While Adam sent a text message to Rias informing her that he and Serafall were going to hand over Raynare in an attempt to get some benefits for her, Serafall dispelled the barrier. Adam then gestured for Raynare to follow. Although not totally necessary, Serafall cast some bright blue sealing chains around the fallen angel's wrists just in case.
Since she couldn't escape them anyway even without the chains, Raynare silently followed, albeit with a disgruntled expression and heavy begrudging steps.
Downstairs, Adam informed Eve that he was going to be away for a few minutes, and since Koneko still kept her company despite the others heading out to find the other fallen angels, he asked her to continue keeping Eve company until he returned.
Meanwhile, Raynare stared dumbfounded at Eve. The beautiful blonde woman looked quite a bit like the Lilith she had seen from a distance on old battlefields yet maintained the pure and innocent nature reminiscent of an angel who hadn't fallen.
From there, Serafall started casting a teleportation circle to bring her, Adam, and Raynare to the Underworld. The blue magic circle extended beneath them, then they sank into the magic circle.
On the other side, they rose from within another blue magic circle in the Underworld. Purple skies stretched out above them, giving their surroundings an eerie purple-red tint in contrast to Earth's calmer blues and greens. Their current surroundings mostly consisted of rocky terrain with sparse vegetation.
A small magic circle appeared above Serafall's uplifted palm, and she said, "We are currently in the neutral ground between the Devil and Fallen Angel territory. I'm contacting Azazel to have him take this girl off our hands. Then, we can spar."
Meanwhile, Adam, who was biting into an apple he had swiped from the Occult Research Club room, nodded in affirmation. Both Serafall and Raynare stared at the apple with confused expressions wondering when he had grabbed it. Either way, it looked oddly fitting in Adam's hand.
"Hm. This apple is not bad," Adam muttered aloud to himself. "Maybe Eve and I could make and sell apple juice and call the brand Adam's Apples."
Now, both ladies stared at Adam with deadpan expressions. Even when a rectangular magic screen appeared above Serafall's hand, she almost failed to notice it. On the magical screen, a man who had styled black hair with gold highlights in the front greeted her with a questioning gaze, finally grabbing her attention again.
"Hm. I thought it was a good joke," Adam commented, taking another bite of his apple, all the while chuckling to himself.
"Hello, Serafall Leviathan. Always happy to see your beautiful face. You are trying to contact me for some reason?" The man on the screen greeted her with a friendly smile.
Doing her best to ignore Adam's pun, Serafall focused on the screen and replied, "Yes. Hello, Azazel. I have something to bring to your attention."
"What might that be? Is this about the upcoming meeting?"
"No," Serafall answered.
Serafall then set the screen to float in midair and stepped back a bit, giving Azazel a view of both Adam and Raynare. While Adam casually ate his apple, Raynare blushed, lowered her gaze, and nervously fidgeted from the moment she laid eyes on Azazel's face.
Resting her hands on her hips, Serafall explained, "One of your Fallen Angel's was causing trouble in the Gremory territory where my sister is staying, so I brought her here to trade for benefits for my sister!"
"Oh?" Azazel responded, turning his dark red eyes toward Raynare while scratching his goatee. "You are… Raynare, if I remember correctly.
"Serafall, I know you love your sister, but don't forget to ask for compensation for Rias' trouble, too," Adam casually interjected.
"Oh, right! Do you want anything from him, too?"
Eye twitching at how he suddenly got asked for compensation without any explanation, Azazel forced a smile while retorting, "Wait, hold on just a moment. What is all this about compensation now? Also, who is that blonde guy with you?"
"Ah, I guess you don't recognize him. He's Adam! Y'know, the Adam. And he caught this fallen angel trying to kill a human sacred gear holder in the Gremory territory!"
Recalling her pride-damaging loss, Raynare winced and instinctively moved her hands to cover her backside.
"Adam?" Azazel muttered quietly while inspecting Adam with curious eyes. "Hm. Interesting. I'll come meet you, then. Where are you right now?"
"Edge of the neutral grounds between Lucifaad and your Grigori territory, and closer to your end," Serafall answered.
"Got it. I'll be there shortly."
The magic screen abruptly dissipated.
