The Abyssal Lord (DxD)

Gremory Estate, Underworld

“Hmm, I see”

Zeoticus Gremory, father of the current Satan Lucifer, said after his son Sirzechs Lucifer told him about the events that had transpired yesterday at the underworld capital.

It has to be said that the reaction of the patriarch was certainly unique, which is particularly evident by the reactions of the fellow Gremory devils currently sitting in this hall.

From the top and sitting on the table's head seat is the current Patriarch of the Gremory household Zeoticus Gremory, followed by his wife and mother to Sirzechs Venelana Gremory and next to them to the left is the Satan Lucifer himself followed by his wife Astrei Baal, or more recently called Astrei Gremory and next to her and Sirzechs's son Millicas Gremory, and standing behind them is their former maid Grayfia Lucifuge.

And to the left of the clan head sits his and Venelana's only daughter and Sirzechs's little sister Rias Gremory and occupying the seat next to her is her Queen Akeno Himejima.

“Brother Sirzechs, Grayfia are you both alright!? Are you going to hand her away without fighting? How can there be something like demons for ages and nobody has heard about it?”

Rias, being the hot blooded princess she is, stood up from her seat and fired off a barrage of questions at her brother, who sported a wry smile, the same smile that's being shared by everyone in the room except for Millicas, who's looking at Grayfia silently with concern.

“Ria calm down, and speak slowly ok?”

And of course being the sisc- big brother he is, Sirzechs comforted his little sister.

“That's correct Rias, calm yourself little lady this isn't a behavior befitting of a noble devil”

Rias eventually calmed down after being reprimanded by her mother and brother, and sat down and kept silent, didn't mean she was done with this though.

“As I was saying father, you're surprisingly calm about all this”

The fairly young by devil standard Lucifer was actually admiring his father a little, I mean if someone came to you someday and said that a worldwide threat have come knocking at your doorsteps, demanding some kind of compensation or he will destroy your world and everything in it, isn't something anyone can take without even raising a brow.

And from the varying reactions he got from his family that ranged from gasping in shock to outright yelling, spoke volumes of his fathers mental discipline.

“I mean the issue has basically solved itself has it not? The demon came not for war or conquest and as proof to his claims he signed a contract with the Great Red and Ouroboros Dragon even while having the ability to completely overwhelm them both, or so you claim, then what is there to be worried about?”

And after saying this his brow twitched, which indicates that he remembered something.

“But what worries me is that you tried to trick him and it backfired, I can only hope he doesn't hold a grudge over that, but something tells me it should be fine”

“But Father!! He wanted to take away Grayfia!!”

The same scene from a moment ago repeated itself, but with a different dialogue and this time it was her father who answered her.

“Rias, first of all it was Grayfia herself that took the last discussion and sealed the contract, and second of all even if she didn't have a say in this, it was and still is her duty as a devil to look for the betterment of her species as a whole, and lastly you shouldn't interrupt the discussion in this rude manner”

Zeoticus spoke calmly but with a serious voice to his daughter, as it was partially his and his son's fault that she grew up spoiled, it stands to reason he has to tolerate and eventually correct her behaviour.

And seeing that her father is supporting this decision and her brother is the one who negotiated it in the first place she turned to her mother.

“Mother, please say something, how can we abandon Grayfia like it's nothing, aren't we all a family”

Seeing her daughter on the verge of tears greatly hurt the heart of the Lady of Gremory, but at the same time, she has to understand.

“Rias, you don't seem to understand, we aren't here to debate this decision, we are here to discuss the consequences of it. Meaning it's already set in stone”

The Gremory Heiress couldn't take it any longer and she cracked.

“But why?! Aren't we powerful!? Aren't we pure blood devils with the support of the entire underworld?! How can we not force a single person to obey our terms”

And in the face of the furious Heiress stood the maid that's the root of the problem.

“Lady Rias calm yourself”

Grayfia spoke with a tone that allowed no opposition, a look that promised pain if the words spoken are not being followed.

Which swiftly prompted the devil Heiress to sit down at her seat and stare at the maid with the eyes of an abandoned puppy.

“B-B-But Grayfia, a-aren't you at least mad? How can they do this to you?”

