Chapter 2
Astaroth Family

Explosions continuously rang through an open field. The booming halted for a moment as the smoke and dust started to get cleared by the wind. Two figures were revealed with a sizeable distance between them, one was Latia, starting to sweat while panting as she hunched over to hold herself up by using her knees as support, while the other was Jack, smirking while bouncing a black purple fireball over his knee like it was a ball.

Despite starting to feel exhaustion take over, Latia was not wounded in the slightest. Maybe a bit of a headache forming, but nothing else. She also ditched the elegant or casual clothes for a green and blue tracksuit that was surprisingly able to handle her assets.

Magic, probably.

Jack himself took his leather jacket off, leaving him only with a short sleeved black shirt on the top part.

"You know, you ain't gonna solve anything by just avoiding your problems." Jack chuckled, causing the blonde to glare at him.

"Hit me then." she challenged as she straightened her stance while staring defiantly.

The Dragon grinned as he kneed the fireball harder, making it bounce higher as he jumped and spun, kicking the fireball at the end of the motion and shooting it straight towards Latia, who narrowed her eyes at the projectile.

Latia fired a quick demonic energy bullet at the fireball's weak point, but before they collided, the fireball split into two smaller ones and approached from different angles. The Astaroth didn't panic and shot each a quick glance, before taking a step back and preparing a magic circle in her right hand.

The fireball approaching from the left split into four more while the one coming from the right started curving its trajectory, but suddenly slowed down to a crawl as Latia's almond eyes turned blue while glowing briefly.

Agares' Clan Trait, Temporal Control.

With a quick turn, she swiped with her right hand, deflecting the four projectiles approaching on the left with a small wave of wind straight into the slowed down fireball, making all of them explode and negate each other.

Without pause, Latia pointed with her left hand towards Jack and fired a blast of demonic magic in the form of a spear.

Jack however tilted his head to the side just enough for the demonic spear to pass by without harming him in the slightest.

Latia's eyes turned back to their normal color as she started breathing heavily, the headache becoming more and more noticeable.

"That's it for today. One serious straight hour, you're getting better." Jack praised the Devil as he walked next to her and sat down on the ground, Latia following soon after, almost falling on accident as her legs finally gave in.

"I don't understand how you can possibly enjoy tiring yourself out like this daily." she complained while rubbing her temple.

A couple of days passed after they visited Ajuka and the situation got pretty much set in stone. They started tying up some of the loose ends concerning the legal matters and setting up Jack's living conditions within the Astaroth Clan, but nothing big happened.

What she noticed however was that daily, early in the morning, Jack would be up and doing something to train. Running laps, standing on his hands while doing pushups, covering himself in flames and trying to not burn anything while meditating, you name it.

Latia understood the idea of training, she really did. Testing your limits, putting your body under pressure and getting used to the strain all for the sake of making progress, but this looked more like a morning routine than a strict training regiment given his attitude about it, and she didn't know whether to be concerned or not about it.

"Hey, I don't judge your tastes, you don't judge mine." the Fake Queen shrugged.

Latia felt a slight tinge in her free hand as if poked with a needle, and when she looked over, she saw a light blue tentacle coming from Jack's shoulder blade attached to her palm. On cue, her headache and exhaustion dulled out by the moment before fully disappearing, followed by the tentacle detaching itself and retreating away.

"Your magic reserves are very impressive." she complimented as she rubbed her palm, the feeling of being poked fading away. Despite the two of them trading projectiles for an hour, Latia had to give up after 5 minutes and was forced to to play Jack's sadistic version of dodgeball.

"So I was told. The boosted recovery helps as well." the Dragon shrugged again.

"Dragons are stupid." Latia grumbled, earning a chuckle.

"You managed to break down my fire?" Jack moved to a different subject, making the girl nod.

"Most of it. The flames themselves are strong but it's the curse mixed into them that is deadly. It's evil, it wants to rampage, to devour anything and everything caught in its path. But…" she trailed off while looking around at the field.

While there were multiple holes all around, obviously Jack's work, not one piece of the field was damaged except where the fireballs landed.

"I think you're getting the hang of it." Latia finished as she turned back towards the Dragon.

The entire idea of the training was simple. Jack wanted to see if he can deal with Latia's Clan Traits without brute forcing his way through them and keeping collateral to a minimum while Latia was more generalized by focusing on fine tuning said Clan Traits along with her demonic power.

