Chapter 16: The Great Escape and the Betrayal of the Bros
The morning had started with a simple tactical error. Lucian Gremory had been caught by Rias in the clubroom hallway while Akeno was doing what Akeno does best—leaning far too close, whispering something "electrifying" into his ear, and wearing a smile that promised both heaven and a very expensive therapy bill.
Rias hadn't screamed. She had simply stood there, a dark, crimson aura flickering around her like a solar flare, her eyes fixed on Lucian with the intensity of a predator watching a particularly disobedient gazelle.
"Lucian," she had said, her voice a terrifying, calm whisper. "Run."
And Lucian, being a man of logic and survival, did exactly that.
But he didn't run alone. In a moment of sheer, panicked genius, he realized that if he was the only one in trouble, he was a target. If the entire male population of the peerage was in trouble, it was a "systemic issue."
He had sprinted through the gym, grabbed Issei by the collar, tackled Kiba mid-practice, and dragged them both into a secure, soundproofed storage room in the old school building.
The Bunker of Broken Dreams
"Why are we here?!" Issei yelled, trying to fix his rumpled shirt. "I was in the middle of a very important conversation with a gym poster!"
"Lucian-kun, I have training," Kiba added, his usual polite demeanor cracked by the sheer confusion of being kidnapped by his own Bishop. "Why are we hiding in a room full of dusty volleyball nets?"
Lucian was currently barricading the door with a heavy wooden desk. He turned around, breathing hard. "We are here because the Great Gremory Purge has begun. I was caught... socializing with Akeno. And being a bit too 'interested' in the affairs of some of the girls in the school."
Issei let out a bark of laughter. "Socializing? You mean you got caught being a playboy! The 'Prince of Destruction' finally tripped over his own charm! Does Sirzechs know?"
"If Sirzechs knows, I won't be in a storage room," Lucian muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'll be a smear on the Underworld's sidewalk. No, this is a Rias-level threat. Which is why I brought you two along."
"Why us?" Kiba asked, narrowing his eyes. "I am an honorable Knight. I have committed no crimes against the House of Gremory."
"Yeah!" Issei added, puffed out his chest. "I'm just a pervert! Everyone knows that! It's my brand! I'm in the clear!"
Lucian looked at them both with a gaze full of profound, soul-deep guilt. He turned his face away, unable to look them in the eye. "You don't want to know this... but you're both in more danger than I am."
"Haha! What danger?" Issei laughed, grabbing a bottle of 'Fruit Beer' (which was 100% apple juice in a fancy bottle) from a stash Lucian had hidden there earlier. He took a swig and immediately started acting 'high,' swaying on his feet as if he'd just downed a gallon of vodka. "I'm untouchable! I'm the Red Dragon Emperor!"
"Kiba," Lucian said softly. "You know how you're the 'Charming Prince' of the school? Every girl loves your innocent, noble act?"
"It's not an act," Kiba said, though he looked slightly nervous. "I try to be a gentleman."
"Well," Lucian sighed. "In the high of escaping, I realized that if you two had no reason to stay with me, you'd leave me to the wolves. So... I gave you reasons."
The List of Betrayals
Issei stopped 'acting' drunk. His bottle hovered near his mouth. "What did you do, Lucian?"
"I started with you, Issei," Lucian whispered. "I may have... accidentally-on-purpose... told Asia-chan exactly where you hide your 'Unholy Scriptures.' The top-tier video cassettes. The hidden stash behind the loose floorboard in your room. And I might have shown her some of the... more 'creative' texts you sent to the girls' track team."
Issei's face went from pale to ghostly white. "You... you bastard. You damn bastard! I trusted you! Asia is a nun! She's going to try to purify my room with holy water and a flamethrower!"
"It was for the greater good!" Lucian defended.
Kiba chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, Issei, it seems you're in trouble. But Lucian-kun, you can't touch me. I don't have a hidden stash. I am a Knight of honor."
Lucian looked at Kiba with pity. "Kiba... remember that girl you liked? The one from the third-year class you mentioned you thought was 'kind'?"
Kiba's smile faltered. "Yes?"
"I texted her," Lucian said. "I told her that your 'innocence' is a mask. I told her you're a secret pervert who joined Issei's 'inner circle' and that he has completely corrupted your soul. I sent her a list of every 'date' you've been on with the fan club members. I told her you're a player who breaks hearts for sport."
Kiba's sword dropped to the floor with a metallic clang. His eyes began to water. "You... you told her I was a pervert? She looked at me today and smiled, Lucian! Now she's going to look at me like I'm... like I'm Issei!"
"Hey!" Issei shouted. "Being like me is an upgrade for him!"
"We're dead," Kiba whispered, sliding down the wall. "My reputation... my noble aura... it's gone."
The Procession of Doom
Outside the storage room, the sound of rhythmic, heavy footsteps began to echo. It sounded like a funeral march, but with more feminine fury.
Rias Gremory led the procession. She was literally vibrating with enough magical power to boil a lake. Behind her, Asia Argento was holding a golden cross aloft, her eyes glowing with a terrifying, righteous zeal.
"I will purify the Red Dragon!" Asia cried out. "I will wash away the filth with the light of heaven!"
Beside her, Yubelluna—Lucian's new Queen—was following with a look of stoic duty. "My Master is a chaotic influence," she said, her hands glowing with orange fire. "I shall assist in his... 're-education' for no other reason than it is my contractual obligation."
And leading them all was Akeno Himejima. She wasn't angry. She was smiling. But it was the kind of smile that made people write their wills. "Ara ara... Lucian-kun flirted with me, then used me as a distraction to run away? He took my 'innocence' and threw it to the wind... I think he needs a very, very long session in the basement."
The Final Stand
Inside the room, the three boys were huddled together. Issei was pretending to be high on apple juice again, crying about his "magazines," while Kiba was staring into the distance, mourning his lost "Prince" status.
"They're outside, aren't they?" Issei whispered.
"I can hear the cross clinking," Lucian said, his hand on the desk. "Asia sounds like she's ready to perform an exorcism on your soul, Issei."
"And Rias?" Kiba asked.
"Rias sounds like she's going to turn us all into Gremory-brand charcoal."
Suddenly, the door didn't just open—it vanished. A blast of Power of Destruction turned the wooden desk into dust. Rias stood in the doorway, her hair flowing like a river of blood.
"Lucian," she said, her voice dripping with sweet, lethal intent. "Issei. Yuuto."
"I was corrupted by them!" Kiba shouted, pointing at the other two. "I am a victim of peer pressure!"
"I'm high!" Issei yelled, holding up the apple juice bottle. "I don't know what's happening! My brain is fermented!"
Lucian looked at the women—Rias's fury, Asia's cross, Akeno's lightning, and Yubelluna's fire. He looked at his "bros," who were already preparing to sell him out.
He did the only thing a Gremory could do in this situation. He grabbed another bottle of fruit beer, took a swig, and fell over. "Oh no! The fermentation! It's too strong! I'm fading... tell Grayfia... I loved her cooking..."
"Nice try," Rias said, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him toward the hallway. "Asia, take the pervert. Akeno, take the Knight. Yubelluna, bring the ropes. We have a lot to discuss."
As they were dragged away, Lucian looked at Issei and Kiba. Despite the impending doom, there was a strange sense of brotherhood in the air. They were all going to suffer, but at least they were suffering together.
"Next time," Kiba whispered as Akeno dragged him off, "we hide in the Underworld."
"Next time," Issei added, "we don't let Lucian have the phone."