Atop an old castle nestled near the outskirts of the Abaddon region, in the far western edge of the Devil Territory, a place where the reach of the Four Satans felt thin and the shadows of the past lingered in the masonry. Suddenly, a violent ripple tore through the space above.
The air distorted, shimmering in a heat haze, before a single figure collapsed onto the stone floor.
Jay groaned, his knees hitting the stone with a dull thud.
"Hah... Hah..."
He gasped for air as his lungs burned as if he had been inhaling glass. Now that the adrenaline of the battle had subsided, a crucifying pain began to radiate through his entire body.
Fighting the twelve Malebranche all at once would have been a death sentence even for someone at the Satan-class level.
To follow that by activating Graffiacane's Embodiment of Evil while simultaneously fending off the coordinated assaults of two Super Devils was a feat that bordered on the insanity.
Even with his body and soul reinforced by the essences of Azi Dahaka, he had pushed himself to the limit by using the True Cross for an extended period, summoning his full avatar manifestation during his final attack, and repeatedly manipulating the Black Grail to absorb and summon the Malebranche. It still took an immense toll on him, although it was infinitely better than when he fought the evil dragon.
'Though... compared to when I was nearly dead after fighting Azi, my plan was basically flawless.' He thought.
He had taken Ars Goetia.
He had even added the Evil Claws to his arsenal.
He had killed thousands of Devils along the way.
And most importantly, he had destroyed the entire deposit of Agreas' special crystals. The very material used to create the Evil Piece System.
Now, the only way Devils could reincarnate other races was by using the already created Evil Pieces, as there was no raw material left to forge a new set.
And yet, even after all that…
Why did he feel even emptier?
Jay forced himself to stand, leaning against a moss-covered merlon.
He watched as the sun began its slow, bruised descent toward the horizon. In the far east, a haunting green radiance bled into the sky, clashing violently with the dark flood of cursed water he had summoned above the sky of Agares Region.
'That's Ajuka's Kankara Formula...'
He watched the light show in the distance as the green glow intensified with every passing minute, pulsing like a rhythmic heartbeat against the dark flood.
And after nearly an hour of careful construction, the sky above Agreas appeared to buckle.
Space itself shattered like a sheet of fragile glass, revealing for a fleeting second the chaotic, myriad colors of the Dimensional Gap. Then, not even a minute later, the black clouds and the cursed flood of Graffiacane vanished.
And the sky was restored to the soft, violet and orange hues of an Underworld sunset.
Jay stood motionless, watching the god-like feat of Ajuka Beelzebub unfold in the distance.
Even from thousands of kilometers away, the sheer authority of the Kankara Formula was unmistakable. He had expected this, knowing that, given enough time, Sirzechs and Ajuka would find a way to nullify the Graffiacane ultimate move.
But his goal was never to drown the Underworld in the first place.
Now that his identity has been revealed, it is better not to linger in the Underworld any longer.
Jay vaulted over the balcony's edge, landing silently on the level below before making his way into the interior of the castle.
As he walked in, his mind was still occupied with what he had just done and what lay ahead.
After going to Egypt to retrieve the rest of the books of Solomon, what would come next? An all-out war with the Devils? Or should he venture into the Realm of the Dead and settle the matter with that bastard, Rizevim Livan Lucifer?
As he navigated the dim hallway, a sudden, delicate aroma caressed his nose. It was savory and creamy.
'Hm...? Did Lavi cook something?'
He followed the scent to the kitchen, a high-ceilinged room with a large stone hearth.
There, he saw a beautiful blonde woman moving with grace. A black apron was sculpted over her curves, tied over a baggy white shirt that reached her mid-thigh. She hummed a soft tune to herself, a gentle smile playing on her lips as she tossed pasta in a skillet.
Jay stopped in the doorway, watching her back.
Lavinia didn't turn around, yet her voice carried clearly through the room.
"Why are you just standing there, Illya-kun? Is watching me from behind really that interesting?"
"What did you cook?"
"It's just a simple Carbonara... It's apparently very popular here, though there is no guanciale, so I'm using yesterday's bacon," Lavinia said, her tone light and airy.
Jay walked forward, his footsteps heavy.
Without a word, he reached out and enveloped her body from behind, pulling her close.
The sudden contact surprised her, but she didn't pull away. Lavinia simply tilted her head, allowing him to rest his forehead against her shoulder, his breathing slowly evening out against the fabric of her shirt.
"You're not mad at me?" Jay asked suddenly, his voice muffled.
"And why should I be mad at you?"
"The magic could be felt even from here... you must have felt it too. You're not questioning my actions?" he pressed.
"And again I ask, why should I be mad at you?" Lavinia replied softly.
Jay fell silent. The only sound in the kitchen was the crackle of the fire and the bubbling of the sauce. Lavinia reached over and extinguished the fire magic she had used for cooking, carefully plating the pasta onto two ceramic dishes.
