AN: As usual, no edits, we die like a champ!

Chapter 1 – Life

During their fifteen years, a lot of changes had happened.

One was Lady Misla Bael's official admittance to Serafall Leviathan's peerage, automatically granting her and her son sanctuary from the Bael Clan's overall influence. Second being Vali's heritage officially revealed and announced to the devil society at large, causing no small amount of mayhem the three enjoyed in relish, sharing popcorns and melon seeds in front of the large television broadcasting the hot potato news. The third one was normal compared to the first two, as it was the moment they received their evil piece set. What was rather extraordinary about it was Vali's immediate appointment as an Ultimate-Class straight after his assessment.

Apparently, his suffering all these years under Lord Paimon and the Governor of Fallen Angels' care wasn't for naught. At his express agreement and using unknown means, his human heritage and the matter of his sacred gear was also hidden with Ajuka-Nii cooking one explanation after another about how he came into possession of [Divine Dividing], should it ever be exposed. It apparently wasn't as impossible as everyone thought, what not with Sai bringing home one in the form of a massive golden kitty from his excursion in the human world. The poor descendant of Lucifer was then introduced to the joy of having rabid fangirls, much to the other two's amusements and his woe.

None of them were truly idle during the time lapse, with Lukrezius demanding more and more in his daughter's training, assigning a trainer to Sairaorg and sending Vali off to Azazel to learn about his sacred gear on top of personally training him on demonic energy usage. They also need to keep up with their studies during all those hectic training sessions. More often than not, Vali was away for months on end in the human world, Sairaorg sleeping directly where he collapsed on while Iselia was stuck in the Paimon castle studying and training until she just fell asleep.

Without her realizing, her two companions had unknowingly turned into a pair of masochists, battle maniacs and training nuts collectively. It might be fine if not for the two constantly dragging her along for a brawl or a dozen every single time they were free. Ranging from Vali's random assignments coming from Lord Azazel or Lord Paimon that more often than not involved at least a fight –this is Vali we're talking about, Sairaorg's unexpected trips to the human realm and some parts of Underworld, to picking fights with older devils and even deliberately searching for trouble in the familiar forest of all places.

No matter how much she begged the two, they refused to leave her out of their so-called 'fun', even to the point of carting her off in the middle of the night, nightclothes, pillows, blankets and all. But it was also thanks to these trips that they discovered one of their rather dubious affinities for various kinds of animals. There was one time both Vali and Lia were almost mauled by a pride of lion-like creatures in the familiar forest in their frenzy to reach Sairaorg to lavish him with love, or the times when a mother dragon or two had mistaken Vali for one of their hatchlings much to Albion's amusement and that one time when the two idiots misplaced her in the middle of nowhere, only for her to wake up surrounded by fluffs.

She had never quite forgiven the two for doing that, neither did Lavinia Reni, a member of the Slash Dog Team under Lord Azazel who froze the two boys into statues Lia placed in her garden overnight to thaw for the transgression. As one of Vali's closest partners barring Albion, Lia and Sai were both familiar with those of the Grigori, sometimes partnering up for assignments when they needed extra help. Granted, they also need to go under aliases with their real identities only known to select few. As a result, all the ridiculous adventures aided in honing their skills, techniques and battle experience. Lia would never quite understand just how far ahead the three of them were in terms of battle capabilities compared to their peers until they were a bit older, much to the two boys' amusement and exasperation.

The next thing on the list was Sai's surprising record in gathering his peerage. By the end of the week they received their evil pieces, Sai had actually gathered two bishops, a knight and a rook as easily as one took in strays. Vali had stared speechlessly at the grinning dark-haired boy before hitting him upside the head, about to berate him for recklessly choosing his pieces when he was accosted by four very enraged devils. Who knew, that was all it took for the White Dragon Emperor to actually approve of Sairaorg's chosen, a fight. And the rest, as they said was history.

Another memorable instance during Sairaorg's mad peerage scramble's period was when he boldly asked for Iselia to become his Queen piece. Vali had immediately, without hesitation challenged the other into a battle for that right. It didn't end beautifully for the two as they were bedridden for a few days afterward. Sadly, the one who won the privilege was neither of the two. In the end, the Bael ended up bringing home an unexpected person as his Queen, a member of the Extra Demon Clans.

A beautiful teenager with long blonde hair put up in a ponytail and upturned blue eyes that looked at Sairaorg as if he hung the moon and the stars, named Kuisha Abaddon. On the contrary with the way she stared at Iselia, if looks could kill then Lia would have died a thousand times. The girl even had the audacity to challenge the Paimon heiress during one of her rare days-off, steadily wearing her patience thin until the one time Lia nearly committed her first murder by accident if not for Lord Paimon's timely save. If nothing else, at least the older girl learned her lesson and inadvertently helped Lia in perfecting a technique she was previously stuck in.

But of course, the one thing above all that took the cake was Lord Azazel's sudden undercover visit. The Leader of Grigori saw it fitting to bring one bodyguard while leisurely strolling into Devils' territory, the unofficial Prince of Underworld slung over his shoulder like a potato sack and invited himself into Paimon Castle, only to run into the imposing figure of Lukrezius Paimon glaring down at him with flashing violet eyes.

