/
What was I doing?
Catherine was seriously wondering. According to her last memory, she read a book in her room.
And if possible, she hoped that was true because she would have bought the concerns of her grandmother and knights if she had collapsed while the employees were watching from outside.
‘Haa.’
It was already the second time. She didn’t want it, but she’s already found herself here for the second time.
「Everyone, it’s been a long time.」
This is the abyss. An unknown space exists between Eden, the land of life, and the fiery pit, the land of devils. Catherine was dragged back into a space that only the Great Devil could enter.
「Belial, Behemoth, and
」
There was a moment of silence. The owner of the voice continued the behind-the-scenes speech that had been blurred with a voice that couldn’t be helped.
「Leviathan. Please refrain from making such a cruel expression.」
「If you’re calling me for a trivial reason, I’ll make you a piece of tissue here, Asmodeus.」
Why am I here?
Catherine curled up behind the rocks. Cesare, who showed himself as a devil, was as wild and ruthless as he was in Lilith. Even in his voice, there was no human emotion she felt.
「It’s not a trivial reason, so I won’t be torn by you. That’s a relief.」
「Hmm—. Hey, Asmodeus. It’s enough, so tell me what you want to say. I don’t have time to chat with you in a place like this.」
「Were you in the middle of eating, Belial?」
Asmodeus, the ruler of the Fantasy, and Belial, the ruler of the Red Flame.
Catherine held her breath at the familiar yet brutal names. Do they all come together? Something unimaginable was happening in front of her.
「Yeah! I was just having a lot of fun hunting the cardinals along the way. My cute contractor must have been surprised when I was summoned here—」
Catherine lifted her head and looked over the rock. There were a total of four beings visible in the dark.
They sat in the middle of a large table decorated with red roses as if it were a meal. Cesare sat with his back to her, and the only other people she could see were a beautiful woman and a gray-haired old man dressed in conquest.
「Who’s not here?」
This voice was a little familiar to Catherine.
‘It was Behemoth’s voice. Then, Cesare, Behemoth, Belial, and Asmodeus are in this place now.’
As someone who has studied demonology, this moment felt like a dream for Catherine. If these four came together and joined forces, the world’s destruction would not be a thing.
The old man, Asmodeus, drank wine and answered.
「There are no three out of seven.」
「Hmm, apparently, the four of us here have something in common? Don’t you think so, Asmodeus?」
「Yeah. I only invited the Great Devil who made a contract with a human to this place today.」
A devil who made a contract with a human.
‘Cesare said there would be two more contractors besides Percyville and me.’
It seemed that the devils of the two contractors were Asmodeus, who looked like an old man, and Belial, who looked like a beautiful woman.
In response to Asmodeus’ answer, Belial covered her mouth and smiled. She looked into Cesare’s face, sitting opposite her, and whispered.
「I’m surprised— I’m really surprised, Leviathan! are you with a human? It’s been thousands of years, isn’t it? Didn’t you choose to die because life was boring?」
「It was.」
Belial leaned back on the table and looked at Cesare’s face.
「Oh, my. Your face is alive, Leviathan. You look like you’re really happy.」
「Move your face.」
「Oh my. You’re so harsh.」
Face—. As expected, the Great Devil’s way of speaking was unfamiliar to her.
「Is Belial the oldest here?」
「Old? Oh my. With such a human expression.」
Belial continued with a sour look. It was a devil that somehow reminded her of Madame Pompadour.
「The longest-lived devils among us are Asmodeus and Leviathan. And next is this body, Belial.」
Belial, who gave a seductive kiss to Behemoth, asked Asmodeus again.
「So? What did you call us for?」
「The reason for calling you is related to the reason why Behemoth was summoned by the people of the Vatican.」
「The Pope? Behemoth, do you have no pride?」
「It’s to find Lilith.」
Behemoth’s voice contained subtle anger that could not be hidden. At that, Belial put his long black hair behind his shoulder with a bitter smile.
「You’re so persistent. You still haven’t given up? Lilith is dead. She didn’t even choose a devil to inherit her power, so she’s risking her empty seat to—」
Bang!
It was then.
Blue horns growing from the floor pierced the table and threatened to tear Belial’s chin. A brief silence hovered between them. Belial opened her mouth with a smile on her face.
「Oh? Are you asking me to fight?」
Behemoth warned in a subdued voice.
「Don’t talk about Lilith’s death.」
「Ha? How can a boy who just joined forces give orders?」
Asmodeus, who was sitting still, stepped forward to mediate between the two, whose voices began to grow high.
「Stop, Belial. As you say, Behemoth is still young. Don’t provoke him.」
「Who provoked him? The younger you are, the more bitter you should taste—!」
He tapped Belial’s shoulder as she was about to get up from her seat.
