Chapter 43: Frying Pan

A/N: Gabriel finds herself in a tough spot of her own making…

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Here's the thing about Ultimate Class Beings… they existed on a spectrum just as large if not larger than Low to High Class. This was mostly by design. At a certain level of power, it became rather useless to continue to try and label things.

High Class Beings could generally be considered city destroyers, while Ultimate Class ranged all the way from nation to realm in the destruction they could manage. All in all, it was easier to just put all beings of that power in one bucket and call it a day.

Of course, if you were Ultimate Class yourself, you tended to understand the nuance a bit better. For example, the Underworld had four Great Satans but only two of them were Super Devils. The power discrepancy between the current Leviathan and Asmodeus and the current Lucifer and Beelzebub could not be ignored. Even the current Lucifer stood on another level above the current Beelzebub in personal power, though that was more a consequence of differing priorities.

Likewise, Michael was on an entirely different level than Gabriel and the other two Great Seraphs because he was connected to the Throne of Heaven. He couldn't access all of their late father's power, nor even most of it, but he could access enough to keep them from being overrun by any of the other factions long ago.

Essentially, among Ultimate Class Beings, there were tiers in and of themselves. As one of the Four Great Seraphs, Gabriel could have normally expected to have stood head and shoulders over your average Ultimate Class Being.

… But that was not the case here in this moment. This red eyed, silver haired devil had come out of nowhere, seemingly absent one moment and present the next. And yet, despite being so thoroughly hidden mere moments before, she was matching Gabriel power for power now.

Gabriel liked to pride herself on keeping abreast of current events. She tried not to stick her head in the sand and ignore the world around her, even if there had been times it was tempting to do so since her father's death.

… However, she has absolutely no clue who this devil is. And that is concerning, because she likes to think she knows most Ultimate Class Beings who can go toe to toe with her.

In the end, the tension is broken not by Gabriel or this mysterious powerhouse of a devil… but by her so-called Master clearing his throat.

"Hey… maybe we can talk this through? Look, Gabriel, right? I'm sure you don't want to get into a fight with Grayfia here. Especially because such a fight would do untold amount of damage to this tower and the city around it, threatening innocent lives and leaving a huge mess that will probably be impossible to cover up… right?"

… Damn it, the devil had a point. They were in the middle of Seoul, South Korea's Capital City. A city of millions upon millions of residents. If she and 'Grayfia' started fighting here, then who could say how many innocent humans would die in the crossfire?

Though… Grayfia… doesn't she recognize that name? Isn't that the name of the woman the Satan Lucifer is rumored to have been hunting for five hundred years?

Even as her suspicions rise, Gabriel sighs and dispels her blade of light, taking a step back.

"… You are right. We should not fight here."

She remains ready for it all the same, however. Devils are an inherently deceptive and deceitful lot. She keeps her wings out and even as she presents a stance that seems imminently open to attack, Gabriel is secretly prepared to react to an opportunistic ambush.

But in the end, seeing her backing down, Grayfia takes a step back as well, and then another handful of quick steps until she's at her master's side. Frowning, Gabriel studies the pair for a moment, trying to figure out who they are… and why the male devil is pinging so strangely to her senses. There's something off about him and it's not just that he's the most physically attractive hell spawn she's ever laid eyes on. No, there's something more, something-

"How the fuck did you get up here in the first place? Who do we have to fire for letting you take the elevator straight to our home?"

Gabriel startles, belatedly remembering that it was not just the three of them in the room. In fact, all three members of Huntrix as well as all four members of K/DA are standing there staring at her with expressions ranging from fear to awe to anger.

Mira, Huntrix's visual and lead dancer, is decidedly in the anger camp as she scowls, her words lingering in the air. For a moment, Gabriel feels a fresh pang of righteous anger at such a beautiful, bright young soul being reincarnated into a Devil. But by this point that was an old hurt for her. Focusing instead on Mira's words, she sighs.

