Enjoy folks ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ
Lucifer: Yearning Armageddon
Chapter 8
|| A Taste of Own Medicine ||
The duel raged. Colorful explosions, beams of varying tint and hue and brightness or darkness filled the jaded void lingering around, and still it dulled in comparison to the First Nova. The Big Bang, people called. It was big alright, and there should be a bang if sound could travel in a vacuum. It could not. There was not much of a bang, but the light it bred was great, and it was good, unlike his.
He named it Michael.
Lucifer did not dwell much. On any events, anything or anyone. Not even the past. His father -may his soul burn bright- had been reduced into nothing more than a passing thought.
It was by his own word: all sinners must pay.
As should he. His payment was to be shackled to a dying star for at least an eternity.
After all, he condemned a child murderer for the same period of time. It was only fair.
It was his own words and Lucifer made him eat it, spit it out, and eat it again, until he himself became mulch.
Still Lucifer felt it wasn't enough. He admitted that Hate is indeed a dangerous thing. It couldn't be reasoned with unlike most others. It was not the same as Anger — Anger could appear calm on the surface but as deep as an ocean. Hate is the product of that entire ocean boiling, and Hate ferments into Suffering. Yes, Lucifer was indeed still suffering, and he had let that pot fizzle, hot —not boiling— for the perfect chance to dump it over on someone and finally call it even.
Without looking, he caught a stray spell and let it wail in his hand as it died. Norse Magic was unique, in that they carried some weight and were obnoxiously loud. Heavy. Barbaric.
Vikings. How he was glad that they died off. Finland was much nicer without them.
Rossweisse gritted her teeth, crouched on all fours, cracks on her armor. Some parts were utterly shattered. Her hip guards were splintered, her upper thighs bruised and bleeding. Her mithril gauntlets had holes in them. The girl might be a delusional hero, but she knew how to pinpoint her attack until her mithril-level protection finally gave way.
Only her leotard remained whole. Unlike her armor made from mithril and diamond-plated gold, her bodysuit was made from uru, the same material that molded Thor's broken Mjolnir and his newest great maul; Stormbreaker.
If not for that, then she would have to heal her punctured innards again instead of putting all her focus into the fight.
Her opponent stood at the other side of the flat wasteland. But not by her own strength. She leaned against her rapier, embedding its thin blade on the ground. Bloodstained hair matted against her forehead, no longer held back to a neat style. Shallow breaths, rasped gasps, and her dark blue uniform was in tatters. One of her eyes was shut by her swollen cheek. The valkyrie could hit and she hit hard.
Her legs trembled, and, soon enough, she tipped and staggered on her steps, before plummeting onto the ground.
Lucifer checked his silver wristwatch. Two minutes left.
"Heh…haha…" Rossweisse meekly laughed. It took everything in her just to push herself off the ground, and she wobbled as she stood. Coughing once, spitting a spittle of blood, she made her way to the blonde girl with one hand clutching her thinly protected stomach. The material stopped her from being riddled with holes, but she still felt the force of the impact.
As she arrived before the swordswoman, Rossweisse declared, "Alright…hah… Fess up…"
"...Heh…you're good…" Jeanne's words pushed through her labored breathing. "...But not that good."
She caught her smirk much too late.
A hundred swords erupted from underneath. Rossweisse managed to catch one blade from puncturing her throat, and smashed another away with her free hand, and several others with a whirling kick, but she was ultimately skewered from all sides.
Suspended in the air by the swords that didn't penetrate through her leotard, she screamed, and fell to the ground as the swords dispersed into silvery dust.
Jeanne shakily lifted herself up, teetering once she rose. It had all been an act. An underhanded tactic, sure, but did it really matter?
She won.
"Looks like it is my win after all," she scoffed at Rossweisse's limp and now bloodied body, wiping the blood trickling down her chin with the back of her hand. She turned to the man sitting on his stupid throne. "You!"
Lucifer panned his head supported by his fingers. He didn't look the least bemused by her victory or horrified by his adjutant's dying breath. He even checked for time, the cocky bastard.
"Send me back…" a cough stilted her demand. "Send me back to my friends…!"
The Devil rose from his seat and it disappeared in black flames. His hands shuffled over his suit, fixing its buttons, before delving into his pants' pockets. He stopped just by the blonde, his height dwarfing hers. Even his shadow seemed big. There shouldn't be any shadows in this lightless world, she noted, yet the looming dark visage on the ground behind him implied otherwise.
She mustered her strength and courage. He felt off. "Bring me back…" she croaked. Something in her was definitely broken, but she could still lift her rapier. She could still fight. "It's what…what she owed…"
"That's right," he said. "It's what she owed."
Jeanne grinned. "Yes. Now get that gate here or whatever…"
He gave her a slanted stare, as if implying on something.
Her grin faded as fast as it appeared.
He always preferred letting them figure it out themselves other than laying it on thick. He let them arrive at their conclusion on their own, let them fully simmer in the realization that, after all that, after all the efforts, all the work they put through — it all amounted to nothing.
