Both William and Asher looked at the scene in front of their eyes, currently they were in front of what seemed to be a fairly old memory of Alvis. In said memory, he seemed to have wrestled with the spirit of death.

— I still... I can continue fighting.

William and Asher focused on the figure of young Alvis, who stood among the destroyed trees.

— Incredible that he could withstand a blow of that magnitude, with that blow, not even I could get up immediately.

The young Bismarck looked at Alvis, who was getting up as best he could, next to him, "Death" could only look at him with disgust and a very clearly angry face.

*Step* *Step*

"Death" began to take several steps to approach Alvis, Asher and William decided to watch the scene in silence.

— N-no... I-I'm not S-scared.

Alvis mentioned in a low voice, somewhat scared, seeing how the hooded man approached at a slow pace, he was so slow in his walk that every second he got closer to the child made him desperate.

William could feel Alvis' fear, he could even feel his desperation and anxiety with every step he took "Death" to get closer.

By the time William came out of his thoughts, the hooded man was already in front of Alvis.

— ...

Asher watched as "Death" was saying something to Alvis, but he didn't hear his voice at all. William tried to get a little closer to listen to him, but even being a little closer to him, he couldn't hear his voice.

"Tell me daemon, you wish to die" Asher and William opened their eyes as they saw those words playing in their heads, they quickly looked at Death, who looked at young Alvis with contempt.

— I-I...I-I.

Alvis spoke nervously, seeing his scared expression, Death let out a gloomy and dark aura around him.

"I didn't listen to your answer, half-breed daemon," he looked at him again in a rough and cold manner. Alvis began to tremble once he looked at his soul.

His soul was an abomination, in his soul were reflected those who died under his hand wanted to come out and take the child in front of him with them.

"I'll ask you again Daemon... Do you wish to die?" A Japanese sword appeared in Death's hands, it was a nodachi, and it was right above Alvis's chin.

Alvis was shaking as he watched death with teary eyes, he didn't want to die...

He was afraid to answer him, he heard the rumors that anyone who ran into this man would never come out alive, and he, he would be no exception to this.

— *Sniffle* No... *Sniffle* I don't want to...

"Death" stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say the right words.

— I don't want to die... *Sniffles*

Asher and William could only watch the scene in silence, it was clear that the spirit of death did not want to kill him. It was just scaring him; this was confirmed when they saw how the sword in his hands disappeared.

— ...

They saw how the hooded man turned around ready to leave, ignoring young Alvis who was whimpering in that place.

"It's not your time yet" William saw those words appear in his head, so he assumed that this was what "Death" said to Alvis.

"It's not time to take you to the other side yet" were the last words of "Death" who passed by where William and Asher were.

— ...?!

William remained with his eyes open, as if time had stopped for a few seconds, he could see how "Death" remained watching him with very clear disgust and annoyance.

— Can you...? See us...?

Asher commented on this just as surprised as William, this should be a memory so it would be almost impossible for him to see them directly.

— ...

William could see how he moved his lips saying a few simple words "Get out", this left both him and Asher even more surprised.

He could actually see them in the memory, after spending those seconds talking to the two of them, "Death" continued on his way and disappeared into the fog, leaving Alvis alone in that place.

—  Damn! I'm still too weak!

Alvis shouted that even though he had tears in his eyes, only to close them tightly.

— I must become stronger... If not, I will not survive.

His words caught the attention of William and Asher, although they were aware of what Alvis was saying.

Daemons are creatures born from the darkest corners of a place or person, only knowing destruction and violence firsthand. This even applies to themselves; they use the laws of nature.

And in this case, the weaker Daemons could only hope for a quick death or even let themselves be eaten alive by other Daemons. In the worst case, they would be absorbed by a higher-ranking Daemon, falling into the "Hive" a place none of them would want to be.

— I'll have to accept that Daemon's offer...

Alvis stood up from where he was, William and Asher saw how he limped a little, perhaps this was because he had not yet recovered from the impact received by "Death".

Asher closed his eyes, although the memory faded to send them to another, both Asher and William got an idea of who Alvis was referring to in that memory.

Beelzebub. The Daemon who proposed him the very tentative offer of raising him to another rank, William knew from a past conversation with Khan, that apart from the Rubedo, Albedo and Nigredo ranks there were others to which it was not very easy to rise unless one had the approval of certain capital sins to remain in said positions.

It didn't take long for the two of them to be taken to another memory, they were currently in what seemed to be a house made of wood, both decided to enter the place only to find a particular scene.

In front of them stood an adult Alvis, from his tone of voice William could tell that he sounded much younger than the current Alvis. In front of him was a woman, Asher was staring at the woman having a certain "deja vu" as well as the scene in front of him.

William on his part, could notice the similarity with Asher's wife with this woman, judging by her attire, he could deduce that she was a demon hunter by some white colored weapons and some Dainsleifs she carried with her.

According to this memory, she was Alvis' wife, Giselle, and with whom he had a son named Byron.

— Alvis! I told you once! If other hunters, Baskerville or others find out about our son it is more than obvious that they will kill all three of us.

— You think I don't know about that Giselle?! Other Daemons are watching me from afar, who knows if by Beelzebub's orders, and it is notorious that our son's aura is attracting the attention of other races.

The worried face of Alvis was noticeable, who was looking at a certain cradle, in which a small baby was lying. The infant was dozing peacefully, oblivious to the discussion that his parents were having.

