This fanfiction is based on Tamiki Wakaki-san's The World God Only Knows. Franchise ain't mine, y'hear? Er, y'read? XD

Chapter 1: Hell's Control Panel

The sun shone brightly on Maijima City one summer day. It was still early in the morning. A small quaint café in the middle of some houses called Café Grandpa was still in the middle of setting up for opening on that day. Or so it seemed to outsiders. Outside, sounds of someone moving tables and chairs seemed like a clumsy old man was doing the setting up. Inside the café, though, was a really upset and angry devil creating a simple meal. Her raiment engulfed the entire kitchen area and the nearby open rooms surrounding it. A dark aura surrounded this devil as she poured condensed milk on a frying pan.

"Stupid Nii-sama… To think I thought he changed for the better after all those events… In the end, he still values his games more than me. More than all we've been through…" the devil murmured to herself.

"He may be the great God of Conquests, but I'll show him what I can really do!" she added on.

Yes, once again, that was Elsie. Still upset about Keima insulting her beforehand, she was passionately cooking breakfast. Her raiment allowed her to do 6 cooking tasks just like Keima in his "God of Conquest" mode. Around her, eggs are being beat, mayonnaise and cheese are being mixed, the frying pan is being heated, vegetables are being sliced, and the work area was being cleaned. Her hands are busy with carving the word "Nii-sama" on a carrot. She whispered a long phrase to it and kissed it. Then, she threw it in the air and swiftly hacked and slashed it. As the bits of the carrot fell on the frying pan, smoke appeared from it and frying sounds echoed the rooms. The smoke cleared seconds later, revealing a plate of pancakes with mixed vegetables.[1]

"Prepare yourself, Nii-sama! This curse I made for you can't fail!" Elsie said, proud of her work.

With the dish in her hands and her raiment turning back to normal, Elsie went on to Keima's room.

Elsie has only created one curse prior to this one in a form of a slightly appealing curry. She herself doesn't know if the first curse worked, but the anger she felt in her heart consumed her and made it sure to herself that this new curse would work no matter what.

Meanwhile, the residents of New Hell are about to end their day. There are no heavenly bodies in Hell like the ones in Earth to tell day from night. At that, how does one tell their Hellian age, let alone time? That's where Hell's control panel comes into play. In the middle of the realm lies a large mainframe that controls and regulates all of Hell's technological aspects. This system deals with the simple things like telling time in Hell and complex tasks like managing Hell's peacekeeping force. It's an important aspect that keeps New Hell intact. Lose it, and the realm is done for.

Those were the last words a little devil heard from her classes this day.

"So, Hell has 20 hours a day split equally in half. That's 10 hours in the opening and 10 in the end." the little devil counted with her little fingers.

"Yo, Ellie! You still thinking about Hellian time? At this rate, you'll forget the time now and get caught for breaking the curfew!" another devil said as she tapped her friend's shoulder.

"Mou[2], Chi-chan. You're always like this. So buggy. Aren't you at least curious?" the devil referred to as Ellie responded.

"Curious? About Hellian time? What for? It's there already. What more can you ask about?" Chi-chan replied.

"W-well… Umm… Scarlet-sensei said something earlier about 4 more hours on Earth. And… and… -"

"Oh, stop it, Ellie!" Chi-chan interrupted while petting Ellie's head.

"Well, watch says it's getting late. Ellie, if you want to catch the great Michiko du Ryuute Hortaleza in action playing Carol on Duty: Black Corps, let's hurry to my place!"

"Umm… Chi-chan can go on ahead." Ellie timidly told her friend.

"I have something to do…"

"Your call… Bye, then, Ellie!" Chi-chan said as she ran towards the district waving her friend goodbye.

Ellie waved at her slowly and shyly. When she can no longer see her friend, she faced to the place where she was headed. She tied her short black hair, made a left-sided ponytail, and jogged. As she jogged, thoughts of a while ago came back to her. Idea after idea, contradiction after contradiction, argument after argument. All these popped up in her head.