"Also her time is up."
Jeanne wasn't even late. Her reaction time was precise despite the wounds she suffered. He was simply faster. His hand grasped her throat. Not a choke, and both her feet were on the ground. But she felt it. Something in her head, churning then melting, oozing out from her ears, her nostrils, between the space of her eyes and their sockets, dribbling down to her gaping mouth.
Hells would freeze over before Lucifer would consider relying on the success of someone other than him to move towards his goal. Win or lose, Jeanne's fate was not up to Rossweisse's victory.
He stayed true to his words as well. Jeanne was kept alive long enough to experience what her brain matter tasted like. The pink gooey substance was akin to a firm fish roe minus the fishiness—according to a demon. They mentioned it pairs notably well with rye bread and a zest of lemon, and washed down with a glass of vintage pinot noir.
After absorbing the pieces of information he needed, Lucifer unceremoniously tossed the corpse away. He lifted the fallen valkyrie and brought her into his arms. She wasn't so much as dying as she was exhausted. Bleeding too, from every part that wasn't her torso. Not something he couldn't fix. Her consciousness was faint but it had stubbornly stayed, hanging on like a stubborn mule.
The battlefield then shrank, getting smaller and smaller as its four edges folded upwards, forming a wall and then a ceiling, and then the entirety of the makeshift interrogation room they were at before.
Minus the girl, that is. The Void would devour her anyway.
Once he had returned to Old Kyoto, Rossweisse promptly opened her eyes. Her fatigue lingered, but she was fully awake and fully healed.
"...Wh…Where…?" she rasped, then cleared her parched throat. "Where is she?"
"Joining her friends," he said blandly. Not a lie either.
Hell was always starving for heroic souls.
They were a commodity. Strong potential to amalgamate into demons in the future. But until their demonhood arrived, he could picture the Cerberus trio playing fetch with their limbs, or kick their head around like a ball, laughing amidst their cries of confusion that it was a mistake, reasoning their intentions were for the greater good, but vanity had blinded them from the simple truth that they paved the road to Hell on their own. Brainwashing was a form of manipulation. And the most uninspired version, Lucifer found.
It lacked creativity.
"...I'm…sorry…" Rossweisse smiled weakly, not fully registering that she was in his arms, hence why he looked bigger than usual. "...I let you down…"
"Don't overrate yourself," Lucifer simply snorted. She couldn't let him down even if she tried; he expected nothing from her. "I do, however, expect you to learn something from this."
She frowned angrily. "That cheaters always win in the end?"
"There are no rules in a real fight," he corrected. "Honor can get you killed, Rosie. But thinking you've won prematurely will kill you. And then I'll have to bring you back for something you did wrong."
"...Okay fine…" she sniffed, converting her frown into a pout. How was it her fault that people fight dirty? "Fine… I won't get cocky until I win…" The valkyrie grumbled for a moment under her breath, crossing her hands as her damaged valkyrie armor faded away and her usual form-fitting purple suit returned to hug her body.
Then she realized why everything was slightly crooked and why her back and the underside of her legs felt warmer than usual.
At the realization, embarrassment set her cheeks ablaze.
"P-P-Put me down!"
He granted her request, by letting go and letting gravity handle the rest.
"OW!" Rossweisse yelped in surprise rather than pain. The soft-surfaced tatami and her butt cushioned her fall, but her pride had taken a freefall. She glared at The Devil, and intensified her glower at seeing the flicker of amusement in his deep-set crimson eyes and the unsubtle forming of a smug smirk.
She let him have that one because she did let that girl go. Rubbing her back, the valkyrie glanced up at him, still a bit grumpy, but gingerly asked, "...What now…?"
She noticed his expression flatlining into his customary one. While resting, she had noticed, his angular black eyebrows naturally downturned when he wasn't being a wisenheimer, granting him the kind of look that others might misinterpret as a glower. It didn't help that his gaze was effortlessly piercing, but Rossweisse betted the effect was emphasized due to their fiendish crimson tint. No one had eyes as red as his. Not even Fenrir.
"We'll spend a night, then leave for Japan tomorrow."
His voice snapped her out. His deep, masculine voice that had a surefire way of igniting women's internal engine, as if it knew they desired to ride with him before they had the chance to process. The auditory caramel of a voice.
By Odin's beard, if Rossweisse didn't know he was The Devil, she might have been one of those women. No thanks. Her boyfriendless streak might have spanned from the moment she was born up to this moment, but by the Aesir, it would be broken by someone who loved her and not her body.
…
Not just her body.
Either way, "...Why Japan?"
"An old associate is there." He chose the term 'friend' as he didn't consider the depraved Governor as anything more than that, no matter how optimistic Azazel was.
"...?"
Her cueless look drew a sigh from him. "I have an incomplete deal." His eyes swept over to hers. "And then a favor to call."
A shudder raised her hackles without a clear reason.
Break
It was nighttime in Old Kyoto.