"Do not hold it against your staff. I am an Archangel of the Lord and with that comes a presence that is difficult to stand in the way of. They only meant well."

"… So you're saying you mind whammied them?"

Gabriel's eyes flicker to Zoey, who is worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Another casualty of the Underworld's endless greed. The entirety of Huntrix were Reincarnated Devils now… but at least not all of K/DA had suffered the same fate yet, even though one of their members was a natural born.

"I did not 'mind whammy' them, no. They merely recognized a piece of my pure nature and saw in me the glory of Heaven that the Lord my father wished for all of humanity to one day witness. When humans bare witness to even a fragment of Paradise, it can have a profound effect on them."

Rumi scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sure sounds like you mind whammied them to me."

Gabriel does not huff as Zoey and Mira nod along with their leader… but it is a close thing. Instead, she focuses back on why she's here. She was distracted for a moment, but in the end… she gets her eyes back on the prize.

"I am not here to do battle. As disagreeable as I might find this… conversion, I sense no coercion here has taken place. That said… Kai'Sa."

The human dancer freezes as Gabriel's gaze falls upon her once more.

"Please… accept my sincerest apologies."

Gabriel bows at the waist. If her siblings could see her now, they would almost certainly have choice words for her. Presenting such an easy target to an incredibly powerful enemy in the form of Grayfia was unacceptable, or so Michael would say.

She does it anyways, bowing low to Kai'Sa and maintaining that position for a full five count before rising back up.

"What you have gone through, what you have suffered at the hands of both your own family and Millennium Enterprises… was unconscionable."

Kai'Sa looks baffled for a moment before narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Yes. It was."

Smiling softly, Gabriel sighs.

"And yet… I must still ask you to come with me, to allow me to take you under Heaven's aegis and protect you from those who would seek to use you for their own ends."

She does not look towards the male devil or his maid… but there's still a sudden renewed tension in the air thanks to her words. Before anyone can do anymore than scowl at her, however, Gabriel continues on.

"I am willing to get down on my knees and beg it of you, if that will help."

That brings a pause to the room. Kai'Sa in particular blinks dumbly, visibly befuddled by the offer.

"Wha- why would you do that? I really don't understand… you left me with my clan all that time. Then you left me in the clutches of Millennium for years. Why now? Why do you only want me when I'm finally free?"

The hurt in Kai'Sa voice is unmistakable and it breaks Gabriel's heart. Especially because those are some very fair questions.

"… I know I have no right to ask anything of you now, but I must try all the same. You are in danger, Kai'Sa. In more ways than you know."

"You're still not answering her questions."

Mira steps forward with a growl, right alongside Kai'Sa in a show of support that the other dancer clearly appreciates. The pink-haired young woman glares at Gabriel angrily and stands her ground in spite the massive gulf in power between them.

"You're doing a whole lot of apologizing, but apologizing is meaningless if you can't explain your actions. So what's the excuse, huh? Your hands were tied? You couldn't step in without pissing someone off? What, you liked it better when K/DA were effectively a bunch of slaves to those asshats over at Millennium?"

… The worst part is, Mira isn't entirely wrong. Gabriel might not have personally liked it, but things were safer when these four girls were under Millennium's thumb. So long as Millennium insisted on using them all for nothing more than singing and dancing and making money… the world was honestly a safer place.

With them free on the other hand, things became more dangerous. Not that Gabriel would ever advocate for any of them going back into chains, to be clear. She was glad that they'd managed to escape Millennium's clutches. Still, there would be those who would try to take advantage of them. And there would be those who tried to kill them. They would be caught in the middle of these different factions, as would anyone else who tried to get in their way.

The demand for answers was… reasonable. Unfortunately, the universe was rarely, if ever, a reasonable place.