While it may seem easy on paper for Latia, it was not.

Why?

Because a certain Crimson Lightning user thought it was funny to progressively overload her brain with information to force her to make additional calculations as to not get hit.

She handled it better than the first time however. From barely reaching ten minutes to consistently reaching an hour.

"So? Think you can do it?" Jack raised an eyebrow as he questioned.

Latia didn't say anything as she thought. Eventually, she took a deep breath and held her hands close, palms facing one another with a tiny gap in between. Two magic circles appeared and inched closer.

Latia closed her eyes and put her brain to work while the demonic energy started running wild.

Akashic Analysis at first sight was nothing that special and seemed more like a support Ability, but in practice, it was dangerous in the right hands.

Unlike something like Bael's Power of Destruction, which is nothing more than just the ability to destroy, which yes, any idiot could utilize while still leaving room for improvement for expert users, Akashic Analysis allowed the user to precisely analyze and understand their subject of interest, given they met the requirements, and if they did-

Jack started grinning as he watched dark purple flames with tinges of green forming in the gap between Latia's hands.

-they could do amazing things.

Demonic Magic functioned on the premise of imagination and desire. So what if one understood just how something functions and wanted to recreate it?

In theory, and provided they had enough demonic energy, they could replicate it.

Jack's grin disappeared as he watched the flames expand violently. Latia's eyes widened and was almost burned by her own flames had it not been for Jack forcefully grasping the fire and snuffing it out.

"I… don't know what happened." Latia muttered, uncertain. Nothing went wrong until the end when the flames suddenly refused to listen to her commands.

"It took a God to extinguish Vritra's flames. Guess no matter how weakened the curse isn't copyable." Jack took a wild guess.

"I was able to get something similar however, so I might just simply be missing some details." Latia theorized otherwise. If it couldn't work she would have instantly failed.

Since Latia had no actual offensive techniques, Jack suggested she just recreates his flames and go on from there, but it looks like it became harder than planned.

As to why Jack or Vritra himself didn't provide help on this matter?

Well…

"(I dunno. I just breathe them out and it works. Never cared about the nitty-gritty shit)"

"No idea. The Sacred Gear just let's me create and control them, not tell me about the details except how it sucks to get burnt by them."

Like teacher, like student.

But hey, free research material. No one else could say they studied and replicated special flames of a Dragon King.

Speaking of which…

"Maybe because I'm not a Dragon?" Latia theorized while looking at Jack. "They're the flames belonging to a Dragon after all, not something that a simple Devil could do."

"(First blondie, Evil Dragon)" Vritra corrected. He took pride in what he was and was not ashamed to admit it. "(Second, you're anything but simple. Third, you're wrong. If anything, you have higher chances to control them because you're not a Dragon)"

"Huh?" confusion was clear across Latia's face.

"I could control them pretty well once I obtained Blaze Black Flare. However, all that control went out the window when I became a Dragon, Sacred Gear and experience be damned." Jack explained, confusing Latia even more.

"Shouldn't it be the opposite? After all, your affinity for it should grow exponentially." this didn't make any sense, which both interested and annoyed the Pure-Blooded Devil.

"(I just explained it. Evil Dragon)" Vritra repeated.

"Dragons by nature are very competitive. Evil Dragons are also a lot more aggressive, especially towards other Dragons. I was a hybrid, Half-Human Half-Devil, which worked perfectly. I had easy access to demonic energy which allowed me to just pump power into the Gear without care." Jack started, remembering the early days.

"(But after this idiot decided to throw away his humanity and have me turn him into a Dragon-)" Vritra continued, snorting at that. "(-his new nature clashed against the flames. They refused to bow to another Dragon, which while yes, had my flesh, it was not me)"

"So I had to literally wrestle them into submission to obey me again." Jack finished. It was definitely worth it in the long run though.

"This…" Latia frowned. It made sense, but practically ruined her theory and was now left blank. "If that's true and you were aware of the drawback, why did you decide to become a Dragon?"

Inspiration could come from anywhere, so she might as well go with the flow for now.

"Power." Jack said dryly, like it was the most obvious thing ever. "How much do you think you got it analyzed?"

Latia narrowed her eyes at that. The way he shrugged the question off and changed the subject back to her was-

"Lady Latia!"

