Chapter 4: Twilight, Blood, and the Red Dragon's Debt
The air in the park didn't just feel cold; it felt wrong. It was a jagged, artificial chill that set Lucian's teeth on edge.
"That's a High-Ranking signature," Kiba said, his usual polite demeanor replaced by a sharp, lethal focus. "This isn't a stray, Lucian. This is a hunter."
Lucian didn't need the warning. He knew exactly what was happening at the fountain. He knew the girl named Yuma was currently peeling back her human mask to reveal the obsidian wings of the Fallen Angel, Raynare.
"Inform Rias! Now!" Lucian shouted as they sprinted toward the heart of the park.
I can't stop the killing, Lucian thought, his lungs burning. The 'Red Dragon' has to die to be reborn. If I save him now, the world ends later. But I can't let her finish the job.
The Death of a Human
At the fountain, the scene was a nightmare bathed in violet light.
Issei Hyoudou lay on the pavement, his chest pierced by a jagged spear of pure light. He looked pathetic—small, confused, and clutching a stomach that was rapidly staining his shirt crimson.
"You're useless without knowing what is inside you," Raynare hissed, her black wings unfurling with a sickening rustle. "You should die without ever knowing the treasure you carry. Regret it in the dark, human."
Issei's eyes were glazing over. His last thoughts weren't of destiny or dragons; they were the simple, tragic laments of a teenage boy who never got his first kiss. He died as a human, under a cold moon, alone.
"Hey! Crow-face!"
Raynare spun around, a sneer twisting her beautiful features. "More Devils? This territory is busier than I thought."
Thirty Seconds of Destruction
Lucian and Kiba skidded to a halt. Kiba immediately blurred forward, his Sword Birth manifesting a blade of holy-dark energy to deflect a stray light spear.
"Lucian! Stay back, your output is—"
"I know!" Lucian interrupted. His eyes were already glowing a frantic, pulsating red.
He raised his hand. [Copy: Lightning Spear - Output 30%]
Small, unstable bolts of violet electricity crackled around his palm. It was a pale imitation of Raynare's power, but he injected his own Devil mana into the structure, forcing the lightning to stabilize into a defensive lattice.
CRACK.
Raynare's next spear shattered against Lucian's barrier. The feedback sent a jolt of agony up his arm, and a thin trail of blood leaked from his nose.
"Oh? A mimic?" Raynare laughed, conjuring three spears at once. "How adorable. Let's see how much you can swallow!"
Lucian realized the barriers wouldn't hold. Kiba was being suppressed by her flight advantage.
Fine. If I'm going to faint, I'm going out with a bang.
Lucian dropped the copy ability. The sudden vacuum of mana felt like a punch to the gut. He concentrated everything—every drop of Gremory blood in his veins—into his right index finger.
"Twenty seconds," Lucian whispered.
The Power of Destruction manifested, not as a sphere, but as a needle-thin beam of pure erasure. It hummed with a sound like a dying star.
"Get... out... of my... town!"
He fired.
The beam streaked through the air, cutting a line through the fountain and the trees. Raynare screamed as the edge of the beam clipped her wing, disintegrating the feathers instantly. She spiraled, barely regaining her balance.
"You... you little brat!" she snarled, her face contorting.
But before she could retaliate, a massive crimson magic circle expanded across the ground. The air grew heavy with the scent of lilies and ruin.
"That's enough," a calm, chilling voice echoed.
Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima stepped out of the light. Akeno was smiling, but her eyes were crackling with yellow lightning that dwarfed Lucian's attempt.
Raynare took one look at the King and Queen of the territory and spat at the ground. "This isn't over. The boy is dead anyway." With a flap of her wings, she vanished into the night.
The Debt
Lucian didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He was standing on shaking legs, his vision tunneling. He watched as Rias knelt by Issei's body, her face solemn as she produced a set of glowing chess pieces.
"A reckless gambit, Rias," Lucian croaked, his voice barely a whisper. "But he's the one."
Rias looked at him, her expression unreadable. "He is. And you did well to hold her off, Lucian. But look at you."
She moved toward him, but the moment the adrenaline left his system, Lucian's internal battery hit zero.
"I'm... fine... just need a..."
His eyes rolled back. As he tipped forward, Kiba caught him in a classic brotherly grip, draping Lucian's arm over his shoulder.
"I've got him, President," Kiba said with a small, tired smile. "He really does push himself too hard."
"Take him back," Rias commanded, her eyes returning to the dying Issei. "The real work starts tomorrow."
The Morning After (Comedy Returns)
Lucian woke up on the club sofa to the sound of screaming. High-pitched, hormonal, panicked screaming.
Issei Hyoudou was standing in the center of the room, clutching his chest and looking at Rias as if she were a ghost. "I died! I saw my own guts! And then there was a hot girl in my bed! And now I'm a Devil?! My life is ruined! I'll never have a normal girlfriend!"
"Quiet, Issei," Rias said, sipping her tea with terrifying grace. "You're a servant of the Gremory house now. Behave."
"But the boobs! I died for boobs and I didn't even get to—"
Lucian, who had been slowly sitting up with a massive headache, grabbed a melon bun from the coffee table and jammed it into Issei's open mouth.
MMPH!
Issei froze, gagging on the bread. Lucian leaned in close, his red eyes looking particularly menacing due to the dark circles under them.
"Issei," Lucian whispered, his voice like gravel. "Five seconds ago, Rias was smiling. Three seconds from now, if you don't shut up, she won't be. Choose your next words very wisely. I'm the one who has to clean up the mess if she gets 'creative'."
Issei looked at Rias. She was indeed still smiling, but it was the kind of smile a spider gives a fly. He immediately sat down, swallowed the bun, and folded his hands in his lap like a model student. "I am very happy to be here, President."
Rias tapped Lucian on the shoulder. "You're improving, Lucian. You've learned how to manage my 'idiot' Bishop."
"Rias, you still frighten me more than the Fallen Angels," Lucian said, leaning back into the cushions. "You know that, right?"
Rias leaned down, her face inches from his, her smile turning incredibly sweet—and incredibly sharp. "I know. So don't break decorum. Since you're so good at handling him, you and Kiba are assigned to night duty again today. You'll be monitoring our new recruit."
Lucian's jaw dropped. "Monitor him? Rias, that's cruel! He's going to talk about girls for six hours straight!"
"Consider it a month-long ban on your own social life until my 'anger' at your reckless training subsides," she said, patting his cheek. "No dates. No flirting. Just Kiba and Issei."
She turned to leave, her crimson hair flipping elegantly. "Teach him the job, Kiba. I'm going to take a bath."
As the door closed, Lucian let out a long, pathetic groan. Kiba patted his shoulder in sympathy.
"Look at the bright side," Kiba offered. "At least we're stuck together?"
Issei, meanwhile, was staring at Lucian with wide eyes. "Wait... you're a Gremory too? Does that mean you can get me into the girls' locker room?"
Lucian looked at Kiba. "Can I use the Power of Destruction on just his vocal cords? Only for a minute?"
"President said no," Kiba chuckled.
"Welcome to the club, Issei," Lucian sighed, closing his eyes. "Try not to get us killed by Tuesday."