[Scene: Evening – Narrow Alleyway, Shibuya District]
Tokyo's neon buzz faded in the narrow alley between a ramen shop and a laundry mat. Trash bags rustled in the wind. A cat yawned and disappeared behind a dumpster.
And then… the air shifted.
The wind stilled.
A ripple appeared—just above the concrete—twisting reality like hot air above asphalt. With a quiet hum, a portal began to open.
It flickered erratically. The color was unnatural—neither blue nor red, but something like the void between thoughts. Something that didn't belong.
And then… a shape emerged.
A figure. Cloaked in black, a jagged horn peeking out from beneath a hood.
Its fingers were long. Too long. Its eyes glowed like coals in the dark.
It whispered:
"She's here… The Demon-Hero child… the anomaly."
The portal shuddered behind it.
And then closed.
---
[Scene: Maou Family Apartment – That Same Night]
Sakura sneezed. Loudly.
"Ugh. Something's wrong," she muttered, slapping the kotatsu table.
"Do not fear, Wife!" declared Ragna, dramatically emerging from the kitchen in an apron. "For I have prepared the ultimate defense—Steamed Demon Pork Buns!"
She blinked. "Is that… glowing?"
"Only a little."
"That's not comforting."
On the couch, Lily balanced a juice box on her forehead while watching magical girl anime. "Mommy, why do bad guys always laugh before they attack?"
"Because they're insecure and need dramatic flair to mask their lack of parental love," Sakura muttered.
"That sounds personal," Ragna said.
"I've fought a lot of cacklers."
Lily sat up, suddenly twitching her nose.
"…Something smells weird," she said. "Not Daddy's food. Like… old magic."
Both parents stiffened.
"Define 'old,'" Ragna asked cautiously.
Lily blinked. "Like back home. The yucky kind. That smells like burned flowers and snake armpits."
Sakura stood up. "No… it's too soon…"
"Did you eat another Chaos Crystal?" Ragna asked.
"No!"
"…A little one?"
"No!"
"…Licked one?"
"…Maybe."
---
[Scene: The Next Morning – Kindergarten]
Lily's classroom was colorful, chaotic, and full of things to lick (which is why she was currently being watched like a hawk).
"Alright, kids!" said Miss Tamayo cheerfully. "Today's craft is: 'Draw your family using glitter and honesty!'"
Lily raised her hand. "What if my daddy breathes fire and my mommy used to cut people in half?"
"…Then draw that."
Lily's crayon scratched hard on the paper. Stick figures. One held a flaming wok. The other had laser swords for arms.
Meanwhile, outside the building, a shadow moved across the window.
And paused.
Watching.
Breathing.
Waiting.
---
[Scene: At the Restaurant – Ragna's "Burning Maou Curry"]
Business was steady. A line of office workers and curry lovers sat at the counter as Ragna prepared dishes with one hand while juggling utensils with the other.
"Here's your Lava-Level Beef Curry! And for you, a mildly cursed Tofu Surprise!"
He turned, sniffing the air.
Something... off.
A flicker of cold air.
A familiar scent.
He grabbed a ladle and held it like a sword. Slowly, he stepped out the back door.
In the alley behind the restaurant—silence.
And then, like a whisper—
"Ragna… former Demon King… you've gone soft."
Ragna's eyes narrowed.
"...You're late," he said flatly.
From the shadows stepped a figure in ragged armor and a torn black cape—Zerak, once his elite general. Now twisted, part-spirit, part-madness.
"You abandoned us," Zerak hissed. "You took the Hero and ran. And bred. What would the Dark Court say?"
Ragna's grip tightened.
"I didn't run," he said coldly. "I made a choice. War... or peace."
Zerak laughed—low, dry, bitter.
"I came for the child."
Ragna's aura flared, shaking the trash cans.
"You'll leave in pieces."
---
[Scene: Kindergarten – Ten Minutes Later]
The sky outside turned strange. Purple clouds crept in like mold. Birds scattered. The sandpit boiled briefly.
Lily stopped mid-doodle. "Oh no…"
Miss Tamayo glanced up. "Is that thunder?"
"No," Lily whispered. "It's bad guy weather."
A gust of wind slammed the window open.
From the air—Zerak descended, landing on the playground with a hiss of dark energy.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Where is the anomaly child?" he bellowed.
The kids screamed.
Miss Tamayo fainted.
Lily stood up calmly, sipped her juice box, and threw the straw like a shuriken.
It bounced off his face.
"Hey! I was coloring, jerk."
Zerak raised a hand to blast her—
—and a fireball knocked him flat into the sandbox.
Ragna landed like thunder, flames in both hands.
"You don't get to touch my daughter," he snarled.
Behind him, Sakura appeared, holding a glowing relic blade in one hand and a diaper bag in the other.
"Let's keep this G-rated," she warned.
Zerak spat sand. "So the Hero and the Demon unite… for a child. How domestic."
Ragna's smile turned dangerous. "I also make killer meatballs now."
Lily climbed out the window and landed between them all.
"Guys? Can we not blow up the swings? I like the swings."
---
[Scene: The Battle – Playground Chaos]
Zerak howled and summoned shadow beasts—inky creatures with blade arms and screaming mouths.
Sakura moved in a blur, cutting through them with precise arcs. "You couldn't stay in hell where you belong, huh?"
Ragna tackled Zerak into the jungle gym. "Not the slide, bro. I built that slide."
Lily, meanwhile, focused her tiny hands and created a glowing pink barrier around the other kids.
"Stay inside," she said calmly. "I'm half hero, half demon, and fully pissed."
The magical shield pulsed with glitter and unicorn stickers. The children clapped.
Back on the battlefield, Zerak slammed Ragna into a seesaw and kicked Sakura into a sandbox.
"You forgot what you are!" Zerak screamed.
Ragna stood, wiped blood from his mouth, and grinned. "No. I remembered who I want to be."
He raised his hand.
"Flame Dish: Infernal Omelette Explosion!"
A massive burst of culinary fire erupted from the frying pan strapped to his hip. Zerak screamed as the flames wrapped around him, cooking his armor midair.
Sakura followed with a divine strike—cutting through the last shadows.
Zerak collapsed, smoking and twitching.
Lily walked up and flicked his forehead.
"Bad guys don't get snacks."
---
[Scene: Aftermath – Ambulances, Confusion, and Glitter]
Miss Tamayo was revived. Emergency services arrived. No one could explain what happened.
The official report said: "Gas leak, mass hallucination, rogue VR drone."
Lily stood in the schoolyard, staring at the darkened sky.
Sakura walked over, crouched beside her.
"Hey," she said. "You okay?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah. But that guy knew me."
"He knew your power."
"...More are coming, aren't they?"
Sakura hesitated. "Maybe."
Ragna joined them, wrapping an arm around them both. "Then let them come."
"We'll just keep kicking their butts," Lily said, pumping her tiny fist.
"Language," Sakura sighed.
"Butts is PG!"
---
[Final Scene: A New Threat Watching… Again]
Deep underground, far from the city, a mirror pulsed.
A cloaked figure turned to a new ally: a horned woman with white hair and golden eyes.
"She awakened sooner than we thought," he murmured.
The woman licked her lips.
"I've waited a long time to kill the daughter of a Hero… and the Demon who betrayed us."
The figure grinned.
"Then we'll open another portal."
---
To Be Continued…