Well, it never had to leave. Daytime was, according to its few thousands residents, a nuisance.
But it was nighttime nonetheless, and the Guardian's Shrine as well as the villages sprawled down the hills were significantly quieter. Why? Because most citizens were off to the Land of the Rising Sun to do some harmless pranks. Scare some delinquents, maybe a young kid that didn't listen to their mother and didn't go home when the sun was setting, or a typical overworked drunkard. Or maybe a group. Japan certainly never lacked any, thanks to their workaholic citizens and ridiculous working environment.
Lucifer wasn't the frolicking type. Far from it. But he did spend time alone from time to time. Nothing better than a desirable solitude, where nothing was bothering him with a conversation or the usual 'does this dress make me look fat?' from Persephone, who had never been fat. Once he had his fill, he'd pay a visit to the old fox and get her up to speed. She'd been mute the entire day even after he dispelled his enchantment over that rock of hers. She better be resting.
He idly paced down the barren wooden verandas of the Guardian's Shrine. Yasaka's home, he just called it, as that was what it really was. Normally, she'd be walking next to him, complaining about her issues with some flirting on the side, sipping her tea, before eventually inviting him to her bedroom.
It might change soon, he mused as he stopped by the central garden. Centeryard, he supposed. A magnificent cherry blossom tree sprouted all the way to the top, just barely hidden by the roofing of the uniquely-shaped shrine. He said it looked like a square donut from a bird's eye view, and Yasaka had slapped him for that. With one of her tails, of course, physically harming him was the last thing she'd consider.
The pink petals swayed along with the gentle breeze of wind, but his tranquility was soon tarnished by the light footsteps of a tiny mongrel.
"Are…are you Lucifer-sama…?"
"Just Lucifer," he said as he turned around. Before him awkwardly stood a kitsune that was trying her best to not look awkward.
A pair of fuzzy vulpine ears sat atop her head, little tufts of white fur sprouting haphazardly from within them. Her golden blonde hair was tied to a ponytail held with a braid, fringes curtaining her forehead, resting just above her sleek eyebrows. Her eyes glowed an incandescent yellow light under the moonlight. The midget kitsune was clothed in much the same way as the attendants of the shrine — white robe whose specific name he never bothered to remember to annoy the fox, along with a striking red skirt that flowed all the way to her calf, and a sizable red ribbon on its hem hugging the waist.
She appeared almost human, if with a somewhat vulpine cast to her nose, chin, and slitted pupils. And the tails and ears, of course. Her three tails were half of Yasaka's width and length and didn't carry the same shine, but Lucifer guessed this would be her adopted daughter.
She was barely half his size. A gust of wind might sweep her away, he'd think. That'd be an amusing sight.
"I'm Kunou… Haha-ue— M-Mother told me a lot about you. I-I want— I would like to express my thanks for saving her as well as her bodyguards." She bowed deeply for a moment, before straightening herself again.
"Hm." His response came in a short hum. It wasn't an acceptance as it wasn't her mother that he had delivered home safely, but he left the interpretation undetermined for her.
Kunou shifted uneasily as he eyed her, saying nothing. Her eyes desperately glanced around as her mind tried to pry for an exit, yet her heart demanded her to stay and find a topic to talk about. Lucifer was her mother's…companion, to put it simply, and a good friend of hers. The attendants and her older friends gossipped a lot about their relationship, even teasing her that he might become her father in the future, and, frankly, she couldn't think of a better pick.
He was strong — he must be, he fended off those brigands while ensuring her mother wasn't hurt. He was also kind, otherwise he wouldn't have saved her by himself. Surely he was a good person too since Mother always giggled and smiled whenever she mentioned him in her stories. According to the people, he was handsome and good-looking too, but Kunou knew her mind hadn't developed that advanced yet.
Lucifer, meanwhile, was bothered by her innate desire that was shouting at him. Children were whimsical, but this one's inclination was firmly rooted. Age-wise, she must be in her tween years. Couldn't be any older or younger. Simple-minded but matured enough to possess some sense to not be self-serving at all times.
This spawn would be the future sister of his own.
Testing her was mandatory.
"I don't have a father."
His eyebrows furrowed. Her angle was obvious as much as it was ridiculous, and she revealed her hand from the beginning without any sort of subtlety.
"My 'real' parents died when I was only two. When people get too old, they die, and they become one of the stars," she rambled on, not waiting for his reaction or approval. "That's what Mother told me, but I think she's only telling me that to cheer me up."
He raised an eyebrow this time. That alone caused the little fox to flinch and brought one of her tails to her chest, and held it for comfort.
She was brave, he'd give her that. Lucifer was not. Fearless and brave were not the same.
"That so?" he hummed. "Where do you think they've gone to then."
"I don't know, I'm only eleven," Kunou replied truthfully. "But I hope they've gone somewhere nice."
"Nice is relative."
She tilted her head, dipping her spiky fringes and lopping her ears to one side. "I don't understand that word yet."