She turned in his arms, her sapphire blue eyes searching his face. Jay was taller than her now, yet she looked at him with the same unwavering warmth she always had.
"I told you before. I won't stop you from walking this path, and it's not my place to judge your decisions either, but... that doesn't mean I agree with it." Lavinia said.
She reached up, her hand grazing his cheek.
"The path you've chosen… maybe only you truly understand it, Illya-kun. I can't feel the pain that lives in your heart, so... pretending I understand it would only make me ignorant."
Lavinia then continued.
"And until the day you choose to share that burden with me, all I can do is walk beside you."
She paused, her smile turning bittersweet.
"But just so you know… if the day comes when you reach the end of that path and there's nowhere else to go,... I'll always be there, waiting for you."
They stood face to face for a long minute, the silence between them thick with things left unsaid.
Jay's dark hazel eyes never left Lavinia's face.
Jay was the one who finally broke the tension.
"We need to go before they find us here, Lavi."
"I see..."
Instead of moving to pack, Lavinia picked up a plate of pasta and twirled a forkful, blowing on it gently before offering it to him.
"Well, before that..., you must be tired. So try this first."
Jay hesitated for a fraction of a second before accepting the bite.
The rich, salty flavor of the carbonara filled his senses, grounded and real.
He chewed slowly, savoring each bite, before nodding.
"It's really good, Lavi."
"Well, of course."
Jay watched her smile with distant eyes.
As a thought came to his mind.
This warmth — did he deserve any of it after what he had done?
What had Elena, Mihea, Iacob, Ihea, Filip, and Andrei felt about his actions?
And what had Sister Andrea thought of it?
They ended up sharing the same plate.
But as they spoke in low voices, enjoying their dinner, Jay suddenly cast a glance over his shoulder toward the door behind him.
He did not need to extend his domain to sense the presence lurking in the shadows.
"I thought you already knew that curiosity can kill a cat. Why are you still sneaking up, huh, Kuroka?" Jay said.
Lavinia jumped slightly, her eyes widening as she realized she hadn't detected the Nekoshou girl at all.
From behind the heavy wooden door, Kuroka appeared.
She was wearing her usual loose black kimono, her two cat tails twitching nervously as she stepped into the light.
"I knocked on the door and there was no one answering-nya!" Kuroka defended herself, her ears flattened against her head.
"Is that so?" Jay asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Kuroka nodded vigorously.
"Well, well, Kuroka-chan... have you eaten yet? There is actually one plate left if you haven't eaten," Lavinia offered, ever the hostess.
"Really, nya!?" Kuroka's eyes glowed and she drooled as she saw the steam rising from the plate. She looked at Lavinia with full gratitude before shaking her head, trying to regain her composure.
"Nya-Nya! There is something I need to talk about first!" Kuroka said, her gold-hazel eyes drifting to Jay, reflecting a newfound seriousness.
"Hm?" Jay raised an eyebrow, waiting.
Kuroka took a deep breath, her hands fidgeting with her sleeves.
"About your offer yesterday... can I go with you two instead-nya?"
Hearing the question, Jay and Lavinia looked at each other,
***
For the next three days, the supernatural world did not sleep.
The name Zayyn Illya Kovalenko, the Black Flame, echoed through the halls of every pantheon and faction in the Supernatural World, carrying a resonance no human had ever achieved in recorded history.
A human capable of such feats, from launching a terrorist attack during the Rating Game between two top-ten, seizing the legendary demonic weapons of Malabranche, killing thousands of devil civilians in Agares City, threatening to submerge the entire region of Agares, and, worst of all, destroying the entire deposit of Agreas' special crystals used to construct the Evil Pieces.
Never before had a human shaken the Underworld to this degree.
***
Deep within a subterranean laboratory.
The room was dim, dominated by giant bio-containment chambers made of reinforced glass, etched with glowing, complex runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
In front of the main tank stood a man with dark silver hair, appearing to be in his forties but possessing an aura that suggested centuries of malice.
Rizevim Livan Lucifer, one of the three original Super Devils, held a stack of reports in his hands.
A wide smirk spread across his face as he scanned them.
Behind him, Euclid Lucifuge stood stiffly in a neat tuxedo, his silver hair tied in a ponytail, though his expression was clouded with uncharacteristic concern.
"Terrorism, grand theft of legendary weapons, mass murder of civilians, large-scale destruction of property, strategic sabotage of national resources, attempted mass destruction of a populated region, crimes against the state..." Rizevim's voice was light, almost musical, as he rattled off the list of atrocities.
His amusement only deepened with every line.
"Kukuku! It hasn't even been a year since I last saw him, and now he truly has the whole Devil Society screaming for his head! As I thought, my eyes are never wrong in recognizing potential when I see it, wouldn't you say, Euclid?"
"Yes, you did, Rizevim-sama..." Euclid replied, though his voice lacked conviction. He staring at the back of his master's head as he asked.
"But… don't you think he'll come after us, Rizevim-sama?"