— We can't hide him forever.

— And what do you want us to do? They are going to sacrifice him once they know he is half Daemon.

Asher and William just watched the scene in silence, although, thanks to Alvis' memories, they understood what they meant by "sacrifice him". According to Alvis' other memories, a half-breed of a Daemon together with another species is extremely dangerous, it must be eliminated at all costs.

Regardless of whether it was an infant or not, it was a cruel method, but.... It was better than subjecting them to the second option. Which, was to turn them into lab rats to find out information about the "Black blood".

— I know, damn it! I just want him to have an ordinary life, out of... All of this.

— You know it's impossible... As long as the black king exists, ALL OF US are doomed to die or become like yours.

Alvis frowned at his wife's words, he knew she was right, but he didn't want this. Not for his son and his wife, he was between a rock and a hard place.

— There must be a way...

Giselle saw Alvis with his hands on his head, she approached him to comfort him, she knew he was not the only one who was trapped.

— Don't worry Alvis, we will find a way.

— Maybe I can help.

William and Asher's eyes widened when they heard that voice, it sounded playful and somewhat monotonous. By the time they turned around, they found a certain familiar face.

— Sorry for the interruption to your home, my name is Khan Crowe.

Both Asher and William found it amazing how young Khan sounded in this memory, but what caught their attention most was the fact that his hair was white.

— I wonder if he changed his hair color.

William thought that looking at the Khan of this memory, for some unknown reason, he feels that this Khan of the memory and the Khan they know are two very different people...

It was as if... Something had changed him completely.

Asher, on his side, was staring at the door of Alvis' house, when he decided to go out to inspect, he found a young man, with brown hair combed to the left side, his eyes were green like emerald. He wore a white t-shirt with a mandarin collar, over that shirt he wore a black sleeveless jacket with a high collar. He wore black pants, with a kind of rosary tied on a red ribbon on his pants, on his feet he wore brown sandals.

— Yull! Are you planning to stay outside?

 Alvis came to his senses at the sound of young Khan's voice, he saw how this fellow named "Yull" passed through Asher's body, placing himself right next to Khan.

— What are Observers doing here?

Alvis replied to Khan, who seemed to look at him with a surprised face.

— Helping you of course.

Khan replied in a friendly manner, to which Alvis made a face of disgust.

— Yes, of course. I remind you that I am a Daemon, I know when a person is lying. Especially since I know your little friend doesn't have the same intentions.

Alvis ended up pointing at Yull, who had a small knife behind his back, Khan on the other hand, could only hit his face for a second.

— Yull, you are hopeless.

commented Khan who only sighed a little tired of this situation.

— Don't blame me, it's an impulse.

Yull showed his knife, alarming Giselle and Alvis, and then threw it in William's direction.

William was surprised by this, only to see the knife go through his side, if this had not been a memory. The young Bismarck would have been startled by the speed with which "Yull" had thrown the knife.

— See, I don't have it anymore, and, anyway, my brother and I are forbidden to touch your son.

William raised an eyebrow at Yull's words, "his brother" must be referring to Khan.

Asher, on the other hand, knew thanks to other information from this same memory, that Yull Cipher, along with three others, Horatio, Maverick and Hamel were raised in a monastery. Where the five would become "brothers".

— That doesn't change the fact that you think like the rest.

Khan ended up answering him quickly, when he heard Alvis' comment.

— I don't think I'd like it, I'm a father, and if anything would bother me.

William and Asher's eyes widened when they saw Khan's expression, it was an empty and lifeless look.

— I think, not be a good man, if that time comes.

His words ended in a small smile, William could sense that he was telling Alvis, that, if he wanted to, "I would kill you right now" along with his wife and children.

— I'm not like that anyway.

And there he was, despite sounding menacing and looking menacing moments ago, right in front of them stood a man smiling playfully and mischievously.

Asher could understand that Khan Crowe, was always this way, even when he was young.

— Ignoring what my stupid brother says.

Yull decided to re-enter the conversation, next to Khan, who wore a catlike expression on his smile.

— We can keep your wife and son safe.

Alvis pondered that for a second, he didn't want to trust the observers. This was something William and Asher knew, after all, they were looking at their memories.

— Well...

Giselle stared at Alvis a little surprised, she didn't expect him to accept the deal.

— Excellent... But we have a condition for you Alvis.

Alvis was annoyed to hear the way he called his name, he disliked it.

— Who gave you permission to call me by my name?

Khan only laughed for a moment, to tell him the following.

— We need you to cut ties with Beelzebub.

— ...

Again, silence reigned between them, five minutes passed, and not a single word was spoken.

That is, until Alvis' son, Byron, woke up crying, which his mother approached him to calm him down. Yull wanted to help her with the child, so he left Alvis and Khan alone.

— I'm still waiting for your answer.

Khan held out his hand, Alvis looked at it for a moment, let out a sigh from his lips. Then he took Khan's hand in his.

— Just so you know... I detest those who break promises.

Although, what Khan said to Alvis in that memory would have seemed strange to them, if they weren't looking at the demon's memories. After all, Alvis didn't keep what he promised Khan.

It all ended very badly for Alvis, his wife was devoured by Beelzebub and his son sent away with his wife's relatives. As for Alvis, he was found guilty of treason, and was condemned to be locked up forever.