The shout of a servant made itself known, ending the conversation preemptively. The two watched as a butler quickly made his way over while avoiding the holes.

"I'm sorry to disturb your time, but there are guests. Your parents also returned and wished for your presence." the butler respectfully informed while bowing.

"We were done anyway, thank you for the notice." Latia responded while mentally preparing herself. Talking about everything that happened with her parents was gonna be difficult, but manageable.

The blonde got back up to her feet and eyed the field. She created a magic circle under her feet which expanded outwards until it covered all the holes, which were filled in a matter of seconds.

Creating dirt was a lot easier than cursed flames.

"Don't you higher class send notices before giving visits?" Jack asked as he got back to his feet and stretched slightly, making the butler glare at him.

"That's the standard procedure, but nothing fixed." Latia explained as she created another magic circle, this one to teleport them back home. "Who are the guests?"

"Lord and Lady Agares along with their daughter, Lady Seekvaira."

Jack shook his shoulders, making his leather jacket flap slightly. Damn he loved this thing.

'(Blondie is starting to get suspicious. Gonna tell her?)' Vritra asked his host.

'Nope.' was the instant answer.

'(Figured)' it was worth a shot at least, even if he was certain that would be the result.

When they arrived back at the Astaroth castle, because that's just how much those Devil families liked showing off, to the point they lived in castles, Jack and Latia separated. The former went to his room to fetch his jacket while Latia went to quickly shower and change.

Nobody liked to smell like sweat when they had guests over.

As he walked through the wide and fancy hallway, passing by expensive furniture, under chandeliers and multiple paintings, Jack wondered how peopled managed to deal with this on a daily basis. So much expenditure on useless stuff that didn't actually make a single difference.

'(Remember, be nice. Can't embarrass your girl in front of her parents and the guests)' Vritra chuckled.

'The Agares Head is here, so Latia is honestly the least of my concerns. I can't figure out why. No way someone like him would just come without a deeper meaning.' Jack ignored the joke and focused on the actual problem, the guests. This could potentially make the situation either worse or better for him.

While not ever interacting with Ars Goetia directly, he was painfully aware of the inner structure and the political wildfires that started at times. Half because of all the files he got over the time he hunted down the Old Satan Faction and the other half from his contacts as payment for his services.

Lord Agares was a big figure and ally of Zekram Bael, the First Bael and the Devil who had almost as much power in the political side as did the damn Satans.

'Are they aware of the truth and trying to scout me out?' the Dragon host guessed. Ajuka did promise he'll help him by hiding his tracks and clearing the situation up, but there were other sources which could potentially be used to find out the truth or enough hints for rough guesses.

'(You'll never get laid at this rate)' the Evil Dragon shot.

'Have you ever gotten laid?'

'(Touche)'

Jack shook his head, no point worrying over what-ifs. Worst case scenario, the cat gets out of the bag and he has to leave the Underworld. Maybe cripple one or two brave idiots that think they're the next Lucifer to prove a point.

"Hey! I said wait for me!"

The Dragon stopped and finally heard the sound of heels rhythmically connecting with the floor, which made him look behind surprised.

Latia was out a lot faster than he expected. Gone were the casual and comfortable clothes that he was used to seeing her in, instead, she wore a shoulderless royal blue dress that wrapped around her voluptuous body perfectly that had a small black fur collar along with detachable sleeves on both hands that matched the color of her dress, topped off with some golden accessories all across.

She fit the image of a royal princess to a tee.

And ironically, it was in complete contrast to him.

"Finally! For a second I thought you were ignoring me on purpose." Latia said as she reached him. Running in a dress was not ideal. Ever.

"On purpose?" he repeated. Can you ignore someone without meaning to?

"I know how you stare when you're spacing out, but I couldn't get a look at your face so I couldn't figure it out." she explained as she patted her dress quickly to dust it off.

"Wait, you stare at me when I'm spacing out?" Jack caught onto the important detail and decided it was too good to let go.

"That's- Well… Not the point!" the Astaroth defected. If she was embarrassed, she did a good job at hiding it.

"Didn't know my King is into that kind of stuff, but ok, won't judge." the Dragon chuckled.

"I'm right here, and no, I'm not!" Latia defended herself and denied the accusation, Jack chuckling again.

