The reason Lucian brought them to the Cardinal World instead of Earth was simple: he wanted to observe how magicules would affect Malia.
Would she evolve?
Would she grow stronger?
Would the Voice of the World acknowledge her?
The answer came faster than expected.
Absolutely nothing happened.
Malia stood in the middle of the clearing, blinking up at the trees as if waiting for something dramatic to occur. A light breeze drifted through the grass. Nothing more.
Lucian frowned. "So… no changes? No magicules entering her body? The Voice isn't acknowledging her like it did with Eve?"
Velzard folded her arms thoughtfully. "I think she's being registered as a normal human with no magicule capacity. Similar to an Otherworlder — but one who arrived without passing through the dimensional compression that forces adaptation."
Malia stared between them, visibly overwhelmed. "Other world? Are we… in a different world now?"
"You could say that," Lucian said gently, not wanting her to spiral. "Don't think too hard about it. For now… can you transform? I want to check something."
Malia nodded, inhaled sharply, and her body rippled. Bones shifted, fur spread across skin, and within seconds, a blue-eyed coyote stood in her place.
And that was when something did happen.
At the moment of transformation, magicules surged toward her like a tide pulled by instinct. They spiraled around her body, slipping beneath her fur like streams of light — yet the effect was faint. No evolution, no burst of power, no new abilities.
All she gained was a very basic intrinsic skill of lycanthropes — Beastialize.
Nothing more.
Velzard nodded. "As I thought. Her magicule capacity only triggers when she taps into her supernatural biology. But she's still fundamentally… human."
Lucian exhaled. "Alright then. Let's head to Kuoh Town."
He picked up Eve from Rimuru — who clung to him briefly like a cat greeting its owner — and the next moment, they teleported.
---
Kuoh's familiar skyline materialized around them, warm sunlight coating rooftops and streets. Malia gazed around with wide, overwhelmed eyes, spinning slowly as she tried to absorb the ordinary suburban houses, the cars passing by, the soft hum of distant traffic.
No danger.
No monsters.
No magic storms.
For one heartbeat, everything felt calm.
Then Lucian's expression changed.
His eyes, warm a second ago, sharpened — pupils narrowing like a predator's. His jaw locked, aura twitching around him in violent static.
Before anyone could ask why, he grabbed Velzard, Eve, and Malia and teleported again — same town, different location.
A battlefield.
In the sky above them hovered a tall man with six pairs of ebony wings, laughing like a lunatic as he hurled spears of light at the battered group below.
Rias and Sona's peerages — all bruised, burned, and barely standing.
Kokabiel.
Lucian didn't shout.
He didn't roar.
He didn't speak.
He simply whispered through clenched teeth:
"Kokabiel…"
His body shifted instantly — bones elongating, scales blooming, draconic wings bursting from his back. A surge of power poured out of him, the ground fracturing beneath his feet.
A cold, controlled fury.
Before Kokabiel even finished turning, Lucian vanished from sight.
BOOM.
The fallen angel slammed into the ground with enough force to crack the earth like glass.
Dust burst upward. Trees swayed. The air trembled.
"Wh—"
Kokabiel didn't even finish the syllable.
Lucian hauled him back up by the throat and threw him again. Then again. And again — like he was trying to break the ground with him.
A rain of light spears shot out desperately, but Lucian simply walked through them. They bounced off his draconic scales like raindrops hitting a mountain.
His voice was quiet, colder than Velzard's ice.
"You dared."
Another slam.
"You touched them."
A punch so heavy the shockwave blew away the remaining debris.
"You came here—of all places—knowing exactly what you were doing."
Kokabiel coughed blood, wings trembling. "W-Who—are you…?"
Lucian didn't bother replying.
He stepped back, expression empty — the kind of emptiness that made Kokabiel's instincts scream.
"Eve," Lucian said, voice flat. "You wanted rare test subjects, right? Use him. Create whatever you want with him."
Eve's grin bloomed — slow, serene, and terrifying.
A yandere's smile sharpened for a new toy.
Kokabiel's eyes widened in horror. "H-Hey—wait! What are you doing?! Where are you taking me—?!"
He didn't get an answer.
Only a soft hum as Eve touched his forehead.
A portal opened — swirling with dark violet flames and whispering voices.
Purgatory.
She dragged him inside like a child pulling a puppy, completely ignoring his thrashing and screaming.
Velzard watched the scene with elegant amusement, resting a hand on her hip.
"Never knew you had it in you," she said with a soft chuckle. "I almost pity him."
"Almost," Lucian muttered.
