Chapter 533: Judgment.
"I see. You made the right decision, my daughter." Scathach spoke after understanding what had happened:
"Fighting a battle without information about the opponent, with your instinct telling you the opponent is dangerous... It's a good decision."
"Did you collect information from him?"
"..." Ruby sighed inwardly when she saw her mother's approval, and although her expression didn't change, she understood that she hadn't made the wrong decision.
"Yes, his powers consist of a kind of transmutation. For example, I saw him changing my ice from water to wine and turning solid gold into liquid and vice versa."
"... Hmm..."
"There is a possibility that he purposely showed his powers to us. Do you remember the magic trick?" Lacus continued.
"Yes… There's that too." Ruby nodded.
"He's unreliable. Everything about him is unreliable, so I suggest not believing anything he's shown is the absolute truth... Except for his daughter." Pepper commented.
"He sounded quite 'real' when talking about his daughter and his convictions."
"Dealing with ambiguous beings is irritating." Ruby clicked on the tongue.
"Get used to it. Most witches are like that." Scathach taught.
"I know, but it's still annoying. At least the witch always has something they want, but this devil looks like he just came here to play."
"... Or, he was the right man for the right job." Scathach spoke.
"...." The three sisters looked at their mother.
"Look around. Even though my territory had some buildings destroyed, there were no civilian casualties or someone in my family was provoked to the point of creating enmity."
"As he said himself, Diablo sent him here to buy time, and someone like him might be needed to deal with my clan."
"Someone ambiguous, with an unknown nature, and possibly…deadly." Scathach expressed her feelings. She found this situation quite familiar, and a voice in her head was saying that she had seen this situation before in the past.
'Ah, Merlin, that son of a bitch, he had the same nature as that demon.' A vein popped in Scathach's head as he remembered how irritating it was to deal with that man.
"Do you know him, mother?"
"Not Much, but his name is always involved in some demon duke related scheme. The 'Demon Merchant' is quite popular among the pillars. At least that was something I heard a long time ago, so I don't know if it will stay that way nowadays."
"Hmm..."
"Anyway, let's organize our territory. When this is over, a meeting will be started to make decisions, and because of Diablo's movement, most of our contributors didn't have time to evacuate."
"No one knew he would attack so soon."
"Actually, everyone thought he was going to attack right after the meeting was over. It was, after all, the perfect move."
"Creating a great commotion, days from such an important event that brings together the most powerful factions, no one dared to do it before, and everyone believed it would stay that way."
"We have to think that Diablos' allies are more powerful than we thought. Someone finally managed to invade Nightingale's space."
"... Indeed." Looking at her daughter Ruby for a bit and her armor, she felt her heart itch.
'...Will he give me one too?' Even though Scathach's current armor was better than Ruby's in terms of defense and status, it was, after all, created by one of the dwarves she'd met in the past and enhanced by the woman herself with Runes.
She still felt that desire for an armor of her own given by Victor.
'Haah, what love does to people.' She shook her head inwardly.
"Get that annoyed look off your face. You will have a fighting chance in the future."
"...." Ruby pouted a lot and acted very different from her usual self.
"I have a faint feeling that I've missed something and that Violet will become irritating when she finds out what happened here."
"...Now that you say that it's true..." Lacus' face darkened.
"That woman is going to become more annoying than she already is."
"..." Pepper, who was standing lost in thought, was woken up when she heard Lacus' voice.
"Pepper?"
"Fueh?"
"Do you not want to come?"
"Oh..." Pepper started walking with the sisters, but the specific thought wouldn't leave her head.
'Husband, huh...' A small smile appeared on Pepper's face, a smile very different from her innocent self.
...
While the territories were under attack.
Jeanne and Morgana were hovering in front of the three dukes of hell.
"71 Solomon's Key, Duke Dantalian."
"9 Solomon's Key, 'King' Paimon."
"And... 1 key of Solomon, 'King' Baal, the right hand of Diablos, the king of demons."
Paimon opened his mouth and began to speak:
"...Anna-."
"It's Morgana now." Morgana interrupted him.
The man growled lightly, he didn't like to be interrupted, but with just one look from Baal, he was quiet.
"Morgana, former general of Lilith... Don't you want to go back to fight for your kind?"
"...." Morgana's eyes gleamed with disdain:
"Don't you know, I'm not a demon anymore."
"Indeed, that progenitor has his claws in your neck, but... This is an easy thing to change. You just have to go through a simple procedure called..."
"Death."
"And when you are reborn, you will go back to being a demon."
"Not even Diablo has such great soul control to make me a demon again. Only a progenitor can do that."
"Who said the king would do this?" Baal's smile grew a little.
"..." Morgana opened her eyes slightly, and her eyes became dangerous.
"Lilith…"
"...."
Baal's hateful smile was all Morgana needed to know she was correct.
"Lilith would never help Diablo. She hates that being with all her soul."
"...." Baal's smile continued on his face, but slowly began to become more 'human'.
"Are you interested?"
"Nah, I'm fine as I am."
