Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 64: Press Conference.

- Shin -

I teleported with Diablo, Ajuka and Merlin towards the main systems of the Devil Broadcast Stations. Ajuka is kind of a moderator and he knows what to do to shut the systems down. In the meanwhile, we three will take out any and all spies and servants of the other pillar houses in the place through any means necessary.

Diablo had arranged a very great method for this.

He had completely broken and trained several spies with his Unique Skill: Tempter.

He then went on to use the artifact I had made for him with the Ope Ope no Mi and used the Personality Transplant Surgery to cut out their hearts and store it with himself.

Their bodies were preserved in a state of suspended animation and in a safe place.

And just like that, we had everything we needed for our plan.

We exchanged a look and Merlin cast a Perfect Cube over the area, locking everyone inside.I spread my Observation Haki and bound everyone with Shadow Stitching and Diablo spread his Room over the area and in less than 3 seconds, the entire building of one of the most secure places of the Underworld was broken and infiltrated as Diablo… exchanged the personalities of the ones inside the building with the ones of his spies.

Personality Transplant Surgery is an extremely difficult Skill but the one who was given the artifact was Diablo so the fact that he learned it is not a big surprise.

They will be changed back at a later time after they are completely subverted to our side by Diablo.

Diehauser and his peerage members were given several Gaia Foundations as they raided the places on our list. TV Stations being the main targets.

Ajuka was done with his part very fast and decided to take care of some of his own businesses, like raiding some of the places which contained some incriminating evidence regarding the Pillar Houses while I headed to our next destination with my two peerage members.

Under Ajuka's plan, we were going to plant some evidence in the houses of some more troublesome ones and see them drown when this is assessed.

The job was easy as the main force of the Underworld was either at the wedding or in the protection detail of the wedding while the ones on our side were all top level beings comparable or surpassing the current Satans.

They never stood a chance.

I mean you can prepare for troubles that you know you know, not the ones you didn't even know.

In less than two hours, our job was done and we returned to the designated place. The basement of the building where we had gathered at first.

I set up a barrier which could block Observation Haki.

The best place to hide was the place my past self would know I was and wouldn't go to, completely avoiding the risk of any time BS occurring.

The room above had a camera which was connected to only one monitor in this room. We just waited out till our past selves were all inside the room and then teleported back to our destinations without any words to each other.

The work for today was done. All that was left was for Ajuka to investigate the ones whose name came out along with the evidence and throw them out.

I reached the room minutes after my past self had left and returned back to our bedroom and lay beside Rias who was still asleep.

"Are you better?" I asked Rias who buttoned my shirt as we got ready for the Press Conference. She was quieter than usual and while understanding the reason for it, I was still worried.

"Umm. I am just… a bit lost. Things have changed so much in just these few hours. It's still a lot to take in for me. I will get used to it soon." She replied and I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead.

We got ready for the Press Conference where we were led by Serafall.

"How is the condition outside?" I asked as we walked towards the hall.

"We have found several bits of incriminating evidence against many people. Ajuka has finally stabilised the system and Falbium is keeping the convicts under watch. Sirzechs was the one keeping them under watch but was called out to attend the meeting with Ajuka. We need to show our strength at such a time."

"Umm. I think you all should organise a tournament instead of the Youth Devil Gathering this time to show off the talents of the up and coming devils. It would keep the people at bay. Currently, they only know about the strength of my Peerage and Rias and me. Even her peerage didn't get any chance to perform. A thorough show of strength in such a tournament would help. I will throw in a prize for the winner of the tournament. In fact, call in everyone for the tournament. All the Devils of all ages. Make another tournament where everyone can participate. Even the Factions. I will throw in a Logia Devil Fruit as a reward."

"That's… a great idea. But we will need to set the internal matters in place before that."

"Agreed."

"Shin."

"Hmm."

"Those people would try to make a scene in the conference. Don't let them get to you. We will win this one but we cannot have a war. Too many lives will be lost." Her voice was almost pleading.

I looked at her and nodded. "Do you know how we win a game of chess, Sera?"

She was taken aback by my question. "By cornering the King. Checkmate."

I smiled. "Oh! There's that for sure. But….don't you think that's boring? Today, let me show you a new kind of checkmate."

"There are no winners in a war, Shin. Only those who lose less." She said and it was one of the rare Serafall moments where she was acting like her true self and not the bubbly persona she had created for everyone else to see.

"I give you my word, Sera. There will be no war." I stopped her before she could say anything.

For someone like her who had seen the horrors of a civil war, even the idea of another such a situation was horrifying.

But as Ajuka had realised, this situation is better dealt with as soon as possible or there will be a war, sooner or later.

We reached the hall and it was full of reporters from the underworld as well as the guests from different factions who sat in private rooms overlooking the stage.

We took our places. I looked towards Sirzechs who nodded at me.

A quick Observe showed that he was tired, mentally. He seemed much calmer though.

Soon Ajuka arrived followed by Azazel, Odin, Michael and even Lady Amaterasu and Yasaka, taking seats beside us.

