Published at 11th of March 2022 11:32 pm

Chapter 503 - Aftermath (III)...

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[Vatican]

"I am afraid that I am the bearer of bad news. Recently, Heaven was conquered by Hela" Michael said in a grim tone, shocking everyone present inside the room. Everyone drastically paled after hearing Michael's words.

"H-how??" The Pope blurted out weakly.

"...She is overwhelmingly stronger than all of the Angels combined. She simply showed up in Heaven and told us to either surrender or die… I decided to surrender" Michael said while looking down at his hands.

Xenovia and Irina wanted to scream in protest, but a glare from Vasco and Touji shut them up. Vasco cleared his throat to get attention. "Why?" Vasco asked.

"There was no other way… she is insanely strong and completely cold and ruthless, she would have killed all of us just to make a point…" Michael said in a defeated tone, but he wasn't done. "I did what I had to do for our continued survival" Michael added, his voice filled with guilt.

"What about humans? What is going to happen to us?" Touji questioned in a calm tone, but it was pretty clear that he was barely holding himself back. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Angels had decided to surrender due to their selfish reasons.

"...I don't know. Hela doesn't seem to have any plans for you… even if she does have a plan, she didn't tell me" Michael said while shaking his head.

"But the Angels should have started to fall or stop existing altogether, after all, they only exist due to our faith?" The Pope asked in an incredulous tone.

"Hela made some changes… we can exist on our own. We no longer need the faith of humans to keep existing" Michael answered and everyone inside the room stared at him with some loathing in their eyes. Michael expected a reaction like this, but they deserved some answers, that is the only reason he decided to come here.

"So… how can we keep protecting humans? Now that the Angels have fallen, we are on our own, but unlike you…" Touji spat and pointed towards Michael in disdain. "We won't back out from our duties" Touji declared heatedly.

"...Touji, you are going too far. I also don't like the choice he made, but what would you have done in his position? His options were pretty limited, surrender or die" Vasco tried to placate his apoplectic friend.

"I would have decided to fight! They were supposed to protect us!! I wonder how God reacted after hearing his decision… he must be too ashamed to show his face" Touji spat out in anger.

"...I wouldn't know, after all, he had been missing since the end of the Great War" Michael revealed with a blank look on his face. All the humans inside the room froze in shock and their eyes grew wide like saucers.

"W-what do you mean by God has been missing?" Irina stuttered out in a disbelieving tone.

"Just what I said… God has been gone since the end of the Great War. We don't even know if he is alive or dead… but we have assumed that he is dead" Michael answered, looking somewhat lost.

"No…" Xenovia and Irina gasped. "Then where is the love we receive coming from?" Xenovia questioned frantically.

"Yes, where are our blessings coming from?" Vasco asked, followed by Xenovia.

"It was due to the Heaven's System, the System is responsible for almost everything… Your Holy Powers came from the System, even the Excaliburs function due to the existence of the System. It was barely functioning after God's disappearance and the System was barely functioning even under my management" Michael explained.

For a few minutes, nobody said anything. Irina and Xenovia looked completely devastated… It was like someone had killed their families after killing their puppies. Vasco Strada, Touji Shidou, and the Pope were handling it much better, but they were also devastated.

"Why weren't we told about this?" The Pope asked, he was barely holding his temper back.

"What do you suppose would have happened if it was an open secret?" Michael snapped back and the Pope didn't want to back down, but when Vasco placed a hand over his shoulder, the man finally released a sigh and sagged in his chair.

"Now, Hela is in control of the System and she has corrupted the System with her own type of Holy Power which is very different from ours… Yes, Hela possesses Holy Power. Unlike me, she has total control over the System and she has already made some drastic changes" Michael explained.

"That is why you are losing the power to harness the Holy Power and even the Excaliburs are acting funny. I wouldn't be surprised if the Excalibur fragments start to mutate due to the corrupted Holy Power" Michael continued his rant. For a few minutes, everyone kept pondering Michael's words.

"So, what is going to happen to us and the Church?" Touji asked in a defeated tone.