"Being with a species that needs to drink blood regularly, so they don't lose their sanity like they're drug addicts..."
"How you demoted yourself so much for an ex-general," Paimon commented in disdain.
"If the ex-general doesn't want to join... We can only take her offspring." Dantalian commented in a demonic voice. He was the only one who was in his real form.
"...." Morgana's eyes sparkled, and her wings spread.
Pressure fell around her, focusing specifically on one being… Dantalian.
FUSHHHHHHHHHHHH.
A pillar of red light with shades of dark rose to the skies, and inside that pillar, all anyone could see were the glowing red eyes of the being.
"...No one will touch my daughter, worm." A deep, demonic voice echoed around, startling all the vampires present, demons, and even Dantalian.
Fear could be felt by everyone.
Even Paimon, as a Rank 9, could still feel it.
'She wasn't an ex-general for nothing. Now I understand why the king wants her.' He swallowed hard.
Baal just stared at this with his usual smile, but a calculating glint could be seen in his eyes.
'...She got stronger than when she was a former general, did being a vampire make her stronger? Was the information incorrect? She must have woken up from her coma recently, and her strength must not have been so great.'
...
In the king's castle.
"That pillar..." Adam swallowed.
"Mother..." Elizabeth and Lilith spoke at the same time.
"Was S-She that strong?" Saulo spoke, stuttering a little.
"..." Lilith and Elizabeth just fell silent as a memory popped into their heads.
It was in the time when the two were in Clan Adrastea territory.
Elizabeth had questioned her mother:
"Mother, why are you following that hateful man around?"
"..." Lilith looked at her mother with a curious look as well.
Morgana just flashed a seductive smile typical of a succubus, but an emotion could be felt behind that smile.
Gratitude.
"He gave me back what was most precious to me. Of course, I'll pester him a bit, fufufu~." Morgana's demonic seductive glow seemed to explode around her, and the girls, even though it was her daughter, twitched their legs a little.
And they could clearly feel an emotion in those red eyes.
Obsession.
"Ara, I'm sorry." Soon all that seductive atmosphere disappeared, and everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
"HmmHmm~." Looking at their controlling mother with a smile on her face as her succubus tail swung around and around.
The two daughters just asked what in the seven hells did that man do to her mother to act like that?
"...." Elizabeth's face turned a little red, and her mind went straight to the gutter.
'Idiot! Womanizing! Playboy! Gigolo! Why is he going after women who already have daughters! He already has so many wives!'
Lilith had a more neutral reaction, unlike Elizabeth, she had known her mother the longest, so she had doubts about what Victor 'gave' back to her mother.
...
'So that's what she meant...' The two thought at the same time.
"Let's evacuate. Things are starting to get dangerous." Lucas spoke as the eldest.
"To the shelter?" Adam asked.
"Yes." Lucas just nodded.
...
Back to the group.
The pillar around Morgana began to disappear, and soon she appeared again. Her long black hair grew to her feet, the strands of her hair seemed stronger as if it were a sharp blade, and those same hairs began to float around as if defying gravity.
His wings had taken on a darker hue, her milky white skin had changed to a deep red color, her red eyes had turned golden, two spikes sprouted from her forearm, and her hands had transformed into two demon claws.
Her entire arm and legs grew an extra 'skin' as if it were thick natural armor, and this skin also covered her breast area, which seemed to grow a little more along with her height. The groin area was also covered.
This was no longer a vampire, but...
A demon... A succubus, to be exact.
Appearance may have changed a bit compared to the past, but this woman in front of the three dukes definitely was.
The woman who was called The Reaper.
'She's saving her strength, huh... This is just the first way.' Jeanne commented aside as she remained silent. She was doing her best for the demons to ignore her existence.
'Get more attention, Morgana, it's your specialty... With that, I can kill at least one.'
"Even if you are no longer a demon, that 1% in your soul even influences your transformation from a vampire count."
"The soul is a mysterious thing, isn't it?"
"Enough of talk. You're not welcome in this place, demon."
"Funny... That was the same thing my wife said when she first met me, and now look how she is... submissive-."
Baal's eyes grew a little when he saw the woman appearing in front of him and slashing at his face with her claw.
BOOOOOOOM!
Baal flew away and crashed into several buildings in the distance.
Morgana's hair began to act on its own, a red glow began to cover her hair, and a 'strange' smell spread around her.
"Fuck, that smell—."
Morgana kicks Paimon in the face towards Jeanne, Jeanne and Morgana's eyes meet for a moment, and the next moment, Jeanne's smile grows.
"You are mine." Jeanne grabbed Paimon by the neck, and a crunching sound was heard.
"Cough." The demon coughed up dark red blood.
"Jeanne D'Arc, Saint of Orleans…" The demon's eyes gleamed with a hint of anger.
"...." Jeanne's smile grew, and her sharp teeth appeared:
"Looks like you know me, Demon, and I know why." Jeanne squeezed her arms even tighter.