The Press Conference started with Sirzechs giving a statement about the mess today.

With the proof Ajuka had planted, the blame was thrown on the Old Satan faction remnants who took the blame for everything. He also gave a statement about Diodora Astaroth's demise on trying to resist arrest followed by the news of several houses being involved in the Rating Game- King Piece fiasco.

There was obviously noise but no one could complain because of the brutal show of the Satans a few hours prior.

Almost an hour later, the counter came up to me and I was asked to comment about today's incident.

It was going well until one person said something which changed the mood of the conference suddenly.

"Mr. Kageyami, don't you think today's… let's call it a tantrum, that you threw was a bit too much. You ruined one of the oldest and probably the most influential families of the Underworld and at such an important time too. Don't you think you are responsible for today's chaos too?"

"Hold it." Serafall started speaking but I raised my hand and stopped her.

"A few things before I answer the question. I have decided to take on the name of my Godfather's family as he had left it to me as his last wish so from this day onwards, please call me Mr. Black. Thank you very much. Secondly, no. I don't feel even a slight bit responsible for the fate of the Bael House. You might not know this, seeing by how little you have researched about me before throwing this question in, but I have been very close friends with Sairaorg who is the current Heir of the Bael House and even healed his mother who was suffering from the Sleeping sickness for a while. That said, even I am the Champion of Death, not her Master. Zekram Bael broke his part of the Deal he made with Death and suffered the consequences. If I had refused to take part in it, it would still have been carried out by someone else but in that case, it was doubtful if the ones who currently kept the Power of Destruction like my wife, Rias, her mother, Satan Lucifer and his son would have been allowed the same opportunity."

I let them digest the news before continuing, "So, are you telling me that what I did was wrong?"

He looked flustered for a second and I used an Observe on him.

An Amy. Another one of the houses who got caught in today's fiasco. He was from a branch house and was a reporter. This conference was being aired throughout the Underworld and he was trying to make me blunder to put pressure on the Satans who supported me to let his Head get a chance to negotiate better terms and free the ones caught. In fact, I looked around at several people and found out that many were of the same intention.

They knew we wouldn't or rather couldn't retaliate against such questions with force.

Doing so would be broadcasted to the whole underworld and will be used against them as propaganda.

It was stupid but yet understandable.

They had no choice because the culling this time would be merciless. It was their struggle.

He frowned but continued, "Contrary to what you think, Mr. Ka… my apologies, but I have done my research. For instance, your Godfather's family name that you just called out was or rather is one of the families from the European Wizarding world, the experiments created by the Original Satans? They were quite… hmm, how do I say it, mentally unstable? They were even found to side with the last terrorist of their people. On the other hand, your own family, the Potters, in this generation itself was manipulated by others, your brother possessed, you father commiting suicide. In fact, there were also rumours of your mother being controlled by them. I know it all. I am quite dedicated to my research. Was I wrong anywhere?" He smirked.

I see. So, trying to throw my credibility since theirs have been destroyed already.

Sure, let's play your game.

These idiots, if only they knew about what I was going to announce later.

"First of all, excuse me, what do you mean by Original Satans? Do you mean to say that the current Satans are duplicate? I think the better world should be 'the previous Satans', correct? Lest it sounds that you are trying to revolt." I interrupted, throwing the man into a fluster as he corrected himself quickly, eying the three who were sitting on the table.

"As for your research, no. You are not wrong. Your research is indeed right. By the way, what's your name, sir? I asked.

"Garret Amy."

"Amy… as in the Pillar House, Amy?"

"Yes." He, although barely, puffed his chest, waving off his recent misstep.

"I have heard that the Amy House was also involved in the Rating Game-King Piece scam and the Head of the house was arrested. I am very sorry about it." He frowned. "I mean I would have been worried if it was an unscrupulous reporter in your place who was trying to use this conference to undermine the Satans to pressure them into freeing the criminals… but… seeing your dedication to your research, I have to say that I was wrong. You sir, are a true epitome of impartial media. Now, please don't mind me asking. I have been very busy today, as you have already known, my marriage, carrying the work of my patron and such so I haven't been up to date with the events of the past few hours….but, what was the case with the Amy house?"

He became quiet and I turned towards the Satans.

Ajuka humoured me. "They claimed to be manipulated by others. The Head of the Amy House took responsibility and was arrested."

"Oh! Yes, manipulation can happen. It happens to the best of us. Just like my birth family. And it is indeed honourable to take responsibility, just like my father, who committed suicide. Unfortunately it seems that the Head of the Amy House fell a bit short of courage compared to a measly wizard." I watched him bristle but this one was far more experienced than those idiots and kept a level head. Although, my Observe showed exactly what he was thinking. I continued.

"As for my Godfather, he personally arrested the rogue members of his family and saw them face justice for their crimes. But I am sure that you, Mr. Amy would do so as well, won't you? Even if they are your own blood?" I smirked.