"So, am I supposed to offer you my hand and be all like "Shall we, my lady?" or something along those lines?" Jack mocked as he did his best impression of a white knight.

"Please don't. I can't imagine you doing anything remotely resembling a gentleman." Latia giggled at the thought.

"(Well then blondie, you're gonna get a kick out of this. One time-)" Vritra never got to finish his words as Jack forcefully muted him.

As he would put it, "If you live rent free inside my head, I decide when you get a phone call".

'(Asshole)' the Dragon spat out.

"Ignore him. He gets delirious at times." the host covered, but clearly wasn't bought.

"If it makes you feel better, I like that you aren't that serious and more casual. Means I can relax." Latia said as she started walking forward.

"Well color me surprised princess." Jack laughed as he walked side by side with the blonde.

"Hey, when you're being swamped with aristocrats that compliment you so hard to the point they're practically saying "Marry me or my son" or try to gain favor from the current Beelzebub by being on the good side of his niece, having a hobby, or in this case, a wannabe delinquent with you, makes life a bit more bearable." the Astaroth explained without shame. She knew how the world spun.

'(She just said she likes bad boys. I hope you realize that)'

Jack wanted to continue and argue he was anything but a wannabe, but stopped himself as he noticed that their destination was close. In front of them was a set of wooden double doors.

"Ok, just be yourself." Latia said as she got ready to push the doors open, but didn't. She turned towards Jack. "Scratch that, don't say anything stupid."

That made him chuckle.

"Have I ever said anything stupid?"

"Too much to count."

With that final small banter, Latia took a deep breath, but before she could push the doors, Jack walked up and helped with the one on the right.

A rather useless gesture, but the meaning was clear.

"I have your back in this."

With the doors being opened, a fancy living room was revealed. The furniture was clearly expensive, from the coffee tables to the silk-lined white couches.

The inhabitants of the living room went silent and focused their sights onto the new arrivals. Jack quickly scanned everyone present, as he was the only one that didn't know anyone.

Sitting side by side on one couch were a man and a woman. The man wore a dark blue businessman suit that gave him an air of seriousness, which combined with green hair that had blue tips and blue eyes that were looking at him with an analytic gaze, it was easy to determine who this was. The woman on the other hand had bright blond hair and almond eyes, wearing a royal red dress with high slits. Oh yeah, she also literally looked like Latia but a couple years older.

Latia's parents were more focused on him than their own daughter, justifiably so, but Jack didn't mind the gazes and swapped towards the other people.

A man, a woman and a girl sat on the couch directly opposite, with a butler standing directly behind.

The man had black hair with almond eyes, wearing an usual devil noble attire befitting someone of his rank. The woman with pale greenish blond hair and pink eyes was more lax on her light blue outfit but still quite evident she was a noblewoman. Finally, the girl was a miniature version of the woman, evidently her daughter, except the clothing, where she went slightly more flashy along with glasses, giving a posh vibe.

Finally, the butler was a handsome young man with black hair and dark brown eyes. He stood straight and with dignity, but the second his gaze clashed with Jack's, the butler lost all signs of self-esteem and refused to meet his sight, finding the walls to the side or the floor beneath a lot more interesting.

A reaction which at first confused Jack, until he took a good sniff and then he understood perfectly, instinctively smirking. The butler was a Dragon.

On cue, Latia's father grinned smugly as well before he turned towards the other seated man.

"I think this means I was right." he bragged as if he did something amazing.

"I'll keep it in mind for next time then." Lord Agares grumbled, clearly dissatisfied, but didn't say anything else before looking towards Jack and Latia, more so on the former, smiling, albeit forced. "The main actors finally came on stage."

"Lord Agares, Lady Agares. It's a pleasure." Latia greeted them while bowing politely.

"My my, look at what a polite and beautiful young woman you've become." Lady Agares complimented.

Not even a minute in and Jack already hated this.

Damn formalities, just speak normally for Hell's sake! Ain't you all related!?

"So this is your first piece." the other blond girl, which he presumed to be Seekvaira, stated more than asked while pushing her glasses up. She stared at the Dragon in question but didn't get any reaction out of him.

At this point, he was certain this meeting was more because of him than Latia.

"The one and only." Latia nodded as she took a seat on a chair in between the two couches. Jack snorted as he moved to the chair's side, before leaning against it as he crossed his arms, earning mixed looks, but nothing that screamed bloody murder.