"Unfortunately, I have no excuses you would find acceptable. To explain things further would only put you all in even more danger than you already are. What I can say is this… all of you, together in this room… can only lead to tragedy. Only by splitting up and spreading out can you mitigate the damage. Allow me to shelter you, Kai'Sa. Allow Heaven to begin making amends for our previous inaction."

She's not making any friends right now, that much is obvious. But Gabriel isn't here to make friends. She's here to try to save one single young woman from potentially making the worst decision of her life.

And yes, Gabriel does consider reincarnating as a devil to be worse than signing a contract with Millennium. The latter can at least be reversed or sundered, as it has been. But once an Evil Piece has been used, there's no going back. Its an eternity of damnation… or death.

"Only me. You're only offering this to me. Not Evelynn, not Ahri, not even Akali."

Gabriel's eyes slide over the other members of K/DA for a moment. If only she could offer them Heaven's protection… she's always liked their music, circumstances notwithstanding. But…

"Only you, I'm afraid."

She might be able to swing Akali, but Ahri and Evelynn were… outside of her jurisdiction. And if she was going to protect Kai'Sa, she couldn't even really take responsibility for Akali either.

Unfortunately, it's immediately obvious that Kai'Sa finds this unacceptable.

"You would take me away from them. It would be impossible for us to continue as K/DA. Fuck that."

Gabriel blinks owlishly. She… she couldn't be serious, could she?

"You can't honestly think you four will be able to continue making music now, can you? Certainly not under your previous brand."

"And why not?"

That was Evelynn, her voice cutting through the space as her eyes narrow behind her sunglasses.

"Who's going to stop us?"

That's Ahri, her nine vulpine tails flicking through the air in agitation behind her.

"We're free to do whatever the fuck we want now."

Finally, Akali. And in that moment, all four members of K/DA angle towards each other instinctively, presenting a truly united front that has Gabriel's mouth opening only for her to hesitate, rendered speechless. Did they not understand the position they were all in? Where was this confidence coming from?!

Before she can formulate a response, however, the ground suddenly begins to glow red with the telltale signs of a devil teleportation circle. Gabriel stiffens up and frowns, even as the male devil makes a curious noise in the back of his throat.

"Huh… did someone call Serafall when I wasn't looking? Rumi?"

Serafall Leviathan? Who was this devil to have an Ultimate Class Being as his maid and be on a first name basis with a Great Satan?!

But Rumi just shakes her head, bewildered.

"No… I hadn't had a chance to send off a message yet."

"Oh… Grayfia?"

"Master… get behind me."

Gabriel blinks as Grayfia suddenly pushes the male devil behind her. The silver-haired maid is staring at the circle in burgeoning horror and intense focus. Looking back, Gabriel freezes when she sees what Grayfia already saw.

The red glow of the summoning circle had been a little deceptive at first, but now it becomes obvious… that's not a head of black hair in pigtails coming up out of the ground. No, rather… it's a head of red hair done up in an over the shoulder braid that trails down the chest.

Its not Serafall Leviathan gracing them with her presence… but it is still a Great Satan. Arguably the greatest of them all.

Lucrezah Lucifer rises up out of the ground facing away from all of them for a split second. She lands on her feet as the teleportation circle closes and spends a moment looking at the wall of gold and platinum records Huntrix has earned throughout their musical career.

Then, finally, she turns to regard them all… only for it to become clear she didn't even know they were there when she freezes in place like a cat caught somewhere she shouldn't be. Slowly, hesitantly, in direct contrast with her reputation as one of the most powerful beings in the entire Underworld, Lucrezah Lucifer lifts a hand and awkwardly does a little wave.

"Ah… hello."

That's about when Grayfia suddenly lunges forward at incredible speeds and tries to take the Great Satan's head off.

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The Vote:

[ ] Switch to Amadeus' POV - 16%

[ ] Switch to Grayfia's POV - 11%

[X] Switch to Lucrezah's POV - 73%

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Inconceivable (Invincible AU): https://www./series/2600396/inconceivable-invincible-au/

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