"That, of course… though I'll be the one waiting for him. Kukuku."
Rizevim turned his gaze toward the bio-containment chamber directly in front of him.
Inside the fluid, the body of a woman floated in a suspended, comatose state. Despite the advanced magic, her flesh had already begun to rot horribly.
Rizevim stepped closer as his reflection overlapping with the grotesque image of the woman.
A chillingly affectionate smile appeared on his face.
"You should meet him too someday, mother."
***
High above the clouds, within the shimmering sanctity of the Sixth Heaven, the atmosphere was vastly different. In a vast, ivory chamber saturated with such intense holy energy that the air itself glittered, Michael sat at a marble table.
The leader of the Seraphs had his eyebrows furrowed, his usually serene face etched with a rare look of distress as he scanned the documents detailing the incident in Underworld.
The soft chime signaled Gabriel's arrival. Clad in flowing white robes that seemed woven from light itself, she approached her brother. Her beauty was ethereal, yet her eyes carried a profound, lingering sadness.
"Gabriel... you have finally come. Have you heard the news?" Michael asked.
Gabriel nodded solemnly, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
"Illya-san..."
The name felt heavy.
Michael remained silent for a long moment before glancing back at Gabriel.
"Let's go to Romania and talk to him."
***
In the secluded realm of Takamagahara, the sun never truly set. Sitting silently on a mat of woven cloud-tatami was an ethereally beautiful woman with hair as white as snow, accented by traces of shimmering gold.
She emanated a soft, constant golden radiance that made her appear more like a living star than a person.
She was none other than Amaterasu, the Chief God of the Shinto Faction.
At that moment, she was ignoring the weight of her divine duties to enjoy a cup matcha latte, which was apparently very popular in the human world right now.
But suddenly, a slender man with raven-black hair appeared out of thin air.
"Tsukuyomi, I told you not to disturb my private time unless something important happened," Amaterasu said. Her Kyoto accent slipped into her speech, a sign of her relaxed, somewhat irritable mood.
"But sister, something important has happened in the Underworld," Tsukuyomi insisted, his voice low and calm.
He slowly placed a series of documents onto Amaterasu's low wooden desk.
"The Underworld? Are you kidding me? As if I care what those bats are doing down there. Shush, go!" Amaterasu made a shooing motion with her hand, closing her eyes to savor the bitter-sweetness of her tea.
"Actually, it's about that human child."
Amaterasu's eyebrows instantly shot up.
She paused, the cup halfway to her lips, before she slowly opened her eyes.
The golden light in her gaze intensified, focusing on her brother with sharp interest, as if she already knew whom Tsukoyomi was referring to as the Human child.
"What about him?"
***
Meanwhile, deep within the heart of the Grigori base,
A man, appearing to be in his twenties with an average build, black hair with golden bangs, and a black goatee, sat in an extravagant chair, writing a letter in his hand.
It was none other than the Governor General of the Grigori, Azazel.
And as he was about to stamp the letter with wax, suddenly-
BOOM
The sound of a violent explosion rocked the office. The reinforced double doors were blasted inward, reduced to splinters by an overwhelming external force.
Azazel, though, didn't flinch.
He didn't even drop the wax in his hand.
In fact, he had been expecting this since the news first reached the Grigori.
He slowly looked up to see a young man standing amidst the wreckage, framed by the smoke of the blast. A crushing aura of killing intent radiated from the boy, deadly enough to obliterate any normal human.
The youth was perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old, possessesing a striking, handsome face with light silver hair and sharp hazel eyes. However, those eyes were currently red-rimmed with the residue of tears, burning with a cold glare directed solely at the Governor General.
Vali Lucifer had grown remarkably quickly over the past year.
He stood around five and a half feet tall now, his frame lean and corded with muscle, completely devoid of the fragile boy Azazel had rescued from the outskirts of Romania.
"Now... I thought you had given up that bad habit of destroying my doors, Vali?" Azazel said, his tone conversational despite the wreckage.
Vali didn't move.
The pressure he emanated was so great that Azazel was forced to subconsciously release his own aura just to keep the papers on his desk from flying away.
"Shut your mouth, you lying piece of shit," Vali spat.
"I don't under-"
"You knew! You knew that Jay was still alive and you haven't told me once!" Vali roared.
He reached into his pocket and hurled a bundle of documents at Azazel's face. The papers scattered across the desk, showing a sketch of a black-haired youth standing atop a crimson dragon.
"Zayyn Illya Kovalenko... You lied about his death!"
In a blur of speed, Vali crossed the room.
He reached across the desk and seized Azazel's collar, hauling the older man forward.
Despite the height and age difference, the strength of the most powerful White Dragon Emperor in history was terrifyingly apparent, even at his young age.
Azazel looked into Vali's hazel eyes, seeing the raw betrayal and the desperate hope flickering beneath the anger.
He sighed, letting the letter he was working on fall to the desk. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and tapped Vali's wrist gently.
"Very well... I'll tell you what's happening."