Asher could not help but feel a certain familiarity in all that was happening to Alvis, although, there were many differences between the two. William unbeknownst to Asher, was aware between the similarities between the two of them, and seeing this about Alvis' past could confirm it.

Neither of them had time to think much, as they were taken to the next memory.

— ... I guess you'll be my contractor.

The memory they appeared in was one about a few hundred years later, Alvis had dropped the corpse of a man, judging by the fractions of his face and skin color, Asher could intuit that he stole his life energy.

In front of Alvis, stood a young man of about eighteen years old, he had brown hair and eyes of the same color. He wore a black trench coat with a white short-sleeved T-shirt, colored pants followed by brown boots.

— Please don't kill me.

William could tell that this boy was nervous and scared, which was to be expected, with the little information he has about the Daemons. Plus, some details provided by Alvis' memories, these "Daemons" were not something natural, just as they were not part of the supernatural.

They were an abomination, which should not exist in the first place.

— How am I going to kill you? Practically the damn contract was done wrong.

Asher could see that Alvis no longer had a normal body, he was translucent and floating, like a ghost.

— Huh? You've got to be kidding me.

That boy pulled up the right sleeve of his trench coat, only to find some kind of black and reddish tattoo, it was some kind of a demon's wing with feathers inside a circle formed by chains.

— No...

The rest of the young man turned pale at the sight of the tattoo, he turned his eyes in the direction of Alvis, who was disgusted by this.

— I don't like the idea either, I don't want to be tied to you until the end of your miserable life.

Asher had a certain deja vu when he saw Alvis' attitude, it reminded him a little of his first days after waking up in William's body.

— I'm not going to let you take possession of me.

— We'll see about that.

Alvis smiled proudly at him; the boy could only hold his arm where his tattoo was.

— ... I'm Matthew, Matthew Campbell.

William stared at Matthew for a few seconds, that frown and annoyed expression, it became a little familiar to him.

— A pleasure, human, I'm Alvis Corvidius. A half-breed between Daemon and fallen angel.

Asher felt another deja vu, there was no doubt in his mind, Alvis was a different version of him from another universe. William kept thinking, among the next memories they saw, was Matthew meeting Khan and other observers, possible co-workers of Khan's whom he does not know.

In another memory he could see how these three struck up a great friendship, to the point of seeing themselves as "brothers." William found this strange and somewhat disconcerting, while in the other memories they spent their time fighting and arguing, in these present ones they seem happier.

One of the memories caught his attention, Matthew meeting a woman named Liza, a beautiful woman with long white hair and black eyes, her attire consisted of a long black coat with white fur around her neck. Underneath her coat, a set of Chinese dress in blue with black, accompanied by a pale blue shirt and skirt.

They would later discover that this woman's full name was Liza Sündenjäger. William was curious as it seemed to be the same surname as Moebius, he wondered if Liza and Moebius could be related, perhaps she was his aunt or something similar.

— All the memories we find are happy ones.

Asher argued as he was floating in a kind of dark space next to William.

— We'll see about that.

William closed his eyes as a light invaded them, blinding them completely. Once they opened their eyes, they found themselves in a sort of place surrounded by a reddish-black miasma, filled with red water.

— I know this place, the last time we were here, that man called Azazel brought us to this place.

Asher commented that, only to cast his gaze elsewhere, William followed the demon's gaze, only to run into Alvis and Matthew. Alvis was being dragged into the red water by some kind of reddish black arms, Matthew, on his side, was trying to prevent him from falling.

— Alvis, please don't give up!

— Let me go Matthew. It's better this way. I lost control, and the observers will probably think of killing you.

William opened his eyes when he heard their conversation, this was probably the beginning of that memory in which Alvis was blaming Khan.

— Bismarck.

Asher called out to William, who quickly realized that this must be Alvis' most painful memory.

— I know, this is it.

Matthew, who was desperately trying to pull Alvis to the surface, could only watch as his friend's body was dragged into the reddish-black water.

— Alvis please!!! Don't break this promise, not like you did when you promised Khan to stay away from Beelzebub.

Alvis heard Matthew's voice far away, currently his eyes were losing their sparkle, leaving him all the way to the bottom of the water.

— I won't let you go, not now. YOU HAVE A PROMISE TO KEEP!!!!

As best he could, Matthew pulled Alvis out of those arms that held him, only to give him a hug whispering a few words.

— I'm sorry A.  

Alvis' eyes widened at his words, William and Asher watched as Matthew pushed Alvis away. Only for minutes later, he was grabbed by the arms violently, and being dragged into the dark reddish water.

"Equivalent Exchange" a method in which the host and Daemon relinquish full control of the body to their opposite. In many cases, it is usually the Daemon who ends up being dragged into the abyss.

Such a place is known to be the habitat of evil spirits, who are denied reincarnation and resurrection. William knew this, because this information was in this memory.

Therefore, for Matthew Campbell to use this, to save Alvis, meant.....

— Matthew!!! what have you done!!!!!

Alvis was trying to get closer to Matthew, but, a strange force field was preventing him. He could only see his friend smiling kindly at him.

— What about Liza!!! Are you thinking of abandoning your son!!!!

William couldn't help but be curious, in the last memory they saw they had learned that Liza was pregnant, although from the conversation, it seemed she had been pregnant for a few months already.