Yet.

"Both of us managed to get Dragons for our first Pieces, the Queen too. Very ironic." the glasses-wearing Devil mused.

"I can assure you, the similarities end there." Latia countered.

"I would be disappointed if they didn't."

"If you came just to test that theory, just say so. I'm willing to show you."

Seekvaira was genuinely taken aback by the blunt invitation, but before she could respond, someone else took the spotlight.

"None of that. We're just here to see how you're doing. That, and to congratulate your bravery to put a stop to the terrorism of the Old Satan Faction." it was Lord Agares.

'So that's what this is about.' Jack almost rolled his eyes, all the previous nervousness because he couldn't figure out what was going to happen leaving his body.

"I only did what needed to be done. I'm sure anyone else would have done the same." Latia stated as she sneaked in a glance at Jack, who didn't comment. Seems like he actually knew when to shut up.

A surprise, but a welcome one.

They just had to get through like five to ten more minutes of this and then-

"But then you decided to take one of said terrorists into your Peerage. What was in your mind at the time?"

Oh no.

"If I was one, you wouldn't be talking right now."

Shit…

"Jack." Latia spoke up. Bedeze was one thing, Lord Agares was a completely different subject. They couldn't afford to anger him.

"Sorry, I kinda lost my cool when this self-entitled two face had the gall to accuse you of nothing short of, mind my French, utter bullshit." Jack spat out without a care as he narrowed his eyes.

'(Here we go again)' If Vritra could get himself some popcorn, this would be a perfect moment.

"You-" Lord Agares almost choked when he heard that, his eyes widening.

"Yes, me. Got any proof?" the Dragon continued.

"Jack, stop-"

"No, I agree with him." Latia's father spoke up, surprising everyone, including the perpetrator of this entire mess.

"Alkado, you support him?" Lord Agares questioned the green haired man, offended more by the turn of events instead of Jack's bluntness.

"Of course I do. Wording aside, he isn't wrong. At first I did think you came here to talk, like relatives, but no, turns out it is actually because of your paranoia. Again." Alkado Astaroth spat out.

"It's not paranoia if it's justified." Lord Agares scoffed while glaring at the Astaroth.

"The servants, my daughter and my brother. Three different sides all vouched for him, and as far as I'm seeing, nothing bad actually happened." Alkado shot back and glared.

And like that, the mood of the room took the biggest turn. While their husbands argued, the wives tried to calm them down, this was not the time for this. Seekvaira stood there awkwardly, wanting to do anything to get out of here but unable to do so and Latia was just as unsure. She thought everyone was gonna dogpile on her, not that an argument between their Houses was going to erupt.

'Ok! That I didn't expect.' the host of Vritra was arguably the most shocked, he was certain he wouldn't have any support in this situation, but now…

"He was with them for who knows how long!"

"And how does that support your theory!?"

"He could be a spy!"

"Then he's a damn good one!"

He wasn't so sure.

The arguing continued, until eventually Lord Agares grumbled as he got up to his feet.

"Believe what you want to believe, but mark my words, a storm will hit the Astaroth Clan, and this Dragon will play a big role in it." Lord Agares warned.

"I think we heard enough of your predictions. I'll have someone escort you and your family on your way out." Alkado didn't care and got to his feet as well.

"That won't be necessary. Good day Astaroths." Lord Agares formed a magic circle and walked straight into it, disappearing from the room.

An awkward silence dropped on the room, before Lady Agares sighed.

"I'm sorry for my husband, he has his moments as well. I hope you will be able to overlook this event." she apologized before following into the magic circle, probably to go and calm the Head of the Agares Clan.

Seekvaira and the butler were left now, who sighed as well.

"I have no idea how this happened, but I'm sorry." the Agares Heir got up to her feet and looked towards Latia.

"Don't worry… I'm just as confused as you are." the blonde girl muttered.

Seekvaira then looked towards Jack as the butler walked to her side.

"And I apologize for my father, I hope you won't take it to heart."

"Lions don't concern themselves with the opinion of sheep."

Seekvaira sighed again at that. As far as first meetings go, this was probably one of the worst.

"We'll be on our way too. Let's go Alivian." the last Agares in the room beckoned to the butler, who nodded and they walked into the magic circle too, disappearing.