"What is Scarlet-sensei even teaching us? I don't care about the Earth! But then again, why is Earth's time like that? Earth is so weird! 225-year-old me is just a low 12-year old in that place!? That sucks, if you ask me! So, does that mean that 100-year-old Earthlings are…? Uuuu!~~ How many days are on Earth? How many minutes are on Earth? Seconds? What are the "sun" and the "moon" that Sensei said? Agh! If she said these, she must've explained it… If only my sisters were here… I want to know more about our time!"

"Oh, do you now, little girl?"

A deep, masculine voice asked the little devil. Startled, Ellie tripped and tumbled for a few meters.

"Ow! Wow, that really hurts! Hearing voices… I should stop running for a while. Too much thinking for the day!"

"But you have thought of our time, and you want to learn about it, am I right?" the voice spoke again.

"Who are you!? Why do you want to help me? Can you even help me? Why won't you show yourself?" Ellie replied loudly as she stood up looking around.

"My, you truly are a curious young one. I remember myself in you. Asking one question after another. Getting nothing answered. But I can help you answer such. Come with me, young one."

The tone of the voice changed from a deep tone to a not so deep one, but the masculinity was still heard. After this has been said, a tall slender bishounen[3] wearing a purple jacket approached the little devil.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The man received a powerful punch to his jaw sending him flying up in the air. That high-impact haymaker came from a very frightened Ellie. As the man stood back up to his feet, Ellie quickly helped him up and apologized.

"Ah, sir! I'm sorry! I'm really sor-"

Ellie sees the face of the man. He had slick black hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He looked like he really took care of his face. It looked perfect except for the punch mark on his face. Ellie was dazzled by him.

"No, child. I should be sorry. My choice of clothing isn't as normal as someone like you would think." the man said to Ellie.

Still dazzled, Ellie stuttered.

"Uh, um… uh… I'm… I'm sorry…"

Ellie looked away shyly. The man chuckled a bit.

"How do you call yourself?" the man asked.

"C-call?" Ellie still stutters.

"I'm… E-E… I'm Ellie."

"Ellie…"

The man stood on his feet.

"Ah, thank you, Ellie."

"You're… welcome…"

Some seconds of awkward silence ensued until the man spoke up.

"Ellie, I do want to help you. Your curiosity reminds me of myself and why I continue to live. It's not a bad thing to be curious. It only is if you do nothing to make sure it's answered or satisfied."

The man held both of Ellie's hands together, his eyes shining.

"I'll help you! Come with me!"

Ellie was dazed by the man. Her face turned red and she looked like as if she was going to faint. She answered.

"Y-y…yes…"

With a grin, the man carried Ellie, held her like a princess, and dashed on to the direction Ellie was originally headed.

"Am I dreaming? Will a really handsome guy help me answer my simple question? Does he even know my question? And, wow, he's carrying me…" Ellie spaced out as more questions came to her.

Looking at Ellie, the man wondered and asked her,

"You seem to be in deep thought again, Ellie. What seems to be bothering you?"

"Huh? N-n-nothing much, really…"

"Really now?"

"W…well… I don't think you know why I'm curious. Unless you were the deep voice that surprised me, how would you know? Plus, I don't know your name. And… and…"

"Oh, is that so?"

The man stopped and brought Ellie down. He bowed to her like a gentleman and introduced himself.

"Call me Phoenix. It is a pleasure to meet an enthusiastic, curious lady like yourself."

"Phoenix… What a nice name…" Ellie murmured to herself.

"Now, young lady, about your other questions. I plan to leave no stone unturned for you. I remember calling out for you so I can answer your question, but hearing my voice now, do you think it's me, young lady? No. Also, anyone can hear you shouting out loud like a crazy man ranting about Hell knows what. No offense. It was about Hellian time, right?"

"Well, yes, I—"

"Ultimately, you want to know about Hell's control panel that controls everything." Phoenix interrupted Ellie's train of thought.

"Yes! Wait, Hell's control pa—"

"Ah! Such a simple-minded question, requiring lots of curiosity to answer. Well, do you know where it is located?"