「Stop it. Unless you want to be ripped to death by Leviathan.」
「
Hmph!」
When Cesare was mentioned, Belial became as quiet as ever.
Catherine felt a strange sense of dĂ©jĂ  vu at that sight. When she was a child, the Phanya’s knights would make a similar statement whenever she played out late into the night.
‘Come in and go to sleep, Lady. If you wander around late, the monsters of Abyss Land will kidnap you! The monsters there are very, very scary.’
Is Cesare’s existence a proper explanation for fear among devils?
Cesare, who had been quiet for a while, opened his mouth.
「Continue with what you said, Asmodeus.」
「Yeah. It seems that the Vatican has joined hands with the ‘it.’」
She doesn’t know what ‘it’ is, but the reaction of the Great Devils is very noisy.
「Do you mean ‘it’?」
「Don’t tell me
」
「Is this reliable information?」
In the midst of that, Cesare’s suspicious question was heard. The expression on Asmodeus’ face when he nodded his head was serious.
「Yes, but before I go into detail— It looks like a rat eavesdropping.」
A sharp wind from somewhere swept through Catherine’s ankles.
Catherine shivered from the chill that climbed up from her toes. She instinctively tried to take a step back, but her body didn’t move for some reason.
That moment.
「Which one of the three is he? If you come, leave a greeting—」
Asmodeus’ voice came from right in front of her. Catherine raised her head unknowingly. And she stopped breathing. He was looking at her with distorted, bright purple eyes.
「
Human?」
Die.
In a way she had never felt before, an overwhelming sense of fear struck her.
However, that fear was only temporary. Soon, the world went out, and the surrounding landscape changed instantly. Catherine was lying on the bed with a book in one of her hands. She returned to Phanya’s room.
“Did they see it?”
However, someone was pressing her down.
Catherine blankly looked up at his face. The normally neat silver hair was a complete mess, and the cobalt-colored eyes were filled with tension as she had never seen before.
“What?”
“Did that punk see your face?”
Cesare’s voice was so hard and cold that it felt like in the Abyss here. He asked again, tightening his grip on Catherine’s wrist, which was holding her down.
“Answer me.”
“
it wasn’t what I was hoping for.”
For a long moment, Cesare looked down at Catherine’s face.
Catherine breathed a long sigh of relief inside. When she realized that the opponent in front of her was Cesare, not Asmodeus, she felt a surge of relief.
Cesare slowly got up from the bed.
“That, in its own way, is a concern.”
Catherine also quietly got up after him. Cesare swept his face dry and sat down on a nearby chair.
Perhaps he was on an outside schedule, he was wearing a perfect three-piece outfit. Catherine asked Cesare carefully.
“Cesare, aren’t we supposed to go back to the abyss?”
“I broke it. If it’s an urgent matter, I’ll call you again soon— But with a high probability, you’ll be called too.”
“Is it very dangerous for them to see me?”
Will the Great Devils try to dissect me like crazy wizards?
Cesare lifted his head, which had been bowed down. No matter how much it was in Phanya, it felt very awkward to see Cesare sitting in her own room.
“How can it not be dangerous? The abyss is a space where only the Great Devils can come and go. The fact that mere humans have entered there means that you can covet the Great Devil’s power and rights. You can become a natural enemy. The abyss is a space with that kind of power.”
Raising himself, he walked over to her bed and sat down next to Catherine. If it wasn’t a mistake, she felt a slight sense of anxiety from him.
Cesare is feeling anxious?
The one, the Great Devils, can’t be treated carelessly?
“Simply put, my cause to protect you is weakening. There are only seven Great Devils, but the contractor can replace them as much as they want.”
“So, are you going to change me?”
She asked even though she knew he wouldn’t. Cesare made a surprising look of anxiety, and it seemed as if she wanted to confirm it for no reason.
“No way? I don’t care about it. But those punks can press you with force. I’m just worried that they’ll seduce you when I’m not around.”
With those words, Cesare’s eyes were filled with genuine concern. Catherine felt sorry for nothing even though she knew it wasn’t her fault.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be Cesare’s weakness
”
“Weakness?”
Catherine was led by the wrist by his large hand. Before long, the warm palm covered the back of the hand and squeezed tightly.
Cesare now casually takes her hand. Catherine felt embarrassed by the fact, but she didn’t hate it.
“Once again, Catherine, there is no such thing as weakness in me. It might be a little tired for Asmodeus, but Belial, Behemoth—they’re just a bite for me.”
It was a solid sound, but on the other hand, it was strange. Does Cesare know his word look different in front and back?
“You said you’re worried if they seduce me? If it’s not weakness, what is it?”
Cesare closed his mouth. She had never seen such a confused expression before.
Does she ever imagine Cesare, who usually has a relaxed expression, looking like that?