Lucifer breathed noisily through his nose. Yet, she said. Brave and confident.
Nervously, Kunou glanced at the garden, taking in a deep breath before staring at him again, having to tip her head slightly up to look at his face.
"You're very tall. Taller than anyone I've met."
"And you are remarkably tiny."
"I'm still growing…" Kunou pouted, suddenly self-conscious, the rest of her tails slightly wilting. "...How old are you?"
"I don't age," he simply said. "But I've been around for a while."
"For how long?"
"A very long time."
Kunou sniffed. "Mother said that too. She told me to never ask a lady that question because it's rude."
Ah. She asked him that because he was no lady.
She took a step closer, and then another, despite his piercing gaze was making her uncomfortable. He looked like he was trying to dig up all her buried secrets — little did she know that this was Lucifer's casual expression. "...Umm…The helpers, they…like to talk about you and Mother."
"Do they now."
She bobbed her head, a confused glint flashed on her tiny face for a sliver of a moment. "Yes…? They…said that you are handsome and always smell nice. Like 'fresh oak' and warmly sweet."
Hmm. Gossips. Rumors. No doubt he'd have plenty about him circulating around the entire Realms. Most predominantly on Yahweh's ex-planet.
"Do you believe them?"
"...I…want to see it for myself. You do smell like the woods, but… I don't know if you're handsome or not."
Lucifer smirked. To believe without proof is to be gullible. Humans often mistook it as Faith, and they were misled by the cunning ones who used it as a tool.
He cared little about the faith of the masses. He had always been in favor of the few rather than the many.
Nonetheless, she was too young to perceive the context of physical beauty, but she was brave, confident, and rational.
Not bad for a spawn.
She moved closer to him. If she laid herself flat on the ground, the tip of her forehead would be able to touch his shiny black shoes.
Mustering enough courage and composure, and feeling confident enough that she wasn't overstepping her boundaries —whatever that word meant— Kunou asked again, "Do you like being in this place?"
"I won't be standing here if I don't."
She blinked once. "Then why do you always go away?"
"So I can come back," he said as he moved towards the edge of the veranda.
Although she was left more confused than before she asked, Kunou sensed there was more to the answer than that. She followed him, and once he sat down, she paused her steps. "Mother likes sitting next to you," she bluntly stated. "Why's that?"
Lucifer could imagine Yasaka blushing fervently if she caught wind of her adoptee's words. Playful and frivolous as she might be, when it came down to genuine romance, Yasaka would shrivel and curl her tails over to hide her face. Blushing, to her, was undignified.
"Do you like sitting next to her?"
"Yes."
"Then it's like that."
"Because you tell her stories?"
Traumatize her with his past, occasionally. "More or less."
Kunou sat next to him, her legs dangling off the edge. There was some space between them so that two of her tails could lie down without touching his trousers.
"What do you mean by 'so I can come back'?" she decided to reroll back to that partially answered question. "Why don't you just not leave?"
His eyes lingered on the nosey brat for a few seconds, before gazing out toward the pink petals dancing with the wind.
"To see this place with new eyes and extra colors," he told her. "Coming back is not the same as never leaving."
After a moment of mulling, Kunou muttered, "I see…"
No she did not 'see'. She didn't get that, but he didn't blame her. He never blamed anyone, rather, even if everyone blamed him for their misery and mishaps. Blame was for those who refused to take responsibility over their Free Will, who couldn't handle the heat despite knowingly playing with fire.
"Mother said you travel a lot."
"At times," he calmly said. A breeze smoothing across his face, tipping over a lock of black hair over his forehead, before winding up to its place among his mane.
"I don't travel a lot," she muttered. As a fact instead of a whine. "Mother takes me to Kyoto on the Human Land once a month."
Did Lucifer ask? No. So why was she telling him this again?
"I don't like it there. It's too crowded." Hearing that, Lucifer flitted an eyebrow. What do you know? Something in common. "Especially in the last week of the twelfth month. The Humans flock to the shrine…and then they don't come back for months, until something big happens in the city. Then they wear white robes and carry a big…statue on their shoulders, parading down the streets."
Lucifer allowed a small smile to form.
That smile grew a mite bigger as Kunou continued, "Humans are weird."
"The strangest," he commented. Capable of helping others but chose to serve themselves until they couldn't stomach it anymore. They were all the same, unlike him and the angels beneath him. They were made equal, yet they invented ways to place themselves above the rest. It was almost as if they thirsted for it: to feel superior.
Twenty richest people had more wealth than the other seven billions combined. 'Charity', they labeled it, but the resources went to private family foundations controlled by wealthy heirs and their advisors. Instead of supporting charities on the frontlines of problem solving, billions ended up sitting in tax-advantaged intermediaries. Meanwhile, those beneath were busy clawing and biting against each other over nonsensical issues, unaware that they were being pitted against one another, content to have an enemy to curse and shout and yell at.
They weren't living. Just surviving. Living isn't the same as surviving.