To pass the time, Adam planted the finished apple core with dutiful care nearby, wondering if it would grow strong in this environment. The action drew curious gazes from the two women behind him, though Raynare quickly lost interest and sat on a nearby boulder. Since her arms were still chained together behind her back, her posture looked a little awkward.
Before long, a couple presences flew in from afar and quickly landed in front of them. Both individuals flew over sporting multiple pairs of black feathered wings. Aside from Azazel who landed in front and started dusting off his suit, one other person landed behind him.
The second individual had short and straight silver-white hair topped with a purple beret-like hat and had tired-looking purple eyes. He also wore a decorative purple trench coat atop a black vest and white pants.
Raynare's eyes glowed with fervent admiration upon seeing the two Fallen Angels who stood at the top of Grigori.
Adam, on the other hand, calmly observed the two Fallen Angels with keen eyes. The two Fallen Angels noticed his gaze and glanced at him, only to see a placid expression there. They failed to notice his Eyes of the Lord studying them on their way over.
'Hm. So that's how the structure of their wings work. They're more magical than physical. I'd need to copy their inherent magic abilities to use them, it seems.'
"Oh? You didn't come alone, Azazel?" Serafall asked in a teasing tone.
Azazel sighed, scratched his head, and said, "It's official business, so Shemhazai tagged along."
"Indeed. Good to see you again, Miss Serafall," Shemhazai greeted with a polite smile and slight nod.
"Hello to you as well, Shem-san!" Serafall greeted. "How has your wife been?"
"She is doing well. Her pregnancy has gone smoothly so far."
"Good to hear."
"So, what exactly is the situation here?" Azazel asked, shifting his gaze across both the fervent Raynare and passive Adam before looking at Serafall again.
"Well, some Fallen Angels are causing trouble around my sister, killing people and stealing Sacred Gears," Serafall explained. Then, she pointed a thumb at Raynare and added, "This is one of them."
"I see," Shemhazai muttered, glaring sharply at Raynare.
Under the scrutiny of the second in command of the Grigori, Raynare shivered and raised her feet up onto the boulder she was sitting on, partially hiding behind her armored legs.
"And you say that this 'Adam' here captured her?" Azazel asked, casting a curious gaze at the blond man who was currently staring at some large lizards running around in the distance.
"Uh, yeah… Do you want to tell him more, Adam? Considering you seem to know more about the situation," Serafall asked.
Adam nodded and succinctly explained in a few sentences what occurred from start to finish from the moment he encountered Raynare attacking the young human boy up until he got information from her in the Occult Research Club room.
"I see," Azazel responded at the end. His eyes narrowed in contemplation. Although he didn't want to assume anything just yet, he formed an inkling of an idea of what might be going on.
Next to Azazel, Shemhazai sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while grumbling, "Is Kokabiel up to something again?"
"Possible."
Listening to this exchange, Adam nodded and thought, 'If they can take care of it, great. Less work for me. Even if they don't, none of my children will be left in harm's way as long as I'm there.
"This could be troublesome. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Serafall," Azazel said.
"No problem," Serafall responded with a jovial grin and a hop that jiggled her breasts.
Shemhazai didn't pay much attention to that, but Azazel couldn't help staring for a good several seconds until a small pebble struck him on the forehead. The force shattered the pebble to dust and whipped his head back to the point of giving him whiplash and nearly knocked him over.
Not seeing where the attack came from, Shemhazai flared his magic. The entire mountain range around them quaked. Nearby, Raynare fell off her perch on the boulder and bit her tongue to maintain consciousness.
"A glance is understandable, but don't ogle my step-daughter so blatantly."
"Huh?" Shemhazai dispersed his aura and did a double-take at Adam again. Inwardly, he wondered if the attack came from there.
Standing straight again, Azazel rubbed his forehead that now had a red welt the size of a quarter between his eyebrows.
"Ugh. Was that you who did that just now?" Azazel grumbled.
Rather than answer the question, Adam simply said, "If you were her husband, I'd have nothing to say. Otherwise, show some restraint."
Meanwhile, Serafall looked at Adam with a strange expression. As a Devil, she didn't really care that much whether someone ogled her or not, so it seemed like something completely unnecessary. Even so, her heart felt a bit warm.
"Wait, step-daughter?" Azazel asked, his confusion enough to abate any animosity. The inquiry also caused Shemhazai to briefly set aside his rising aura again.