As soon as the guests were gone, Latia turned towards her father with a gaze that demanded an explanation.

"Dad, I know you and Uncle Abalam don't really see eye to eye, but that is the first time I actually saw you two arguing like that." the blonde girl voiced out.

Alkado sighed as he sat back down on the couch.

"Where do I even begin?" he asked rhetorically.

"My brother is as stubborn as your father. They were always like this, but chose to not show it publicly to not affect you or Seekvaira." it was Latia's mother who explained, sighing as well.

"This happens often?" Jack asked, earning himself a glare from Latia instead of an answer.

"Oh don't think you're free. Can you go one day without insulting a member of the high society?" Latia chided. Yes, the fact he stood up for her was nice, but if she had to choose between having her pride and reputation protected or her own Clan, the answer was obvious.

"Speaking of which, good job." Alkado spoke up, earning a surprised look from Latia. "I don't need a boot licker to be my treasure's right hand, so keep it up."

"Just doing what I was asked to do. There's only one person in this room which I take shit from." Jack chuckled, getting a chuckle from the Astaroth male in return.

"I like him." the green haired man said. When compared to Ajuka, it looks like he was more easy going compared to the calm and serious Satan.

"But where are our manners? I think our introductions are in order. I'm Lexia Astaroth, this little joy's mother." the woman smiled before leaning forward slightly and reaching out with her hand.

"Wha-" Latia yelped as she got pulled into a hug and forcefully snuggled into her mother's bosom. "Mom!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It's been so long since I've seen you in person." the woman giggled as she stroked her daughter's blond hair.

"Can I get a hug too?" Alkado asked as he perked up, only to have his joy die when he saw the glare he received.

"Introduce yourself and learn to control your temper in front of the children, maybe then." was the cold reply.

The man gulped, before turning towards Jack with an awkward smile.

"Haha… I think you heard it, but I'm Alkado Astaroth. Don't mind any of those rumors or bad words going around, just keep our little girl safe."

Jack chuckled at the family's antics. If he didn't know better, he'd assume they were just a normal, happy family.

Normal happy family… Yeah.

As soon as that thought passed through his mind, Jack's smile faded into a thin line. Something which was thankfully missed by all the Devils present.

While the Branch Family of the Astaroth Clan was having their moment together, Abalam Agares, the current Head of the Agares Clan, paced back and forth across his room with his hands behind his back.

While not a powerhouse, he was strong in his own right, combined with his affinity with his Clan's Temporal Control which let him feel danger that will happen in the future, and sometimes even catch slight glimpses at said future, earned him a high reputation. While not extremely precise, it was very accurate. He was one of the key players in winning the Devil Civil War after all.

So naturally, he learned to trust this natural instinct of his more than his own family and friends. A narrow minded look perhaps, but it never failed him to this day. And in recent days, he always had this slight tinge in the back of his mind, and he knew something was going to go wrong.

So when the Old Satan Faction tried to ruin one of the Astaroth's territories, followed by his niece getting a person that used to be in their ranks as a Peerage member, it was all too convenient of a timing.

Abalam gritted his teeth at the mere thought, before he abruptly stopped as sweat started to drip down his brow.

The feeling in the back of his mind got stronger!

"I knew it…" he grumbled, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his shaking fists. He couldn't let that damn lizard do anything to the Astaroth Clan, but they wouldn't believe him. Damn that Alkado and his easy to earn trust.

"I need to prepare something… Forgive me sister, but it's for your own good."

The rest of the day went by as if it was a flash. Latia didn't get to spend too much time with her parents usually, as sad as that was. They were busy helping her grandfather, the current Head of the Astaroth Clan, with his work and managing their Clan's businesses. Her father dealt with the ones in the Underworld while her mother tackled the ones in the Human World.

As you probably guessed, that took up most of their time and couldn't manage to get time for their daughter.

So of course, they used this time together to catch up as much as they could. Jack was quiet for the most part, unless he was directly asked something, which Latia only noticed later once everything was done.

It was currently the middle of the night and the young girl woke up due to nature's call.

Closing the door to her personal bathroom, Latia walked towards her bed and was ready to tuck herself in for the night. When she passed by the window, she stopped briefly and looked at the sky outside. The moon and stars shone in the sky of the Underworld.

Despite all the magic flying around in the world, few supernaturals actually managed to touch them, something she always wondered about.