"Um, yes. It's in the middle of the main city."

"Where exactly?"

"I don't know, but since it's just in the middle of the city, I guess it shouldn't be hard to find."

"You do know that the middle of the main city is a very large hill fortified with a certain defense force right?" Phoenix asked.

"Eh? Large hill? Defense force? There're such things there?" Ellie said, surprised.

"Ah, curiosity without any prior research… No matter. Well, let's get moving to the main city. The faster we get there, the faster I can get your question answered." Phoenix said as he smiled at Ellie.

She shyly looked away and said in a soft voice,

"Yeah, let's."

Phoenix approached her closely.

"Do you want me to carry you again, young one?"

Ellie stepped away quickly, embarrassed.

"Waah! W-w-what are you doing…?"

"I was going to carry you like before so we can be on our way."

"W-well, don't do it so suddenly! Don't move in too closely! Anyway, it's fine for me to walk going there. Actually, I'd rather run. It's to get my mind moving. Don't you agree? I mean, when you carried me, you were running, too."

"Curious and observant. What an interesting lady. Of course, I agree with you. Forgive me for being too rash. It's a bad habit of mine. I pay the price due to that most of the time. Well, Ellie, let's make a run for it, shall we?" Phoenix told Ellie.

"Catch up if you can!" Ellie replied with a wink.

By the blink of an eye, the two rushed to the main city.

Some minutes passed, and we see Ellie and Phoenix in front of the entrance of the hill in the middle of the city, gazing at it in its enormity.

"Well, we got here faster than I thought. Hey, Phoenix-senpai, get here! Quickly!" Ellie said as she called the worn-out man.

Catching his breath, Phoenix replied.

"Haah… Haah… Wow. I can't run as fast and as long as before… Odd…"

"As before?"

"Yes, as before, and what's the deal with this whole senpai[4] thing?"

"You have a problem with it, senpai? You are older than me, and even if I just met you, I still respect you. After all, you want to help me, and you want to listen to what I have to say."

"Well, that's not what I meant. At that, I can't help but notice you suddenly opening up to me. If I'm not mistaken, children your age usually run away after a random stranger approaches them. Plus, I can't help but notice your stutters during our first encounter. I no longer hear of it now. You truly are a unique young lady." Phoenix changed the topic.

"Y-you think so…? Well, thank you, but I—"

"ALL CIVILIANS ARE PROHIBITED FROM BEING UP TO THIS POINT. PLEASE LEAVE THIS AREA IMMEDIATELY."

Enter the defense robots of New Hell. From a civilian's standpoint, nothing much is known about these 160-cm metallic entities except that the government issued them around important parts of New Hell for protection and that they've been around just as long as the Runaway Spirits Squad has been active. From an Earthling's point of view, it's your robot stereotype that's silver and filled with bolts around its body.

"W-wha…? What are these things?" Ellie asked, gazing up at it, for it was taller than her.

"I have mentioned them a while ago, Ellie. They're that defense force I told you about." Phoenix reminded her.

"Ah, so they're that. Wow…"

A second for thoughts entered the area.

"Oh, well, then. It seems I can't enter the control panel at all. Might as well give up. Even so, I really wonder what's inside it. I bet it looks awesome, but yeah. Robots…"

Ellie sighed and proceeded to walk away from the hill. Phoenix grabbed her arm and exclaimed.

"Hey! Hey! Heeeey! Where do you think you're going?"

Blushing, Ellie replied.

"H-huh? T-there you go being rash again! I'm going home now. It's not like I can get in there now! Did you see the robots other than the one that stopped us?"

She took her arm from Phoenix's grasps and ran away. Before she could get far, the man shouted almost at the top of his lungs.

"What if I told you that I can really get you inside?"

Ellie stopped on her tracks, turned around, and stared blankly at Phoenix.

"Giving up after seeing such an obstacle… I expected more from you, Ellie. Why do you keep forgetting why I'm here? I'm here to help you! In any way I can!" Phoenix reassured.

