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Vali Lucifer—current White Dragon Emperor, descendant of the previous generation of Satans, and inheritor of both Dragon and Demonic bloodlines.
The last time Bokue had seen him was right before summer vacation, during that whole mess orchestrated by Kokabiel. They hadn't crossed paths since.
And now—what a surprise. He shows up again, seemingly out of nowhere.
Vali was fully clad in his Balance Breaker form, the full Divine Dividing Scale Mail—his body encased in gleaming white dragon armor, with ethereal icy-blue energy wings unfurled behind him. Star-colored mana trailed from his form like rocket exhaust, propelling him toward his opponent with crushing force.
But he didn't gain even an inch.
Bokue stood calmly, one hand raised to meet the silver-haired youth's blazing, full-powered charge. The two opposing forces—polar extremes of energy—clashed violently at the point of contact between Bokue's open palm and Vali's armored fist.
Yet Bokue barely seemed to notice, tilting his head with a casual shrug.
"Aren't you supposed to be with the fallen angels? What are you doing in the Underworld?"
Vali's voice echoed from inside his armor, slightly distorted by the suit's mechanized filter.
"Where I go is my own business. No one can bind me."
Oh~ bold words.
Bokue raised a brow and asked again.
"So what made you suddenly fly all the way out here to the Underworld?"
"This wasn't my idea."
Vali scoffed lightly from beneath his helmet.
"Azazel dragged me here. Said he needed a bodyguard. I just came along."
"Azazel… ah right, that bleach-blond fallen angel governor. What's he up to now?"
The moment Bokue heard the name, the image of that smugly grinning, half-bored, gold-streaked man popped into his mind.
Funny though—Vali had just finished waxing poetic about how he couldn't be chained down, how he was the freest man alive… and now he's tagging along as a glorified escort?
What happened to being the fallen angel version of Roronoa Zoro?
Vali, of course, had no idea what bizarre comparisons were swirling inside Bokue's head. He merely scoffed again.
"It's about that Kokabiel mess from before. This time, Azazel wants to hold formal talks with the Satans. Apparently, he's dragging Kokabiel along and plans to hit up Heaven afterward too."
"So what—you're not joining them for the meeting?"
"Already dropped him off with Sirzechs. I came here after."
Bokue couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow.
Well, no wonder Azazel brought backup. Even if Heaven, the Underworld, and the Grigori were all in a current ceasefire phase, they still treated each other as latent threats. A guy like Azazel walking around the Underworld? That's an open invitation for a rainstorm of rotten tomatoes.
Let alone dragging along a warmonger like Kokabiel?
"Still, Sirzechs is known to be a pacifist. If that info's legit, I'd bet they'll come to some kind of agreement."
Fair.
Bokue had to agree. Sirzechs had always seemed like an almost freakishly tolerant guy.
Hell, during the arranged-marriage debacle two months ago—if it had been Bokue in his shoes, and someone had tried to pressure his little sister like that, he'd have personally wiped out a couple noble families just to send a message.
Sure, the title of Lucifer could rotate families. It wasn't like the Phoenix family couldn't take their turn wearing the crown—if they survived long enough to enjoy it.
But his sister? There was only one of her. Anyone trying to lay hands on her had better ask his fists for permission first.
"Anyway, now that we've caught up a bit… time to fulfill our little agreement, don't you think?"
Vali's tone shifted.
Magic flared violently around him as he ramped up his output. The blast of power knocked poor Riser clean off his feet, flipping him backward where he cracked the back of his head against the same tree Bokue had been resting on earlier.
A quiet yelp came from the concealed barrier where Ravel sat watching—but no one heard her.
"Huh? What agreement?"
Bokue blinked innocently.
Vali's voice grew colder.
"You really gonna play dumb now? You said it yourself last time. 'Let's save our fight for another day.'"
"Ohhh~ that does ring a bell…"
Bokue dragged out the syllables, feigning deep thought.
Yeah… maybe… sort of? Probably?
It sounded like something he might've said. A casual "next time" kind of thing.
But come on, everyone knows that "next time" promises don't count! They're polite ways to brush people off! Just like "Let's have lunch sometime," or "I'll totally come to your open mic night." Everyone knows it's not a real commitment!
"What's wrong? Getting cold feet?"
Vali's voice was laced with mocking intent now.
"Didn't you just finish talking all big about becoming the Strongest? And now you're backing out already?"
Emmmmm…
Bokue sighed.
He thought for a moment—then tilted his chin toward the sky, pointing with his thumb.
"Fine. Let's take this higher. No point wrecking the scenery."
"Works for me."
No further words were needed. Vali shot skyward in a streak of gleaming white-blue, a sonic boom trailing behind him like a ribbon of light.
Bokue turned one last time to glance toward the nearby bushes and muttered softly:
"I'll be right back."
And with that, golden light burst from his body as he rocketed into the sky, effortlessly closing the distance between him and his silver-haired rival.
Only when the two of them were completely gone from sight did the spatial distortion near the bushes fade away.
From within, Kuroka emerged, stretching lazily.
"Ahh~ so Bokue noticed us the whole time, nya?"
"…You guys…?!"
Riser, who had just staggered back to his feet, froze like a broken marionette the moment he saw the entire group of girls stepping casually out of the now-dissolved barrier.
The fragile sliver of self-respect Bokue had painstakingly rekindled in him moments earlier? Yeah—it cracked like a dropped teacup.
Because let's be honest—he looked awful. His clothes were filthy, shoes gone, hair a tangled mess, stubble everywhere. The only thing left of his noble image was that stubbornly radiant golden hair.
Phenex third son, huh? More like third-string mess.
Not that the girls noticed—or cared.
Rias, face tinged with pink, was too busy berating her mother.
"Ugh! This is all your fault, Mom! You just had to go and say something weird again—what if Bokue misunderstood?!"
"It's fiiine~"
Venelana waved her hand with her usual maternal indulgence, laughing softly.
The only one who rushed forward to offer any actual support to Riser was his younger sister, Ravel.
"Brother, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"I… I'm fine…"
Riser looked at her, heart welling with emotion.
Ahh… only his little sister still cared about him…
But just as he was about to get all choked up, the sky above them shook.
Like—really shook.
A split second later, something massive plummeted from the clouds, crashing down like a meteor, its trajectory skimming the very edge of their mountaintop before vanishing into the vast earth below.
A few seconds passed—then came the impact.
BOOM.
It hit like a divine hammer, shaking the entire mountain range as dust and stone exploded outward in all directions.
And high above it all, flames of golden energy still roared undiminished.
There—stood a shirtless young man, muscles carved like marble, his training gi tied tightly at the waist, the long cloth flapping behind him like a battle standard.
He looked down at the crater below, extended one finger wreathed in golden flames, and casually curled it in a beckoning motion.
"Come on. Again."
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