And God placed his faith in these animals, and Lucifer found —as Lucifer found most faith— grotesquely misplaced. He should've stopped deluding himself when Eve took a bite of that fruit. Then again, strange how he placed the Tree in the middle of everything and saying 'Don't Touch' in big letters. He could've put it on top of a high mountain or somewhere long way off.
Almost as if he wanted to see them fail his test.
Lucifer held no interest in finding out the truth. It mattered not.
"I don't have a father," she suddenly said, her tone devoid of sadness or begging for sympathy. "But I have a mother."
"Good on you," he dryly commented.
"My friends told me that a father is someone their mother loves very much, loves them back, and loves their children very much."
A rather simplistic description for a role so complex. But Lucifer expected nothing more from her or her band of little bandits. If a chemical reaction such as love was the only requirement to be a father, then no family on Earth should be starving. Widows and orphans wouldn't exist. Love could only get you so far. Ask God. He loved Helel and Michael as if they were his only creations. Nothing else was real except for those two.
Michael basked in his affection, Lucifer denied it and thought it was excessive. Disgusting.
Wrong.
"Mother loves you," the spawn said, her legs now kicking back and forth as her vulpine ears flitted to the creaking of the wooden structure. "Do you love her?"
"If I say 'I don't', what then?"
She frowned, staring at the neatly arranged tiny stones that formed a path around the garden. "I'll be sad."
"And that should matter to me."
Kunou hunched her little shoulders. "...Shouldn't it?"
"How so."
"Because Mother loves me," Kunou flippantly said with as much reasoning an eleven-years-old could gather. It was evident she had the answer prepared. "She said she'll hurt anyone who dares hurt me."
Lucifer had no doubt about that. Yasaka was, even for a yōkai and a kitsune, extremely territorial. To her enemies, obviously. "You imply she'll hurt me if I make you sad."
"Being sad hurts me emotionally."
"Hm." He smirked. Clever little mutt. Already Yasaka's daughter through and through. Made sense, the ancient fox raised her longer than her biological parents were able to.
Children were annoying. An unfair generalization, sure, if not for the fact that all children he came across had never failed to make him consider setting the Lamias loose and have them devour those cretins no matter their species. Bearing that full knowledge in mind, Kunou appeared tolerable for her age.
She didn't shout or cry either, which he appreciated.
Lucifer rose from his seat, doubling his height. Kunou had to scoot herself backward first before pushing herself off the wooden floor. She eyed him with great curiosity. The apprehension from earlier had gone tracelessly and all the young kitsune was aware of was the fact that she had made a new friend who happened to be a grown-up.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes."
Kunou wrinkled her nose. Normally people would say where they go instead of an obvious 'yes'. "Where will you go?"
"Seeing your mother."
Her ears perked up. "Are you going to play— talk with Mama—" She shook her head nervously. "I mean… Mother?"
"In a way," Lucifer said, buttoning his suit's buttons. "Isn't it past your curfew, kid?"
"My name is not 'kid', it's Kunou," she insisted, pouting adorably. To some, at least. For Lucifer, she was just being bratty, trying to look older than her actual age — as all children do and unremarkably failed. To her credit, she fared better than most. "...Will I get to see you again?"
"Future is never set in stone, pup."
"...My name's Kunou…"
"I remember," Lucifer smiled sardonically. "Try to rely less on your mother's reputation and more on yourself, kiddo. Maybe then I'll call you by your name."
There was a moment of thoughtful silence. She was trying hard to digest the real meaning of his words.
"...Okay," she said wistfully, standing where she stood as she watched him turn around and leave. "I-It was nice talking to you!"
He didn't stop as he glanced past his shoulder. She was hoping for him to say the same. As Lucifer had no interest in lying, he said, "I appreciate the conversation."
Again, Kunou mulled over his words, debating if that was a good sign or a bad sign. She decided it was good because of the word 'appreciate'. That meant he was thanking her too, right?
Blinking a few times, Kunou decided that Lucifer enjoyed their conversation, and marched to her bedchamber with a proud little smile on her face.
As she left, her tiny frame appearing smaller under the dim light, it was Lucifer who turned around this time, watching her tiny frame fading into the darkness. Her three golden tails were the last thing he saw. If she spun around or glanced past her shoulder, she'd see The Devil's crimson eyes in the shadows, but would miss his amused smirk.
She didn't pass with flying colors, but she would do.
Break
"Ophis?"
"Hm."
Yasaka wrinkled her nose, grimacing and furrowing her sleek and lush golden brows. The spring water submerging her was palpable, but it did little in easing her heart from worry. Lucifer had come by when she was taking a soak, keeping her up to speed with the recent developments, and joined her, surprisingly. Although she had to lower the temperature several degrees, little she wouldn't do if he stayed. She carried a kit, but talking to her stomach wasn't as lively or as interesting, especially since it didn't talk back, leaving her feeling as if she'd gone mad.
"What will you do then?" she asked The Devil next to her.
