constantly filling her mind as she considered all the preparation occurring in the Sitri household as of late before she suddenly beamed.

"Sona? Is there something you need?" He asked carefully.

"Well, maybe," she said mysteriously before uncrossing her arms. "The Young Devil's Gathering had just begun but I left momentarily to take a small breather. Rias probably did the same, but she seemed to be distressed over the fact that Issei and Koneko don't seem to be taking this event too well."

"Oh?" He asked curiously.

Sona shrugged.

"Issei doesn't get along very well with Diodora of the Astaroth family and left after Koneko who asked Rias to be excused for personal reasons."

The way Sona was looking at him hadn't changed, but his interest in the matter kept him from instantly leaving.

"Did they not return yet?" He asked.

Sona shook her head. "To be honest, Rias half suspects that Issei may have stared too long at the boobs of another high-standing Heiress and offended her. Dragging Koneko to help mediate."

His mouth twitched recalling Issei's personality.

The possibility Sona had mentioned wasn't impossible. He quickly decided to stay out of it as it wasn't related to him. Instead, what mattered now was that Sona had taken the time to walk right up to him, wrapping her arms around his and pressing up to him with her bosom.

He stiffened immediately.

"W-What are you doing?" He stuttered out.

Sona smiled at him like a sister would when teasing an elder brother.

"I have a request," she said, pulling his head down to whisper into his ear.

The more he heard, the more exasperated the way he looked at her became until he stood with his mouth hanging open, Sona drawing circles on his chest while laughing lightly.

"Think of my request as my sister's dowry," she said, viewing him as not Marbas or Shirou, but as a member of her family she could cozy up to.

Alarm bells were ringing in his head when he heard Sona say 'dowry,' but for the time being, he was too dumbfounded to analyse her words.

"Aren't you being too shameless here?" he said.

She laughed into her hands, revealing a side to her that he had never seen before. Cute, yet elegant. Quiet, yet outgoing. Perhaps this was how Sona really was without the burdens of running Kuoh Academy as its student president weighing down on her shoulders.

"Well, we're going to be a family, aren't we?" She winked at him before leaving. "By the way, what mess did you get into this time?"

"Huh?"

For a moment, he didn't understand what Sona meant, but it became clear to him when he felt the presence at his back, along with multiple others.

He turned around, mouth twitching when he noticed Adelina kneeling towards him in respect, behind her a crowd of gawking Devils.

She'd caught up.

The thought entered his mind before he sighed. Like he had expected with her personality, she had immediately placed herself in a position beneath him.

"W-What did he do to our idol?" A woman in the crowd of Devils muttered out in a daze.

Similar words of outrage echoed within the large hall he was currently in, but in the end, he ignored it after seeing the moisture forming in Adelina's eyes.

How long had she waited for this moment? Sirzechs prevented her from staying by his side in the Human World before, but now that he was in the Underworld, she had no more obligations to fulfill but one.

"Lord Marbas," she uttered in a voice that only he could hear, the meaning and sentiment of waiting for numerous years contained within her words. "Little Adelina has grown up."

The child he had saved in the Civil War.

She who grew up to become strong while holding onto a memory of a time long since passed.

In his presence, all he saw was the image of that very girl staring up at him while panting from exertion after her training. Waiting for praise.

How did I do, Lord Marbas?

Almost subconsciously, his hand stretched out, tousling her hair in the same way he had done once before.

"You did well, Adelina."

She swallowed audibly, forcibly holding back the tears that wished to flow. That was right, she wasn't little Adelina anymore, but Adelina. She who swore to be his sword.

Lost in the moment, it wasn't until the crowd of young Devils began kicking up a commotion that he realized just what kind of picture he was painting from their perspective. Their idol and love interest under the hands of he who wasn't even in the form of Marbas.

"C-Calm down," he attempted to say, but by now it was too late, especially when Adelina subconsciously nuzzled her face into his hand.

He froze, along with everyone else.

A second passed, and then two, and it was if a riot had suddenly broken out.

"This Bastard! Who does he think he is, Lord Marbas?!"

A young Devil with a long braid yelled in her fury. Other shouts followed, growing louder and louder by the second. Adelina? She didn't even care.

In his case however, he truly felt wronged as everything escalated. It even caused the guards who were standing outside the perimeter to make their way over, one of which even included a Dragon.

His brow twitched with a growing doubt as if a black cat had played a trick on him.

No, he refused to accept that Kuroka was actually right about him.

But..his gaze lowered helplessly.

The situation spoke otherwise.

Adelina wasn't the only one who felt like crying.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With the events concerning the Gods of the other pantheons, Sirzechs was not able to return to his home until late in the evening which in the Underworld slightly differed from earth. For instance, no moon existed, only an artificial light supplied by magic that lit the way during the cold nights.

However, it wasn't the chilling wind that caused a shiver to travel down his back, but a bad premonition.

His pace subconsciously began to increase. Something was wrong, and his gut was warning him.

