Morning came quietly.
Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, spilling into the spacious room and casting a warm glow across the polished floor and elegant furniture.
On the large bed, Vali stirred as the light touched his face, his eyes squinting in irritation before slowly opening.
He blinked a few times, adjusting to the brightness, his body still heavy from exhaustion.
"Huh… What the..."
He pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed, one hand resting against his forehead as he tried to gather his thoughts.
Something felt off.
This wasn't where he remembered falling.
"Where the hell…?"
His eyes scanned the spacious, clean, and expensive-looking luxury bedroom.
(Finally. You're awake, partner.)
Albion's voice echoed in his mind, calm but carrying a hint of relief.
Vali exhaled lightly.
"Yeah, no thanks to you narrating my near-death experience."
(You're welcome.)
Vali rolled his eyes.
"What happened?"
Albion didn't hesitate.
(Our losing battle against the Sekiryuutei was interrupted... And you were struck down.)
Vali's expression tightened slightly as fragments of memory returned.
Vali frowned.
"I was struck down?"
Albion continued.
(Yes. The Strongest Exorcist intervened.)
Vali blinked.
"…The what?"
A brief pause.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Wait…"
His memories shifted, recalling the annoying lectures from a certain Governor General, and remembering the list of people he should absolutely avoid antagonizing.
"Dulio Gesualdo."
(Correct.)
Albion confirmed.
Vali leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair.
"So let me guess... I got taken out in some dramatic, world-shattering attack?"
Albion paused for ten seconds, then answered.
(A flick.)
Vali went still.
"A what?"
(A flick... That's all he did.)
Vali stared at nothing for a solid second.
"…You're joking."
(I am not.)
Vali's eye twitched.
"You're telling me I got knocked out by a flick?"
(Yes.)
Another pause.
"…I hate everything."
Albion wisely chose not to respond.
Instead, he continued.
(After that, you were brought here by the Pendragon boy and healed by one of his companions.)
Vali blinked again.
"They what?"
(The companion is a dhampir girl who possesses the Longinus, Sephiroth Graal.)
Vali's eyes widened slightly.
"Holy shit... They have the Holy Grail with them?"
Before Albion could elaborate
*Knock* x3
Vali's head turned toward the door.
"Who is it?"
A familiar voice responded almost instantly.
"It's the IRS. We're here to collect your taxes."
Vali went completely still for a full second.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
"That voice…"
He stood up from the bed, walked toward the door, and reached for the handle.
He opened it, and standing there was Arthur.
"Hello there."
Arthur said nonchalantly as if last night never happened.
Vali blinked, instinctively stepped back, raising his guard slightly.
"General Kenobi-I mean…"
He shook his head, and his eyes narrowed.
"…Sekiryuutei."
Arthur rolled his eyes immediately.
"Oh, for-can we not start the morning with that?"
Vali didn't lower his stance.
Arthur sighed.
"Relax, brat. If I wanted to kill you, I'd do it while you were still unconscious."
He gestured lazily.
Vali went silent, then slowly lowered his arms.
"…Fair point."
He looked around briefly, then back at Arthur.
"Where am I?"
Arthur leaned slightly against the doorframe.
"In a hotel bedroom."
Vali's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you're just… letting me stay here?"
Arthur shrugged.
"You were unconscious. Not exactly a threat."
Vali clicked his tongue.
"What do you want?"
Arthur tilted his head.
"Breakfast."
Vali blinked.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Arthur straightened slightly.
"I came to ask if you're good to go and ready to join us for breakfast."
Vali stared at him.
"What kind of person invites their arch-rival to breakfast?"
Arthur smirked.
"The kind who already beat their ass into a bloody pulp."
Vali's expression cracked.
"That didn't count! There was interference! So it means it's a draw!"
He snapped, taking a step forward.
Arthur chuckled, already turning away.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. If it helps you sleep at night, I guess."
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Freshen up, brat. Otherwise, the others and I will empty the whole table."
Vali stared at his back as Arthur began walking down the hallway.
All of a sudden, he stopped just for a moment.
Without turning fully, he glanced over his shoulder.
"Hey, kid."
Vali didn't respond as Arthur's voice became serious.
