red light that seemed to flick in and out of existence.

"Why are you here, God of War?" A raspy, echoey voice that sounded as if numerous people were speaking at once resounded through the hall, belonging to a figure sitting on a throne.

"Do you have a problem with me paying you a visit, God of the Dead?" A masculine, deep voice chuckled back, and the source of the footsteps stepped into the flickering light.

The man was surprisingly normal looking, as he had a muscular physique similar to a bodybuilder, along with a plain yet handsome face. He was tanned, with short brown hair, sunglasses, and necklace of large beads around his neck.

Along with his Hawaiian shirt that exposed part of his muscular chest, the God of War, Indra, could've easily passed for a human.

The other man in the room, who sat upon a throne of long and sharp bones, was the exact opposite. The thick skeleton towered in his throne, being roughly ten feet tall and just as thick. His body was gone - or, more specifically, his flesh was.

He was made entirely of bone, with two glowing orbs in his skeletal sockets. He was dressed very extravagantly, with a long, robe-like armor covering his whole body with thick shoulder pads and a tall headdress sitting on his bare skull. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

While the God of War, Indra, could pass as a human, the God of the Dead, Hades, most certainly could not.

"If you were anyone else, your visit would become permanent," Hades said dryly, his blue-lights of eyes boring into Indra.

"Don't sound so serious, Hades," Indra just chuckled, not an ounce of worry in him despite Hades' threatening words. Both of the gods knew who would win if a fight were to break out.

Even being deep inside the Realm of the Dead, a place that even gods and faction leaders wouldn't dare to enter carelessly, Indra was as carefree as ever.

"Why are you here?" Hades repeated again, and Indra just smirked lightly.

"Did you hear about the new kid in the Underworld? The one who calls himself the 'Beast King?'" Indra asked curiously.

"Of course I have!" Hades just growled back, clearly unhappy about Indra casually walking into his domain, "The whole world has heard of him at this point!"

"He's quite entertaining, right?" Indra continued, ignoring Hades' tone as he grinned, "I was quite interested to see how his war with the devils would turn out."

"Well, you'll be disappointed," Hades' boney mouth curved up into a light smirk, happy to get a small win over the more powerful god. "They recently made an alliance. Looks like you'll be bored again."

"Yup, it's such a shame," Indra nodded casually, and his grin grew even wider, "But you shouldn't sound so happy about that, Hades. You know how I get when I'm bored..."

Hades stiffened, if that was even possible for a skeleton, at Indra's words, "Why are you telling me this?"

Indra's mischief was well known, as in the words of the God of War himself, 'it is a god's duty to sit in the shadows and cause havoc.'

When Indra grew bored, world-shaking events tended to start popping up.

"It should be obvious. I want some entertainment," Indra grinned widely, his smile becoming unnaturally wide in a way that didn't fit his human face, "So, God of the Dead..."

"Go make me some entertainment."

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next Chapter will be out tomorrow!

You can also read 7 Chapters ahead on Patreon.com/Koyon !