It had been almost a year since Yuuto first met Lost. Although all that time had passed, Lost still hadn't been able to locate and kill Lizel.
Rumors that someone was going after the noble devils have been around since basically forever. However, some were starting to believe there was truth to them.
Years ago, an accident involving Reina Koiwai was reported. Officially, no one had died (although that was not true), but the accident was still very mysterious. And more recently, the entire Hoshigaoka family had been killed, safe for Stella, who claimed a man made of some black goo was the perpetrator.
Of course, no one knew the Golgothas were the ones behind this. Nor did anyone imagine that Lizel was their next target.
Despite Lizel being basically free to do as she pleased, the Himekamis still weren't lax in her security. That's the reason why Lost had been unable to find her so far, though him only wanting to play with Yuuto also played a part in this.
But that was going to change soon. Lost and Lizel were destined to meet, and Yuuto was nothing more than a tool for that.
Destiny works slightly differently than most people think. It's not some unbreakable script that binds everyone's lives. In fact, there is a lot of room for people who do whatever they want. The girl responsible for writing everyone's destinies, better known as the Star Arcana, preferred when something she didn't expect happened.
But there were still things that were ultimately set in stone. Such as what would happen soon. It's not as if those destinies couldn't be broken as well, but it would take someone really amazing. It wasn't something a mere human like Yuuto or a pawn to get to a desired future like Lost could do.
The destiny written for these 3 was as follows: Yuuto would bring Lizel to Lost, who would change his mind in killing her. But this betrayal to his masters would set off the orb planted inside him. Yuuto would protect Lizel from the Demon Blood that would splash out, but that would lead to his death right in front of his friends.
That would set Lost on his path to become a monster. He would get mad at the Golgothas and wait for his chance to strike back. Once Morus became the Devil King Candidate of Death, Lost would eat him as well as everyone else in the Golgotha mansion. He would learn that his village no longer existed and get even more angry at everything. From there, it would only be a matter of time before he became the monster of the Devil King War.
As for Lizel, she had learned love, so she was now able to draw out Lovers' power. Unfortunately for her, her love was never meant to be. Sure, Lizel would have been much happier with Yuuto in her future, but in the future that Yuuto dies, Lizel becomes a true demon. Someone who, despite having what was known as the weakest Arcana, became one of the most fearsome Devil King Candidates to have ever participated in a Devil King War. An emotionless woman who mercilessly destroyed anything in her way.
It was most definitely not the happiest future, but it was what needed to happen. If it didn't, something much worse was waiting down the line.
The day finally came. Astra, Star Arcana, decided to watch it all unfold, even though she already knew what would happen. If nothing else, she could offer a silent apology.
Along with her was Sein, Lovers Arcana. Despite knowing their destiny, she couldn't help but wish a happy future for Yuuto and Lizel as she watched over the tragedy she knew was going to take place.
Yuuto and Lizel were in his room, just hanging out.
Yuuto was playing a videogame while Lizel was reading one of his manga. She never really had much interest in this before, but she knew Yuuto liked it, so she figured she could try and read some.
She had just finished another volume. So she went to put it back into place. Since it was still early, she figured she could read another volume.
"It's not here."
"What? Oh yeah, I lent that one to a friend. He should be done with it by now, want to go pick it up? I'll even introduce you."
"I don't particularly care about meeting a human."
"What if I tell you he's not a human?"
That got Lizel intrigued. If he's not a human, then is he a devil? But this is the Yuugaoze territory, so did Yuuto meet one of them? But Lizel knew Miyabi, the daughter of the Yuugaoze house, and her servants, Maki and Rebecca, are all girls. There's no "he" for Yuuto to meet.
Lizel decided to go with Yuuto, out of curiosity. The most likely possibility on her mind was that a mixed-blood devil somehow made his way to the Human World. Normally, Lizel would not have cared to meet him, or if she did it would only be to send someone to get him, but this was Yuuto's friend. She was willing to meet him and overlook his presence if need be.
So Yuuto took Lizel to his old childhood secret base. They were heading in a direction Lizel had never been to before, but she didn't particularly care about the scenery so much as she enjoyed walking beside Yuuto.
It took about 10 or so minutes for them to reach it, but they eventually arrived at the old secret base. Yuuto opened the door.
"Hey, Lost, you done with the volume I lent you?"
"Ahn? Yeah, I got it… here…"
Lizel entered the base together with Yuuto.
Obviously, Lost knew what his target looked like, so he immediately recognized her. But he also realized something else when she came with Yuuto.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lizel."
"A-ah, I'm Lost."
Lost didn't even remember to get the manga Yuuto asked for. He realized the girl Yuuto liked was Lizel, the same girl he had to kill.
This should have hardly been a problem for Lost. If anything, it was convenient. Lizel doesn't seem to be on her guard, so Lost can kill her quite easily and there's nothing Yuuto can do about it.
It was so easy, but Lost couldn't do it. Yuuto was his friend, so there was no way Lost could harm the girl Yuuto liked. Lost felt he owed the Golgothas, but not this much.
So he made a decision. He'd let her escape, maybe tip her off that someone was aiming for her. Then, he'd return to the Golgothas and say she escaped before he could find her.
Even if they were disappointed or wanted to punish him, Lost would rather have that than making Yuuto sad.
"Just a second, let me get- gah!"
Just as he decided on what he was going to do, Lost felt a pain on his chest. It was something unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
Lost held his own chest as if he was having a heart attack, even though he no longer had a heart. He had no idea where this pain was coming from.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Lost, are you fine?"
Lost couldn't even gather enough strength to reply to them. He felt like something was eating him from the inside out.
It didn't take long after that.
The small orb planted inside Lost burst out and then opened, letting out a reddish liquid. For a second, Lost felt fine again, but then the reddish liquid rained down on him.
That made Lost completely lose control of his body. He started melting into his black liquid form, as if he was an ice cube left in the sun.
"Gah! Aaaaah!"
A scream was heard, but it wasn't Lost's. He couldn't scream as he was at the moment.
But he saw it. Yuuto was also splashed by the reddish liquid known as Demon Blood.
Yuuto had no idea what that liquid was or even how dangerous it was. But still, as if possessed by something, he moved to shield Lizel from it.
It worked. Not a drop landed on Lizel, everything that could have landed on her got on Yuuto instead. The excessive amount of blood coming from every hole in his body was proof enough of that.
"Y-Yuuto!"
After the initial shock, Lizel recognized the liquid. And of course, she also realized what it meant that Yuuto had shielded her from it.
As for Lost, he barely registered on her mind. She might have caught a glance of what had happened to him, but she really couldn't care less. It was obvious what was going to happen with Yuuto if she did nothing, but what could she do?
Lost was also looking at what was happening to Yuuto. He was fighting against the reddish liquid, trying to gain back his humanoid form.
But then, the orbed sucked Lost and the reddish liquid back in. Even though the orb wasn't particularly resistant, Lost was weakened due to being submerged in that liquid.
He wanted to shout, but he had no voice. He wanted to see what was happening with Yuuto, but he couldn't. It reminded him of how it was when he first learned to use his power.
'You should have done as I had said years ago.'
Then, without him being able to do anything, the orb containing Lost submerged in the Demon Blood teleported itself. He was returned to the Golgothas.
And, just like that, destiny proved itself relentless yet again. Despite what any of them might have wanted, things went the way they had to. Now, all that was left was to wait for the rest of the script to follow its course.
Thinking so, the Star Arcana, Astra, no longer paid attention to that. Only Lovers Arcana, Sein, remained watching.
…
…
…
But Lizel wasn't done just yet.
