Sacred Gear: Heavenly Crown

Chapter 9: The Great Conspiracy (1)

"He'd dead too? You disappoint me, Kokabiel," hummed a tall man with long, brown hair, his bangs covering most of his right eye. "We made an agreement and you don't seem to be holding up your end of the bargain."

"Who cares about him? He was just insurance in case those filthy devils found out early," he grunted back. "I would have killed him myself. It's his fault we lost Twilight Healing. Heaven's got their disgusting claws on her now..."

"You seem to know much more than you let on, Kokabiel," mused a third man. He had dark-green hair and evil-looking amber eyes. "Tell me. Did you promise my nun to him as well? I remember agreeing to help with this plan of yours in exchange for her. I don't remember agreeing to it for a used nun."

"He wasn't going to use your nun, devil," Kokabiel snapped. "I just wanted an extra foot soldier and he was willing to listen to anything I said if I promised her to him."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because if I wanted to kill you here and now, I would, devil."

"Now, now, why don't you gentlemen calm down. We do have an alliance, remember?" suggested the fourth man. He was mostly bald, with tufts of gray hair on the sides of his head, and was noticeably overweight. "I'm sure you'll all get what's promised to you."

"Remind me again why he's here?" the first asked rather aggressively.

"The Holy Swords. We can't do anything with them without those little crystals of his," Kokabiel grunted.

"I still don't understand why you need Shalba in the first place," the green-haired man mused. "Aren't you Kokabiel? The legendary warrior of the Fallen Angels? I thought you wanted to usurp Azazel? How can you do that if you can't even kill two little heiresses by themselves, hmm?"

"It's not them I'd have a problem with. I'd be able to kill them and their filthy slaves using two fingers," Kobiel shot back, narrowing his eyes. "Something else is there. An unknown. Freed was killed, Dohnaseek was killed, and Raynare was likely killed, but her body was never found. Someone is slowly killing off my underlings. Besides, while they were all weak by my standards, none of them would lose that easily to any of those stinking devils or humans. Someone or something knows about what I'm planning and now Azazel knows too."

"So, the little crow got discovered, did he?" mused the brown-haired man. "So, you came begging your enemies to pity you, is that right?"

"Watch your mouth, filthy devil scum. I could kill you where you stand," Kokabiel snarled. "Don't act like you want this just as much as I do. Killing those two devil-brats will set the Underworld on a rampage. You want to take over, don't you? What better time to launch a rebellion than against a country plagued by war?"

"I suppose you make as good a point as you did when you asked for my help in the first place, don't you," he hummed. "Very well. I'll help you deal with those two heiresses and this 'mystery figure' of yours and, in exchange, I want Nightmare and Transparency, in addition to a temporary alliance against the Heaven faction when we both take power. Do we have a deal?"

"You're pushing your luck, Shalba..."

"I suppose I could always leave you to your own problem. After all, you succeeding or failing won't change my cause at all, will it? I'm a patient man. I can wait for another opportunity if-"

"Fine. I accept your terms, devil," he relented, glaring the devil down.

"I'm glad we're in agreement."

"Very well done, gentlemen. A perfect alliance. You get the war you've always wanted, you get that little nun, and you get two swords and the opportunity to take down a mutual ally," the pudgy old man smiled.