Were they just not interested? Did they deem such things beneath them and irrelevant?

Whatever the reason was, she didn't care.

As she stared at the stars, she noticed a figure in the distance sitting on one of the towers of the castle.

Curiosity overtook the girl as she gently opened the window and brought out her wings, the two sleek bat wings carrying her as she approached the tower.

As she got close, she recognized who it was.

Jack sat at the edge of the tower and stared at the sky carelessly, almost spacing out while holding a cup in his hand.

"Jack?" Latia called out to him as soon as she landed, breaking the Dragon from his thoughts as he gave her a glance, acknowledging her presence, before shifting it back towards the sky.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same." the blonde fired back as she approached and sat next to him, their feet dangling off the edge. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"You can say that." Jack sipped from his cup. It was only then Latia noticed that it was full of coffee.

"Aren't you the one telling me to be rested so I can perform my best?" Latia questioned.

"I'm a Dragon. I can go a week without sleeping and still be perfectly fine." while technically pushing it, it was not wrong. He did once go an entire week without sleep and he was just fine in the end.

This reminded Latia of a specific question she never probably got the answer to.

No better time.

"Why did you become a Dragon?" the girl asked, getting a scoff from the boy.

"I told you already. Power." he responded the same way he did before.

"I don't believe you."

"Well that's your problem."

That made the female Devil shut up. Perhaps she was looking into it too much and it really was as simple as that. Except…

"Why are you hunting down the Old Satan Faction?" she pressed on.

She had to make sure.

"Not important." was the dry response.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you not answering my questions?"

"Because it doesn't matter." Jack scoffed as he turned to face Latia. "No point wasting time thinking over things for a person that will disappear from your life."

That made her stop again.

"...what?"

"Let's not kid ourselves. We're both aware how this entire thing is going to end. Whether I get what I want and I find the Old Satans or not, we shake hands and I disappear, either silent or loud, but I will be gone, at which point you'll go back to your usual life and enjoy the rest of your days however you like. Maybe get married to someone and make some brats to give you headaches." Jack explained, no longer looking at the sky and instead eyeing the blonde, who was at a loss for words.

". . ."

"Is that not true?"

"It is…"

"Then?"

"You're wrong." Latia stated, like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Huh?" it was now Jack's turn to be confused.

"You're right in the fact this thing is temporary and that's all it will be. But you don't know how long that will be. It could end this week, maybe in a couple months, if not perhaps in a couple years." the blonde argued.

"I'll be lucky if I get five more years." the black haired boy scoffed.

"Regardless, the point still stands. We don't know how long it will last, so what's the point of being so secretive if you trust me?" Latia ignored the comment and narrowed her eyes.

Jack didn't say anything and looked back at the sky.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Latia's response was near instant.

"With your life?"

"This… No." after some debating, she decided to be honest.

"Good. I would be concerned if you were." Jack approved of that, but no humor could be traced in his tone.

"So… What is it?"

"I have nothing to live for."

". . ."

Jack chuckled at the reaction. He knew this was gonna be the response.

"Besides hunting down the Old Satans, I have nothing left. No family waiting for me, no friends searching for me, no mark in history except the mountains of bodies and rivers of blood I left behind." he chuckled again. "You know, I had many offers handed to me by many people. All for the same reason, to start a new life. I don't want to start a new life. I want to finish what I started then end this life."

Latia kept silent. She had things to say, but she felt this wasn't all.

"Why did I become a Dragon? Power. Power to make all those people who wronged me pay. Power to ignore the pain. Power to not collapse down. Power to keep going. Power to bleed this body dry." he finished with a slight laugh.

The laugh echoed in the silent night, before it slowly died down.

"You know, sometimes, ignorance is bliss, don't you agree?" the Dragon questioned as he turned back towards the blonde, who was still silent. "No Heaven above your head. No Hell beneath your feet. Just you and a boring normal Human World. Man… What I would do just for that."

"I rather be hurt by truth than comforted by lies." Latia said as she stared back at Jack, conviction clear in her eyes. "You want to know what my uncle used to say?"

"Yeah sure, knock yourself out." Jack rolled his eyes. Anything to move the subject on honestly.

"A lightning bolt is the definition of strength and authority. A flash of light that makes anyone freeze in their spot. But, that's all for a brief moment. No matter how majestic it is, it will always be that for just a moment." she started, Jack's eyes widening as he heard her words.