Asher on the other hand, had a certain hunch about what Alvis would say next. So, he wanted to hear it from his own mouth.

— You're thinking of abandoning Moebius!!!!!

Both Asher and William were stunned to hear that name, William already saw the facial resemblance between Matthew and Moebius from the first memory, but he didn't expect that it would end up being his father. Asher for his part, had this theory, but he never thought it would be so accurate, after all he already knew something about this subject beforehand from another memory of Alvis.

Matthew said nothing to him instead just kept smiling, before diving into the dark water. With Matthew out of his sight, Alvis just closed his eyes, letting himself fall into the water, clenching his fists and teeth in the process.

— Once again.... AGAIN!!

His voice sounded annoyed, but sad, was what William thought before hearing him scream in rage.

— DAMN IT!!!

Alvis continued to whine, as William and Asher looked at him, while this was a simple goodbye, for William and Asher who saw all those memories, they better than anyone else knew the pain Alvis was going through right now.

— HAHAHAHA! Now you're a fucking crybaby how ironic.

A sinister voice was heard all over the place, William looked around looking for the owner of that voice.

— Bismarck.

Asher called out to William who was wide-eyed as he looked in Alvis' direction. In front of the demon, there was a double identical to him.

It was an Alvis with black glass eyes and red pupils, reddish-black horns and two pairs of bat wings.

— What's the matter Alvis, will you cry for mom and dad again?

A sinister laugh came out of the dark Alvis' mouth.

William could see that Alvis' face was full of anger, the other "Alvis" was looking at him with a certain face of pleasure.

— You know this reminds me of what his majesty told you when "WE" were locked up.

He went on talking without caring about Alvis' mood, who only gritted his teeth.

— First... Your parents will die...

— Shut up.

— Then your wife... 

— Shut up...

— And then your...

Before Alvis' shadow could finish, the real Alvis held him by the neck looking at him with a clear face of anger in his eyes.

— SHUT UP!!! YOU are not ME.

The evil Alvis grabbed him by the neck, repeating the action of his real SELF.

— Of course I am, I am YOU, and YOU are ME.

They both stared at each other angrily, only for the evil Alvis to say one last word to him.

— You cannot escape this curse. Not until you break it yourself, death will haunt everyone you love.

Alvis said nothing to him, instead he could only remain silent, agreeing with his other self.

William and Asher watched the memory disappear, only to remain in that place filled with reddish dark water, they had just finished seeing all the memories. And if what Yuliana told William was true.

This last memory of Alvis was the most painful, and an experience that Alvis himself wanted to forget.

— You are here, aren't you?

William asked that question looking around him, Asher looked at him somewhat confused, as he seemed to be talking to himself.

It didn't take long for a huge red-eyed shadow to appear in front of them.

Bingo.

Finally, the Gamut that was attached to his back appeared.

— What do you want?

His voice was childish and monotonous, as if it were a child's, William could notice a certain touch of contempt and anger in it.

Was he angry with him? Why?

— We need your help. My training can't start without you.

William could see how the huge shadow closed his eyes, as if he was meditating his next words.

— I refuse.

— What...?

Surprised faces appeared on Asher's and William's faces as they heard the Gamut's answer.

— What do you mean, you refuse? Our universe is in danger right now.

— That's none of my business.

His answer again showed disdain and disinterest, this only made William look at him somewhat annoyed.

—  As long as you are attached to me, you will follow my rules.

The Gamut flashed his reddish eyes at William, giving him the following words;

— I don't follow anyone's rules.

This one ended up approaching only a few centimeters away from William's face, it was more than clear, that he was annoyed with William.

Asher could see his obvious anger, and while this seemed like a child's tantrum, it didn't change the fact that they needed the Gamut.

— Stop being stubborn, I need you for this.

William went back to talking to the Gamut, who wore a disgruntled expression.

— Yes, of course. And what's in it for me?

He approached William again, who remained silent, Asher frowned when he heard him speak this way. It was obvious that, if he helped them, it wouldn't be "free", this Gamut was up to something and Asher didn't like that at all.

As the Gamut waited for William's answer, he was debating between giving him a good answer or simply agreeing with him.

— Let's make a deal.

The Daemon snapped him out of his thoughts as he said those words, William paid attention to his words, while Asher had a bad feeling about this.

— I will be your shield and sword, your informant about what concerns my "species". All you have to do is call me and I'll be there.

William and Asher were shocked at what he was telling them, he was practically telling them that he would obey them completely, even though he was throwing tantrums a few moments ago.

— Well, I guess the rest won't be free. Where are the little letters.

Asher was looking at him suspiciously, William picked up on Asher's behavior, but was just waiting for the Gamut to finish his sentence.

— ... In exchange for all that...

There was a small pause for a second, he could see how the huge shadow was thinking about something, he was even nervous about what he would say next.

From the first two times William heard its voice he thought it would be something terrifying like the rest of the Daemons he had seen, instead, the one in front of him looked like a child who didn't know what to do.

If he didn't have the knowledge he had about Daemons, he probably would have found it "cute".

— What do you want?

William asked the Gamut, as he was still nervous in front of him.

— My freedom/My freedom.

Asher and William stared at him for a moment, for a second they noticed as if his voice had blended with someone else's. For a second the Gamut's eyes were locked with his. For a second the Gamut's eyes and William's eyes met, both opened their mouths in unison.