"What I said last night was to see if I could piss you off to the point of awakening your Scale Mail... and it worked."
Vali's eyes flickered slightly.
"But all the crap I said was still uncalled for and was a major dick move... So I'm sorry."
Arthur continued.
"I have no clue what kind of Hell you've personally been through, but remember this... You're not alone, kid... Because I've been through that same Hell too."
He said genuinely, then he walked away.
Leaving Vali standing there in silence.
The silver-haired boy exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair as he leaned slightly against the doorframe.
"Asshole."
He muttered under his breath.
After a moment, he turned and headed toward the bathroom.
"You don't understand the Hell that I've been through... nobody does."
...
A few minutes later.
A long table stretched across the center of the boy's suite, filled to the brim with an extravagant spread of food, both Japanese and Western breakfasts carefully prepared and plated to perfection.
Steaming bowls of miso soup sat beside neatly arranged grilled fish, tamagoyaki, rice, and pickled vegetables.
At the same time, on the other side, stacks of pancakes, crispy bacon, sausages, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit completed the feast.
After a short prayer, they ate.
The contrast was immediate.
The girls ate calmly and slowly, savoring each bite, occasionally exchanging small talk as they enjoyed their meal.
The boys, on the other hand, were a disaster.
Heracles and Dulio led the charge, plates constantly being emptied and refilled as they tore through the food like they hadn't eaten in days.
"Pass the tempura, will ya?"
Arthur muttered mid-bite.
"You already had three servings, dude."
Siegfried pointed out, though he slid the plate anyway.
"Correction. I had three warm-ups."
Arthur replied without missing a beat.
Heracles let out a booming laugh, mouth half-full.
"That's what I'm talking about! This Japanese food is fucking awesome!"
Dulio, meanwhile, was sampling everything like a curious tourist, piling random combinations onto his plate.
"Why would they stuff this red stuff inside this panca-wait... this is actually pretty good."
Vali, who just sat down, was eating his breakfast as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
Though now and then, he'd glance at Arthur across the table, as if still trying to process what he said to him earlier.
Eventually, the plates emptied, and the chaos settled.
The group leaned back into a more relaxed state, some sipping tea, others simply resting.
That's when Heracles leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, eyeing Vali with a grin.
"So, squirt, you're supposed to be the White Dragon Emperor? The one who's meant to be Arthur's destined rival?"
He began, his tone casual but clearly probing.
Vali's eyes immediately narrowed.
"So what? You got a problem with that, musclehead? You think I don't have what it takes?"
He replied flatly, annoyance clear in his voice.
Heracles chuckled, leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table.
"Relax, squirt. If you managed to make Arthur use Scale Mail, then you're no joke."
Siegfried and Dulio nod in agreement.
Vali didn't respond immediately, but he didn't look away either.
"In fact... How about it, squirt?"
Heracles cracked his knuckles; his grin widened.
"You wanna have a go? I'd like to see how Regulus and I stack up against the White Dragon Emperor."
As if summoned by name, Regulus Nemea appeared in his lion form.
His golden eyes locked onto Vali with sharp interest.
"Hmph... I wouldn't mind testing my might against them. What say you, Vanishing Dragon?"
Regulus said calmly, his voice deep and composed.
Vali's expression sharpened, and suddenly, Divine Dividing manifested behind him.
"Do not get cocky, Nemean Lion. Besides the Red One, no opponent has ever bested us in any battle... You will be no different."
Albion's voice echoed.
Regulus's eyes narrowed as a low growl rumbled in his throat.
"Is that so?"
Heracles grinned wider, stood up slightly, and rolled his shoulders.
"How about it, squirt? You wanna have a go and see how this goes?"
Vali smirked as he, too, stood up from his seat and cracked his knuckles.
"You know what? Let's go, you fucker."
And just as both of them began to stand...
"Ahem."
Lavinia cleared her throat.
Both Vali and Heracles paused and looked at the Ice Princess.
"Both of you, sit down and behave yourselves."
She said calmly, her tone left no room for argument.
"We just finished eating, and young man, you shouldn't be saying swear words so casua-"
"Fuck off, bimbo! You don't get to tell me what to do."
