Sairaorg woke up in his bed.
Little by little, his memories returned,
and he realized one thing:
He was no longer free.
His soul—
the most important thing of a being—
was no longer his.
It was in the hands of his half-brother.
Was what he did the right choice?
At the very least, his mother would now live well and without problems.
He looked out the window and noticed how silent the outside seemed,
and it was no surprise.
One night…
That was all it took.
All the Bael high command had been annihilated
and later replaced.
Aikren placed souls he owned in charge of all the vacant positions.
Since they were his souls, he knew they could not betray him.
And in a terrifying way…
no one opposed it.
In just one day, everything looked the same as before,
but everything had changed owners in Bael territory.
Why did no one oppose him?
Are you crazy?
This was an army with 1,000 Satan-class beings
and Aikren himself, a Super Demon.
In terms of numbers, from high class downward,
they could not compare to Hell.
But the Satan-class?
There were far more of them than those of the demons and Satans.
The Maous were somewhat terrified.
Sure, it was two Super Demons against only one,
but what would happen if, while Aikren fought one of the two Super Demons,
some 500 Satan-class beings held the other back?
With the ability to manipulate reality
(which, by the way, they discovered was Aikren's ability),
he could eliminate one Super Demon
and eventually go after the other.
Thus, overnight, Hell became much more tense.
The nickname "the king without a crown"
began to circulate,
and it was not without reason.
Right now, Hell was divided.
The masses consumed by libertinism
were more on Aikren's side.
And at the same time, opposing Aikren was risky.
So everything remained at a stalemate.
Aikren took charge of Bael territory,
and he did not attack Hell.
And speaking of the devil…
Aikren was reviewing the number of things that needed to be done.
Not much, as expected.
He simply put the Seven Deadly Sins in charge of several cities,
and they did the work.
But in the end, he still had to see if everything was going according to plan.
Finally, by nightfall, he finished
and saw that everything was going smoothly.
At last, everything was under his control.
And once everything was settled,
he would expand into the human world.
Aikren stepped up to the large window and looked down,
watching the masses move.
—Yes… keep it up. Be demons.
-----------------------_
Several years had passed.
Aikren had just turned seven years old.
As a curiosity, Aikren's birthday is on the same day as Christmas.
He spent it inviting his fiancées and their families,
who were now much more respectful toward him.
After all, he had no family,
so spending it with his fiancées
seemed better than being alone and bored.
Sairaorg?
He was not sure if he could still be considered family,
considering that he owned his soul.
Maybe like an object of your possession
that you call family.
Leaving that aside…
Aikren was in his office,
basically deciding which humans to kill
and which ones to send to Alastor's program.
It was something terrifying.
His competitors in the human world
were calmly at home,
and suddenly their devices began broadcasting the screams of their associates
with whom they had been suppressing Aikren's businesses.
By the way, Alastor was very close to reaching the Super Demon rank.
He had obtained a large number of souls,
and his power had increased.
The Seven Deadly Sins were the same.
Their names—both Aikren's
and those of his subordinates—
were well known in the supernatural world.
After all, someone like him is hard to ignore.
The angels were worried.
Fallen angels, Greeks, and Norse beings
were regular customers of his businesses.
A funny story was that Azazel apparently
lost a large portion of his Sacred Gears
at Mammon's hands,
and later lost even more things to Asmodeus.
Poor guy.
But thanks to that, Sir Pentious
had many ways to research.
He managed to improve weapons and Sacred Gears alike.
And Carmilla sold some,
while others were used to improve her army.
A connection formed with Aikren.
He was surprised.
Someone was seeking a contract with him.
Do you know how difficult it is
to personally contact him?
This sparked his curiosity.
Tracing the connection,
he teleported to the summoning location.
-----------------------_
Mrs. Yukinoshita looked at the summoning circle on a piece of paper.
It was distorted.
The letters and symbols were moving.
She had emptied the last of her assets to obtain this.