---
Lucian finally turned, the fury draining from his expression as his gaze fell upon Sona, Rias, Akeno, and the others slumped on the ground. Burn marks, torn uniforms, bruises — but no missing limbs. No blood pools. No corpses.
He felt something twist in his chest — a quiet guilt lodged beneath his ribs.
I should have remembered this. Meta knowledge or not, I should've been here faster.
They looked up weakly — relief flooding their eyes when they recognized him.
Akeno's wings were scorched, nearly melted through. She tried to stand, but her knees buckled.
Lucian moved instantly.
"Easy."
He sprinkled Full Potion over each of them. Wounds sizzled and closed, burns softened, color returned to skin. Sona exhaled shakily; Rias sagged in relief; Akeno managed a weak smile before passing out entirely.
Too exhausted even to speak.
Lucian lifted all of them gently — one in each arm, two floating behind — and teleported to Sona's house.
The lights were dim. The air quiet. He laid them all onto beds and couches like they were made of glass.
Rias murmured, eyes fluttering shut, "Lucian… thank you…"
He brushed a hand over her hair. "Sleep."
She did.
One by one, everyone drifted into exhausted unconsciousness — except Eve, who disappeared back into Purgatory with Kokabiel, and Velzard, who took Malia out to see the town.
Lucian sat beside Sona's bed for a moment, watching her breathing — slow and steady.
His guilt whispered again.
Should've been here sooner.
He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers for a moment before finally letting himself rest.
---
Morning — Ignoring the Elephant
The next morning was… awkward.
Everyone moved quietly through Sona's living room, avoiding each other's eyes. Akeno drank tea slowly, wings still sensitive. Rias pretended she wasn't limping. Sona read papers she wasn't actually reading.
They weren't ignoring Lucian.
They were ignoring last night.
Malia stood near the corner, confused but observant — unsure whether she should ask about the chaos or just wait.
Velzard, of course, looked perfectly fine, sipping tea like an elegant ice queen enjoying the morning breeze.
Lucian stretched and forced a smile. "Alright. Let's get introductions done properly."
He gestured to the girl beside him.
"Malia, meet Sona. See if you get along. If you want to join her peerage or not is entirely up to you."
Before Malia could answer, a familiar teasing voice broke through the tension.
"Ara ara~ Lucian, aren't you being biased toward Sona-san just because she's your girlfriend? Shouldn't you introduce your friend to Rias too?"
Akeno smirked.
Rias lifted a brow. "Indeed. Do I have to become your girlfriend too? I want new Peerage members as well."
Lucian deadpanned. "Really? You only want to be my girlfriend if I give you new peerage members? How shallow, Rias."
Sona cut in dryly, "Lucian, are you trying to flirt with my best friend while your girlfriend is right here?"
"Girlfriends," Tsubaki corrected from the other room.
Lucian rubbed his forehead. "I walked into that one."
Before they could verbally corner him further, the doorbell rang like a divine save point.
Sona opened the door with Lucian behind her.
A blue-haired girl in church attire stood there — Xenovia — still carrying scratches from last night.
She bowed slightly. "Good morning. I wanted to thank you for yesterday. If not for you all… I wouldn't have survived."
Sona stiffened — not from fear, but from the memory.
The battle.
The almost-death.
The exhaustion.
The reminder.
Lucian stepped behind her, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder — quiet reassurance.
Xenovia continued, completely unaware of the storm she'd triggered.
"I… owe you all my life."
And just like that, the silence in the room deepened — the unspoken truth settling between them.
Yesterday wasn't over.
They would have to talk about it.
They would have to face it.
Sona and Rias would have to report it to their families.
And Lucian… he needed to find a way to protect those he cared for.
But for now, everyone stayed still.
Breathing.
Processing.
Alive.
A/n: If I get enough people tell me to rewrite it I might... Okay it's not my best chapter... But I was kinda not in the mood to write this particular chapter but it could only fit here and yeah I think I fumbled. But if it's passable, we can move on or something. The problem is I actually can't find what's wrong with this chapter, just a gut feeling that it's not good... So if you guys can explain it, I'll gladly rewrite it or something.
One more very important note:
Gryfia, I mean she gotta be in the Harem, she's like my personal favourite waifu from DxD. But I haven't decided the reson.
Should I make her a political wife and thry had no love.
Make her only Sirzechs's Queen and not wife.
Make her the msid of Demon Lord XYZ (female Demon Lord preferably.)
Don't break True Love and let Sirzechs and Gryfia live their happy life...(Even if all pf you voted this I'll not pick this)