Vali said it, annoyed at Lavinia's interruption.
"..." x5
Everyone else was silent, clearly shocked at Vali's reply.
Arthur, on the other hand, sighed a little and facepalmed.
"Oh boy. Now you've done and did it, kid."
Vali was confused by what the Sekiryuutei said.
All of a sudden, the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically.
Lavinia stared at Vali, who was shocked at the sudden temperature change.
"What did you just call me, boy?"
She said coldly.
Vali's body froze, his body locked from the unexpected cold.
He then saw a silhouette of a giant ice doll, Ymir, right behind the very upset Lavinia.
"W-Wait... Y-You're..."
Vali muttered, suddenly recalling another person that Azazel told him NOT to antagonize, and the person that the Sekiryuutei referred to as one of his lovers.
(Absolute Demise... So this female is Lavinia Reni... Grauzauberer's top magician.)
Albion replied.
"...Shit."
Vali muttered, realizing that at this moment, he just knew...
He fucked up.
Siegfried leaned slightly toward Dulio, whispering just loud enough to be heard by the other man.
"She's scary when she's mad."
Dulio nodded immediately.
"Agreed. She's pretty terrifying."
Meanwhile, Valerie and Jeanne simply sipped their tea that was getting colder by the minute, unbothered by what was happening.
Vali remained silent in the face of Lavinia's cold stare.
"Well...? Care to repeat what you just called me, boy?"
Not a single word was uttered by Vali, but Albion, on the other hand.
(Well… it was nice knowing you, Vali.)
Vali's eye twitched slightly.
(Shut it.)
(No, seriously. It was an honor. I'll miss you, buddy.)
(Fuck off.)
Arthur, watching Vali sweating bullets in silence because of Lavinia's silent fury, felt an odd sense of déjà vu and empathy.
(Huh... Why do I suddenly feel like helping the brat?)
Arthur sighed and raised a hand slightly.
"Alright, alright. Break it up, ladies and gents."
He looked between Heracles and Vali.
"Lav, do me a favor and defrost the place, please? Thanks."
Lavinia looks at her boyfriend, and she sighs.
"Very well, Art."
Her words made Vali slowly relax as the room's temperature returned to normal.
Arthur leaned back in his chair.
"Now that we've finished breakfast, we've got something more important to deal with. Specifically, the elephant in the room."
That caught everyone's attention as all eyes turned to Arthur.
"Well? You gonna explain, or just keep being dramatic?"
Siegfried asked, raising a brow.
Arthur looked at Vali.
"Him."
Vali blinked and pointed at himself.
"Me?"
Arthur nodded once, completely unfazed.
"Yeah. You."
Vali frowned slightly, lowering his hand.
"What about me?"
Arthur leaned back in his chair, resting an arm over the backrest as if this were the most normal conversation in the world.
"You're the one Azazel sent, right? The one who would help us on this mission."
Vali's eyes widened slightly.
"You..."
He muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"…How did you figure that out?"
Arthur shrugged casually.
"It's not exactly rocket science."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his flip phone, flipping it open with one hand.
"The first time I talked to Azazel, he mentioned we'd be getting a plus one on this mission."
Arthur tilted the phone slightly.
"And then there's this."
He tapped the screen a few times before holding it out toward Vali.
"Got this message last night. Right after our little fiasco."
Vali stepped closer and looked at the screen.
The message read:
"YO, RED! i saw what you 2 did in Tokyo Dome. it was AWESOME. i knew you two would hit it off. you 2 troubemakers better play nice now ;-). hugs 'n' kisses <3. - Azzhole (Azazel)."
Vali stared at the screen in silence.
His left eye twitched as a vein popped slightly on his temple.
"That NTR antagonist-looking bastard."
Arthur snorted quietly.
"I know, right? Glad we're on the same page."
Vali straightened, exhaling through his nose before crossing his arms.
"Fine. I'll admit it. I'm the agent that Azazel sent."
He looked around the room, his tone becoming more formal and composed.
"The name's Vali Lucifer. Descendant of Lucifer, and the current White Dragon Emperor."
Silence followed.
"Hold up for a second... Did he just say Lucifer?"
Siegfried said, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Valerie's brows furrowed.