"Our situations are different. You cannot compare a wizarding family to a pureblood Pillar."

I didn't give them any chance to retaliate. "But you are right, there are differences between our families. My family solved our own problems but you needed others to come out and wipe your… cough cough, my apologies, clean your mess. As for comparing, please… I am sitting here, along with the leaders of many factions, while several others have personally come here to listen to my words while you… all you can do is stand there and look up to me. Pardon me, but even by my measly knowledge, I think that my current position is better. So tell me… why in the world would I lower myself to compare to you?" He was livid but somehow controlled himself and I smiled. "Next person please?"

The next person directly avoided me after looking at the situation of his colleague and targeted Sirzechs.

"Lord Lucifer, we heard the rumours about Runeas Gremory being alive and coming out during the wedding earlier. Was it true?"

"Yes."

"So she had been alive all this time. May we know why someone like her didn't participate in the Civil War? Surely the presence of one of the Original Pillar Devils could have swayed several other houses in our favour? Don't you think she was extremely irresponsible in such a delicate situation?" He questioned.

Oh, here the question came.

The answer Sirzechs gave however was completely unexpected, even for me.

"She had fallen into the Sleeping Sickness. She was awakened recently by Shin's new cure."

….

This works?

The reporter stumbled for a retort. "But from what we have heard, she decided to go into a hibernation sleep voluntarily."

"That was a lie. It was done to keep the Old Satan faction at bay who knew if they pushed us too hard, another Original Pillar would come out and they would be pushed to keep several houses under them."

He didn't even blink at the reply so it was evident that he had been thinking about it for a while.

Serafall broke the awkward silence. "Next question please."

This time someone from a different faction stood up facing me. "My question is for Mr. Black."

"Yes."

"Mr. Black, first of all congratulations on your wedding. It was a wonderful event and I do not mean it in a bad manner. As a resident of Valhalla myself, a fight on a festive occasion is something we enjoy."

I smiled. The guy was not lying. Odin's people. "Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the entertainment today."

"We did. The brothers at Valhalla would be fighting each other to get a chance to Duke it out with you. But let's get back to our current job. Mr. Black, as you have already shown your power and dare I say it would make you one of the strongest beings in the world. What are your plans for the future? I am pretty sure you could make an entire faction if you wanted. You also have access to a whole new world. I had some talks with the brothers from the new world and I would like nothing more than to see their home, share my alcohol and have a good brawl with them all. Can I know if we can do such a thing?"

"Hmm. My plans are not to get involved with any politics and I would appreciate it if I was not dragged into it. I would just like to concentrate on my new business. As for the matter of the other world. It depends on the residents of the world as well. The said world has just come out of a nearly thousand year old war. It's still recovering. Also, I am the only one who can take anyone to the world. I cannot see myself as a transport service. Maybe in the future when I can find a way to securely travel and get permission from the people of that world, I can try."

"So there is a chance for us to visit the new world."

"Definitely."

The person sat down satisfied by my answer.

Another question was thrown at me. "Mr. Black, you have risen in the Underworld as a name suddenly. A High Class devil all of a sudden? How is it that we didn't hear of you for so long and only found out about you when you became a High Class Devil. As far as we had known, direct promotion to a High Class Devil was not allowed. Surely, you would have made many contributions for the Devil race."

Serafall answered the question for me. "Shin has made several contributions towards the Devil Race, the best of which is to crack the Sleeping Sickness of the devils. He stopped an attack from the terrorist organisation Khaos Brigade which contained more than one Satan class being as well as stopped an attack from rogue Fallen Angel cadre Kokabiel who was collaborating with Pluto, one of the Grim Reapers of Hades who had gone rogue and was starting to reignite a Great War. There are several other achievements to his name which will be revealed towards the end of this conference."

"But the common public has no idea about these feats. Not to mention the attacks happened after you became a High Class devil. I am not saying that your position is unwarranted but you can understand if such a position can be doubted or rather not easily trusted by others.

I narrowed my eye but didn't raise my voice.

"Obviously. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I will respect it if they find it hard to trust me due to not knowing me."

"Great. I am sure many of the people in the Underworld would be relieved to hear it. After all, with the power you had shown, people were extremely wary about offending you. Will this be the same with the Satans?"

"The Satans will not interfere as long as the integrity and security of the Underworld is not compromised." Ajuka spoke up.

"Good. In that case, I bring with me a signed notice from twenty three Pillar Houses who do not wish for any businesses which Mr. Black owns to be conducted in their territories. They don't know Mr. Black that well and think that his inventions are way beyond what people of their territories are ready for." He passed on the list to us.

….

….

….

I suddenly had the urge to laugh out loud.

These idiots wanted to use economical threats against me. Or was it their way of keeping me out of a majority of the Underworld to prevent me from taking root there.

How foolish.

Maybe my previous talks didn't enter their heads.

So I will have to do something else.

They don't want me to sell in their territories. Good. I won't.

Although their reason did make me laugh. "Azazel." I called out to the surprised man who was caught off guard.