— That voice again/That voice again.

Asher showed confusion, although he was also part of William, he did not hear any voice.

Both William and Asher shook their heads, although it was not the first time that the young Bismarck heard that voice, he was curious about who it was. His sight returned to the Gamut, which seemed to be just as confused as he was, not even this creature knows who that voice belonged to.

So...

Who is it? And why is it calling them?

— Well? What do you say William Bismarck.

Coming out of his trance, William remained observing the Gamut, which approached a huge shadow hand to where William was.

— Bismarck, I don't think it's a good idea.

Asher called to William who seemed to ignore him, because he did not think twice, to put his hand on the dark hand of the Gamut. Asher showed surprise at this, the next thing they saw was how a light, illuminated on his right shoulder.

— Was that?

— It means our deal is closed.

Asher looked at him suspiciously, crossing his arms in the process.

— Don't worry, if I break the "favor" I will probably die. Though you'll know that with the information I have.

"Demonic Contract" similar to favors, Daemons will absolutely have to fulfill the "favor" of the person making the contract. If either of the two, both the Daemon and the contractor decide not to abide by the rules, they will be granted death under demonic rules.

— Isn't that too cruel?

William asked this question to the Gamut, who replied as follows.

— We are demons, not a kindergarten.

— Good point.

They both agreed on that, only to remain silent for a few moments, William noticed that the Gamut's eyes closed for a few brief moments.

— You should go back to the real world; they seem to be talking about something serious.

Those were the Gamut's words, William raised an eyebrow at that, it was likely that they would start another meeting like two days ago. Alvis wanted to have them all sufficiently prepared so that he could fight the Daemons, especially the group William was in.

They still had three days to prepare for the rescue of the Nephilim in Kyoto, and unfortunately for William, he would have only those three days to train enough to be ready.

*****

William opened his eyes to find himself back in the real world. He lifted one of his hands, for some reason he felt light, could this be a side effect of the contract with the Gamut.

Before, his body was always heavy, as if he was carrying tons of metal on his back, but now, he felt so light that he would probably fly off if he jumped.

— Oh, you're back.

Yuliana brought him out of his thoughts, the girl was with a towel hanging from her neck, William could sense that she had been practicing with her weapons while she was searching for the Gamut.

— So, did the Gamut agree to behave?

She asked William that question with some curiosity, William decided to tell her that he succeeded, omitting, for obvious reasons the "contract" part.

The two left their training area only to find themselves, with the rest, some bruised and a few scratches. William noticed that Khan was leaving with the lion, Shekhiná if he remembered correctly, apparently, they were going to have a little chat apart from the rest.

— Where are those two going?

Yuliana looked at Alvis, who only shrugged, saying these words;

— I don't think it's something about this world.

His words caught William's attention a little, he was still suspicious of Khan, especially since he seems to hide many secrets and knows too much from what Amelia once told him.

— I overheard them talking the other day, apparently the seven deadly sins gave their crowns to some humans in our world.

Moebius was the first to speak when he heard that.

— WHAT!? That explains why the damn city was full of demons when we went to look for answers at home.

William remembered a bit about that, he met that Hobbit named Zind who is also a watcher. And he also met Hashem, who seems to have a celestial around him just like Shekhinah.

But what caught his attention the most was the red sky and the moon, especially that huge door from which a number of Daemons of different sizes and shapes were coming out.

— As I told you, that's not our problem. The observers are dealing with "ALL THIS" while you train.

Alvis gave a small signal to Vera, who turned on a futuristic screen, William was amazed at the kind of technology they possessed in Murakumo. This kind of thing would only be seen in science fiction movies.

— Leaving our universe aside I want you to pay attention. This is a list of races that exist in our universe. Maybe in this one you haven't seen or they don't really exist in this universe.

Alvis showed a huge list with images of certain ones, in that list were the following creatures;

Human.

Xenonian.

Eternal.

Angel.

Daemon.

Demon (demons from another universe).

Ogre.

Troll.

Goblin.

Giant.

Fairy.

Elf.

Hobbit.

Dwarf.

Shapeshifter.

Beastman.

Kitsune.

Tengu.

Yuki-Onna.

Oni.

Bakeneko.

Nekomata.

Vampire.

Werewolf.

Undead.

Lamia.

Dragon.

Mermaid.

Caith Sith.

Zauberbeist.

Soul Reaper (Shinigami).

Grimm.

Ghost.

Dryad

Slime.

Eldritch Horror.  

William was really impressed with the list, there were some known species while others he had never heard of. What surprised him the most, "demon from another universe."

This brought him back to his initial question, "Do other universes exist?" this was more than clear after all, some members of murakumo comes from other universes.

— I imagine you guys will have a lot of questions, seeing this specific thing on the list.

Alvis ended up pointing out the name "Demon from another universe", this made Calli want to ask him the next question.

— Is there a specific reason for that special section.

Calli could see Alvis pondering his next words a bit, though everyone saw him frown in the process.

— Well... How to put it.

Everyone present watched as Alvis was a bit nervous to say his next thing.

— "We" .... We've got our hormones a bit messed up.

Everyone just stared at him with their eyes rolling, they weren't taking the hint at all. Asher who was listening to what he said kept thinking for a moment, only to understand what he was referring to.