Did it have something to do with the duel he started with the Egyptians? Or was it the workings of the other Gods? After all, he couldn't say for certain that he had intimidated all of them. Some who were bold enough could still act regardless of his show of strength.

The Tracing ability Shirou had just revealed to him hours ago was still fresh in his mind and it wasn't hard to imagine what lengths other Gods would go to secure Shirou on speculation alone.

The ability of Tracing was simply too valuable after its use was explained.

If God was the Ruler of Heaven, and Marbas the Ruler of the Underworld, then Shirou the Human, was a walking armoury.

The combination of the three was too staggering to even think about. He was just thankful that such a figure was on the Bible Faction's side as its leader. There weren't many Gods willing to face the One God, let alone the Demon Marbas and a cheat-like ability.

It was knowing this that Sirzechs ruled out the possibility of his premonition having anything to do with Shirou. Therefore, what was it?

The answer continued to elude him on his way back to the Gremory manor, but ultimately arrived later in the night.

The path to the Gremory manor involved walking through its large front garden filled with orchids and trimmed conifers. His mother and father often enjoyed viewing them in the morning while eating their breakfast, but tonight, in the place where his mother and father would generally dine, was an uninvited guest.

The man was cleanly dressed, a high-collared white robe covering the majority of his body while the light from the artificial moon above reflected off his earrings and jeweled head-piece.

"Care to sit?" The man prompted, gesturing towards an empty seat.

Sirzechs didn't respond, sizing up the man and frowning from the power he could sense. The man was certainly not weak.

The man shrugged at his silence.

"Well it doesn't matter to me either way," the man said nonchalantly, however, Sirzechs had already had enough.

"Who are you?" He asked abruptly. He'd been feeling something off all night, and the man's presence was only making the feeling worse.

"A common Trickster," the man's lips curled upwards before leaning back on the chair he was siting on.

Sirzechs wasn't amused with the improper response, but he could let it go in favour of something more important.

"What purpose do you have in waiting for me here?" He pressed.

The way the man was smiling at him gradually shifted into a more serious expression, the lightness of his tone hardening.

"Nothing important really," the man gestured with his hand. "Just a warning is all."

"And that would be?"

A light flashed over the man's face, possessing a decisiveness that momentarily surprised Sirzechs with its intensity.

"This Alliance you're planning, leave the Norse out."

With the man's words, the way Sirzechs was scrutinizing the man heightened. The Norse? The last time he had heard of them, they were adamant in their decision to remain where they were in the Nine Realms. Yet more than that, he had already felt the intentions of Odin, the All Father, to form an Alliance. This was the reason that even though the Norse didn't show up to the initial meetings occurring presently, he wasn't worried with their participation. Having an ally like Thor for example was grounds for celebration as Thor could be ranked within the World's strongest.

"I don't believe that's your call to make," he eventually said after some consideration, taking note of the murderous aura that the man subsequently quelled as a result.

A tense silence stretched on between the two before the magical transmitting device he had set on off during the meeting between the Gods suddenly activated. His brows furrowed, not understanding why something he had left off would turn on at this moment.

"I believe you might want to pick that up," the man said knowingly. "I saw something rather interesting on my way here."

The premonition he had been feeling since the start of the night returned to him like a bolt of lightning as his hand tapped over the magic circle to accept the call of whoever was contacting him.

And it was then that he stilled dangerously.

"H-Help," a voice came out weak, pleading, and one he knew all too well.

"R-Rias?" He said in a panic, ignoring the grin steadily forming over the man's face.

The voice on the other end remained quiet for a few seconds as the sound of panting transmitted its way through.

"Y-You finally picked up," the helplessness in Rias's tone stabbed into Sirzechs more than he'd like to admit. No matter how much he denied the fact that he heavily doted on his sister, the fact was true.

"What's happening, I'll make my way there immediately!"

"It's alright. Its already over," Rias said in between breaths.

Just knowing that Rias was alright was enough to help calm him down, but he was far from composed. Around him, his energy was already beginning to stir. Tendrils of his aura erasing all that came into contact.

It was his will power alone that allowed him to continue with the conversation.

"Then what's wrong?" He pressed for an answer. One that eventually came in a choked voice alongside a frustrated shout in the background that he recognized as Issei's.

"K-Koneko's been taken."

Following Rias's admission, the line abruptly cut.

The magic formation shattered in Sirzechs hands as he clenched them.

"It seems your younger sister has met with misfortune," the man said nonchalantly.

It was the wrong response.

Before the man even registered it, his face was being pressed into the ground. "Y-You-"

"Shut up." Sirzechs tone was menacing. "Tell me all you know of this incident or Die."

Struggling as the man was, it did him no good as his aura itself gradually deteriorated under Sirzechs hand. The man eventually ceased struggling, admonishing himself for being caught unprepared. This was why he preferred staying in the sidelines for the value of not being seen.

"Nothing, this has nothing to do with me," the man muttered out in displeasure. "But if you agree to my proposal, this God can help."

The man shifted his eyes up to meet Sirzechs's fiery gaze.

"So, how about it?"