The gloom that the little devil felt disappeared as it was replaced by the reassurance of Phoenix's words. She walked slowly to him. With her eyes closed and a little smile on her face, she asked,

"Is that so? How do you think we'd do that?"

"Why, we do something both you and I are good at!"

"Mm?"

"We make a run for it!" Phoenix smiled showing his teeth.

"Eeeehhh!? Are you nuts? There's a high chance that the robots will hunt us down and, well, kill us! Can't we do something less, you know…, suicidal?" Ellie yelled at the man in reaction to his bold idea.

"Do you trust me, Ellie?"

"Yes, I do, but what does trust have to do with this?"

Ellie stops walking as she reaches Phoenix. Unexpectedly, Phoenix carries the little devil like he did before.

"That's enough for me to hear. To Hell's control panel we go!"

Phoenix then sprinted onwards heading back to the tall hill. The robots guarding it were patrolling around it in pairs, moving at a set pace to the left and at the same pace to the right. As Phoenix was meters away from the entrance, two robot pairs converge, blocking the man's way.

"ALL CIVILIANS ARE PROHIBITED FROM BEING—"

"Out of my way, you bunch of bucket of bolts!" Phoenix exclaimed loudly as he bashed aside the four robots.

Ellie was clinging tightly to the man. Her head was resting on the man's chest, and her eyes were closed while Phoenix forced his way to the entrance. A long branching stairwell greeted the duo. Without ceasing, Phoenix dashed towards the left stairwell.

"Ellie, open your eyes. You don't want to not see this facility, now, do you?" Phoenix said to Ellie.

Ellie opened her eyes and looked forward. To her surprise, it wasn't anything special. All she saw were stairs and the grass surrounding it. It was like a stereotypical path towards a shrine.

"Is this it?" she asked in a disappointed tone.

As the stairs forked again, Phoenix took the right side and told the seemingly down little devil,

"We're just moving up the hill. Don't worry, young lady. Once we get to the top, you'll see the true thing, but we're still far from it—"

Suddenly, a missile takes a near miss at Phoenix and hits parts of the stairwell. He avoids the splash with a high jump and proceeded to move onwards. As the smoke from the explosion starts to clear, around 10 robots chase down the duo. These robots have a darker paint than the previous ones, they are more heavily-armed, and they have jet boosters on their backs. Phoenix took a quick glance. Realizing what he was dealing with, he rushed even more towards his goal. As the stairwell branched, Phoenix kept taking the right side, changing his path every after two forks, hoping he'd lose the robots. The robots, though, never lost sight of him. Their barrage of missiles can attest to that, grazing the man by just inches. His reflexes, incorporated with his current speed, saved him and the little devil in his arms. As Phoenix took what seemed to be the last right of this branching stairwell, the scenery changed. From the shrine path stereotype, the surroundings looked eerie in a sense that one feels a dark aura when he's in the area. Along with the darkness that suddenly enveloped the place, red strobing lights spun in a circle, and a very loud sound echoed in the mostly empty area.

"BREACH DETECTED. ALL UNITS, WE ARE NOW ON RED ALERT. ELIMINATE ALL HOSTILES IN THE AREA. PRIORITY 1: UNKNOWN ENTITY WEARING A PURPLE JACKET. I REPEAT…—"

It was an alert message. It repeated every 3 seconds. A scared Ellie clings tighter to Phoenix and worriedly asks.

"S-senpai… What is that…?"

"Something of no great concern, Ellie. This just means we're nearing our destination."

A few strides later, the duo arrived to the top of the hill.

"Again, nothing here?" Ellie questioned in a seemingly calm manner.

"Widen your view, Ellie. You're not seeing everything." Phoenix told her.

Ellie looked around. She looked to the left, then to the right. She scratched her head.

"There really is nothing here! Senpai, that can't be it, right? All the running, the whole chase sequence, you suddenly appearing. All for nothing?"

She was starting to lose hope that this random bishounenwould be able to answer her simple question.