For the record, the Governor looked lost, startled and absolutely terrified out of his wits.

"You- But! Weren't you- How!?" The dual color haired fallen stuttered incoherently as he backed away into his alarmed black haired bodyguard. The Paimon Lord didn't answer, but he answered the other man's attempt at escaping by grabbing the back of the other's coat, lifting him up like a disobedient kitten while inclining his head at the other uninvited guest, a perpetual aura of something coated around his figure.

"Come, Tobio Ikuse. My office." Was the imperious demand as he marched deeper into the castle, a limp and shocked Azazel in his grasp and a bewildered Slash Dog at his heel.

Vali, who had escaped from the Governor's grasp stared at their direction rather oddly.

"That is weird. It certainly didn't look like a first meeting." He mumbled under his breath unsurely. The Paimon Lord had always sent Vali over to the Grigori by messengers or one of his familiars and Azazel had also told him that the two had supposedly never met. However, the scene just now contradicted what they all knew.

"Vali? Are you alright? I heard from one of the housekeepers that you are back." Snapping out of his rumination, the young Lucifer whipped his head to the direction of the voice and smiled.

"Ah, I am back, Lia. Nothing is wrong. Where is that musclehead? There's a new move I want to try." Glimmering magenta eyes inspected the returning boy carefully before their owner nodded in satisfaction. The Paimon Princess proceeded to drag her fellow silveret off, questioning the boy over his 'new move' and why he wouldn't try it on her instead. At that time, the boy merely thought that the girl's tight grip on his arm as nothing more but a gesture of her expressing her happiness at his return. Not because of something potentially dangerous that was lingering around the foyer only two members of the Household could notice.

…

…

Things have gotten more hectic by the time they were of age to attend high-school. For the very first time, the trio who were used to living under one roof would have to go on their separate ways. Iselia would be lying if she said she wouldn't miss them despite promises that they were all going to visit each other. But it wouldn't be the same and they all know it too.

Seated quietly on the comfortable cushioned sofa in her bedroom side by side were the three of them. The atmosphere unusually sullen as compared to the usual relaxed and contentedness whenever they were around each other. Well, unless one counted out Sairaorg's and Vali's occasional clashes.

"So… We won't be seeing each other as often as we do now." Sairaorg was the first to break the silence, folding his rather muscular hands over his chest. He had grown well, she noted absent-mindedly, trailing her eyes over his muscular form and trying to find some similarity to the sad little boy she had met a few years ago. Gone was his tiny timid self, replaced with this tall confident teen. His jawline was more defined and due to the harsh physical training he underwent, his body had experienced the most change. Compared to Vali's lithe and lean build, she could tell Sai was going to be a massive behemoth.

"Lia? You are staring." Blinking out of her daze, Lia shook her head furtively.

"Oh? Do I maybe have a chance then?" Pouting at the suddenly half-teasing and half-serious tone, she huffed, shoving the now taller male only to discover that it felt like shoving her hand against a giant boulder. A warm, living and breathing one.

"I-"the silverette blinked rapidly, heat traveling up towards her face. "You do realize that I am engaged to Ajuka Beelzebub, don't you?" A warm solid weight draped itself across her lap, startling her slightly.

"And, your point?" Vali sighed, golden eyes slid closed as he made himself comfortable.

"It doesn't matter. I- we like you and that is all there is to it." Sai corrected himself after a rather fierce side-eye from their quiet third companion, large calloused hand resting over hers in a bid of trying for her attention. It worked wonderfully. She met Sairaorg Bael's determined amethyst orbs, read the promise and deep affection in those eyes and couldn't help but blush, dropping her head only to meet another luminous golden pair that held the same emotion. Vali didn't speak, but he knew perfectly well that she understood his thoughts. Averting her gaze once more, the heiress bit her lip anxiously.

Truthfully, their affections were starting to overwhelm her slightly. She knew that growing up as devils, they weren't as shy in expressing their desire nor as hesitant. They were literally beings that represented the concept of seven sins for crying out loud. But in the end, she was still a young girl and these were two very fine young men expressing their rather favorable feelings towards her. Vali might have never said anything, but all his gestures and eyes never lied.

"So, do I have a chance?" The black haired male nudged her side gently, grinning at her boyishly as he repeated his question.

Gee, one would think growing up together means their affection will be the familial kind. She ignored a mental voice that suspiciously sounded like her childish Mama telling her something about nurturing emotions during childhood or something along that line.

Exhaling gently, she considered Sai's words and Vali's unspoken question seriously. Did she really like them? Of course, that wasn't even difficult to answer. Then, did she like them that way? This one, she didn't know the answer to. But there was undeniably something there. They have grown up together, seen each other at their worst, laughed together and suffered together. And instead of getting fed up towards each other, it made them even closer, treasuring each and every moment-

Oh... Oh, so that's what they actually meant…

Iselia laughed softly, wondering why she was overthinking things when it was just so simple. They were simply asking if she would allow them a chance to deepen their relationship pass what they have now. "Well now that I think about it, there's indeed something there, huh? Although did you two mistakenly think I am receiving applications for a harem now? What will others think?" As careful as they were when dealing with anything pertaining to her, the pair relaxed their tense form when they saw whatever they wanted to see in her eyes.