"Yes?"

"Being too advanced for their time… Wasn't this the same reason your father gave before kicking you out? I didn't expect to hear it from devils of all races."

Several laughs were heard from all over the large auditorium.

Serafall, in the meanwhile, checked the list and frowned.

"Are these signed by the Heads of the Houses or Acting Heads in case the Heads were unavailable?" Ajuka asked and she nodded. He looked at me.

I knew what he wanted.

In fact, I probably had a thought process closest to Ajuka.

"Very well. Rossweisse, please take the name of the Houses who don't wish to do business with us. I will not be conducting any businesses with these houses or their territories. For the people in these territories, I apologise but this is what your leaders wanted. I am not at fault here." I turned towards Ajuka directly. "Can you help me with something?"

He raised an eyebrow and I continued. "Please make it illegal for people of these territories to possess the items from my shop. I don't want others to resell my products there and get questioned for it."

The idiots probably didn't expect it. After all, they thought they could buy my products from other territories while cutting out my consumer base. Let them suffer now.

– Runeas Gremory –

She noticed the murmurs going around the place at the sudden request of the boy.

The Press Conference was just a polite way of the Pillar Houses trying to set up a more comfortable negotiation field to stand on later.

She had expected the questions about her and already advised Sirzechs about the answer.

He managed the questions very well until now, even the ones which insulted his family but this…

"Do you know what is going on Venelana?"

"I… don't know. To be honest, I won't be surprised if he just didn't care for them."

Doesn't care?

No way.

She met the boy only once and knew that he would retaliate viciously at people trying to take advantage of him.

There was no way he would give it up.

They watched as the girl called Rossweisse noted down the names of the Pillar Houses.

"Is he trying to prevent them from profiting? That won't work. They will buy his artifacts either way."

The matter was however pushed aside and several other reporters questioned him about various topics mainly related to the New World and its people.

"Is that Barbatos' descendant?"

"Yes. Septus Barbatos was one of the generals in both the Great War and Civil War." Chysis answered. "I thought he lost an arm in the War?" She asked, looking at Venelana.

"He did but it was healed by Shin during the demonstration of his Artifacts on the day Rias and he got engaged. It caused quite a clamour everywhere and the Satans had to hide him in the Human world to prevent others from going after him."

Now that made her do a takeback.

Regrowing limbs?

Only those bird idiots could do that and only to themselves, not others.

No wonder they were planning for him for so long. Previously she had thought that it was mainly because of a new world coming out from nowhere but now it seems that things were much more than just that.

"Tell me more about his achievements. I think I might be missing several things."

"Hmm. I first met him when I was told about the contract with Rias. I wanted to see what kind of person my daughter was asked to marry. He was living with Sairaorg back then. He was all by himself, no peerage members, nothing. I had quite a time talking about why boys can cook too." She giggled. "Then within a period of fifteen days he managed to get three members in his peerage and defeated Riser Phenex. He was as strong as an Ultimate Class Devil back then while his Demonic Power surpassed even mine. In the next two months, he helped Rias train along with her peerage and they were attacked two months later by Kokabiel, a fallen angel cadre and Pluto, an Ultimate Class Grim Reaper with their armies."

"Umm. I have fought him. He was annoying but strong. On the other hand, all Grim Reapers are vicious. What happened to them?"

"Yes. The armies were killed by the members of the two peerages. Pluto was erased and Kokabiel was tortured into insanity by the time reinforcements had reached there. Some other things happened but we were not told about those. So maybe something even more outrageous."

She didn't show it but she was taken aback in her heart.

These children had defeated Kokabiel and Pluto?

"How strong was their army?"

"Around fifteen hundred to two thousand including eight winged Fallen Angels."

….

….

"Recently, during the Peace Conference of the Factions, Sona Sitri, some children of the other factions, Rias and Shin's peerages took on an army of fourteen thousand Khaos Brigade members including several Longinus users and Satan Class Devils and won the fight without suffering any casualties. Apart from these, he is an expert Artifact Maker and has several other talents which are being kept silent."

"So he trained these children to be able to fight on par with Satan Class Devils."

"Yes."

"… Remind me again, what exactly had hit their heads to try and offend such a person? Especially Zekram. Did his age finally get to him? The lure of power deepens with age. It seems that I was correct to go into an enchanted sleep to avoid this mess."

The show continued and he left the seats to walk up to the stage.

"Then let me explain about my business to everyone. I will be dealing with Artifacts….and Potions."

Potions?

"The artifacts can include anything from a pair of glasses for day to day use to something at the level of a Longinus. As for the Potions, they will include the common ones like the Healing Potion, Magic Potion, Stamina Potion and Full Recovery Potion of different strengths and prices to make it available for every level of people."

It was like someone had thrown a bomb in the auditorium.

Healing Potions for most of the Supernatural races had meant only one thing till now, Phenex Tears.