"Did you just-"

"However… It can start a fire." she continued, not bothering to listen to the Dragon's words. It was her turn to talk. "It can be the thing that lights the sparks for a change. Always make sure, that no matter how big or important you think you are at the moment, to aim for something that changes the future." Latia finished.

Jack went silent, mulling the words over. Latia, out of consideration, didn't say anything else and waited.

"My old man used to tell me that." Jack finally spoke out again. "I never really understood what he meant, life didn't actually hit me at the time. And when it did, it was too late."

"I'm afraid you know?" Latia asked, earning a questioning gaze. "I'm afraid one of these days, another Civil War will just start and my family will be caught in the middle. I'm afraid the Great War will restart and my entire race will be exterminated. I'm afraid the Old Satan Faction will succeed and Devil-kind will return to its old days. I'm afraid because I know how insignificant I am. That's why I accepted this mission… I wanted to make a difference. But… I'm afraid. I'm afraid I won't be good enough and I'll fail."

The conversation ended there as the two silently sat next to each other, staring at the sky while stealing occasional glances at the person right on their side.

Perhaps, they really needed this.

A moment to just vent out their frustrations and insecurities.

"Do you hate me?" Latia asked.

"No." was the instant response.

"Then why are you trying to keep a distance from me?"

"Because it won't hurt as much when I'm gone." Jack explained.

"Well it hurts on the spot more, that's for sure." the blonde said.

"I don't want that, you know?" the Dragon said suddenly. "Just… To not hurt others. I must be some bad luck charm, because everyone I deemed important got hurt. I don't want that."

"You won't know until you try." Latia encouraged. "When was the last time you talked with someone about this?"

"Besides Vritra?"

"Besides Vritra."

"Never." Jack responded. "Maybe two years ago with an old crow, but he probably thought I was joking."

Latia nodded.

"I'm sorry for prying." she apologized. Maybe it would have been better if she minded her own business.

"Don't be. You didn't know." the Dragon sighed. "Man… Just punching shit is so much easier than talking about emotions…"

And that wasn't his Dragon blood talking.

Latia didn't say anything else and stared back at the sky. The silence was becoming awkward, painfully so.

Suddenly, a thought came to her mind.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Remember when we talked about our hobbies?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You invited me to a flight. To let me know how it is to soar the skies with no worries."

Latia got up to her feet and looked at Jack, grinning.

"Show me."

Hello there random reader on the internet and welcome back to this dumpster fire.

Here is Chapter 2 and the point in which Plot in the Underworld starts building up.

Also the first actual serious talk of the story. Oh boy.

Expect a lot of unnamed Characters to get names, mostly those that will also get the spotlight, along with a lot of unanswered questions like certain Clan's Traits being answered.

I think there's enough unexplored stuff that it will genuinely feel like OC Land all over if I start listing off all the changes.

Some people asked me how far I'm planning to take things or my plans. No idea if that meant in general or just about their specific question, but what I will say is this:

A) I'm not going to write smut. Never felt like writing fictional characters fucking nor do I feel like its that important. If you're a fan of writing/reading smut, good on you, I won't judge, but I ain't writing anything either. Ecchi is a different thing however, you'll get enough of those.

B) This entire story is planned out. From Start to Finish to Middle and everything in between. There's certain blank spots due to obvious problems but most of the important plot points and the progression of events is pretty much already done. All that's left is actually writing the damn thing. The biggest hurdle ever.

This also makes me bring up a certain problem that this Fandom has in general, so here's my disclaimer. Religion =/= Fanfiction. If you're a big religious person and can't stand your religion being changed around to fit a narrative sense or certain important people from it getting into conflicts, then I suggest stopping ahead of time. Why? The Main Character has literally Vritra, Indra's Enemy.

Make whatever you will of that.

Somebody also PM'd me and asked as to why I keep making those "shifts" in "perspective" between Jack and Latia. Well, both of them are, for the lack of a better word, fucking blank. You might as well know as much about Latia, an actual character in the DxD Universe, as you do about Jack, an OC. So yeah, a lot of development is going to be needed for the both of them and the start of the story is where a dump of it is going to happen. Mostly to save the headaches that would happen in the future.

Next time, a funeral.

Thank you for your time, and hopefully, until next time.