"Hmph! It isn't as if we're humans." Vali harrumphed softly, opening his eyes when she ran her fingers gently over his scalp. True to his words, unlike human relationships which has a lot of restrictions and what not, those from the supernatural world were a lot more open. Regardless, it was easier finding a man with multiple women than a woman with multiple men. She could already imagine the scandalized expression those higher-ups would no doubt sport if they were listening to their conversation. She told them as much, sending the three of them laughing in amusement.

"Do as you wish." She murmured at them, resting her weight against Sairaorg's arm. There'd be no many changes to what they already have now anyway, and she was sure they were mature enough to handle things if this didn't turn out well. Although… She smiled mischievously. "If Ajuka or my parents ask, you two will be the one explaining."

"Mean." The teen with his head on her lap flicked her brow gently. They descended into another silence, this time more comfortable than the first. It didn't last long though.

"Sai, I heard that you will be staying in Underworld?" The arm she was resting on shifted to allow her more comfort.

"Indeed. There's something I have to do here." The Bael stared ahead, eyes hard and steady. Iselia shared an understanding look with Vali. No doubt it has something to do with his estranged Clan. Sighing gently, the teen supposed that not everyone was as lucky as her in the family department.

"Good." Albion's host uttered in satisfaction. "Teach those fools properly, Bael." One of the few things the two males agreed on was their view of how one's birth circumstances do not affect one's chosen future. As long as one continued to strive wholeheartedly towards their goal, why should anyone else's opinion matter? What truly mattered was if they have the strength, the drive and the determination to continue to pave their own path forward. They were the kind of person who respected strength, and not just physical strength. Mental strength was also a kind of strength and so was hard work. It was why Vali had accepted the members of Sairaorg's peerage rather quickly after all. Each of them possessed strengths of their own.

As for these two battle maniacs, she shook her head fondly. The fact that the two shared the same hobby said enough of their relationship. They were more alike than they thought.

"How about you, Vali?" Sairaorg tilted his head, staring curiously at the silver-haired teen.

"Me? Haa… Lukrezius said that I will be staying with Azazel for more training." The teen's slender fingers cupped her chin gently. "Sairaorg and I will be staying in Underworld mostly, so we'll be fine. You, on the other hand." Golden eyes narrowed, gleaming in concern.

"What's the matter, Vali? I don't think Lord Paimon will be putting her in any danger." Sensing the other's agitation, the amethyst eyed male dropped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer as if his presence alone could ward off any danger.

"The Satans agreed to assign her as an Area Guardian." What, really?

An Area Guardian as the name suggested was a person tasked to guard the territory and its governor in the human realm. Usually, only high-profile governors or specific territories were assigned a Guardian and these assigned Guardians weren't only responsible for the safety of the governors or areas, but also to help nurture their charges. Which was why it was a fairly difficult task, and depending on who she would be assigned to, it was rather risky.

"A Guardian?" Sairaorg frowned in thought. "To who?"

"Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri." Replied the golden-eyed teen in a rather vexed manner.

Iselia truly had no idea when exactly the Hakuryuukou developed this feeling of discontent towards Rias and her little aunt. From the deepening frown on Sai's face, he seemed to share a little bit of the sentiment which honestly surprised her.

"That might be too dangerous." On second thought, perhaps because it was due to him thinking of the danger. The two had no qualms about dragging her in for risky adventures or dangerous situations only because they were there and they knew all of them could handle it if they worked together. But this was different. She would be alone with no one to watch her back and no reliable back-up. She was the first line of defense and if she fell then her charges would have no chance at all.

But why her and not someone else?

…

Palm laid flat against the warm wooden surface of the door leading to her father's office, Iselia inclined her head, contemplating on the different energy signatures inside. Each equally as monstrous as the next with the muted signature belonging to one of her parents. She recognized all of them, more or less familiar with the owner of these demonic energy signatures. Though why were they all here?

A slight nudge from one of the swirling energy to her own jolted her out of her thought. Of course, they would notice her lingering like a creep on the corridor hall, she smiled wryly. The door was pushed open.

"Excuse me."

The first thing she registered was the dim interior, much darker than the hallway that she wondered if she entered the wrong room or merely imagining their presence. The second was the eerily glowing eyes belonging to her father. As for the first thought that passed by her overactive imagination?

Is this perhaps the infamous villains plotting in the darkness scene?

Assessing crystalline blue eyes lifted away from a glowing screen, the only light source in the room, landing on her body which made the almost sixteen-year-old froze in place.

"Ah, good evening. My apologies if I interrupted something."

"You didn't. Come in, Lia-chan. We have been waiting for you actually." The pleasant baritone of the current Lucifer invited warmly, his faceted seafoam green eyes shone rather eagerly for an unknown reason. She didn't even have the time to contemplate whether to stand or take a seat as one of them beckoned her over, scooting over slightly to make room for her.

Ajuka Beelzebub turned to her expectantly after he finished rearranging his position, invitation clear in his tranquil mirror-like eyes. Declining him when he looked like that didn't seem polite or even likely now. Gingerly taking the opened seat beside him, the rest watching neutrally or in amusement, she wondered if her interaction with her supposed fiancé would continue to be this awkward in the future.