"All I wanted to know was just about our time… How did it end up like this…? But I remember there is something in my mind about that control panel when Phoenix mentioned it… Mou! This place looks nothing like a control panel! No big machines, no flashy lights, no buttons, no nothing! All that's here are trees, grass, and a hole in the middle of… the…"

Phoenix smiled after hearing this monologue. Ellie's descriptions were spot-on. The place was grassy, had tall trees, and had an unusual hole in the middle. She tapped Phoenix on his shoulder, signaling him to put her down. He does so. She then moved close to the hole. It looked like a bottomless dark pit. Heaven knows what's under there. Phoenix walked to her, stopping a few meters behind her.

"We're here…" he said in a soft tone.

Ellie looked behind to see the man. A split-second later, she sees a missile heading straight for them.

BOOM!

The missile takes a direct hit at Phoenix. The explosion sends the two falling into the hole. This causes Ellie to faint.

A moment of silence…

And then…

*THUD!*

More silence…

"TARGET NEUTRALIZED! THE STATE OF ALERT HAS BEEN LIFTED! I HOPE I GET AN UPGRADE FOR THIS!"

That was the voice of a darker-painted defense robot which shot that missile. After saying this, the robot proceeded downstairs, seemingly satisfied with the end result.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of the hole, a little devil was lying on the floor unconscious. The school uniform she was wearing was almost torn to pieces. Her polo was so tattered that all she would be able to do is hold it up to prevent it from falling. The ribbon for her polo has been disintegrated. The sides of her skirt have been ripped apart. The ponytail she had on is now gone, and the rest of her hair became frizzy. Something clanged, and at the sound of that, the little devil woke up.

"Uuugh… Where am I? What is this place…?"

At the sound of her weakened voice, the place lighted up. It revealed a long hall with black doors placed on both sides. This startled her, but she remained lying down, seemingly still hurt.

"S-senpai! What is this place? W-where are you? Senpai!" Ellie calls out with the same weak voice.

There was no response.

"Phoenix-senpai!" Ellie shouted as loud as she can.

Still, there was no response. The little devil tried as hard as she can to stand up. With her right hand against the wall and her left arm pressed on her chest, she moved forward. While calling out for the man who was supposed to help her, she walked along the long hall and observed it. It extended at a considerably long distance. The doors to her left had a label on top of each door. She was unable to read them because it looked like they were written in another language. The doors to her right, where her hand was pressed on, had no label. All except on the first door. It was written in Hellian. It was a notice that said,

"Kindly turn on the magic barriers on all these doors. The commands are in English, and I can't understand them… Thanks! ^_^ -Luz"

After she read the notice, she looked at the doors once again but with a more discerning look in her eyes. At that, she noticed a rather faint aura around the doors. It may be blurry, but she really noticed a purple aura around all the doors. Could it be the barriers the notice mentioned? Ellie presumed so. Heaven knows what this form of magic could do to her weakened body, so she pushed herself away from the wall and back to the center. Some of her strength has returned somewhat as she moved forward at a better pace. Some steps later, she reaches the end of the hall. A door of the same kind stands in her way, but there is a noticeable difference to it. Lights surrounding it flicker on and off at an interval. The aura around the door seemingly flickered at the same pace with the lights. With a scent of both fear and curiosity, Ellie touched the door. She did so while the barrier flickered to on. This gave her a weak electric shock and pushed her back. Her polo fell off due to the pushback. Normally, this would reveal something the general public isn't allowed to see. Instead, it showed an elastic purple garment shaped into a Kevlar vest. Instinctively, she wrapped both of her arms around her chest. She was surprised when she felt the garment around her. After feeling it in awe, she stood up and tried to open the door once again. Unknowingly, she touched it at the right time, when the barrier was out, so the door opened for her. She stepped into the dark room. It seemed to be empty, but the little devil can hear someone talking. As she took another step forward, the place lighted up.