"The Morningstar?"
Heracles let out a low whistle.
"Damn. Another one?"
Dulio shook his head slightly, grinning.
"Goddamn, we got another OP cambion on the team."
Lavinia crossed her arms, observing Vali more carefully now.
"A descendant of Lucifer… and a Longinus wielder."
Jeanne muttered under her breath.
"…That's quite the combination."
*Clap!*
"Holy shit, guys and girls. Do you guys even realize how insane this is?"
Dulio said with a grin, clearly way too excited about this.
He pointed at Arthur.
"The Red Dragon Emperor, who is the son of the new Lucifer…"
Then at Vali.
"The White Dragon Emperor, who is related to the original Lucifer…"
His grin widened.
"That's the most poetic and most epic matchup ever! Man, the universe has quite the weird sense of humor!"
Vali stared at him.
"…You're the weird one."
Dulio ignored that completely, but leaned forward slightly.
"Hey, kid."
Vali's eye twitched.
"Don't call me that, blondie."
"Any chance you're related to a legendary figure or something? Like, I dunno... Lancelot du Lac, or some other notable human in history?"
Dulio continued anyway.
"..."
Vali went quiet for a few seconds before saying.
"No...? The last time I checked... I don't think so."
Vali replied flatly.
Arthur raised a hand immediately.
"Alright, moving on, everybody."
He clapped once, drawing attention back to himself.
"Before we get into the actual important stuff…"
He gestured lazily toward the group.
"…Everyone, introduce yourselves to the brat."
Vali's glare snapped toward him instantly.
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
Arthur ignored him.
"So...Who's first?"
Heracles went first, leaning back with a confident grin.
"Good morning, squirt. The name's Heracles."
He jerked a thumb toward himself.
"Yeah, THAT Heracles. As in the reincarnation of the OG from the Twelve Labours."
Beside him, Regulus Nemea lifted his head slightly, golden eyes locking onto Vali.
"And as you can see, I'm also the bearer of Regulus Nemea."
Heracles added, and the Golden Lion King gave a small, acknowledging nod.
Vali's expression shifted slightly.
Then Dulio gave a lazy two-finger salute.
"Yo. The name's Dulio Gesualdo, aka Heaven's Vanguard, and the bearer of Zenith Tempest."
Vali's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The one who flicked me away last night."
"Yep."
"...I still hate you."
"Meh... Fair."
Siegfried raised his hand next, still holding his ramen in the other.
"My name's Siegfried, Sigurd's clone, who possesses a Subspecies Twice Critical and a lot of Demon Swords. Most notably, Gram."
Jeanne followed, posture straight and composed.
"My name is Jeanne d'Arc, the reincarnation of Joan of Arc, who possesses the Blade Blacksmith."
Valerie smiled softly, placing her teacup down.
"My name is Valerie Tepes. The bearer of Sephiroth Graal, and the last descendant of Count Dracula Vlad 'The Impaler' Tepes the Third, and before you ask, yes, it's a long name."
Vali's head snapped toward her.
"You're kidding."
Finally, Lavinia spoke calmly, her tone composed but firm.
"Hello there, young man. My name is Lavinia Reni. Top magician of Grauzauberer, and bearer of Absolute Demise."
She said while her gaze didn't waver.
After their introductions, Vali silently stood there, processing everything that he had just heard.
"What the hell is this group?"
Behind him, Albion's voice echoed.
(Partner, your rival has managed to gather a unique group of talented individuals.)
"Yeah… No kidding."
Vali's eyes shifted toward Arthur, running a hand through his hair.
Arthur let the room settle for a moment after the introductions, his gaze sweeping across everyone present, making sure he had their attention.
"Alright, now that we're done playing 'who's who, let's all get back to business."
Vali crossed his arms, already looking half-interested, half-annoyed.
"We split into four groups. Two people each."
He pointed at the table, mentally mapping things out.
"Dulio. Heracles. You two keep tracking Gilgamesh's movements across Japan."
Dulio gave a lazy salute.
"Roger that, junior."
Heracles grinned.
"Sounds fun."
Arthur went on.
"Lavinia. Valerie. You two head to Kyoto."
Both girls nodded calmly.