With the release of another one, a cheaper and more readily available alternative, the Phenex House would be at a strategic disadvantage. Not to mention the other Magic, Stamina and Full Recovery Potions.

Phenex Tears only healed the body. It didn't restore Magic and Stamina.

A combination of these two would decisively crush the Phenex.

In fact if not for the incident a few hours ago and the Head of the Phenex arrested for suspicion of colluding with terrorists, he would have been making a scene….

Oh!

Did the boy think of this already and bait….

No.

It was the Astaroth child.

If he was thinking that far ahead, she could see why Zekram would be so wary of him.

"The next potions are my Limb Regeneration Potion and the Cure All. The first one did as the name suggests. It regenerates the limb of any individual. The Second Potion on the other hand is something which removes any Negative effects including but not limited to curses, diseases and poisons. This potion can even cure the Sleeping Sickness of the Devils."

….

The uproar became even more.

- Odin -

"I didn't think he could make an alternative for that Artifact to regenerate limbs but here it is. Did you know of it, Azazel brat?"

"These two… no. But judging from Serafall's looks, she did. Do we need to prepare ourselves for something else, Serafall?"

She looked at them for a moment and nodded. "The Auctions."

"Auctions?"

"Shin has decided that some of his products were too precious to be sold just for money and has decided to exchange them for other rare items or favours. These items will be showcased at the end of the Auctions." She explained.

"Understandable. After all, the likes of Longinuses can never be sold for money. Other resources and favours of the major factions all over the world would be a major boon for him. So, what will he be selling there?"

"...I think it would be better if you heard it directly from Shin." She spoke after hesitating for a single moment.

The introduction continued before they could ask anything further.

"The next is my Training Set. These potions are a little special. These potions help increase the speed of training of anyone who consumes it for a week depending on which one they use. For example, this one here increases the speed of both physical and magical training by two times, this one by three times, this one by five times and so on. At the end of a week they will have to take a Cleansing Potion to clear out the remaining potion in their bodies and they can take another potion or simply wait out a month before they can take the next Training Potion naturally. Consecutively taking another potion without the Cleansing Potion will reduce the effect of the potion greatly. Similarly, taking more than one potion at once doesn't do anything and only the stronger one will act. Any questions?"

The audience acted just like Odin had thought. After all, he himself had been reasonably surprised by this invention.

Questions came out one after another about the product and he answered them all. Another man got up and questioned. "Mr. Black, is your potion the reason for the greatly increased strength of your wife's peerage as well as your own peerage?"

"A part of the reason, yes." Shin smiled.

"Can we know what the other parts are?"

"Nope." He laughed. "Just kidding. The other part is their own hard work. They fought day and night under extreme stress and specially designed environments by me. I also made artifacts for them so if you think someone can just use a 2x potion and get on their level in a few months, then you are greatly mistaken. These include a lot of factors. Moreover, my own peerage members are extremely talented. A few of them were already at the Satan Class or even surpassing that level when they joined me. My resources just gave the tiger a pair of wings and further increased their power levels."

After these came a series of other potions like the Truth Potion, Berserk Potion, Resistance Potions etc. They, while they did garner some attention, were not as famous as the first one.

"Now, for the next few potions, I will only sell them through auctions. These potions are just as valuable as a Longinus and things like these cannot be sold for just money. As you all already know, I am an Artificer and a Potion Maker. I require various materials to make these artifacts and these materials don't just appear from thin air. Not to mention, things like Longinus can greatly change the balance of power between factions and I don't intend to just sell these things for money. If I am giving these things away, it will only be for something or similar value or favours and these will only be sold through Auctions conducted through my Business, every year."

This got the attention of everyone, including the ones at the top floors. Potions which can rival Longinuses.

He looked at Serafall who was quiet and concentrating on the stage.

The other two Satans also knew what was going on and were quite unphased.

Questions rained one after another and he answered them soon.

"The specifics of the Potions will be revealed when the Auction is announced. For now, I will only bring forth two potions as examples."

He brought out a Red and a Blue Potion.

"These are my Body and Mind Strengthening Potions. They can only be used by an individual once in their lifetime." He articulated his words slowly making sure everyone understood this point. "And they increase the physique and magic power of the user by forty percent when used respectively, regardless of the power level of the user. It doesn't matter if it is used by a normal human or Ophis, the result will remain the same."

….

….

The silence in the halls was deafening.

For a moment, Odin felt he had heard something wrong and looked around himself only to find everyone with a similar flabbergasted look on their faces.

"Azazel, did he just…."

"Forty percent."

"So…."

He couldn't complete the sentence as the entire auditorium was drowned with the shouts of the people inside.

"Did you four already take the potions, Serafall?" Azazel asked.

"Yes." She replied while getting up to calm down the crowd.

Was this his trump card? Was this why he was so calm all this time? With these potions alone, he could change the entire power structure of the world.

Maybe in some ways, these potions are much more dangerous than just artifacts. After all, if someone like Shiva got these potions, he would reach the levels rivalling Ophis. Not to mention Brahma and Vishnu.