This made the strict maid's eyes turn from frozen and stoic to warm and motherly.

“Lady Rias the decision was one that I made on my own, and as Master Zeoticus has said it has taken into account the benefit of the entire underworld secondary and House Gremory firstly which every devil regardless of affiliation should do”

This made Rias calm down a little, but she was still very emotional.

“Well said Grayfia, it's important for a devil to act on the basis of benefit of their Household, as it's not only their root, but also their backing in our cruel world unless you're strong enough to handle your own, which not many people are”

“Master Zeoticus, may I ask a question?”

Speaking for the first time since the meeting first started, Akeno decided to ask a question, which Zeoticus certainly didn't mind as he gestured for her to go ahead.

“It’s clearly apparent that this so-called Xeron isn't fond of sharing, so will Grayfia continue being the head maid of house Gremory?”

A valid question, it suggests that Akeno here, wasn't all looks but had a decent brain to back it up.

“Yes, a valid question indeed, which I have no answer for yet, because as it stands Grayfia is nearly irreplaceable, so I would like to keep her here, but that clearly isn't and option considering the lengths Xeron went to, to rid Grayfia of any affiliation with the Satan Lucifer, so I decided I will end up negotiating for Grayfia to still be head maid while also being his maid”

Certainly, it spoke volumes when the man in question, nearly killed four Satans and the maid he wanted in the first place just to make a point, so it stands to reason he wouldn't agree to keep her being a head maid here, maybe even interrupt it as an act of rebellion, but that certainly won't come to pass with Zeoticus being the one speaking.

“I have a proposition father”

Astrei spoke to her father-in-law which made him turn to look at her as if waiting for her to continue.

“How about you offer him to stay here, in House Gremory, this way we can avoid the issue with Grayfia altogether”

Astrei wasn't a very powerful devil, but for someone to marry the current Satan Lucifer, that someone had to be special, and in addition to her being childhood friends and sweethearts with Sirzechs, she was also very clever and scheming when she needed to be.

That doesn't mean she's malicious in any way, quite the opposite actually, as he usually only uses her brains to better her family's circumstances.

“Certainly that's a valid proposal, I suppose I'll find the right moment to ask him that, so Sirzechs, did Xeron tell you when he'll arrive?”

And to that Sirzechs only had a strained smile, which didn't bode well for the Gremory Patriarch.

“He said and I quote ‘I'll be going back to the Abyss for now, once I finish my business I'll go to where my is currently to collect her’ and then he left and we haven't heard from him in a day, not even Grayfia”

“Hmm… that's certainly quite -”

“Arrogant!”

The feisty Gremory Heiress is back at it again, and with more sass than ever, now that she can't do anything about it may as well make her displeasure clear.

“...I was going to say brazen, but you're not wrong, but I assume he has more than enough ability to back up his arrogance, I guess we'll wait and see”

And as if remembering something the Father asked his daughter something.

“That reminds me, how is your peerage now?”

This causes Rias's features to soften a little bit, as evident by the hint of excitement in her voice when she replies.

“They're all fine father, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko are all doing well, Gasper is still in his room locked in, as I have to say on controlling him yet, but recently I seem to have found a new potential member”

She says with stars practically shining in her eyes.

“Oh? By your excitement I assume he/she is quite powerful? Are they devils?”

“No, he isn't a devil. He's a normal human named Issei Hyoudou, but he seems to possess some kind of Sacred Gear, Possibly a Longinus, but he doesn't seem to be aware of it yet”

This causes Zeoticus to smile at his daughter, he knows her dream is to be a rating dream champion, so it's understandable that she's excited about a new potential powerful peerage member.

“Then all is well, now everyone this meeting is officially dismis-”

“Now, now what's the rush. Let us chat for a bit”

A slash in the void and out from it came someone who can only be considered as Xeron, but this time he wasn't wearing armour like when he first arrived, he was wearing a French suit with a new relaxed smile, that seemingly looks like he just went out on vacation.

And with that exact same smile he pulls a chair at the end of the table opposite to Zeoticus, and sits on it while looking very relaxed, then he turns to everyone in the room and says.

“You certainly look like a lively bunch.”