Chapter 35: The Fall of the Morning Star and the Crimson King's Claim
The concrete of Kuoh Academy's courtyard cracked and spider-webbed beneath Lucian's boots as he pushed himself up from the rubble of the clock tower. His breathing was ragged, his blazer shredded, and his chest painted with severe, blistering burns from Kokabiel's holy light shockwave. Yet, the pain was entirely eclipsed by the chaotic, suffocating density of the mana now crushing the battlefield.
Above him, the sky was no longer just weeping; it was bleeding.
Rias Gremory hovered in the air, her crimson hair defying gravity, whipping around her like the tendrils of a solar flare. Her blue-green eyes had vanished, replaced entirely by a glowing, solid, unhinged crimson light. The Power of Destruction radiating from her small frame was so concentrated that the raindrops vaporized before they could even touch her skin.
"You touched him," Rias's voice was no longer that of a high school girl. It echoed with the ancient, terrifying resonance of a true Devil King, distorting the air itself. "You dared to touch my Bishop. My Lucian."
Kokabiel, the ten-winged Fallen Angel who had survived the Great War, narrowed his golden eyes. For the first time since he had descended upon the human realm, the Cadre's arrogant smirk faltered. He recognized that aura. It was the same world-ending pressure that her brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, emitted before erasing a mountain range.
"You think raw, unrefined rage can bridge the gap between us, little girl?!" Kokabiel roared, throwing his hands forward. A massive, interwoven array of golden magic circles materialized, firing a torrent of spear-sized light constructs directly at Rias.
"Extinguish," Rias whispered.
She didn't dodge. She merely raised a single hand. A concentrated sphere of black-red energy erupted from her palm, expanding into a massive, devouring wave. The Power of Destruction met Kokabiel's holy light mid-air. There was no explosion. Instead, there was a horrifying, high-pitched shrieking sound as Rias's magic literally ate the light, erasing the spears from existence and continuing its path straight toward the Cadre.
Kokabiel was forced to cross his six pairs of wings, reinforcing them with absolute defensive barriers. The Destruction wave hit him, tearing several black feathers from his wings and pushing him back a dozen meters, leaving a trail of scorched air.
"Ara, ara... the King is not playing anymore," Akeno Himejima murmured, hovering a safe distance away. She raised her hands to the heavens, her shrine maiden sleeves falling back to reveal her pale arms. "Then the Queen must ensure the stage is properly set. Holy Lightning!"
Akeno didn't just summon a bolt; she brought down a localized apocalypse of violet electricity, striking the physical anchors of Kokabiel's flight path, forcing the Cadre to constantly shift and teleport to avoid being paralyzed.
The Sword of Betrayer
On the roof of the main building, another battle was reaching its climax. The storm raged around Yuuto Kiba and Freed Sellzen. Freed was a blur of manic energy, swinging the fused, glowing mass of Excalibur fragments. The holy light sheared through the concrete, melting Kiba's demonic swords the moment they made contact.
"What's wrong, pretty boy?!" Freed cackled, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. "Can't keep up with the power of God?! Your demonic trash is melting like butter!"
Kiba stepped back, his breath coming in heavy pants. He looked down at the courtyard, seeing Lucian bleeding, seeing Issei desperately pumping power into Sona's barrier, seeing his friends fighting a war they were dragged into because of his trauma.
They didn't abandon me, Kiba thought, his eyes closing. Even when I turned my back on them. Even when I let the ghosts of my past consume me. They came for me.
Suddenly, a warm, golden light began to pulse from within Kiba's chest. It wasn't demonic mana. It was the residual, lingering souls of his fallen comrades—the children of the Holy Sword Project. They weren't crying out in pain anymore. They were standing beside him.
"Freed," Kiba said, his voice dropping to a dead, icy calm. He opened his eyes, and they burned with a terrifying, dual-colored light—one demonic red, one holy blue. "You're right. Demonic swords alone cannot defeat that abomination you hold. So, I will use something else."
Kiba raised his hand, pointing it directly at the sky. The demonic aura of his Sword Birth collided violently with a sudden, impossible surge of holy energy.
"God abandoned us. The Devil took us in. Therefore... I will forge a blade that spits in the face of both!" Kiba roared.
The air shattered. A massive pillar of swirling blue and black light erupted from Kiba's hand, piercing the storm clouds. When the light faded, Kiba held a new weapon. It was a longsword, half composed of pure, radiant holy light, and half composed of darkest demonic steel.
Xenovia, watching from the courtyard, gasped, her eyes wide with religious shock. "A Holy-Demonic sword... a Balance Breaker! It shouldn't be possible!"