"Did you forget my name?"
"Right, Adam…" Azazel mumbled. His eyes narrowed as he studied Adam more thoroughly than before. Although the man didn't give off the magical presence of a high tier being, now that he studied Adam more closely, he noticed a faint sense of danger hidden under the man's wiry muscles.
"Are you actually Adam? You don't look like I remember," Shemhazai probed.
Adam nodded and answered, "Yes, though not necessarily the one you knew. It's a long story, but you can understand it as I am from a parallel world or timeline."
"Well, you definitely aren't that clone living upstairs," Shemhazai said.
"Obviously," Azazel agreed with a slight sigh. "Well, regardless, I guess it's nice to meet you… if you hadn't thrown a rock at my face."
"It was a pebble."
"For being a man who looks at a woman's breasts? Are you even a man?!" Azazel retorted.
"The first man, actually."
"Pft~" Serafall stifled a laugh.
In contrast, the three Fallen Angels stared at Adam like dead fish.
"I'm curious, though, Adam," Azazel spoke up, changing the subject. "You called her your step-daughter, so don't tell me you stole Lady Sitri from Lord Sitri?"
Then, under his breath, he angrily grumbled, "I'm so jealous, you lucky bastard…"
"Excuse me?!" Serafall exclaimed, taken aback by the unexpected question.
Off to the side, Raynare, who was still trembling from experiencing the weight of a Cadre level aura, dropped her jaw. Her idol suddenly looked less amazing… no, it was her imagination. He was a perfect leader who could never stoop so low.
Even Shemhazai raised a brow at Azazel for a moment.
Adam tilted his head and answered, "Of course not. She is Lilith's descendant."
"Ah, right," Azazel responded in a quiet tone. Although they didn't start off with a great impression, he looked at Adam with a hint of pity in his eyes. "And you care about that woman's children despite everything?"
"Children are not guilty for the sins of their parents," Adam answered with a quiet conviction.
"Huh. Well said," Shemhazai mumbled to himself. Not only him, even Azazel recalled the original Adam, who they remembered as naive and foolish to a fault. The two Fallen Angels who had been around for a long time wondered what would have happened if the original Adam had been replaced by this Adam.
'Would the Devils even exist?' They both wondered.
An exercise in futility, but interesting nonetheless.
"To get back on topic," Adam spoke up, "we wish to exchange this Fallen Angel of yours for some benefits for Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. I don't particularly need anything myself."
"I see. What do you think, Shem?" Azazel asked, turning to his friend.
"Perhaps monetary exchange, or maybe something else, since they refrained from killing one of ours who is potentially putting the peace treaty at risk."
"Those kids are probably attempting to catch the others who were working with Raynare, so you are free to think of something to give to them once those ones are handed over as well," Serafall suggested.
"Hm. Do you want her as a prize by any chance?" Azazel asked, glancing at Adam. "She seems pretty obedient around you."
"What?!" Raynare exclaimed, her eyes trembling with fear.
"No. She might fear me, but she isn't loyal to me. No point making her work in my garden."
"You still have the Garden?" Azazel asked, raising a brow.
"Just a normal garden."
"Hm. I see. Well, we'll take her back with us and think of something to give those kids as an apology for all the trouble later," Azazel said while crossing his arms.
"Works for me," Serafall agreed.
"So, now that we have taken care of business… Miss Maou Leviathan, what are you up to after this?" Azazel asked Serafall with a slightly skewed smile.
"Definitely not going anywhere with you," Serafall retorted, turning her head away.
"We will spar for a bit before leaving," Adam commented.
"Oh?" Azazel responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Perhaps you should stay and watch," Adam casually offered.
"You're okay with me scoping out your power?" Azazel questioned.
Adam looked at the sky for a moment, then lowered his head and stared directly into Azazel's eyes while saying, "Some of your members are like thorns, and I don't like thorns growing in my garden. Sometimes, a deterrent is needed to prevent them from sprouting there in the first place."
"...Okay, then. Shem, let's observe for now."
"Alright."
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Surprised and thankful for all the support and comments about how much you guys have enjoyed this silly little idea I decided to put into words for some reason. Honestly didn't expect people to like it this much. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. I did a couple rewrites of it before settling on its current state, so I apologize if it I missed some things while proofreading.
Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks for all the stones and whatnot!