"She's a dragon. Powerful yet the simplest of them all. What she wants is obvious, as it is obvious she's being used." he said. A mocking tone that she didn't miss. Lucifer had never held the winged serpents in high regard. …Or anything in general, factually. His respect must be earned. Mere titles meant nothing to him — as she herself had found out in a humiliating way.
It wasn't a memory she was proud of, but it did teach her how to never expect anyone to instantly think highly of her.
"How will you evict the Great Red from the Gap?"
Lucifer could be subconsciously smug at times. This was one of such times; with his side glance and the subtle upward curling of his lips. He was making fun of her for not being able to see what he saw.
She scowled just one beat before his reply came, "Silence is what she wants. At least what those in the Brigade think she wants…" he muttered. He only learned what that Jeanne person knew.
"Why don't you… activate your omniscience?"
"Bold of you to assume I'll ever depend on it."
Yasaka sighed noisily. Ever the prideful being he was. "Why not?"
One raised eyebrow accompanied the beginning of his answer. "Picture everything in a single book. Everything that is there to be understood. Every knowledge, every lesson, every beginning and every ending. Every thing. All compiled into one tome." He eyed her studiously, watching her expression shift from one of annoyance into one of understanding. "Imagine I can give you that book. Will you read it?"
"...I guess it'll be boring."
"Omniscience is a curse." Lucifer chuckled. "Now, back to our worm— the Dimensional Gap is silent because it was part of The Void once."
"Until the Realms came to be," Yasaka completed. He gave her a momentary silence, letting her think it over again, of what might his offer be. "If not there, where else can she find that silence of hers? The Void itself? Chaos resides there. Him and his spawns."
Lucifer wasn't impressed. "Try thinking outside the box, vixen."
Again, she scowled, but she gave it another go. Getting Great Red out was definitely a no go. He/She/It was a free-spirited dragon god, interested in no one other than itself. Akin to Lucifer during his earlier days, according to her 'eyes'. The effort wasn't worth it and neither was the reward — as displeased as she was to admit, Yasaka didn't cloud herself and think Lucifer would do everything to get her out. Most things, not everything. He came first for him, then there was her. She accepted that, hence why she had him by her side whereas most other women had begrudgingly given up on him, never able to forget the Morningstar.
Too bad for them. Too shortsighted for a being like Lucifer.
Now, what might Lucifer have in mind to deal with Ophis… Take her senses away? Therefore rendering her unable to perceive a thing? Hence, 'silence'?
That seemed rather drastic, but he could do it. He could even present it as a gift, one that the Ouroboros Dragon would happily take. But Yasaka wasn't sure if he had the willingness to do it. Not willingness, perhaps, but the desire. He might have further use for the Ouroboros Dragon, after all, and crippling her would be deemed as needless. He despised being wasteful, as he believed his father was the epitome of wastefulness.
The Devil hung back. Watching her think and dig herself deeper from the answer amused him. Her fluffy ears flitted around, turning and swiveling as if radars trying to catch the solution.
After a while, she huffed a sigh and gave up, which she didn't admit outright. "I'd think more, but I'd hate to spend time with you in one-sided silence."
"Well. Think of it when you're lonely again."
She grumbled at that — unless it was a hint. "Wait, you're planning to trap her here?"
"That's certainly an option."
Her ear flicked curiously. "You have more?" At her bewildered statement, Lucifer responded with a wordless unamused look, as if upset at her for something. She figured what miffed him.
"...What am I on about…of course you do," she snuffled, laying her head over his shoulder.
He felt the sodden fur of her ear splaying over his jawline, and shifted a bit to let her soggy tips fall under his chin, nuzzling the crown of her wet golden hair. She was warm, faintly floral, and very, very feminine. He expected nothing less of a vixen like her.
"Mm..." As Lucifer placed an arm around her, Yasaka sighed in contentment, resting some of her weight against him as she relaxed, soothed by him and the balmy hot spring water. She had never felt as secure behind the walls of her shrine as she was in his arms. Not to discredit her five hundred oathsworn Tengu Warriors nor the architects nor the workers that helped built the grand shrine, but Lucifer was significantly more powerful and the shrine was not built to hold back attackers; she is. A major duty on her part, for a fact.
The problem with being a Guardian of an isolationist race was that she had very few allies. Not counting the Shinto Deities as one, since Gods veered away from the political scenes unless they had their own Kingdom like the Asgardians, but those were very few and far in between. Then again… traditions, while honored and preserved like fire, some of them had turned to ashes. Her being trapped in a paradise pocket world had cast the shadow of doubts over her confidence as their leader, and now with her unborn kit, Yasaka knew she'd spend more time as a mother than a Guardian in the future without a doubt. Thus, perhaps she should start considering the Yōkai's diplomatic stance. She would despise herself if she had to rely on Lucifer. She's the Guardian, not him.
But where must she look first?
Well…Since he's here, then might as well know his opinion on the matter.