"Siegfried. Jeanne. Shinjuku."
Jeanne sipped the last of her tea.
"Got it."
Siegfried gave a short nod.
"Understood."
His finger shifted toward Vali.
"Vali. You're with me. We explore Tokyo."
Vali looks at Arthur in disbelief.
"Now that we have our assignments, we should-"
"Hold on! I'm not doing that."
Vali interrupted, and Arthur glanced at him.
"Doing what?"
Vali uncrossed his arms slowly; his tone carried clear disinterest.
"All that boring stuff. Investigating, searching, running errands, and shit. The reason why I agreed with this mission is that I could meet my arch-rival and fight him, and also fight other strong opponents."
He walked toward the open balcony, the curtains swaying slightly from the breeze outside.
"Also, I don't do teams. Teams slow me down, and besides Sekiryuutei, I can't be bothered playing babysitter for weaklings."
Arthur watched as Vali stopped near the edge, and the Divine Dividing manifested.
"Sekiryuutei, call me if you need someone dead... Or if you wanna rematch."
And just as Vali was about to take off, a hand firmly grasped the top of his head.
Vali froze as he slowly turned his head.
Behind him was a smiling Lavinia.
"Oh no, you don't. You're staying."
Her grip tightened slightly as she politely said that to Vali.
Vali's eyes narrowed immediately, irritation flaring as he reached up to push her hand off his head.
"You better let go of me before I show you these hands, you-!"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Lavinia's expression hadn't changed much.
But her sapphire gaze became terrifyingly ice cold.
"Finish that sentence, and I will personally introduce you to what a literal brain freeze feels like."
The temperature around them seemed to drop again.
Vali didn't speak or move for a second.
(What the hell is wrong with this woman? And why am I actually hesitating?!)
He clenched his jaw slightly.
Normally, anyone who got in his way would be knocked out, no second thoughts.
But this time, it felt different because this lady, who is one of Sekiryuutei's women, is making him feel in danger.
Lavinia's grip hadn't loosened as she turned her head back toward Arthur, her expression returning to a gentle smile as if nothing had just happened.
"Art, I think I'll be sticking with Vali today."
Vali's eyes widened slightly.
"Wait, what?!"
Lavinia continued as if she didn't hear him.
"I'll keep a close eye on Vali and, along the way, maybe teach him some manners."
Vali stared at her.
"The hell you will, wo-"
He stopped himself again when Lavinia tightened her grip on his head.
Arthur watched the entire exchange in amusement.
"Alright, why not? Feel free to babysit the brat, Lav."
Vali snapped his head toward him.
"Oi!"
Arthur raised a hand.
"Change of plans."
He pointed between them.
"Lavinia. Vali. You two take Tokyo."
Vali looked like he wanted to argue, but one glance at Lavinia nd he stayed quiet.
Arthur continued.
"Valerie, you're with me. We'll explore Kyoto."
Valerie smiled softly.
"Understood."
He looked around.
"Any objections?"
Dulio shrugged.
"Works for me."
Heracles nodded.
"Same here."
Siegfried leaned back.
"No complaints."
Jeanne gave a simple nod.
Arthur clapped once.
"Good. Let's begin."
Arthur's Boosted Gear manifested instantly.
[DOUBLE!]
In an instant, multiple Arthurs stood scattered around the room, each being equally weaker, but has the same relaxed expression.
Vali's eyes widened slightly despite himself.
(So the rumors were true... Sekiryuutei's Boosted Gear is a Sub-Species Longinus...)
The clones moved first.
One by one, they stepped onto the balcony, leapt, and took flight in different directions via their Devil wings, spreading across the city and beyond, their crimson trails vanishing into the distance.
Below the group is four magic circles began forming.
Arthur turned slightly.
"We regroup tonight at Tokyo Tower. Got it?"
Everyone acknowledged.
Vali let out a quiet sigh as Lavinia's hand remained firmly on his head, guiding him toward their magic circle.
"This is going to be so boring."
Lavinia smiled.
"We shall see, young man."
Their respective circles activated and in an instant...
They were gone.
DxD
Hello readers!
I have returned to collect all of your Power Stones.
Thank you, everyone, and see you later!