“Hello, Mr Shidou. Let’s have a talk shall we? Take a seat please.”

The pressure suddenly vanished as if it was a lie. It was replaced by a golden sunny aura that covered the room. Still, the cold sweat on his back and the erratic beating of his heart told him that what happened earlier wasn’t an illusion.

Shidou gulped a little before sitting opposite to Az, he hesitated à little before finally asking,

"Who are you exactly?"

Azrael let out a mysterious smile before answering,

"As I said. My name is Gemini Azrael. But I guess this name doesn't mean much to you. Hum… You should understand better if I presented myself as the Uncrowned Prince of the Church."

A shiver went through Shidou back, even though the sunny aura managed to calm his nerves.

He took a deep look at Azrael before lowering his head.

If before he was bewildered because he couldn’t understand how such a young child could emanate such a strong pressure, now he understood that this was a matter of course. After all, he was HIS son.

(AN: Before anyone throws speculation like him being the son of the god of angels in DxD, please, he isn’t. Even for me, that would be too much.)

He bowed a little more, frankly, the child in front of him had all the right to call himself the uncrowned prince. Bowing or even kneeling in front of him was nothing shameful and could even be seen as an honor.

Azrael dismissed his bow with a casual wave of his hand, he didn’t like this kind of theatrics and he didn’t like appearing so threatening, but he had no choice.

The world was simple but cruel. No normal adult would readily listen or respect a 14 years old teen. He had to show his power and intimidate them into submission if he needed them to listen to him.

Still, as he looked at the still trembling middle-aged man, he couldn’t help but sigh as he thought,

This method is still too brutal. I seriously need to become better at diplomacy. Sooner or later I will meet someone I can’t simply coerce with my power or status.

Azrael was many things, but he wasn’t stupid or arrogant. Arrogant people generally died early, and he wanted to live as long as his lifespan would allow it. Perhaps even longer. Still, this was a question for another day. He brought back his attention to Shidou,

“Mr Shidou, to tell you the truth, I have read the short report about what happened, but I would like to hear the situation from your own mouth. Tell me your own version of this story, about this modern version of Romeo and Juliet”

He leaned backward a little bit as he looked sharply at the man in front of him.

“I want to know more about the tragic story between the exorcist Yaegaki Masaomi and the high-class devil Belial Cleria.”

Shidou lowered his head.

It finally came.

Was the only thought going through his head. Perhaps telling this story, would allow him to release a little of the guilt in his heart? He took a deep breath before beginning the story,

---

“……Yaegaki Masaomi. He was a skilled warrior of the Church, and previously, my subordinate.”

“He……Yaegaki-Kun fell in love with……a high-class female Devil who was in charge of Kuoh town back then. The high-class female Devil was someone from the House of Belial’s branch family.”

“We could never allow such a thing. Both sides tried convincing them from different standing points. —But their relationship was already serious. Allowing that would mean giving an exception. Exceptions are the ban of the rules. As such, we decided to split them apart by using force. Likewise, from the devils’ side the same decision was taken. Ironically, at that time only, we united even though we were deadly foes. All that in order to protect each of our rules.”

Azrael interjected,

“So you decided to kill them?”

Shidou flinched a little, but still continued his story without raising his head,

“It resulted in such a way at the end. We tried to convince him until the very end. —But, it seemed that devils couldn’t stand the situation…..In the end, both sides fixed each of their problems.”

“What happened to the others who were with you?”

Shidou raised his head as he stared vacantly at the ceiling,

“All of those affiliated with the Church based at Kuoh town, and those that were involved with the incident excluding me were sent overseas. Some of them were promoted as a reward, while some broke down to have doubts between their own justice or their belief of God due to having the blood of their comrade on their hands.”

---

After Shidou finished his story, Az simply looked at him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, then,

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

Began to laugh hard as he clapped,

“Ahahah~! Bravo! bravo! What a beautiful story full of tears and emotions. It was really Oscar-worthy.”

Then he stopped clapping and crossed his hand in front of him.

“So let me get the situation straight. Your subordinate supposedly colluded with a devil by falling in love with her, and your solution...Was to strike a deal with even more devils in order to kill the two of them. Is this it?”

Shidou hung his head in shame. Back then it seemed the best solution possible. The Belial clan was one of the 72 pillars and as a descendant of such illustrious clan, Cleria possessed the unique skill of this clan.

All 72 pillars possess a unique skill. This power allowed them to be in another league compared to other devils. The Belial clan power was called [WORTHLESS].

This power was extremely horrifying because it allowed them to nullify both offensive and defensive abilities, so long as they understood the properties of the ability.

Since Cleria was Masaomi's lover. Her understanding of exorcist skills shouldn't be doubted, and, when adding her strength as a high class devil, the exorcist based on Kuoh town would have never been able to beat her by themselves.

Making a temporary alliance with the devil seemed the perfect solution to this thorny problem. After all, if they had waited for reinforcement, the two might have fled which would tarnish the church honor. .

But now, hearing the sarcastic tone used by the prince, he realized how ridiculous it was. Despite it being a logical decision.

---

Azrael looked at the man in front of him with calculating eyes. Frankly, he had no right to punish him. He may have acted foolishly, but the situation was clear. It was truly one the best solution, even though it was also one of the most hypocritical.

Sadly, humans were creatures very easy to manipulate. Even the most confident ones would always doubt their decision a little in their head. If someone could push the right button, he could make them see a previously smart decision as something incredibly stupid.

Shidou already felt an immense amount of guilt. So it was even easier for Azrael to manipulate him. It's important to have more people on his side. Simply having high end people like Dulio, Griselda and Vaso wasn't enough. After all, the power lay in the mass.

Finally, and even more importantly, something felt fishy.

The situation was weird. Too weird.

For the church, having their exorcists fall in love with a devil was without a doubt a shame of epic proportions.

But for a devil? Having an exorcist fall in love with them was basically the greatest honor. It was basically a show of strength and skill. If she could make him become a reincarnated devil this would be even more so.

But…Rather than congratulating her, they allied in order to kill her? This wasn't right. Rather than an alliance, it felt more like the devil used them in order to have an excuse to kill those two.

Just what kind of secrets are hidden behind this tragedy?