"Sword of Betrayer," Kiba whispered.
Freed stopped laughing. The sheer, paradoxical pressure of the blade made him physically nauseous. "You... you heretic freak! Die!"
Freed lunged, bringing the fused Excalibur down with all his might. Kiba didn't dodge. He swung the Sword of Betrayer in a perfect, flawless arc. The blades met.
There was no struggle. The Sword of Betrayer, carrying the weight of vengeance and absolute acceptance of one's own contradictory nature, sliced cleanly through the fused Excalibur fragments, shattering the massive blade into dozens of glowing shards. Kiba's momentum continued, the blade slicing a deep, diagonal gash across Freed's chest.
Blood sprayed. Freed's eyes rolled back, his manic laughter choking into a wet gurgle as he collapsed backward, tumbling off the roof and crashing into the bushes below, utterly defeated.
"Rest now, my friends," Kiba whispered, the Balance Breaker dissipating into motes of light as he collapsed to his knees, utterly spent.
The Emperor and the Wildcard
"KIBA DID IT!" Issei roared from the courtyard, his Boosted Gear burning a molten crimson. He had just finished helping Koneko pulverize the last Cerberus hound. Sona's barrier was holding, but Saji had finally passed out, foaming at the mouth from magical exhaustion.
Issei looked up at Kokabiel. The Cadre was bleeding from his clash with Rias and Akeno, his wings ragged, his breathing heavy.
"It's not over," Lucian said, staggering over to Issei. Lucian's Red Eyes were spinning so fast they were a blur. Blood was leaking from his left tear duct, a sign that he was pushing his ocular power past the safe 30% threshold. He was at 45% now, and his brain felt like it was sitting on a hot grill.
"Lucian! You're hurt bad!" Issei panicked, seeing the horrific burns on his friend's chest.
"Shut up and listen to me, Issei," Lucian hissed, grabbing the Red Dragon Emperor by the collar. "Kokabiel is gathering his remaining mana. He realizes he can't kill Rias in a drawn-out fight, so he's going to drop a tactical nuke on the entire school. He's going to vaporize the barrier, the city, and everyone in it."
High above, Kokabiel raised both hands. A massive, singular sphere of pure, blinding light began to expand, acting like a miniature sun. The heat was instantly oppressive.
"I have grown tired of this game!" Kokabiel's voice boomed. "Perish, you demonic filth! Perish with this wretched human city!"
"Issei," Lucian said, his voice deadly serious. "I need your Boosts. All of them. Transfer them to me."
"But your body! You're already bleeding! If I transfer my dragon aura into your Gremory mana, you might explode!" Issei argued.
"If you don't, we all explode," Lucian snapped. "I can see the flaw in his spell. My eyes can see the central axis of that light sphere. If I hit it with enough concentrated Destruction, it will chain-react and detonate prematurely. Do it, Issei!"
Issei gritted his teeth. "You better not die, you handsome bastard, or the girls will kill me! [TRANSFER!]"
Issei slammed his crimson gauntlet into Lucian's back. A tidal wave of raw, violent draconic power flooded into Lucian's system. Lucian screamed, his veins bulging against his skin, his crimson aura flaring so violently it created a crater beneath his feet.
Lucian looked up, his Red Eyes locking onto the core of Kokabiel's miniature sun. He raised his right hand, summoning his Power of Destruction. But with Issei's boost, it wasn't just a sphere; it compressed into a jagged, vibrating lance of black-red energy, crackling with green draconic lightning.
"Rias!" Lucian roared.
Rias, hovering above, looked down. She saw the draconic aura surrounding her Bishop. She understood instantly. She positioned herself directly above Lucian, aiming both her hands at Kokabiel.
"Together, Lucian!" Rias cried out, summoning a massive sphere of Extinguished Star.
"Boosted Destruction: Crimson Pierce!" Lucian roared, throwing the lance with every ounce of his remaining strength.
Simultaneously, Rias fired her Extinguished Star. The two attacks spiraled around each other like a demonic double-helix, tearing through the sky and slamming directly into the central, unstable axis of Kokabiel's light sphere.
The Cadre's eyes widened in absolute horror. "No—!"
The resulting explosion turned the night sky into high noon. A shockwave of inverted colors blasted outward, vaporizing the clouds and shattering the remnants of Sona's barrier. The backlash hit Kokabiel point-blank. Five pairs of his wings were instantly incinerated. The Fallen Angel screamed—a sound of pure, agonizing defeat—as his charred, broken body plummeted from the sky, crashing into the center of the courtyard and creating a crater fifty feet wide.