"Like I said before… I don't know. Hela hasn't told us anything… I don't think she has any plans for the Church, but it is hard to tell. You should contact Serafall Leviathan, Grayfia Lucifuge, or Azazel. They might know something. Right now, Grayfia Lucifuge is the one who is watching over the System" Michael sighed and shook his head in defeat.

"You are saying that a Devil can freely walk through Heaven?" The Pope asked heatedly and Michael didn't bother to humour him with a reply, so he simply shrugged.

Michael finally stood up. "If Hela decides to pay a visit then please don't try to offend her, obviously, for your own good" Michael said and spread out his golden wings and disappeared from the room with a golden flash, leaving behind a few apoplectic Exorcists and a Pope…

[Sitri Mansion, Kuoh Town]

"Yes, Lady Hela has made several changes in the Sacred Gear System and I can confirm what Sona-sama said is true, after Walburga's death, her Sacred Gear was transferred to Sona-sama" Grayfia said and everyone looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"How… that is not how the Sacred Gears are supposed to work, right?" Yuuto Kiba asked with a confused look on his face.

"No, that isn't how they are supposed to work, but as I mentioned, Lady Hela has made some changes in the Sacred Gear System. Normally, full-fledged Devils couldn't own a Sacred Gear, but now even full-fledged Angels and Fallen Angels could wield a Sacred Gear"

"Lady Hela has made another change. Normally, the 'Incinerate Anthem' isn't like other Sacred Gears, it could be passed down from wielder to wielder, it also had its own will, so it could choose its own wielder after the death of one wielder" Grayfia explained and looks of realization dawned on several faces.

"She is wielding one of the thirteen Longinus type Sacred Gears?" Rias questioned in a bewildered tone. Sona and Serafall looked at each other and they nodded at each other.

"Yes, I am the current wielder of Incinerate Anthem" Sona admitted honestly, there was no reason to hide the truth as it would come out sometime in the future and it was better if she did it on her own terms.

"So, the Will of the Incinerate Anthem chose Sona after Walburga's death?" Tsubaki asked curiously and Grayfia shook her head in denial.

"That is not what happened. Incinerate Anthem would have never chosen a Devil, Sona was selected as the next wielder because of the second change. Right now, if a wielder of a Sacred Gear is killed then the Sacred Gear will be transferred to the killer, no exceptions" Grayfia answered with a straight face and everyone inside the room beside her turned completely white.

"So, you are saying that if I am killed right now, then my Sacred Gear will be transferred to my killer?" Genshirou Saji gasped in surprise.

"Yes, that is what I am saying" Grayfia deadpanned.

"Why would Lady Hela do something like that?" Tsubasa Yura questioned with an incredulous look on her face.

"It is obvious… Lady Hela is the Goddess of War and Death, she must have done it to promote conflicts" Sona said, looking like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Grayfia, how many people know about this change?" Serafall asked with a serious look on her face.

"All of them are present inside this room" Grayfia answered with a straight look on her face.

"Then we are going to keep it that way. If any of you reveal anything which was discussed in this room to anyone, then I will come after you and I can assure you that you won't like it" Serafall warned everyone as she glared around the room.

She was extremely protective of her sister, so she would go to any lengths to protect her sister. Everyone beside Sona gulped loudly, but they nodded their heads in agreement. Sona gave Serafall a grateful look and then she turned towards Grayfia.

"Grayfia, I have heard that Azazel is an expert in Sacred Gears, can you ask him to help me?" Sona asked and Serafall immediately slammed her palm on the table.

"No! I won't allow that sick pervert to be anywhere around my cute little sister!!" Serafall protested and Sona started to blush in embarrassment.

"Onee-San, I need to train and he is the most knowledgeable when Sacred Gears are involved" Sona explained her reason and Serafall reluctantly backed down.

"Okay… I will contact him right now, but you shouldn't tell him about the second change Lady Hela had made" Grayfia said with a small nod.

"Sona, would you mind if I ask Azazel to help my Peerage members too?" Rias asked in an almost pleading tone.

"I don't mind, but you have to ask him on your own" Sona said and a bright smile appeared on Rias's face. She gratefully nodded her head after hearing Sona's answer…

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