The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

As if he had been waiting for those words, Aster looked at him.

"What is it?"

"Those guys, they're similar."

Similar?

Aster looked back at the devils.

Unlike the low-ranking devils, these ones had different appearances. Their speech patterns and voices were different, and the weapons they wielded varied greatly.

Aster tilted his head.

"They don't look very similar."

"Not their appearance, but the way they release aura, the timing and judgment of their weapon swings, their posture, they're similar."

At that, Aster looked at the devils again. And he retraced the past battles he had fought.

Certainly, he had felt a sense of similarity somewhere. Especially the devils wielding the same weapons were easier to recognize.

"I, Pielott, Senior Aster, and Senior Sybil all wield swords, but our fighting styles are different. Usually, that's natural. We learn different things, have different growth processes, and different talents. But those guys are very similar."

"How is that possible? What does it mean?"

Of course, their conversation couldn't be peaceful and leisurely.

They each dealt with the devils attacking them, responding, and talking to each other whenever they had a chance.

Dier knew that he had to prioritize delivering information to Aster more than anyone else here, and Aster knew that he had to listen to Dier's words first before anyone else's.

"I heard from Senior Frondier that low-ranking devils all look the same."

"Yeah, I heard that too."

"So, maybe that's just how devils are?"

"How they are?"

"They're born similar from the start. They're born similar, and as they rank up, they develop their own personalities and values, becoming distinguishable. Or,"

Saying that, Dier dodged another attack coming at him.

Within the speed he could react to, Dier never made a mistake in defense.

Puk!

Stabbing the sword into the neck of the devil who showed an opening, Dier's eyes sank slightly.

"It could be the opposite."

"The opposite?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Maybe it's not that they gain individuality because they rank up, but that they have to have individuality to rank up."

"...They grow as their individual consciousness takes root?"

"The devil Pielott and I faced was quite unique. His fighting style of throwing marbles, his way of speaking. But in the end, it was just a bluff to hide his tricks. Since he was the fifth rank, it makes sense that he had that much individuality."

They didn't know what criteria Satan used to rank his devils.

However, if it was based on skill, it was true that the higher they went, the more their individuality seemed to emerge.

At that, Aster thought for a moment.

'Frondier said it. Belphegor was the type to hide his schemes with a lazy face. The type who found everything bothersome but did everything he had to do. He wasn't consumed by laziness, but rather enjoyed it. I thought he was just introducing himself.'

When Frondier talked about Belphegor, Aster thought the two were quite similar. Anyone would have thought so.

But come to think of it,

Was that why he was 'Sloth'?

The names of the Seven Deadly Sins were all derived from human tendencies.

The seven devils at the top of the devil hierarchy each represented the negative emotions that humans possessed.

Perhaps that was the 'individuality' Dier was talking about.

"Surely you're not done with the story just with that, right? Based on that fact, what did you find?"

Aster asked.

Dier wouldn't stop at just satisfying his thirst for knowledge with any information.

Dier said,

"The devil named Marchosias was the second rank, right?"

"That's right."

"And according to Senior Sybil, that devil is one of Solomon's 72 devils."

"Right. I remembered that too when I heard that story. A devil that breathes fire and can switch between the form of a wolf and a human."

Why was one of Solomon's 72 devils under Satan?

This was definitely a concerning issue, but he didn't think it was something they needed to know right away. No, even if they needed to know, it wasn't something they could know now.

But Dier said,

"72 devils sounds like a lot, but considering the countless low-ranking devils, it's only 72, right?"

"...Well, that's true. As far as we know, they're right next to the Seven Sins."

"At that level, even if they're not as strong as the Seven Sins, their individuality would be incredibly distinct, and their egos would be extremely strong."

"That's right. In fact, Sybil seemed to have gotten quite a unique impression."

When Sybil confronted Marco, a snake came to mind before a wolf. Rather than his regenerative ability, it was his way of speaking that seemed to probe others' minds that she didn't like.

"I don't think it makes sense for the 72 devils to work as subordinates of the Seven Sins. Especially as the second rank."

"What are you trying to say? Even if it doesn't make sense, they are actually working as subordinates."

"The relationship between the 72 devils and the Seven Sins is farther than you might think. It's like the distance between Nastrond and Tartarus."

"...Now that you mention it, it's farther than I thought."

Those two were from completely different mythologies, and usually inaccessible worlds.

Then Dier said,

"What would these devils have done if their plan had succeeded?"

"If it had succeeded? Well,"

They would have returned to Satan.

He was about to say that, but Aster realized the contradiction.

"They didn't receive information from Satan. They attacked Constel based on old records and ended up in this situation."

The current situation was clearly not beneficial for the devils in any way.

It was obvious that they hadn't received any information from Satan.

"They can't even hear their boss's voice. There's no way they could travel back and forth between worlds. Even if their plan had succeeded, they had no way to return to Satan."

"...But there's someone who can."

Dier nodded.

"A devil who is one of the 72 devils, with that strong individuality and self-awareness, deliberately went under Satan."

"Since Satan couldn't cross worlds, Marchosias crossed worlds. In a way that we don't know, that even Satan doesn't know"

"Marco, who has no reason to meet Satan, naturally has no need to obey. But he became a subordinate."

"If that wasn't an oath of loyalty, but rather a transactional relationship between Satan and Marco."

Sybil had heard it. And she had relayed it.

Marco's unintentional muttering, 'Damn rules.'

That's why Dier could come up with this idea.

"We might be able to use Marchosias. If we can see through his deception."