"You have grown stronger from the last time I have seen you." His equally calm tenor voice murmured, almost reminding her of father's strangely mellifluous voice.

"That is a given. I have no doubt instead of playing around, Luka has her do incessant training."

"Had you advised your parents to do the same to your sister, we will not be in our current situation, Sirzechs." Came the rather caustic reply from father dearest. As always, he couldn't seem to just pass one day without bickering with Maou Lucifer whenever they were together.

"But they're still children. It's not as if we're living during wartime, Luka. This is what we're fighting for, a place where children don't have to sacrifice everything as we did back then." Lucifer-sama replied gently, extending a hand to rest on his annoyed friend's shoulder.

A large warm hand gently grasped her wrist, something foreign entering her body from the point contact.

"Luka makes the correct decision in starting her training early." A thumb caressed the vein on her wrist soothingly as she tried to tug her hand away, uncomfortable with the probing sensation from what she perceived as the Beelzebub's energy.

"What?"

Another hand, glowing with a dark green palm size magic circle rest over her forehead. As it was right before her eyes, Iselia could make out the fine details of the circle, unique for each and every user, each symbol, ancient words and sigils that said a lot about its owner. The only words in the ancient tongue she could translate over were the words Supremacy and Satan.

"Close your eyes."

Instantly obeying the command, her vision was plunged into darkness on its own volition at the exact moment she felt something that had been pressing against her energy core, binding and restricting it came undone like a glass shattering into tiny particle grains. The overwhelming backlash of excess energy that was foreign yet familiar assaulted her entire veins, her body buckling onto something, a strangled cut off scream dying mid-way on her throat.

"This is- Grayfia!"

It felt like her blood has turned into rivers of icy lava, tiny frozen needles stabbing into her entire being, both body and soul.

"It's alright… Deep breath. This is your power, you control it and not the other way around."

Crackling noise echoed in the spacious office, cold pervasive mist hung low on the ground around their feet. She could vaguely hear Grayfia's soft murmur which made her question when exactly the senior Queen joined them. At the same moment, Iselia rallied her mental strength to resist the bone-chilling pain, trying to coax the new energy to cooperate with her existing one.

Cold… It was extremely cold.

"Vali, to my office, now!" A rather flustered tone barked out urgently.

It was getting rather fuzzy around the edges. The pain was starting to numb, but so did her entire being. What was happening to her?

"None of that now. Focus, little Queen. Listen to me, you have to fight it."

For a moment, she stayed in that limbo state of half numbness, cold mist expelled from her mouth by every exhale. Her eyes searched for something, anything to help her anchor and rally herself. Worried crystalline gaze met her trembling gaze.

"Ajuka, can't you help?"

"You know that my power doesn't work well on this particular one, Sirzechs. It's better if we have the [Divine Dividing] to reduce the excess energy."

As if on cue, the heavy door slammed open loudly.

"Lia!"

Urgent footsteps approached her position where she laid cradled against someone with crystalline blue eyes, a beautiful blue and white glow invading the dark room. A pale slender hand reached over towards her cheek.

[Divide!] Deep echoing robotic voice sounded out, draining the energy she had managed to corral into submission but couldn't contain, to her relief.

[Divide!] After the second time, sensation started to return, her fingers twitched.

"Va…li. S-sto-" It was still a bit difficult to talk apparently. But that much, he should have understood right?

[That is enough Vali. Any more and you will die.] Another voice, less robotic and more commanding called out. It was Albion. It seemed like the White Dragon knew what they were dealing with. Even she herself didn't know what it was that resided within her.

"But-"

"No, that will be enough, Vali. You are starting to get affected yourself." She glanced over at her childhood friend at her father's words, spotting what it was that prompted Albion to call out. Over half of his body from the bottom up were encased in a sheet of ice and grey color was starting to travel up the hand that was touching her cheek.

Another hand entered her field of vision, snatching Vali's stiff hand into their own.

"There is no mistake. This is your [Cocytus], Luka." Her fiancé intoned gravely, continuing with a troubled sigh. "I can manage if it's just [Ice Magic] like Serafall's, but [Cocytus] is an entirely different matter."

Now that the excess energy was no more, she had an easier time wrestling the new energy under control, trying all kinds of different ways to fuse it with the existing one only to fail fantastically. That wasn't right, shouldn't abilities that opposed each other unable to be passed down to one's descendant if one of the said abilities was already inherited? So how did she end up with what seemed to be her mother's ice magic and also father's rather strange magic at the same time? Her eyes caught her father's glowing violet, an idea forming in her mind.

"Good. It seems like you know what to do." Papa praised softly, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he relaxed his shoulders and turned his focus entirely on Vali instead.

"My apologies, little Queen." Iselia startled at Ajuka's sudden apology, surprised that someone of his stature would actually apologize to her. "I- No… It wasn't your fault, Ajuka-sama. It just caught me unprepared that's all." Her body had regained full movement albeit a little stiff. It stiffened even further when she noticed that she was cradled on the man's lap.

"No need to be polite. A relationship dynamic like Sirzechs and his wife is the last thing I want." Waving a hand nonchalantly, the magic circle still active, she just realized the state the room was in when chunks of ice and cold mist dissipated under the effect of his power. Almost casually, he proceeded to bring his arms around her, producing a tablet out of nowhere and placed it right before her.