"Suppose," she began, sighing softly. "I have to…ally my faction with another, to better protect my Realm and lead my people into more prosperity among other reasons… who would you recommend?"
Not the Olympians or Nyx, for one. Keeping that tiny fact to himself, Lucifer pondered for a while. When he was the supreme ruler of Hell, he had never allied himself with anyone. He'd gain favors, favors he used to better his legions, but never an alliance. The idea never crossed his mind and for an obvious reason too; the devils back then were a prideful bloodthirsty bunch. No sane leader would have chosen their side without fearing of being stabbed in the back, but no sane leader had chosen to back the Grigori or the Heavenly Host either lest they'd have to face his legions.
It had taken his apparent death to amputate the devils' overconfidence. And even after a thousand years had passed, their past haunted them still. Few factions were willing to cooperate with them, and those who did, did so with a healthy degree of suspicion. Lucifer knew Odin brushed off the prospect of working with them due to his relation with Lucifer, either out of respect or the Asgardian just didn't want to tempt his ire.
Lucifer wouldn't care either way. He didn't consider himself as a part of the Underworld Empire. He never had. Not since he had devoid them of their uses by fulfilling his ambition to make his father pay for his sins — stripping him from his undeserved godhood, a power he obtained without effort.
Now, as for her predicament… Lucifer didn't question her intent as it was obvious, so he said, "Erebus."
"Hades?"
"He's not dogmatic, is a competent leader with a powerful army, and he's by far the most reasonable one than the rest of his siblings." He ran a hand over his dark hair, causing the spring water to ripple and chime. "He won't expect you to provide military aid, I doubt, but he has a wife and a daughter. Persephone just so happens to be an avid admirer of your spider silk."
Yasaka curled her lips. The spider yōkai —Jorōgumo— were her most excellent craftsmen with unrivaled hand-eye coordination. Their eight spider legs coupled with their human hands could sew an article of silk that was more durable than Mulberry silk of the human world. And at a remarkably faster rate too, provided they were given the food necessary and live in a stress-free environment, i.e, their village.
They were the ones who tailored her employees' kimonos as well as hers. Despite their appearance might terrify or rattle commoners to a point of fainting, those girls were actually the shyest, most skittish yōkai species. All save for their village chief; Rachnera, which was the only reason why Yasaka was even able to just talk with them in the first place.
"Hades…hmm…" she hummed. "Are the reapers really as skilled as you say? I've never caught wind of their professions as assassins."
"That's precisely why they're feared, fox."
"Ah yes…of course." Right. He had a point there. "Are they comparable to my Oniwaban?"
"Who?"
"My shinobi agents— our ninjas. Assassins," she corrected herself again, just to be clear. Knowledgeable as he was, some of her native terms were missing from his lexicon. "Which reminds me, have I introduced you to Rikimaru before? I can't quite recall."
He recalled the wolf guy. "Your Shadow Master — yes, you have. You bragged about him and his title."
"He's finally married," Yasaka purred, pleased about the future prospects of her shinobis after the unification of the two talented assassins, not minding his light jab. But her expression darkened without telling. "Once you return, Lucifer, do inform Tamamo to task the shinobi; I want anyone with ties with those heroic fools found, and eliminated should they be as dimwitted."
Lucifer only smirked, completely unsurprised by her bellicose attitude. "Of course, my fair lady."
Yasaka smiled, pleased despite Lucifer's dry sarcasm. Already used to it. "Now then, as to my prior question — which is better in their trade? The reapers or my shadows?"
"Reapers are mercenaries. Yours are assassins," he said. "Reapers don't shirk away from direct confrontation, while your people in saggy tunics prefer subterfuge and avoid fighting. Reapers use soul-reaping scythes, yours use debilitating venoms and deadly poisons. Either way — they do more or less the same thing."
Yasaka pouted childishly. "I don't recall asking you to describe how they work."
"And I'm trying to make you see as to why they're incomparable with one another," he gently told her, intentionally condescending just to annoy her. "You know I'm not an expert in that field, vixen. Don't you belittle me by assuming I'd hand out an unfair judgment."
Though Lucifer found no interest in tactless approach nor high regards for people who kill or spy for money — he understood they had their uses. Underhanded? Most certainly. His Pride blocked him from ever resorting to such an indirect and impersonal method of problem solving. He preferred that problem to stare at him, preferably gaping in awe, eyes wide as saucers, as he dismantled their schemes piece by piece or all in one fell swoop, if they weren't worth the time.
Yasaka understood that and was only hoping he'd reply with something silly so she could make fun of him. As per usual; her —admittedly impulsive— plan backfired. But that was fine. She could handle the heat.
"Yes, yes," she huffed, getting off his chest and preparing to exit the spring. "You're too high and mighty for those kinds of…unscrupulous approaches."
"Mhmm."
Something was in his mind already. Perhaps he was thinking about their earlier conversations, perhaps his next move on how to deal with Ophis, or perhaps even something entirely unrelated.
Whatever it was, Yasaka wanted him to think about her at this fleeting moment.