The White Dragon Descends
Silence fell over Kuoh Academy. The rain had stopped. The clouds had been physically pushed away by the explosion, revealing a clear, star-studded night sky.
Lucian fell to his knees, coughing up a terrifying amount of blood. His Red Eyes deactivated, his vision blurring. He had pushed himself far past his limits.
Issei rushed over, catching him before he hit the concrete. "We did it... Holy crap, Lucian, we actually beat a Cadre!"
"We wounded him," a new, cold voice echoed through the courtyard.
Everyone froze. In the center of the crater, standing over the smoking, twitching body of Kokabiel, was a young man in a leather jacket. From his back protruded two massive wings of pure, ethereal blue light. The pressure radiating from him made Kokabiel's previous aura feel like a gentle breeze.
Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor, looked down at Kokabiel with a sigh of profound disappointment. "Pathetic. To think you survived the Great War only to be brought low by a bunch of high schoolers."
Kokabiel coughed, blood bubbling from his lips. "V-Vali... you... help me finish them..."
"Azazel gave me an order, Kokabiel," Vali said coldly. "Retrieve you, dead or alive. And since you're such an embarrassment to the Fallen... I think I'll make sure you never fight again."
Vali casually reached down, grabbed the root of Kokabiel's only remaining wing, and violently ripped it from his back. The Cadre let out a bloodcurdling scream before passing out from the shock.
Issei stood up, his Boosted Gear trembling. [White One,] Ddraig's voice echoed from the gauntlet, deep and full of ancient hatred.
[Red One,] Albion's voice replied from Vali's wings.
Vali looked at Issei, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hyoudou Issei. You're incredibly weak. It's almost depressing. You better get stronger quickly, or our destined battle is going to be incredibly boring."
Issei clenched his fists. "Who the hell are you?"
"Vali Lucifer. Remember the name," Vali said. Then, his eyes shifted to Lucian, who was leaning heavily against Issei. The White Dragon Emperor's gaze sharpened, lingering on Lucian with a mix of intense curiosity and predatory interest. "And you... the Bishop with the strange eyes. You smell like a Gremory, but your soul feels entirely different. A Wildcard. Don't die before I figure out exactly what you are."
With a flap of his glowing blue wings, Vali grabbed Kokabiel by the collar and shot into the sky, disappearing in a flash of light.
The threat was gone. The battle was over.
Rias descended to the ground, her crimson aura fading. The moment her boots touched the concrete, her regal facade shattered. She ran across the crater, falling to her knees beside Lucian, tears streaming down her soot-stained cheeks.
"Lucian! Lucian, stay with me!" Rias cried, her hands glowing with ineffective demonic healing magic.
Lucian looked up at her, offering a weak, bloody smirk. "Told you... I wouldn't die... Buchou..."
His eyes rolled back, and the world faded to black.
The Crimson King's Claim (R-Rated Ecchi/Romance)
Lucian awoke to the sensation of crushing softness and an overwhelming heat.
His body felt like it had been run through a meat grinder and then set on fire. Every muscle ached, and his mana reserves were so dangerously low that his demonic core was pulsating painfully. He slowly forced his eyes open, realizing he was no longer in the ruined courtyard. He was lying in the center of a massive, opulent bed, draped in crimson silk sheets. The air smelled heavy with expensive perfume, sweat, and raw demonic energy.
He was in Rias Gremory's personal bedroom.
"You're awake," a husky, incredibly dark voice purred next to his ear.
Lucian turned his head and felt his breath catch in his throat. Rias was straddling his waist. She wasn't wearing her uniform, nor was she wearing proper sleepwear. She wore a sheer, black silk robe that was completely unbelted and parted wide. The fabric was practically translucent, hiding absolutely nothing. Her heavy, perfectly shaped breasts were fully exposed, the pale skin flushed with heat, her dark pink nipples hardened and pressing tantalizingly close to his face as she leaned over him.
"Rias..." Lucian breathed, his voice hoarse. He tried to move his arms, but his muscles screamed in protest. He looked down and realized he was completely naked beneath the sheets, his burns smeared with a glowing, soothing magical salve.
"Don't move," Rias commanded. Her tone wasn't just authoritative; it was dangerously possessive, dripping with a territorial lust that made the hairs on Lucian's arms stand up. Her eyes were glowing with a faint, crimson light in the dim room. "Your demonic energy is critically low. You nearly burned out your core using Issei's boost combined with your eyes. Conventional healing won't work. You need direct, skin-to-skin mana transfer."
She leaned down, her bare breasts brushing agonizingly against his bare chest. The friction sent a jolt of electricity straight down to his groin, his body responding instantly despite the injuries. Rias let out a low, satisfied moan as she felt him harden against her thighs through the thin silk of the sheets.