"Other than that unfortunate accident, this is actually a very good thing for you." Too close! He was just too close! Lia could feel the heat emanating on her back just from the close proximity alone along with the subtle scent of sandalwood mixed in with bergamot.

"Take a look at this." He was content in ignoring the indistinct murmurs and minute shuffling from the other occupants of the room, choosing to focus on the screen he offered for her perusal. On it was some kind of statistics presented using charts.

"To make it simple, data comparison between two groups of individuals." Following the direction, his fingers pointed to lead her straight to names.

Iselia Paimon. Sairaorg Bael. Vali Lucifer.

Blinking incredulously, she turned slightly to look at the Satan whose lap she was occupying. He nodded his head back at the screen with a raised brow. Understanding the unspoken demand, her eyes returned to the screen to scan for the other group's individual's names.

Rias Gremory. Seekvaira Agares. Sona Sitri.

This was comparing the two groups based on the combined average of their physical attributes, energy level, control, battle experience, and other skills. Looking at the chart alone made her turned back in utter bafflement. Wasn't the difference too absurd!?

"Don't look at me like that. These are all based on accurate data I've obtained through direct tests and observations." And when did he even do all that?!

"Oh? This is…" A sudden voice speaking right by her ear startled her so badly she almost fell off her perch if not for a steadying hand.

"Vali! Are you alright now? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, don't worry. More importantly, are you alright? I am sorry that I didn't come sooner."

"Haa… How heartwarming. Should I be envious?" Ajuka chuckled right as he draped himself over her back. "You can make sure your dragon is fine later, little Queen. For now, listen. This is quite valuable information for your task." Pressing on something on the side of the thin device, a projection of light beamed right onto an adjacent blank wall. Everyone crowded close instantly, looking at the presented information.

"As you can see, just from energy level comparison alone, your group far surpassed the other group by a fair amount despite the little amount the Bael boy had." True to his words, they could see one of the colors dominated over half of one pie chart clearly. Below it was the individual percentage contributions to the chart.

"This is before when we haven't broken Serafall's seal on your power. Now that we have," The projection blinked for a moment, showing a new startling change. At least almost 80% of the pie chart had been eaten by her group. "-this is the result."

From the corner of her eye, she spotted Vali snickering rather openly at her flabbergasted expression.

"You are joking."

"On the contrary, you will find that we are totally serious."

…

It took her half an hour to properly read and understand the information she was offered completely, with a rather sticky Vali explaining a few key points while the adults talked among themselves. The youngsters have relocated to one corner of the room, turning on one of the floor lamps –might as well use it- as they bend their heads together over the shared tablet between them. There was a lot of incredulity on her part, amusement mixed with an equal amount of vexation on Vali's part and eventually a general agreement of how troublesome her assignment was turning out to be. It was mostly on Vali's part though.

[Stop worrying, Vali. Your Princess is not that weak if she possesses that kind of formidable strength.]

"What do you mean, Albion?"

[Exactly as I said, partner. Just now, that is something fatal even to beings like myself if I am not careful.]

Just what kind of power that strange ability possessed if it could threaten even a Heavenly Dragon of Albion's caliber? Even God himself couldn't do anything other than sealing both Heavenly Dragons into a sacred gear.

"[Cocytus], considered as an obscure branch of ice magic that doesn't affect the physical world like the [Ice Magic] Serafall has."

The two children turned to look at the adults who were looking at them from the center of the room they occupied. The one who had just given them the answer was Maou Beelzebub. Her father was leaning against his seat, rubbing on the inverted black cross mark on his forehead.

"I had hoped from the moment you were born that you just inherit [Ice Magic] from your mother, but… I don't know whether to call this fortunate or unfortunate." The man looked slightly stressed, so unlike his usual calm self.

"Unfortunate?" Vali straightened his body, paying undivided attention to three strongest beings in the Underworld.

[Going by logic, had Princess over here just possessed that one power, she would have died as soon as she awakened it. But she didn't, which means that not only did she awaken that dangerous power, but she also possesses something else that's capable to suppress or perhaps compliment the usage of it. Am I right, Demon Kings?] As expected of Albion who lived for a long time, he could immediately point out the problem.

"Wait a moment, if you said [Cocytus] didn't leave any effect in the surface then just now-"

Eh, Vali did have a point. She remembered seeing some ice forming inside the room, as well as the dropping temperature and more importantly, Vali himself was half frozen. Shifting slightly, she took the hand Vali used to touch her back then, inspecting the skin carefully, only to discover that fine tremors wracked the grey-tinged limb from time to time. The hand was in fact, very warm but why was it shaking? Vali's fingers twined into her own, making her glanced up at him in askance. His golden eyes flashed into a clear sky blue. They would have to talk about this later.

"I expect nothing else from Albion-dono." Sirzechs-sama leaned back in a leisurely manner, slinging his hand over the back of the sofa as he eyed his rather flustered comrade worriedly. "As for Vali's question… To start from the very beginning, you have to know that Lia-chan comes from a very prestigious bloodline, even among pureblood devils." Now this, was actually news for her.