— Wait... You're not talking about... "That."

Alvis could only nod at Asher's comment, while Asher who was still in William's head, was praying that the Gamut was asleep and not listening to this conversation.

— Yes, I mean "We" are looking for an efficient way to evolve.

— Mr. Alvis, that still doesn't answer the first question.

Yagoo interrupted him, Alvis only sighed as he zoomed in on the images of each of the species present.

— As you may know, we Daemons have several ways to become stronger, the next being the following;

Eating each other.

Feeding on other races.

Procreating.

— Wait, by procreating you mean.....

Yanagi was stunned for a moment, before Alvis moved the images showing some rare ones next to their respective mates.

— Oh no...

Baelz would stay in place as he looked at the same list as before, but this time there was a slight difference. Next to each of the aforementioned creatures was a Daemon next to them.

Human X Daemon: Aeon

Xenonian X Daemon: Enid

Eternal X Daemon: End

Angel X Daemon: Nephilim

Demon X Daemon: Damon

Ogre X Daemon: Ram

Troll X Daemon: Tram

Goblin X Daemon: Gideon

Giant X Daemon: Gem

Fairy X Daemon: Arden

Elf X Daemon: Fen

Hobbit X Daemon: Haem

Dwarf X Daemon: Warden

Shapeshifter X Daemon: Agra

Beastman X Daemon: Etna

Kitsune X Daemon: Ito

Tengu X Daemon: Tenon

Yuki-Onna X Daemon: Iona

Oni X Daemon: Ode

Bakeneko X Daemon: Boa

Nekomata X Daemon: Nomad

Vampire X Daemon: Aide

Werewolf X Daemon: Wolfe

Undead X Daemon: Dean

Lamia X Daemon: Amid

Dragon X Daemon: Dragoon

Mermaid X Daemon: Sienna

Caith Sith X Daemon: Cain

Zauberbeist X Daemon: Beta

Soul Reaper X Daemon: Slade

Grimm X Daemon: Rio

Ghost X Daemon: Haem

Dryad X Daemon: Diadem

Slime X Daemon: Slide

Eldritch Horror X Daemon: Elton

— That's quite a few, are those all hybrids?

Gura was asking that question by looking at each of the species next to a Daemon.

— Not exactly.

Alvis answered him in a vague way, then showed a small screen. On this one were some details about the black blood.

— "Black blood" or "Schwarzes Blut" as we call it in my universe. It is an incurable virus that contaminates the blood of its host.

Alvis showed one or another video where some species showed of suffering from such a virus in different ways. Some in a fit of rage, others turning into complete wild animals and some even collapsed with just one dose.

— This virus is lethal to anyone, not anyone could withstand it, not even "Us". 

— You've been talking in "Us" for a while now, is there something special about that?

Amelia asked him that question, so Alvis decided to tell her the following.

— Well, Daemons have a hive mind. We have no survival instinct even though we are the biggest genociders in the universe.

— Wait, wait, are you saying that all Daemons share the same mind as bees, ants and thermites.

Alvis ended up nodding at her question which left Amelia a little surprised, as well as fascinated by it.

— As you know everything about us is chaotic, from our powers to our soul.

Alvis turned around to look at Hiiro who quickly grasped what she wanted to tell him.

— I had heard a rumor that you tried to enter the soul of a Daemon some time ago.

Hiiro made an ugly and somewhat disgusted face at Alvis' words, from the expression he made, William could deduce that it was not a good experience for him.

— Yes, I tried... And once I got into that dark space.... I saw it....

Everyone could see how Hiiro's face turned pale, the necromancer gulped at that.

— You said they had a hive mind, right?

Alvis gave him a nod at his question, only for the boy to ask him the next question;

— So, you don't just share minds....

— "We" also share souls...

Alvis finished his sentence, Calli was blank when she heard this.

— Hold on, we are talking about not only one but thousands of souls inside a single body, how?

Alvis stared at her; he knew she wanted the answer she was looking for.

— Ah I'm coming, but I need you to turn to the next page.

The hologram ended up changing, to show a specific video, in this one was a human person wearing what appeared to be a hospital gown.

— Burn.... Burn.... It itches!

The voice came from the person in the video, he started scratching his neck, until he drew blood. William could tell from the color of his blood that he had obviously contracted black blood syndrome.

The next thing they saw stunned them all, from the back of this person, some bones began to come out abruptly, it was a grotesque image. They listened as the bones of his back began to settle, until they took the shape of bat wings.

— This is supposed to be confidential, even among some people in our universe.

Alvis paused the video, only to look at the rest of the Murakumo members who were showing an expression of fear and horror.

— Not only Daemons can turn into YOU... YOU can also become like US.

No one said a single word, everyone in the room could not find a way to respond to this revelation. While Hololive's and Yanagi's were oblivious to the affairs of the rest of Murakumo's universe, that the members themselves were just as surprised as they were, spoke volumes.

— You mean, that we could end up like those things?

— Whether you're a half-breed born between two races or someone from one of those listed species. As long as you have black blood syndrome you are doomed to become one of "us."

Amelia decided to enter the conversation upon hearing his explanation.

— Doesn't this mean the same thing could happen to William?

Eyes turned to William, who, while not falling into any of the categories, was exposed to exposure to the black blood syndrome. He was exposed to exposure with the black blood because of the Gamut.

— His case is different.