"You terrified me tonight, Lucian," Rias whispered, her lips trailing along his jawline, her breath hot against his skin. She nipped lightly at his earlobe, her nails digging gently into his shoulders. "When I saw Kokabiel blast you... I wanted to burn the entire world down. You are mine. My Bishop. My lover. I won't allow anyone to take you from me. Not the Fallen, not the Church... not anyone."
She captured his lips in a bruised, desperate kiss. It was wet, deep, and completely dominant. Her tongue pushed past his lips, tasting of dark magic and pure, unadulterated desire. Lucian groaned into her mouth, his hands weakly coming up to cup her heavy, bare breasts. They were soft, yielding perfectly to his touch, the heat radiating from them acting as a conduit, pumping pure Gremory mana directly into his exhausted core.
Rias broke the kiss, a string of saliva connecting their lips. She moved down to his neck, her teeth grazing his pulse point. She sucked hard, intentionally leaving a dark, purple mark on his skin—a brand for all to see. "You belong to me," she panted, her hips grinding slowly against his, drawing a sharp gasp from him. "I'm going to fill you with so much of my mana you'll never be able to forget my scent..."
Before Rias could fully escalate the situation, the heavy oak door to the bedroom clicked open.
"Buchou," Akeno's voice echoed from the hallway, though she didn't step inside. "I have established the wards. No one from the Sitri peerage or the Church will disturb you. However... I could not stop them."
Rias growled, a feral sound deep in her chest, as she turned her head. "I told you to keep everyone out, Akeno."
"They are his personal household, President," Akeno said, a hint of amusement in her tone. "Demonic law dictates a Master's servants have full access to his chambers when his life is in danger. Enjoy your... recovery." The door clicked shut.
Stepping out of the shadows of the room were two figures.
Yubelluna was breathing heavily, her orange eyes wide with concern and unmistakable lust. The former Queen had discarded her dress entirely. She wore only a set of scandalous, strap-heavy black lingerie that pushed her massive cleavage up to her chin and barely covered her lower half.
Beside her, Tamamo had abandoned her small fox form. The familiar was in her fully mature, adult form—a ridiculously voluptuous woman with long blonde hair, nine fluffy golden tails swaying behind her, wearing a traditional shrine maiden kimono that was deliberately hanging off her shoulders, exposing a deep, plunging view of her massive breasts and smooth stomach.
"Master," Yubelluna practically whimpered, rushing to the side of the bed. She fell to her knees, taking Lucian's hand and pressing it directly against her heaving, lingerie-clad chest. "We felt your core drop! We thought we lost you!"
"You idiot Master!" Tamamo scolded, though her voice was thick with emotion. She crawled onto the bed from the bottom, her nine tails wrapping sensually around Lucian's calves. She shimmied up the mattress until her face was hovering over his waist, her large breasts resting heavily on his thighs. "You don't get to die! And you certainly don't get to be healed by the Gremory Princess alone!"
Rias's aura flared, her eyes narrowing at the two intruders. "Get off my bed. He is my Bishop. I am replenishing his mana."
"He is our Master," Yubelluna shot back, her own explosive magic flaring slightly, completely unfazed by Rias's anger. She leaned over, pressing her wet lips against the burns on Lucian's arm, her tongue darting out to lick the magical salve into his skin. "We share a direct soul-link. We can heal him faster."
Tamamo didn't even argue; she simply leaned down and began to trail soft, wet kisses up Lucian's inner thighs, her hands massaging his hips, sending waves of soothing, incredibly arousing spirit energy directly into his lower body. Lucian let out a strangled groan, his head falling back against the pillows as the combined stimulation of three beautiful, incredibly powerful women overwhelmed his senses.
"Rias..." Lucian choked out, trying to maintain some semblance of sanity. "They're... they're just trying to help..."
Rias looked down at Lucian's flushed face, seeing the sheer pleasure and the rapid stabilization of his demonic core. She looked at Yubelluna, who was passionately kissing his hands and chest, and Tamamo, who was dangerously close to his most sensitive areas, her tails completely enveloping his legs.
The Heiress of the House of Gremory clenched her jaw. She hated sharing. She hated it with a burning passion. But seeing Lucian alive, seeing the color return to his cheeks... she could tolerate it. For tonight.
"Fine," Rias hissed, her eyes glowing with absolute authority as she leaned down, firmly capturing Lucian's lips once more to ensure he knew exactly who was in charge. She pulled back slightly, looking fiercely at Yubelluna and Tamamo.
"You may assist in