"Don't hide behind that shell, Crow." Jeanne's eyes gleamed slightly, and as if reality had changed, Paimon began to change.
Soon a man with an effeminate face with a crown on his head was seen. He had two long utterly black wings.
"How did you get so strong!? Let go of me!" A dark glow began to come out of his body, and spears of darkness were created.
Jeanne looked at the spears of darkness, and her smile grew.
"By the power of love, crow. Something you forgot." She threw the demon towards the spear of darkness.
"Cough." The demon was pierced by its own power.
"Let's cleanse your miserable existence from this world." Jeanne appeared in front of Paimon.
Paimon's eyes narrowed, and he yelled:
"Stay away!"
Jeanne covered her face, and she was thrown away.
And a red magic circle of Clan Paimon began to appear all over the city.
"I, Paimon, summon the King Bebal twins, Abalam!"
"Tsk." Jeanne clicks her tongue as she looks at the two gigantic demons coming out of the magic circle.
And suddenly, an explosion was heard.
Jeanne turned in the direction of the explosion, and she saw the entire capital in flames, and then Baal appeared, and with them were demons of all kinds and shapes.
Baal's face had a hideous cut that had already begun to heal, his face was neutral, and soon his voice was heard throughout the capital.
"Demons, follow the king's orders. You know what to do."
ROOOOOOOOOAR!
Jeanne looked at the guards who were fighting the lesser demons:
"Royal Guards, take care of the demons that just appeared, don't let your guard down. They are from Baal's legion."
"Yes!" A united scream was heard.
Jeanne looked at the leader of the royal guard and said, "Permission granted to release the transformation if deemed necessary."
The commander nods and starts ordering around.
"We will cause more chaos." Paimon's smile grew.
"..." Jeanne looked at Paimon with a neutral gaze. The man was surrounded by two twin demons over 4 meters tall, the only difference being their color. of skin, one was blood red, and the other was shades of gray with darkness.
"Paimon's Legions..." New magic circles began to appear around the Nightingale capital, and Jeanne didn't like that at all.
"Tsk, I have no choice, even though I hate to use this man's power."
Jeanne's eyes began to glow gold, along with her hair.
Even if she had abandoned God and changed her race, God still hadn't abandoned her.
"Here… I, Jeanne D'Arc, proclaim…" Jeanne bites her lip a little and ignores the pain caused in her body.
"A judgment… The heavenly father will judge sinners!"
'Wha-... Can she use this? Even after becoming a vampire?' Baal looked in shock.
The skies began to glow, and a golden light began to fall on Jeanne's body.
[You've finally come back, Jeanne.] She heard a gentle voice of a man..
'I didn't come back. I'm just using this power to neutralize these demons!'
[...Haah, they never learned, causing so much chaos just because of past grudges, so much suffering...]
'Do you even care!?'
[Of course… I always cared… But some things shouldn't be interrupted. Free will was given over for that reason.]
'I-...' Jeanne was going to say something, but she was interrupted by the voice.
[I will allow it, use my blessing, but your current body is incompatible with this element, do not abuse it, or your existence will be erased.]
The conversation seemed to have taken a long time, but in reality, not a second had passed.
"…A vampire using that man's damn power!? How!?" Paimon bit her lip angrily.
[Now, proclaim my judgment.]
Memories began to pop into Jeanne's head.
Golden wings appeared behind Jeanne and expanded.
[Michael will let you borrow his sword.]
A golden sword materialized in her hand, and she pointed at the sky.
With an ethereal voice that sounded like an angel's, the neutral, cold tone was heard by all:
"Judgment of Israel!"
FUSHHHHHHHHHH.
Golden fire rose to the sky, and it exploded like fireworks spreading across the capital.
Soon a large circle of golden fire was created, and at this very moment, all the magic circles that Paimon created were destroyed, along with the miasma that was coming out of the demons' bodies.
All the demons and vampires felt their body strength being reduced.
"No evil will be summoned to this place again."
"Annoying bitch!"
But those who felt the effects most severely were the demons. Paimon could feel his strength being reduced because of those irritating flames around the territory.
"Bebal, Abalam, kill that bitch! Burn that man's servant with hellfire!"
The golden power of Jeanne's body began to undo. She coughed up blood a little but just rubbed her face and looked straight ahead with determined eyes.
'I didn't suffer as much internal damage as I expected, I can still move around, and the wounds are being regenerated albeit slowly… Is it because of my brother?'
[10 minutes is all you have, after that, the protection started falling apart.]
"10 minutes is enough." Jeanne clenched her fists, and her eyes glowed blood red.
She vanished, appeared in front of the Demon's face, and punched his face.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
'This ridiculous strength increase is not normal,' Baal thought.
Ignoring everything going on around her, Morgana's eyes were on Datanlian.
"Tell me." Morgana's eyes began to glow slightly. Can you discern the dream from reality?"
Dantalian's eyes widened as he saw Morgana's body begin to warp.
And a gigantic monster was seen, with sharp teeth and a body composed of thousands of eyes was seen.
...