Then again, it was good if it was just these three as they never participate in the matters of the world and wouldn't interfere with anyone but if someone like Indra got these….The Hindu King of Gods was extremely ambitious and the news of him preparing for a bout against Shiva was in circulation for a long time.

Thankfully, Hades had already axed his own leg and broken all chances to make an alliance with Shin.

Shanking his thoughts, Odin concentrated on what he had to do.

For now, he needed to get those potions for his stupid son, Thor.

- Yasaka -

"Did you know about this, Kuroka?" She heard Lady Amaterasu ask Kuroka.

"Hmm. He told us about the potions but told us to keep them a secret."

She sighed. The girl was smitten with Shin and in a way she could understand it too. Being chased by the whole world as a fugitive for years and then being trusted by someone who stands up for her and makes her regain a place in the world. Let alone for someone young like Kuroka, even someone like her would fall for the guy.

Not to mention, the news about him being able to turn into a Nekoshou.

Even Lady Amaterasu shook her head. "Is the news about those potions correct?"

"Yes nyaa. Shin-kun offered some to us but told us to use them only when we reach the limit of our strength to go past the limit. The potions give better effects the stronger we are."

"Has anyone among you used the potion?"

"Not yet. Only the four Satans have taken the potions and Serafall has verified the effects of the potion too."

"I see." The Goddess replied calmly but she could see the hands of the Goddess shaking in excitement.

She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the looks on the faces of several Devil Houses who had just decided to boycott Shin's businesses. "I wonder how they must be feeling now."

Kuroka looked even more amused at this bit. "Oh, just wait till the end of the Press Conference nyaa. Shin-kun has not even shown his trump card yet."

Now this got the attention of everyone around.

They however didn't get a chance to ask anything because Shin resumed his speech. "Also, "Everyone has to know that potions like these are hard to make so I will only be selling a couple of these every year. That said, these potions will only be sold to allied factions. A few months ago, I was plotted against by another God from an unallied pantheon which made me take this decision. I apologise for the inconvenience." he bowed to the crowd.

"Good Decision." She heard Lady Amaterasu speak and nodded.

Making people who are not a part of the Alliance stronger would just be stupid.

This on the other hand will only give others an initiative to join the Alliance.

It will also give the alliance members a chance to get stronger first and prepare themselves.

Although there were several voices of dissent, none dared make any trouble as the Leaders of the Alliance stood together backing him up.

The Satans, specifically Sirzechs and Ajuka, with their increased power would make it hard for anyone to force their decisions on Shin. And this was not considering Shin's own power and the power of his wife and their peerages.

"Finally, the last bit of the show is something I wanted to do for everyone, even the low Class members of the Allied faction….well now, except the ones who have banned me, sorry." He brought out a chalk white Potion from his pocket and kept it on the table.

She felt Kuroka's smirk as she looked at the scene.

"Is this the trump card you were talking about?"

She nodded and they put even more attention to the small vial of potion.

"This, my friends, is the Fertility Potion. It increases the chances of conceiving a child for anyone who takes this potion for a whole week. It works on every supernatural race. With this even races like the Devils will gain fertility comparable to normal humans for an entire week when they consume this. With this, I conclude the conference. Thank you for your kind attention."

….

….

She was pretty sure she saw a smirk on Shin's face as he looked at the Devil Houses before leaving.

But right now she didn't have either the time or intention to care about the Pillar Houses. She had to think of her own people. The Youkai were a very weak faction and now things were looking nice because of the addition of Kuroka. But the numbers of the stronger species of Youkai always remained small due to their incredibly low fertility rates. For example, there have only been four Nine Tailed foxes in the last one thousand years in this world and seven in the past two thousand years, one of whom was Tamamo no Mae, one of the avatars of Lady Amaterasu.

If the number of High Ranked Youkai could be increased this easily, the Youkai faction would be able to stand up as one of the leading factions of this world.

Same was true for several other factions but for now Yasaka didn't care about them as they were not a part of the alliance.

Many people realised this too and thus the chaos.

Apparently, even the Satans were not aware of this and looked absolutely shocked at the statement.

She made eye contact with Lady Amaterasu and nodded. Both had the same thought in their minds.

They had to tie down this man to their faction in any way possible.

- Lord Sitri -

"What do you think of the alliance, Lord Agares?" He asked after collecting himself from the shock of the reveal.

Shin had visited him two days ago and had asked for his help to get in touch with Archduke Agares and his followers.

He had already found out about the undercurrents in the Underworld through his sources.

The Bael and the Phenex making a move together was hard to hide, especially when it was of this scale.

They made sure to keep it out of Satans' eyes which, now that he thought about it, was only possible because of the amount of work they had been under due to the alliance.

But apparently, Shin wasn't blindsided by this. It went to say a lot about the boy's own information network.

He managed to place spies within those houses within months of entering the Devil society and this went a lot to say about his preparation.

The deal between him and Shin was simple. Shin wanted allies with whom he could do business with, houses which could control their greed.