"Nii-sama must eat… Else, he'll die from hunger. Whatever it takes, he will be energized with what I made, and more. Nii-sama will like it. Kami-niisama will love it! Fufufufu…"

The voice became audible enough for the little devil. Along with the voice, six large screens appeared meters in front of her. Behind the screens were large machineries of sorts primarily composed of cylindrical items a simple mind knows nothing of. Below the screens were a series of buttons and keys that lighted up at random times. These were all set on a very huge study desk painted chrome silver. The left-side screens showed two parts of the school Ellie attended. The right-side screens showed a bird's eye view of the large hill on the upper screen and a bird's eye view of New Hell on the lower screen. The bottom-middle screen showed nothing but static, but the top-middle one showed something. It doesn't look like it was any place in New Hell. Even so, it showed a picture of a devil holding a plate. Ellie cannot see the face of the devil. All she can make out was that the devil wore purple clothing, a long pink scarf, and sported a long ponytail. The bangs of her black hair covered her face. Her head was facing the plate, and it looked like she was murmuring something. Ellie's eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Could she be…?" she asked herself as she walked towards the screen.

As she draws closer to the screen and ultimately to the chrome table, a set of numbers flashed atop the middle screen in red, and a bell sound rang. The numbers were written in Hellian. A surprised Ellie jumped backwards and shouted.

"16:59!"

She exclaimed the current time in New Hell as shown by the numbers.

"T-time? Maybe… Wow, that was surprising." Ellie thought.

"But nevermind that! This girl… Could she be…?"

She moved forward, close to the table again.

"She's someone I need to talk to!"

Ellie called out to her.

"Heeeey! Nee-san![5] Can you hear me? It's me! Ellie!"

There was no response from the devil as she proceeded to walk towards a door to her left.

"Heeey! Heey!"

After hopeless attempts to call the mystery lady, Ellie observes the table. Some buttons out of her reached flickered on and off. A certain skull-shaped button on the lower part of the table blinked a blue light. It had a label on top of it. It was a language the little devil did not understand. It was in the same language with the labels on the doors of the previous hall.

"Hmm…? This looks like it read 'speak'. If I press this, maybe now, Nee-san can hear me!"

Assuring herself it said such, she pressed the skull-shaped button without hesitation.

CLICK!

Everything went dark…

"Waaahhh! W-w-w... what happened? Did I do something wrong?"

Ellie repeatedly clicked the skull-shaped button which she can now only feel.

"C'mon! Speak! Speak! I want to speak with that girl!"

Several pressing later, she gave up. To add, the lights never came back on. Ellie started to get scared and panic after some time passed that the power hasn't returned.

"Where's Phoenix-senpai when you need him? Uuu… I have to get the lights back on. The switch has to be here somewhere. I need to find it, and fast! This place is getting creepy…"

She then blindly searches for something on the table that could make her situation better. All of a sudden, she heard a sound of something like coins dropping. She was startled and became more anxious. She swiftly swiped through the buttons on the table, desperate for a good outcome.

"Ah! A lever!"

She frantically pulled the lever downwards. Midway to her action, the power went back online. The anxiety she felt backed up by the random uncontrolled happenings caused Ellie to use too much force in pulling the lever.

You know what happens next…

"Oops…"

Ellie held the lever in her left hand, stared at it, and blinked twice.

"Systems offline. All electronics are down. Get ready, denizens…"

The screens that never had the chance to reboot conjured electric impulses all over the place. These surges caused the cylinders behind the screens to explode in a cascade. This triggered the ceiling to collapse onto the complex pieces of machinery. More explosions destroyed the area's confining walls. The place was reduced to rubble. Heaven knows what happened to the curious little devil who was assisted by a mysterious man.

Let's go to the situation of the characters we all know and love. This happened around ten minutes before the current events in New Hell.

Elsie headed to Keima's room after preparing a dish for her buddy who collapsed from hunger. On this day, she wasn't the regular Elucia de Lute Irma[6] that everyone knows. She really took the insult Keima dealt to her. It was a shallow one at that, but for some reason, she felt that Keima really meant what he said. Now her attitude took a whole 180. She stared at her work of art and murmured to herself.