If it weren't for the fact that she knew the Shinomiya family
and they owed her a favor,
it would not have been possible to obtain this contract.
Aikren Bael.
No…
now he would be Lord Bael.
Among humans who knew about the supernatural world,
he was very well known.
Although the prices he usually demanded
were high by modern standards.
His contracts were far more diverse.
Want beauty? Sure—pay.
Want soldiers? Sure—pay.
Want to use demonic magic? Sure—pay.
Want Super Demon–level power?
Are you sure you can pay for it?
Of course—pay.
All wishes could be granted
as long as you paid the price.
And no one could fulfill a wish better
than Aikren Bael himself.
That was why she was summoning him.
The circle lit up and adhered to the ground.
Reality itself seemed distorted,
as if it could not endure his presence.
And then he appeared.
A seven-year-old boy.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita did not dare to underestimate him.
That confident smile seemed capable of devouring everything.
She immediately knelt in seiza
and pressed her forehead to the floor.
Aikren watched with mild interest.
He had expected the head of a conglomerate
or a president, as was usual,
but instead found the head of a small company
from an ordinary city.
The only interesting thing
was that Aikren knew exactly who she was.
—Lord Bael, it is a pleasure to meet you.
Without lifting her forehead from the floor, she spoke.
Aikren simply looked down at her,
like any proper demon.
—Just call me Mister Aikren.
I don't hold much affection for my surname.
—Yes, Mister Aikren.
Aikren was pleased.
—So then, why did you summon me?
It must have been very difficult to obtain my contact.
With his eternal smile, he merely gazed down at her.
—I have a wish.
I want prosperity for my family.
An incomprehensible wish?
Perhaps for the demons of this world,
but the demons under Aikren's command could accomplish it.
If you asked for luck, you could have it…
as long as you paid.
—Hmm, quite an ambitious wish.
And what do you wish to give me in return?
—We will give you 20% of the entire Yukinoshita business
and provide you with 100 complete souls every month.
Aikren raised an eyebrow.
Even the head of the Shinomiya family
had to give him 50% of his family in their deal.
And the 100 souls?
Please—he could obtain that many
in an hour if it wasn't a good day.
If she were a normal client, he would reject her
and later use her as an example
of why one should not summon him frivolously.
But she was special.
Was this capricious and unfair?
Did you forget my race?
Still, it wasn't enough.
—I am willing to accept this deal.
Mrs. Yukinoshita's eyes lit up.
—But I want to add one condition.
She involuntarily raised her head.
—What is the condition?!
Aikren's smile widened.
—I want the soul of one of your daughters.
The head of the family widened her eyes.
—That…
She hesitated, her eyes darting from side to side,
her mind battling between being a good mother
or a good head of the family.
Aikren simply watched her, smiling.
Why did he want the soul of a human girl
with no special abilities?
Very simple.
Because I am a devil.
Finally, Mrs. Yukinoshita
seemed to reach a decision.
—Alright.
Aikren looked at her, satisfied.
—I will come for the soul of one of your daughters someday,
and I will decide which one I take
when I see them.
Both raised their hands
and shook them.
Reality shifted slightly,
signaling that the pact had been sealed.
And thus passed a normal day in Aikren's life.
-----------------------_
Aikren was calmly inside the Gremory mansion.
He was there to pick up his fiancées,
who had been invited
by an agitated Rias.
Apparently, something about having been engaged.
Seeing that things were taking too long,
Aikren teleported inside.
The barriers?
Intact.
He didn't even need to break them—
he simply altered reality
so that the barriers would consider him an "ally."
When he entered, he could already hear the shouting.
—This isn't fair!
The shout of the Gremory heiress
sounded like she was about to cry.
—My brother is a wonderful husband!
The voice of the Phoenix princess
sounded offended.
—That's only because you do have someone "amazing"!
The Gremory girl's reply
was filled with envy.
—Don't fight…
Sona seemed to be mediating between them.
sigh
—Time to put out the fire.
TO BE CONTINUED