He agreed with it. And he knew that even without the resources of the new world, just a partnership with Shin would make the Sitri house rise to a whole new level. This was because he had seen a hint of what the boy could do. Not to mention his obvious friendship with Sona and Serafall.

Now it seems that joining him was the right decision for him and the Sitri house in general.

"Does it look like I have a choice after these reveals?" Lord Agares answered scruffy and he smiled. The deal was in the bag.

Lord Agares had been having second thoughts about siding with Shin just based on the things he had found about the boy.

On finding out about this, Shin had merely smiled and told them to wait till the reveal at the Press Conference.

To be honest, he had found Shin a bit overconfident back then but looking at it now, he found out that he was the one who was underestimating Shin.

Today showed him the true extent of his power.

The Bael was almost done for and the Phenex was being investigated on the charges of colluding with terrorists and all their allies were marginalised in a matter of hours.

Normally, this would mean that the Pillars involved would be using their reach to drown the economy of the Underworld and start another war by inciting the masses. That was the original power of the Pillars.

The new Satans didn't have enough power to control the real power of the Underworld, the common masses. It was how their powers were balanced to stop them from turning into tyrants like the previous Satans.

Any drastic changes like the ones which took place today would inevitably lead to a lot of bloodshed.

But to think even this was taken factored and planned around by Shin.

Fertility Potion.

It was a game changer for any faction who got their paws on it.

The greatest regret of any devil in most of the cases would be related to their lower ability to procreate. Especially the Pure Blooded Devils.

Even the common masses had the same problem.

The average time difference between two children of Devils was two hundred years and this was when the couple were actively trying to have children.

There were obviously outliers like the Phenexs but this was the general case.

While the Evil Pieces were a good source to get talents to their side, it could never make up for their own blood but now… now they had an option.

Not just the Devils but every other faction out there with the same problem.

It was all starting to catch up now.

Shin agreeing to their boycott so easily and then making a request which would hamper his business in the Underworld.

He knew that by making his products illegal in their territories, they might not be affected but the general population under them would be affected for sure.

From the very start, he was not targeting the Pillars directly but the people under them.

After all, a king was a king only so long as he had people under him. It was normal for people to kill the King and take over the country.

What Shin was doing here was completely opposite. Steal the people from under the King and make him a beggar.

A new kind of checkmate.

"Zekram fucked up." Lord Agares brought out two glasses and a bottle of scotch and poured two glasses and passed one to him before drinking his own in a gulp.

"But you didn't." He offered calmly, taking a sip from his own glass.

"Did you know about this?" Lord Agares asked.

"No." He shook his head. "I would have had more supporters if I did."

Lord Agares winced. "I… doubt it. Zekram used every one of his favours for this one. It was why I didn't stand against him directly but decided to wait and see. He was too determined to make this plan work. Several old secrets were brought out and many houses were more or less blackmailed into following. I was able to get some of those on my side but even that was tough." He took another sip from his glass. "But now I can see why. If something like this was an opponent, with Zekram's character, it was impossible to sit quietly on the side and watch."

"Hmm. I thought as much. Though some other houses were a surprise. Barbatos was a given. The houses of other Satans were more or less secured with even Gremory coming to ur side with the arrival of Runeas Gremory. I was surprised with the Belial House joining in. Then we got the news and it was clear. Cleria Belial was a sweet child. I personally think Diehauser controlled himself all these years much better than my Serafall would ever have if Sona was harmed in any way."

Lord Agares nodded in agreement. "What kind of person is this Shin? All I have heard of him is through my daughter and she was blinded by a giant mechanical marvel so her words were biassed at best."

Lord Sitri chuckled, remembering the character and hobbies of the young Agares Heiress and began to tell him about what he knew of the boy or rather a man now, called Shin.

- Sirzechs -

He sat down and brought out a bottle from his hidden collection opening and poured it in the glasses already on the table. "You knew of this already."

It was not a question and the other party knew of this already.

"It would be difficult not to know of my own plan." Ajuka picked up the glass.

His hands paused for a few moments before he sighed. At this point, all he wanted was a good nap.

Maybe he took that vacation too soon.

Ajuka brought out a file and placed it on the table.

He raised an eye and took the file despite his inner self, roaring at him to just erase the file along with the table and probably even the building.

And it turns out that his inner-self had been correct. He quickly regretted the choice of picking up the file as soon as he read the first few pages.

Ajuka had been especially helpful by bookmarking the pages which needed his attention. Like the one which discussed the incident where his grandfather was ambushed and killed by the Old Satan faction… or as he was reading now, someone else entirely.

There was also the mention of the incident where his students were killed, things which made Sirzechs doubt his entire reason for participating in the Civil War.

"Did you verify these?" he gritted out through clenched teeth when he saw their countermeasures against them.

"I did."

"Why didn't you both tell me?"

….

"He, maybe because he thought you would try to use political methods to solve this. I because… I agreed with his thinking."