"Nii-sama must eat… Else, he'll die from hunger. Whatever it takes, he will be energized with what I made, and more. Nii-sama will like it. Kami-niisama will love it! Fufufufu…"

As she reached the door to Keima's room, she felt a sudden chill. Without turning anywhere, she said to herself.

"I feel like someone's watching me. Good… They shall see my true power when it comes to curses!"

She opens the door and proceeds to her buddy's room. Nothing has changed after she left. The room was still a mess. Like a bomb exploded in this room. The gaming area was cut in half. The hole in the wall remained. There was debris everywhere. Not to mention, Keima still lied there unconscious next to the broken CD of One Leaf, a galge his favorite heroine stars in.

"Nii-sama… Wake up…" Elsie speaks to Keima indifferently while nudging him with her foot.

"Nii-sama… Time to eat…" she continues on.

"Nii-sama…"

Since Keima won't wake up, the devil buddy decides to use her raiment to carry Keima. At Elsie's command, the raiment ties itself to Keima's stomach and brings the unconscious gamer near Elsie. Unexpectedly, Keima utters something.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean… what I said…"

Surprised by this, Elsie accidentally lets go of Keima. He falls on his back, but he still remains unconscious. The gamer continued.

"I just had to say that because of the current circumstances. I never wanted to hurt your feelings. Even if I tell you, you wouldn't understand because… because I… because I have to save them!"

As Keima finished, he immediately rose. Just like someone who just had a bad dream. Elsie was moved by the little words Keima said. It's as if she's really easily influenced by this boy's words. She kneeled and immediately hugged Keima. With tears in her eyes, she told him.

"Uu… Nii-sama, I'm sorry, too, for causing you lots of trouble. You've always been harsh to me verbally, but now I'm reminded that I should value whatever you tell me, so I can improve myself. Deep down, Nii-sama is very kind… I promise I'll patch up whatever needs fixing, and I promise I'd buy you the things I broke and more than that! Uu~ Nii-sama…"

Embarrassed by the situation, Keima tries to break free from Elsie's hug. With a bright red face, he told her.

"Waa, Elsie! Let go of me! Let go! Why are you hugging me? Aghhh!"

Keima struggles to get free, and his condition didn't help him. He feels weakened from his struggling. He bowed his head and breathed heavily.

"Elsie… Haah… Stop hugging me…" Keima uneasily told his buddy as he tapped her left shoulder twice.

Coming to her senses, Elsie lets go of Keima. Keima pressed his hands to the floor, still breathing heavily. Elsie glanced at the exhausted Keima, quickly changed her sights to the plate, and remembered the current situation.

"Ah, Nii-sama! You took too long without eating. Here. Eat this, please!~"

She handed the plate to the weak-looking Keima. He blankly stared at the plate. Without any second thoughts, he chugged down the dish. The mixed flavor of the sweet pancakes and the tangy mixed vegetables filled Keima's mouth. He swallowed the meal.

"Elsie, haven't I told you that…"

Keima suddenly stood up and exclaimed.

"I ABSOLUTELY HATE SWEET THINGS! Oh, wow. I feel energized. Interesting meal. I can use one of these every once in a while."

Elsie was elated at Keima's remark.

"Ooooh… Wow! I'm glad you said so, Nii-sama! Heehee… I actually did it! It worked! My curse… worked. Arre?[7]"

After she said this, Keima stared at his buddy in astonishment. Elsie did the same. Both of them blinked twice, and then.

"EHHH!? What did you say!? C-curse?" Keima yelled as he put his hand on Elsie's shoulder and shook her.

"Wha-what…? N-nothing! I said nothing! Mou, Nii-sama. You still believe in curses?" Elsie told Keima while faking a smile.

"Don't lie to me! I know when you're lying! You just don't say things so unnecessarily!"

"Uhh… Ehh…"

Elsie looks away from her buddy.

"Answer me!"

Then suddenly…

DORODORODORODORODORODORODORODORO…

The skullpiece's eyes on the devil buddy's head blinked light blue.

"Hmm…? A message?" Elsie wondered as she took the skullpiece from her head.