Alvis showed other images on the screens, although the people in the images were normal in appearance. Tattoos drawn on their bodies told another story.

— These are the parasitic type, although they can be exposed to black blood. Their story is different.

— How different?

Yanagi asked him that question with a certain tone of curiosity.

— Simply put, it's like a contract between humans and demons, if done correctly. The demon could rule the body of its host, without needing the soul of the original user.

Were Alvis' words, this made William think that his status with the Gamut was in the same way as the incomplete contract between him and Asher.

— Except, because we don't know if this thing is trustworthy.

Alvis made an evil face directed at William, although he was aware that the look was not directed at him, but at the Gamut.

— He said he would cooperate with us.

William wanted to speak after a few moments of silence, Alvis raised an eyebrow distrustful of his words.

— We'll see about that.

— What are those tattoos.

Kiara entered the conversation, pointing to the tattoos of the people possessing the parasite-like Daemons.

— Those tattoos are the mark that they have made a "demonic contract," usually appearing on certain parts of their host's body.

— Bismarck.

— Hush... 

William ended up silencing Asher, the last time he spoke mentally Alvis could hear him. He was avoiding by all means to let Alvis know that he made a "demonic contract" with the Gamut.

— Well, we can leave these long explanations for the next day.

Alvis changed the image showing the different ranks of the Daemons, they were divided into seven.

First Rank Rubedo (Berserker) - Title: Assassin of the Supernatural (Crown of Wrath)

Second Rank Albedo (Madness) - Title: Assassin of superior entity (Crown of Sloth)

Third Rank Nigredo (Avidity) - Title: Assassin of Demi-Gods (Crown of Greed)

Fourth Rank Shaula (Jealousy) - Title: Assassin of Gods (Crown of Envy)

Fifth Rank Viola (Hunger) - Title: Assassin of higher entities (crown of gluttony)

Sixth Rank Jager (Passion) - Title: Cursed God (crown of lust)

Seventh Rank ??? (????) - Title: ??? (Crown of Pride)

— Let's start with the main course. Our ranks:

Rubedo Rank: wild and uncontrolled, their point is their brute strength and their indestructible armor. They lose their sense of sight, smell and touch once they get out of control, becoming a machine of mass destruction. Because they lose the reason to think, their greatest weakness is not knowing how to coordinate against many targets.

Stats:

Magic: 1035

Attack: 1800

Defense: 1500

Agility: 1900

Intelligence: 100

Albedo Rank: Anomalous and deprived of reason, the Albedo take everything with a rather frightening sense of humor, they have strength, agility and reflexes, they have a battle quotient much higher than that of a Rubedo, but lower than their higher ranks. Their unique ability is resonance, they are able to learn from their opponents as the fight progresses, as well as confuse them with their strange and out of the ordinary way of fighting. Their own weakness is their trust in the enemy.

Magic: 5070

Attack: 5393

Defense: 4780

Agility: 5000

Intelligence: 4890

Nigredo Rank: Greedy and selfish, the Nigredo are characterized by their quick and concise manner. They are greedy when it comes to power, they consider it extremely unworthy to be defeated from both lower and higher ranks. They have a second limiter equal to the Rubedo rank, this state is called "Nightmare", it is a state of total lack of control, in which they snatch all their energy from their targets, as well as their abilities.

Magic: 18570

Attack: 18570

Defense: 18570

Agility: 18570

Intelligence: 11500

Shaula Rank: Resentful and spiteful, the Shaula rank is known to be one of the most resentful of the seven ranks. Wanting to obtain all the power that the other ranks possess for them, just like their lower ranks, the Shaula have an abnormal exponential growth after entering this rank, being able to see between worlds (spiritual, supernatural and many others), a remarkable feature of them is their flexibility in terms of power, their stats are usually very even unlike the lower ranks.

Magic: 7000.000

Attack: 8000.000

Defense: 7000.000

Agility: 8000.000

Intelligence: 115000

Viola Rank: Hungry and gluttonous, Viola ranks are known to have an insatiable appetite. Rumor has it that they are said to be deprived of common sense once they reach that rank in the hierarchy, in short, Viola possesses apathy for any person or object. They have the unique ability to steal the abilities of their prey, as well as rendering them helpless, they can swallow anything in one bite, regardless of the taste, this being something they have in common with Beelzebub.

Magic: 8000.000

Attack: 9000.000

Defense: 8000.000

Agility: 7000.000

Intelligence: 115000

Jager Rank: Lascivious and obscene, encompasses any feelings or desires that cause that person to focus on worldly possessions or selfish practices - personal interests, desires, passions and appetites. Jagers are the second most known to have a murderous appetite, which causes them to enjoy and become aroused when they see their victims suffer the punishments meted out by the aforementioned, they enjoy torturing and humiliating their victims for their own training.

Magic: 9000.0000

Attack: 9000.0000

Defense: 9000.0000

Agility: 8000.0000

Intelligence: 1150000

— Oh shit, those things look like something out of Dark Souls, how the hell did you guys survive that.

Kiara stared at the rest of the murakumo who could only make a nervous face at that.

— It's not like we got out of it unscathed.

Vera was the next to speak pointing at herself, this only made Kiara realize.

— She had completely forgotten that she was a survivor of.... What was the name?

— Calammity War, Kiwawa.