"It would…" he started but didn't continue. It made him extremely frustrated to think that even his brother-in-law and best friend thought this but even more at himself because they might have been correct after all. The last war had scarred them badly.

No one wanted a repeat of that again.

"They had to be curbed a little, Sirzechs. You have been the leader of a faction for centuries now. You should know more than anyone else that changes such as the ones we are working towards always come with some chaos. They are inseparable. What we did today, just made sure that the damages will not expand and a longer and more peaceful period will come. Shin was just a trigger more than anything. We might hate to acknowledge it but Kokabiel's attacks, the Khaos Bridage's attacks and this incident have only solidified the alliance more. Today, when we were putting out the fires, Odin and Azazel were standing behind, watching our backs. Michael and Lady Amaterasu were talking to the leaders of other pantheons and Yasaka was guarding our families. Do you think they would do so if they didn't accept or even agree with our decisions?"

Sirzechs paused. Ajuka was someone who disliked speaking much. Normally it took him or Serafall dragging him out to even let him participate in anything but that didn't mean he didn't care.

He probably cared more about the Devil race than anyone else, in his own way.

Today, the Devil race could live without Sirzechs Lucifer… but not without Ajuka Beelzebub.

This alone was proof of how much Ajuka worked for the Devil race as a whole.

Sirzechs' eyes melted a little as he remembered something. "Diodora."

"Passed away while resisting arrest."

….

….

This took him a few moments to get over. "Ajuka you…"

"I did what had to be done, Sirzechs. When we sat on these chairs, we vowed to protect and look after the rights of the entire Devil race, not just a few tens of families. After working for so long, the wish of centuries, a long lasting peace is at hand. I am not going to just let it slip by just because some people want to fill their pockets with more coins or a dumb moron who wanted to fuck up our chances at peace because he couldn't keep it in his pants. If I had let him go… many others could have been endangered or even died due to his foolishness. While I do feel bad for my uncle, I don't regret my choice."

He took a deep breath.

Today's events had hit him hard. While it was heartening for him to see his little sister reach that level of power, the look in her eyes and the emotionless voice from his usually cheerful little sister was like a blow to him.

These people had completely disregarded everything and tried to destroy the happiness of his family, the whole reason why he was holding back. So, why did he need to continue holding back?

Ajuka was right.

These people needed some curbing.

Still to think that Shin and Ajuka would collaborate.

"He is a lot like you." Sirzechs said as he rested the back of his head on the chair.

"That he is. And he probably understands it well."

"Did you guys have a talk?"

Ajuka nodded. "I researched him. Everything. From the time he was born to what he ate for breakfast before he left. He has had a very hard life. The curse of intelligence can make people detached. I would have destroyed the world if I had been in his place and maybe he too would have done the same if he hadn't found his Godfather and then for the last wish of his Godfather. Maybe he realised this too and chained himself to your sister so quickly. Just like you act as my restraint, as a person who can stop me if I go out of control, he is making his own restraints. The girls he surrounds himself with are these restraints so that he doesn't one day become an unfeeling monster."

"... obviously you looked into him. You and your habit of looking at everyone as a potential danger."

"It has never failed me." Ajuka smirked and then his smile dimmed. "Except this time."

"Hmm?"

"I calculated the probability of winning a war against Shin. The probability of what would happen if something were to happen to your sister at the hands of those people today."

Sirzechs narrowed his eyes. The whole topic of discussion made him angry. He rarely got angry and that was saying something.

"The probability of us winning was… 2.6 percent. If they had truly done something to your sister, he would have without a doubt wiped out a majority of the Devil population in retaliation in the resulting war. This is a guy who brought down an eight hundred year old government with less than a year of training and that was not even considering the people he has on his side."

Sirzechs found himself missing a heartbeat at the revelation.

"Well, I miscalculated the strength of your sister too. Not to mention his plans to prevent all of that from happening. This was a very hypothetical case because of all the over the top precautions he had taken already. Apparently, your new brother-in-law also has the habit of looking into people and preparing countermeasures against them."

Sirzechs quickly shook his head. "At least Rias will be safe now."

"On this, I agree wholeheartedly." Ajuka raised a toast too. "Oh, by the way, I met Shin's Queen."

"Hmm. What's he like? From what I hear he's the most capable piece in Shin's peerage and that's something to say considering who the other members are."

"He's the Vice Leader of Khaos Brigade. Became one in the last few months since he was sent to infiltrate the organisation." Ajuka bombed and Sirzechs finally did a spit take. Ajuka smirked.

He had a very unusual sense of humour.

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Author's Note:

This chapter took a long time. I will try to wrap this up in the next chapter and do a world jump before the last Khaos Brigade Arc maybe.

Still planning this part. Need some more time.

I don't want to drop this story and don't want to drag down the quality of this story either. I will need some time to plan things out. In the meanwhile I will concentrate on my other stories to get through my Writer's block with this one.

Next chapter will be one of my Snippets or 'Deal with the Devil' maybe.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.