"Denizens of New Hell, we are in a grave situation. Our technology. Our very way of life is at risk. For now, save up the gadgets you all have now. You'll never know when you'll truly need them. Don't worry, though. This'll all be fix—"

Audio from the skullpiece sounded around the room. It was cut short and all that remained was static. Elsie clicked the right eye of the skullpiece, and the static stopped.

"Did you hear that, Nii-sama? I feel there is something wrong with Hell…" Elsie asks Keima in a worried tone.

"It didn't sound too serious… Plus, quoting from a game and conveying it to others is a sign this is a prank." Keima answered calmly and indifferently.

"B-but, Nii-sama, that was the voice of the ruler of New Hell!"

"Ruler? You new-generation demons are democrats or something? Whatever this is, this doesn't concern me. I'm going to put this plate in the kitchen sink."

Keima then exits the room.

"W-wait up, Nii-sama! At least listen to what I have to say about this! Nii-sama!~"

Elsie leaves the room in pursuit of her buddy.

This series of random events throughout these two realms filled the current atmosphere with unease. Not everyone is aware of the current happenings. If you've read this thoroughly and understood it, good for you…

Author's Notes:

Once again, what's up? P3r50n5_UnKnWn over here writing for the NOHK! After an accumulated writing time of almost 48 hours, I have finally finished Chapter 1 of this completely impulsive fanfiction! Yay! Even so, I'm very sorry about that one month delay, plus more delays. I was about to post this by August 1 to kick off the new month with some bang for the epic readers, especially the first reviewer who seems to be a devoted Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai fan like myself. Shout-out to gamingunkown1 for that! Woo! XD

First thoughts while writing this Chapter 1:

Did I just turn Elsie into a witch…? No, seriously, did I just do so? Did I just forget her true nature and create one that's the polar opposite? Main excuse to slide away from this: the setting of the fanfic. It happened during a certain long period after Vintage's destruction, so yeah…

Midway towards the whole thing, I realized the domination of the OCs during this point in time. I still don't know whether there are many people who still stick to reading fanfics after overusage or introduction of OCs. Ah, well. It's my call, anyway. XD

I used a lot of repetitive words. Yeah, I know. I'm not too wordy with some aspects. I was writing this on impulse.

23 and 5/6 pages of this raw thing in my Religion notebook FTW! And it's ironic how I'm writing about Hell in a Religion notebook. Genius…

As with Chapter 1, the next chapter will be delayed for a yay long time due to me and my authenticity problems and my school problems. Hell, I sacrificed most of my time for this than in reviewing for certain entrance exams to be held in the coming hours. Yes, hours.

Oh, forget about my struggles! Please review this epic work that I toiled on, almost being confiscated by teachers here and there. Wow. Here are the footnotes:

[1]: Pancakes with mixed vegetables… Yeah… Best I can do on impulse. Okay to laugh upon or critique, but I don't feel like changing it. XD

[2]: Mou: A Japanese word translating to something like, "Geez!" or at least that's what I think.

[3]: Bishounen: A Japanese term that translates as "young boy" or some boy in his teen years. Usually described as good-looking, I think.

[4]: Senpai: A Japanese honorific used by a lowerclassman to his/her upperclassman. Is there even a word such as "lowerclassman"? But that's beside the point.

[5]: Nee-san: Another Japanese honorific used by someone younger to address his/her older sister. In the context, Ellie uses it to respectfully call out an unknown lady seemingly just a few years older than her. Like Elsie's "Nii-sama" to Keima; the latter being much more respectful, maybe a little bit too respectful? And "nii" is for an elder brother, just to say.

[6]: Elucia de Lute Irma: Now, now. I know Elsie's real full name is Elysia de Lute Irma, but yeah, I decided to use the previous one. Why? It sounds better for me, that's why, and because I can. Yeah, that's why.

[7]: Arre: How to describe this word… It's used like a "Huh?" in Japanese. Yeah. That's a good way to describe it.

Does everyone even need a footnote for the basic Japanese terms…? Ah, well. Better safe than sorry. XD