The crystal clear water traveled down her delicate ivory skin, coursing along her curves and the faint lines of her perfect lithe and shapely figure. Yasaka seated herself over the flat stones next to him, her legs dangling from the edges, submerged in the balmy water still. All her tails motioned forward, curling into a soggy bundle of golden fur before squeezing themselves, then wringing out the water with an animalistic shake. She accidentally splayed a tail across his face, eliciting an unamused look from The Devil who stopped paying attention to her.
"Hyau-hn—!" Who then caused her to yelp sharply when he gave her thigh a firm slap, and caused her to smirk devilishly as he got out of the spring, and grin hungrily as she noticed she wasn't the only one who was feeling a little bit naughty.
.
Yasaka gurgled in surprise, her lustful moaning vibrating down his length and girth, choking as he pressed on, seemingly determined to fully fill her throat and bring her lips to the base of the shaft. Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing along with her drool that was traveling down her chin. She glared at him for taking her off guard, but her golden eyes were not lacking lust either. They were smiling, rather, as if challenging him to be rougher.
Getting deepthroated, degrading as it was especially when she first learned of the term, sinfully aroused her if done from time to time. Being dominated like this had never piqued her interest, but, when she started seeing it as a battle of endurance instead of a fully fledged submission; Yasaka started to enjoy it.
The faint red lipstick on her kissable lips smeared along him as he began his motion. She could feel her juice trickling down her fingers, forming an indecent puddle on the floor between her knees as she fingered herself, fondling her own breast, letting him grab her head and do with her as he pleased.
"Mmmnn…ghk—!" Tensing when he suddenly rammed her throat, wracking her body and rolling her eyes up, her tails coiled as her toes curled. She climaxed from the wickedness of the act alone, but that didn't warrant her any mercy from him as more and more strands of spit formed the more reckless he became.
As the blowjob degraded into a merciless facefuck, Yasaka eventually went limp, both her arms laying haplessly by her side, her entire mind blanking, registering only the sensation and the flaming heat born from this humiliating act. Each time he rocked her back on her knees, there was a jiggle from her tits and a squirt between her thighs. Her muffled moans grew louder as her body trembled, her half-lidded eyes no longer able to focus on his smirk and the slight twitching of one of his eyes, evidence that the pleasure was mutual albeit in differing intensity.
The makeup on her face had run into a suitably hot mess, emphasized by the golden locks sticking to her pretty face glued by her sweat. Growling, Lucifer gripped her with fingers that were already sunk within her beautiful hair, rooting the busty kitsune to the floor, as her eyes widened with alarm as he came in her now bulging throat.
After a moment's strain and a lurid gagging, at last she was smooching at his base, seemingly unresponsive if not for her stifled groans. A groan that turned into a sharp gasp, followed by a series of sensual moans when he pulled out. His crotch and the half-kyuubi's face were a mess of makeup and saliva, and while the position was a self-serving one, it was Yasaka who was drowned in bliss. Red hot tongue lolled out, hazy unfocused eyes, a deep scarlet blush over her cheeks that had invaded the skin of her neck, shuddering thighs glistened with her juice — almost as though she was the one getting serviced.
Shortly after catching his breath, Lucifer smirked at his work. He considered this her payment for their last nightly act.
"Ih'll…get you back…for this…"
He snorted. He considered leaving her here to sate the wicked sadist in him. No one would come by and see her in such a demolished state. She'd recover sooner than later, and though she would be rightly miffed at him for a time, it wasn't like she could hate him forever. Or even for more than a week.
So he took his leave, albeit not before throwing her a towel, and planting a soft kiss over her forehead, and pinching her pert nipple. She needed to know that this was all done in jest. A mean one, but a jest nevertheless.
To be continued…
Kunou's adorbz, anyone who states otherwise can be Cerberus' chew toy
I'm actually enjoying the discordance of how Lucifer treats those that mean something to him and the rest. Their usefulness lasts as long as the fire on a strike match. When they burn out, he just tosses them away, whereas for people like Yasaka he keeps them burnin and warms himself up. I hope you enjoy it too, even though he could be annoying arrogant and malevolent at times
Luci and Rosie are gonna meet Zazel and the main DxD ORC dudes 'n dudettes next chap and a surprise guest, so stay tuned (which is an indirect request for 'follow and review') ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)
Yes, Rachnera is taken straight out from Monster Musume.
No, there won't be any spider-devil action here. You can expect some casual banter between her and Luci, but headpats is where i draw the line for monster grills. it's not like she's gonna be a main cast either, so don't get your hopes up
Also I think i'm losing my stride. i think imma take another break rn and restock my writing inspiration, because the narration has been weakening and I'm taking longer to write a single dialogue. Either way, cya m8s
In the meantime, CHECK OUT MY OTHER (newer) STORIES (Highschool DxD and Refugees I highly recommend cuz they're slice of lifes, and a bit of Death's Chosen) - SLAVA UKRAINI