"Bael" Ajuka nodded in greeting and gave the newcomer a lazy smile, "Has the rest of the Council arrived?"
To say that Zekram Bael was old would not be enough to convey how old the being who approached them was. He lived in the time before the foundation of the 72 Pillars, before the original Satans were able to conquer the Underworld and unite it under one banner. He was the first head of the Bael Clan, the original Bael, and the first Devil to wield the [Power of Destruction]. He was a survivor of the Unification wars, the Great War and, more recently, the Civil War. And while others died and fell during these wars, only he prospered.
Always managing to come out on top after each war and only getting stronger with each passing millennium. Under his rule, the Bael Clan became the most powerful of all the Pillars of the Underworld. There is no other Demon of his generation, no other founding member of the 72 Pillars, all the others have long since died out. Only he remained. There was no Demon alive who could even remember a time when Zekram Bael was not a power in the underworld.
'Eras may come and go, Maous may live and die, but Zekram, Zekram is here to stay,' that such a saying existed among the demons was proof of how long he had been a dominant presence in the underworld.
Zekram interrupted his approach as soon as he stopped in front of the center of the stage, pausing for a moment to examine the faces of the watching Maous, completely ignoring Gilgamesh and his friends.
Placing one fist on the ground, the other arm wrapped around his knee, Zekram bowed his head respectfully.
"My Lord Satanas, I apologize for the delay, but all preparations are complete" Announced the Head of the Council of Elders, "The Council is ready and awaiting my lords permission to enter"
"Well, what are they doing waiting outside?" Sirzechs asked cheerfully, "Tell them to come in right away."
"Of course, Lord Lucifer. I will do that immediately" Zekram bowed his head again before standing up and turning to the door.
However before he stepped forward the first Bael's eyes fell on Gilgamesh.
"It is a pleasure to meet you King of Heroes" said the first Great King, before turning to the doors of the hall.
Gilgamesh could always figure out someone's true nature by looking into their eyes, not unlike Karna, and Zekram was no exception. While all the other things about him gave the impression of an ordinary old man, his gentle, wrinkled face, his frail, delicate constitution, it was his eyes that proved that everything else was a lie. Those lilac eyes of his, which despite their color somehow managed to look so different from Sona's and Serafall's, always shone with a hidden power and more than a little madness, making them look so wrong in his grandfatherly face.
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Gilgamesh watched as he reached the doors and opened them to usher in the rest of the Council. Zekram was, quite simply, dangerous. He was as ambitious and power-hungry as they came, but unlike the others who came before and after him, his ambition was tempered by cunning, a fountain of experience, and a patience that could only be found in someone who measured time in millennia. He held so much political power and so many people in his pocket that he probably had enough influence in the underworld to match any of the Maous. And his influence only seemed to grow with each passing century. He was dubbed by some as the fifth hidden ruler of the underworld, and that was not far from the truth.
Gilgamesh knew that this man was dangerous, not dangerous like Sirzechs and Ajuka who made everyone fear his power.
But dangerous in a different and much worse way, his secrets possessed secrets, and he possessed more experience and knowledge than any other demon.
And although he had this gentle appearance and way of speaking Gilgamesh knew that Zakram hated humans and half-breeds, he went so far as to want to make Sairaorg a Maou so that he would not inherit the Bael because only someone who had the [Power of Destruction] could do that.
But despite all this, Gilgamesh knew that Sirzechs along with the rest of the Maous trusted him. There was a reason why they allowed him to lead the Council.
Two hundred years ago, when the ancient government of the Underworld, known today as the 'Old Satan Faction', was preparing to resume the Great War against Heaven and the Fallen, it was Zekram who approached a young Sirzechs and proposed the idea of rebelling. It was he who convinced the Sirzechs that the Devil race would be doomed to extinction at the hands of the Old Satan Faction with its endless hunger for war. And he wasn't wrong, if the Old Satan Faction hadn't been checked, they really would have wiped out the Devil's race.
It didn't take long for him to convince young Sirzechs of this truth, since even back then he had his own doubts about the Old Satan Faction's actions and was smart enough to see the writing on the wall, that war would spell their doom. Under Sirzechs command, a new faction began to form, what would one day become the modern government of the underworld, but back then it was a small thing, only a few hundred demons in all, most of them less than a century old. The fact was that the Sirzechs, even along with the other three future Maous who were among the first members, did not have the ability to start a rebellion to overthrow an entire government.
Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall and Falbium had the power, charisma, intelligence and determination to lead the new faction, but they were still little more than children at that time. They were in their twenties and were only the heirs of their respected house, not the bosses. They lacked the experience and credibility to convince an entire population to rebel under their banner. It was then that Zekram proved his worth. With his reputation and influence, along with countless years of experience, he managed to give the then incipient rebellion the momentum it needed to grow into the dominant force that succeeded in overthrowing a government.
Zekram was dangerous, but he was a danger that was firmly on the side of the four Maous and the New Faction of Satan.
And so Gilgamesh knew that Zekram was a danger to him, for the First Bael surely knew who Gilgamesh and his ideas were.
Though just because they trusted him, didn't mean they trusted him completely. The man was a demon in every sense of the word and only a fool would trust a demon entirely behind his back, especially one who always lived while everyone around him died.