Amongst the pureblood devils society, bloodline was something that was held sacred as it held the essence of one's prestige, identity, and most importantly power. As such, many believed that the purer one's blood was, the stronger one's power became. Thus, arranged marriages between purebloods of status were very common. But Vali was a half devil, and he was strong. Her grip on his fingers tightened.

"Lia?" Vali might have descended from the creator of their kind, but half of him was human. Something the pureblood supremacists despised. If they found out, how horrified would they be? A boy many of them downright worshipped just because of his last name, of whose blood flowed within his vein?

"Of all the 72 Pillars, Paimon House is the closest with the original Lucifer. They used to hold the same authority as Rofocale Lucifuge, the ancestor of Lucifuge House. While now their power over government wasn't what it used to be, their immense authority and influence remained." It was a public secret that Paimon House has been functioning as the devils' monetary authority figure for centuries and as a result possessed a comprehensive information network spanning the entire world. It was a bit amusing to see people trying to butter up to her father.

"I digress though," The Prince of Destruction chuckled after seeing Vali's rather impatient face. Understandable, both of them have run through this at least once in one of their history lessons.

"If you traced Lia-chan's bloodline up to her ancestor, you will see that each and every generation are a very careful result of selective breeding, do excuse my crassness. I have no idea what Luka's ancestor was trying to do, but at least every few generations will find a new mutation in one of their descendants' inherited power." Iselia bowed her head, knitting her brow in thought as she scanned her store of information from her memories.

The original Paimon House's power was [Elemental Magic], an ability that granted them control over all basic elements except for light and darkness. For centuries, this power continued to be passed down in the main House, undergoing subtle evolution that slowly but surely allowed them to control even sub-branches of the basic elements, such as ice and lightning. As for those who married out of the Clan, she noticed in the records that they were all married into Houses with abilities which complemented [Elemental Magic], such as the Bael, Gremory and even the Astaroth House. So, where exactly was this inherited power now?

"[Elemental Magic] perished alongside my mother and the rest of the Paimon House." An unexpected answer in the form of a cold monotone voice echoed loudly in the silence. The atmosphere turned strangely heavy for a moment. Sirzechs Lucifer-sama lowered his eyes and stayed silent, a glint of something frighteningly sinister flashing in his eyes for a split second before tranquil blankness replaced it. It was just for a moment, but she couldn't help the automatic flinch and shiver running down her spine. Was she imagining that? Ajuka sighed.

"[Elemental Magic] didn't vanish entirely. Instead, what remains of it is now something different, but much more powerful and difficult to use." He picked up after the explanation swiftly, crossing his arms on his chest. Father was formerly an heir to House Dantalion, a House with [Darkness Manipulation] as their inherent power. However, he possessed neither of the two Houses' signature power… Which meant it evolved into something else? Then which one was father's evolved ability?

"The combination of [Elemental Magic] and [Darkness Manipulation], [Void] which by name alone is something that means the state of emptiness or nothingness. However, from my understanding, it is the highest level of dimensional magic surpassing that of Abaddon's [Power of Hole]."

The ability of the dimensional type. Which explained a lot about what she could do and why Vali's [Divine Dividing] was able to counter her. Luminous golden eyes caught her wondering ones and she smiled rather helplessly. Someone who served as her foil, yet also one who completed her. Should she be glad that the silver-haired teen wasn't her enemy instead? As if aware of what she was thinking –which he probably did-, Vali smirked at her rather cockily.

Aaah, your smug side is showing.

[Hahaha! I see now. What cunning ancestors you devils have! To so specifically choose these two kinds of ability. How frightening…] Albion sounded rather amused despite his words. Maybe he found the discussion fun? However, two specific abilities? [Void] and [Cocytus]?

"[Ice Dragon of The End]" Lukrezius Paimon intoned dispassionately. "An evolved variant of [Sea Serpent-Dragon of The End] inherited from my maternal grandmother, a descendant of the original Leviathan. One of the techniques derived from that is [Cocytus]."

[No wonder you felt so similar to a dragon! Should I start calling you a little dragon instead, little Princess?]

It was honestly a little too much. What kind of day was today anyway? Not only did her father speak more than he usually does, but the amount of information dump was more than what she could handle at the moment. Iselia dropped her head directly to the crook of Vali's neck, startling him slightly. Surrounded by the familiar scent of petrichor, musk and a hint of something spicy, the dull throb in her head reduced slightly.

How could she not be overwhelmed? It turned out what her father taught her all this time in regards to her inherent power was just the basic. Other than hammering in absolute control of her immense store of demonic energy and devil magic, all he said was to discover what she could do with her powers. Was it because they were different from his or mother's?

"Bed. Rest." She murmured tiredly. Satan knew that she needed to sleep on all this information to properly digest them. Maybe by the time she woke up, she would feel a bit better over this headache-inducing situations.

"Take her back to her room, Vali." Arms went around her limp form and she felt herself being carried.

"Don't worry. We'll help you." Promised the descendant of Lucifer quietly, his grip on her tightening.

It didn't take long for them to return to her chamber, courtesy of Vali employing the usage of teleportation magic. Sairaorg was immediately on them, lifting her away from the Hakuryuukou and depositing her into her spacious bed.