Vera burst out laughing a little, this made Kiara puff out her cheeks feeling embarrassed by this.  

— And the seventh rank?

William was curious about that rank, since, unlike the Jager rank, it seemed to be the only rank without sufficient information. Not only that, it had no rank name or alias or title.

The only thing that was visible for this rank, was that it was under the command of the crown of pride.

— About that... No one had really seen them.

A face of confusion was plastered on everyone present, if no one saw them, then why is there a seventh rank.

— You see, it's not like I'm lying or anything.

Alvis looked nervous and even showed a pale face, William looked in another direction, to see how Vera was holding her right arm, she was trembling and her face showed fear.

— To access the ranks, you not only have to earn them, you have to get permission from the capital sin itself to be in it.

Alvis kept talking while trying to shake off the nervousness, William found this strange, while he wanted to ask the Gamut about this, he stopped as the daemon mentioned something.

— Infernal...

A certain headache invaded William for a second, he tried to keep his balance so that no one would notice his state.

— In the first rank, there is only one Daemon. It was the same one that started the first Calamity War 70,000,000,000,000 years ago in our universe.

As Alvis spoke, William saw a blurred memory of some kind of burning place, among the dark flames a huge creature was visible. Black and reddish scales, crimson red eyes.

— The only thing known about this MONSTER. Is that each and every one of the Daemons, including me. was afraid of him.

Finishing those words Alvis let out a huge sigh, calming down a bit to regain his composure.

— So, there is no special trait like the rest?

Calli asked him that since each Daemon was characterized by certain details, this also included the ranks. Who each have a specific personality trait.

— Well, if I had to say one....

Alvis was pondering the following, to say the next words;

— I heard once, that when rising to this rank, users fall into darkness and their eyes and hair... lose their... Brightness....

Alvis paused for a short while in complete silence. About two minutes passed and the daemon said nothing, his expression even showed concern and fear as if he had realized something.

William remained the same as the rest watching Alvis, until little by little his eyes realized.

— Sorry, Shekhinah took too long to talk to me.

Both William and Alvis looked at Khan with faces full of concern and fear, the Xenonian, noticing this, moved his head to one side being a little confused.

— Did I do something wrong again?

Khan stared at Alvis and William with a nervous smile, being a little confused as to why they were looking at him that way.

They both sighed at the thought, there was no way this man was that Monster.

— What were they talking about while he was gone.

Khan asked Yanagi that question, waiting to be brought up to speed.

— We were talking about the ranks.

— I see...

At Yanagi's answer, Khan could only nod a little as he looked at each of the ranks on the screen and stopped at a specific one.

— ...

He shook his head for a moment, to concentrate on the people in front of him.

— I just have to focus on this, and everything will be fine.

In one of his eyes a small nervous twitch was noticeable, while the sparkle that once possessed his eyes.

No longer existed.

****

United States: - Canada, time: 10:35pm

In the city of Vancouver was bathed in the night sky, as the stars were twinkling.

Between one of the corners of the city stood a person with a ghostly skin color, short white hair and blue eyes, he wore a red jacket with yellow fur on the collar, underneath the jacket he wore a light blue polo shirt with dark blue. Underneath he wore pale colored sweat pants with pink slippers on his feet.

— Nah man, I think I was scammed with that information.

The man commented as he bared his sharp teeth, this person's name was Nux Taku. A Vtuber known by many for doing what he wants with the information he gets.

— Are you expecting someone?

Nux was about to leave the place, when he noticed someone standing next to him, it was a gray-haired man with brown eyes, he was wearing what appeared to be a cowboy outfit. A black colored jacket along with a white colored t-shirt underneath. He wore blue pants, his belt showed two guns, silver in color. He was wearing brown boots.  

—  I'm sorry, I was a little late, I was busy.

The man replied, as he put his pistols in his belt. Nux blinked several times before looking at him suspiciously.

—  Yeah... Sorry man, I have to go!

Before Nux could leave, the gray-haired man appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Nux looked back in the direction he had been standing, pointing in that direction and to where he was currently standing.

—  I hear you're good at gathering information.

From his jacket the cowboy pulled out a few photos along with some details about the photos, he handed them to Nux who quickly began to flip through them.

As the minutes passed Nux's face showed surprise as well as excitement, the information he was looking for appeared in front of his eyes.

— Oh my god, where the hell did you get this?

— I'm a bounty hunter.... I must do my job well.

The cowboy grinned from ear to ear, knowing that he captivated the attention of Nux, who was thinking about what to do.

— You're telling me you're giving me this information for free, even though I know I can use it however I want and whenever I want.

— Of course.

A mischievous smile was plastered on Nux's face, who for some reason felt that he had met the person he had been looking for all these years.

— I like you, I'm Nux Taku, a pleasure.

The cowboy took out a trowel that was between his teeth to throw it away, this one took off his hat, to introduce himself.

— Name's  Alejandro. Those who have heard of me, know what I come for.

As the two conversed in a quiet and friendly manner in that corner. A woman with gray hair and blue eyes was looking at different places in the universe.

—  Mm... It looks like things are about to start.

She turned away from some glass panes that showed her images of the 1610 universe, only to approach a certain table in that throne room. A small letter lay on the table.

The woman took the letter in her hands, only for a smile to appear, leaving the letter on the table once.

— So, the annual meeting of the gods of the universes sounds interesting.