"Vali!" Bolting back up at Sai's rather panicky tone, Lia immediately spotted the problem. The silveret was kneeling by the bed, a pained hiss escaping his tightly clenched teeth as Sairaorg examined him with a frown etched on his stern mien.

Without hesitation, she stripped herself off her clothes, using magic to do the same to Vali while the larger teen helped her lifted Vali up to the bed. Cradling him close to her bosom, her palm lit with magic circle pressed onto his chest.

"What's wrong with him? I sensed an upsurge of demonic energy before Vali was called over." Sitting on the edge of the bed was Sairaorg scanning the other boy's legs, knitting his eyebrows together when he saw the grey-tinged skin.

[Instead of affecting the physical world, [Cocytus] directly affects the soul and conscience which is why it's such a frightening ability. The only way to properly heal it is through the use of the demonic energy that causes it.] Albion informed them gravely, a slightly worried tone the dragon rarely used after it scanned the condition of his host.

"I'm fine. Stop looking as if you are going to cry, Lia." Said host still had the gall to smile at them. Her eyes blurred and she bit her lower lip to stop herself from making any embarrassing noise.

"You idiot. Stop saying you're fine. You are making Lia worry even more."

"I'm sorry, Vali… I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine. You didn't mean to do it."

They huddled close together, unclear of whom trying to comfort whom but the sentiment was understood by all three anyway.

…

"Is that alright, leaving it to the children just like that?"

"They know what to do."

There was a moment of silence.

"I still think we went too far. Lia-chan looked so overwhelmed."

"It is something the little Queen has to face regardless. Serafall's seal bought some time for her body to adjust, but that was it. Any longer and that amount of sealed power will explode which spelled a large scale disaster."

A quiet rustling.

"Each generation will surpass the previous. It's something I didn't quite believe back then but seeing them now, our future…"

"How surprising, Luka. You were the one who kept scoffing when I told you that they will enjoy the shade from the trees we have planted all those years ago."

A solid thwack echoed in the silent darkness.

"Ouch! Why did you hit-"

"You scared my daughter."

"Stop it, you two. In the first place, why did you bring up that subject if you are going to react like that, Sirzechs?"

A petulant whine.

"Every time I heard that name, I just can't help myself. After what they did to my beloved Rhia-"

"That's enough, Sirzechs. Stop provoking Luka."

"There's no reason for you to look at me like that, Luka. After all, you did all that on your own volition."

"Sirzechs!" A hissed exclamation.

A pair of ominous crimson glowed within the darkness, clashing with frosty flashing purple gaze.

"Are you trying to test my patience?" A melodic voice purred threateningly.

A nefarious chuckle answered the warning, crimson sidling closer to the purple.

"Why? Did I say something wrong? You will do anything I asked for, won't you? All for my sake."

The air was so heavy that any devils weaker than they would have been pressed flat to the ground under the pressure.

"You insolent brat. If only your family could see this side of you."

"Hahaha… It's enough that only the two of you know. Can we stop though, Grayfia is about to be back."

A soft sigh.

"One day, I am going to really have to stop Luka from killing you."

The addressed party had the gall to laugh it off.

…

…

"Good morning, Iselia. I see you're also quite early today." Her little aunt called out with a soft smile from the doorway of the dining room. Lia's little aunt has grown into a slight bespectacled girl with shiny raven black hair the same shade of her mother, only styled in a neat short bob-cut. Compared to Rias or her own figure, Sona seemed to be stuck in that awkward lanky phase of a growing teenager. It was very rare for devils women but, perhaps little aunt was a late bloomer?

"Good morning, Sona-nee. I do wake up very early, you know." The silver-haired girl sighed softly, a tiny bit miffed from being treated like a child by one of her charges. A few years back after witnessing how brutally Sai trained himself right from the crack of dawn to the end of the day, Iselia who almost cried upon seeing the bitter experience was determined to accompany him. Subsequently, she winded up hauling a protesting and bleary-eyed Vali up at the crack of dawn to accompany the Bael together. Ultimately, not only did all of them get a nifty habit of waking up at an ungodly hour, it turned out Vali enjoyed the experience as well as long as he got his quota of solid 8 hours sleep and the one who ended up regretting the decision slightly was herself.

"That's good. Rias is a late riser and I am worried that you will be infected by that bad habit." The short haired girl joined her at the dining table for breakfast. It was decided that she and Sona would be living together as long as they were in Kuoh. And at the insistence of both Gremory and Sitri heirs, no servants accompanied them other than sending some cleaning staff once a week. It was a rather novel experience to the Paimon heiress who had never lifted her own hand and foot for her own food or menial tasks. Nevertheless, in addition to her own task, she now had to learn how to live without relying on servants.

Initially, the complete change in environment and day-to-day activities had left her snappish for a whole week. Perchance her behavior on the first week might have been the reason why both Rias and Sona treated her like a child who couldn't care for herself, both under the presumption of her not used to being in the human realm, therefore babying her a little too much. Au the contrary, she often traipsed all over the human realm under even harsher living conditions for assignments she was pulled into helping. Lia ended up admitting to herself that her shameful behavior was most probably due to separation from her two constant companions.

She was so used to their constant presence in the air, the comforting blanket of Vali's massive energy reservoir along with the small and steady one belonging to Sairaorg, always around somewhere. There was also the combination of fresh exuberant energy twined with the icy deep abyssal void of her parents coating the entire walls of the castle, promises of love and protection that made her knew that she was safe. Here, none of them were present. It felt as if she was thrown into a wide open plane with no coverage where enemies could see and aim for her clearly. Therefore excuse her for being extremely on edge.

It didn't help that just in under a month, the number of intruders sniffing around the territory numbered in no less than over a dozen, over half of them during various unreasonable hours at night when everyone was sleeping like the dead. That wasn't counting the amount of 'threats' she had taken out for the two oblivious heiresses. There was an incident where she had a close shave with death due to carelessness in judgment, and a few near misses when she ironically misjudged Sona's, Rias' and their small number of peerage members' overall strength which resulted in her having to run intervention.

The event had honestly left her feeling like she was being double-crossed when she managed to take out the opponent she had deliberately left for the two small groups to fight rather easily. The silverette thought that instead of misjudging her two older sister figures strength, it was the stray devil's strength that she misjudged which led the others to no small amount of injuries. It took her another two to three similar incidents to get an accurate reading on her charges' capabilities. She should have taken her fiancé's presented data seriously.

A month and the amount of experience she gained was not small. As she lived along with two individuals considered as top powerhouses within their supernatural community, Iselia was used to the heavy pressure of powerful aura suppressing her. So did Rias and Sona for that matter. It led all three of them without exception to underestimate their opponents, thinking something along the line of 'Ah, this person has an even lower presence than my parents.' Sai of all people had severely scolded her for her oversight when he caught wind of it.

And I have to do this for a couple of years at least.

"Good morning, Sona-sama, Iselia-sama. My apologies for waking up late, I should have woken up earlier to prepare breakfast for both of you." Another person appeared in the doorway, bowing in a rather flustered manner. Like Sona-nee, she wore a pair of glasses with a different model, a half frame with blue rim, unlike Sona's oval full-rimmed red. And in contrast, she also had a long, luxurious shade of midnight black hair compared to Sona's raven shade. It was her eyes that caught Lia's attention though, a heterochromic pair of violet and golden brown.

This person was Shinra Tsubaki of the formerly prestigious Shinra Clan in the human world. Little aunt never quite told her the entire story of how they met outside of some vague mentions but she was nonetheless Sona's Queen and in Rias' language that meant she was also a family. Usually, they left most chores to her as she insisted on doing it for the two –Lia didn't even bother protesting after all the stress she endured-.

"It is fine, Tsubaki. Today is Lia's turn to cook anyway. Sit down and eat something before we have to leave."

The least all of you can do is reducing my workload you know.

She protested inwardly, mentally going over some basic menu she could try her hand in for dinner. She really, really needed another few hours of sleep instead of playing a good student. Even so, what was more important? Her tasks or sleep? Truly a tough choice.

...

"Good morning, Lia!" All she could see was a flash of crimson before a tackle hug took her off guard.

"Ara ara, Rias. I know you are excited to see Lia-chan to tell her about your plan, but do be careful." The gentle amused voice that was a signature of a certain Yamato Nadeshiko like girl giggled playfully. The Paimon heiress resisted the urge to sigh for the nth time, letting herself be towed around by the exuberant Gremory Princess as she gushed over the wonder of Japan to her. At some point in time, the crimson haired girl had become obsessed with the country of sakura which led her to rain startling amount of information whenever she saw Iselia.

Following sedately behind them was a very well-endowed girl with long dark purple-tinged hair in a ponytail. As they walked down the crowded hallway, the crowds parted and whispered around them, awe and a certain amount of reverence aimed towards the passing three. Humans… So easily captivated by the supernatural, unaware of the danger posed to their vulnerable self.

"I'm thinking of making a trip to the capital for sakura viewing. What do you think?"

Iselia Paimon twitched, massaging her temple in an effort to stave off an oncoming headache.

"Rias-nee, you do know that Sakura only blooms during spring right? Besides, if we go together then what about Sona-nee?"

"Mou, I already asked that party-pooper to come along for the trip but she refused! Going on about establishing her base here and everything as if we don't have enough time-"

By Lucifer, the first year wasn't even over yet and she was ready to call it quits. Was it too late to ask for her King to change her assignment? She wanted to go back to her stress-free life back at home! Couldn't those nosy party of various factions give her a break by stopping their poking around? Or for Rias to behave sensibly for a year or so? Or for little aunt to stop wandering around in the middle of the night all over Japan? There was only one of her and two of them! Why couldn't they just sit still in their assigned territory unless they were asking for permission to leave?

If only both Vali and Sai were here.

It was just mere wishful thinking, but the thoughts of various people back home at least granted her enough willpower to persevere.

Time passed by the gradually growing groups of young devils in this fashion, until a quiet ripple of dissent disrupted the Guardian's carefully crafted peace she painstakingly built for her charges. Had she known what would happen, she would have never allowed Azazel to talk her into allowing his underlings into the territory.

It was the start of an event that acted as a catalyst that set everything into motion.

It was the beginning of a veritable flood of headache-inducing situations, the end of her chaotic but rather peaceful and leisurely life while she was hauled to various world saving shenanigans by battle maniacs, heroes and perverted old men.