NMHA Ch. 2 - Entering the Event Horizon


Lunarunn Bael licked her lips nervously, as the glare her - rather, the old Luna's - father was currently giving her darkened, and couldn't help but gulp.

Still, now that her panic had been released into her pillow, she could think more clearly. And the first idea was to be honest.

'About the 'internally being a guy' bit? Hell no, I'm pretty sure I'd be killed by good ol' pops here before I could even say 'my bad'!'

So that idea went out the window. The second was to come up with a cockamany story about the afterlife, but that was even less likely to work than the first.

"So? You going to explain or am I going to need to get... aggressive?" Loedrick interrupted Luna's train of thought, leaning in with clenched jaw.

'Earnesty and empathy it is, then. Share what they can already surmise, leave out all the rest. No isekai, no genderbending, just body-jumping. Wait... that is technically still isekai, isn't it?'

"Well, I probably should have at least thought of the possibility Luna would have faced an unfortunate accident with soul magics," she responded, looking down with a conflicted expression; brows furrowed and lips pursed. "But since the secret wasn't a really good one to start with, well. I know it's not much, seeing that it's... me here and not her, but... I'm sorry for what happened to her. No parent should have to see their child on their deathbed."

Her response seemed to subdue Loedrick Bael, who closed his eyes and let out a gruff exhale before leaning back. "At least you're honest, that you're not the Luna that got herself into that accident."

"Not the same one at least, no." Luna shook her head. "But given how I'm pretty sure I got hit by a truck and woke up here, I'd have to guess... maybe my soul ended up finding a new body to inhabit?"

"A truck?" That got Thelastia's attention, as her gaze returned to her bed-bound daughter. "Does that mean you're... rather, you were, a human?"

"Does that mean I'm not now?" The bodyjumper's eyes met her mothers, and her father's. "...I mean, you both look exceptionally young to be parents for what I'd expect to be a 19 or 20-year-old woman, but you two look pretty much human to me."

'Good-looking too, but I'm not gonna get all Oedipus complex on mommy and daddy. That's just asking for trouble.'

"So you're saying you have no clue how you ended up in our daughter's body?" The father pressed, leaning in again with a skeptical look. "That you're a human who had an unfortunate accident, and you just... woke up in another person? Really?"

The brown-haired woman on the bed smiled weakly at that, letting out a single huff of laughter. "Well, your guess is as good as mine. But, why don't we just... work under the impression that I am a person finding themselves in a bed of a place they don't know for a quick minute. I'd be meeting a couple who call themselves my parents when they look like they could be my older siblings. Can you really blame me for trying to hide the fact that I'm not the same person who ended up in this bed in the first place?"

She let the question hang so her words could sink in.

The black-haired man shook his head, letting out a slow sigh as his imposing lean turned into a tired sag. "...No. No, I can't. It's just frustrating though, seeing that our daughter is up and moving again. But that she's not our daughter? Not in spirit anyway. That's a truly cruel twist of fate."

"I know. And I wish I could ease that sting somehow, but at the moment anything I do would make it worse. I'm sorry for that too."

"..." Loedrick sighed, choosing to say nothing more.

Luna's gaze shifted between Loedrick, who seemed lost in his own thoughts, and Thelastia who appeared distinctly uncomfortable by this point.

"Why don't you two head back home?" Their daughter suggested after a long pause. "Seeing me right now's... probably not going to do you two much good. I'll still be here tomorrow, this whole 'what is our relationship' thing might be better to address when you two have slept on it."

"Yes." Her mother almost jumped at the out, judging by how immediately she nodded in agreement. "I do believe that to be the best course of action. All of this... it's a lot to take in."

"Yeah. Believe me, I know the feeling." Luna laughed and smiled, an attempt to put her parents a little more at ease. One with moderate success by the way Loedrick's lips twitched upward and Thelastia gave a small laugh, with the latter responding with a similarly light comment.

"I can buy that. We haven't really answered any of your questions after all, have we?"

"I figured making sure you two are in an okay frame of mind should come first," their daughter smiled and shrugged with closed eyes. "I'll be figuring out just what isn't human about me anymore in the meantime regardless, and just... learning more about the world around me. If you decide to come back we can fill out the missing details next time. You two have a safe trip, alright?"

"We will be back," her father asserted as he and his wife rose from their seats. "Even if you aren't the Lunarunn we knew, you do still share our blood. To abandon you would be reprehensible."

"I'm glad for that, at least. I'm looking forward to getting to know my parents... again." Her eyes opened, smile widening a touch as she nodded once. "Now, out with you! I've got a body and room to explore and you've got a cruel revelation to come to terms with."

"That we do." Loedrick's lips quirked upward again. "You have a good evening then, Lunarunn. If you still intend to use that name."

"It's a unique name. Pretty, too. I wouldn't see why not."

"Hmh." The black-haired man let out a brief chuckle. "We'll see you tomorrow, then."

With that, Luna's parents took their leave, punctuated by the click of the door closing shut behind them. Once again, Luna was alone.

Unlike before though, Lunarunn had a goal to work towards; determining what she was now.

First off, her name. Considering that Loedrick used her full name after mentioning figuring out what she was, why was that?

'Lunarunn, huh. Unique name. Why does it give me Gundam vibes though...?'

The brunette blinked a couple times as a thought struck.

Wasn't that just a mashup of Lunamaria and Athrun?

It even sounded like some sort of ship, now that she thought about it.

'Hold up. Hooooold up. Is that a coincidence, or is this in line with THAT anime?'

Swallowing, the brunette tossed off the blanket and crawled forward on the bed to grab the clipboard in front to get a good look at her full name.

She held it up and started reading aloud to herself. "Lunarunn Bael. Age 19. Admitted into... Lilith General Hospital... October 3rd, 1995."

Lunarunn Bael. Gundam names. Last name synonymous with a pillar of the Ars Goetia.

The young woman glanced down at the chest that.. she was pretty sure should be giving her back problems. Not as big as some others in that particular series, but still definitely big in human terms. D's? DD's? Double-D's, probably.

Then again, she wasn't exactly human anymore, was she? Would that mean that these were... modest?

'Hrm. Maybe the better term would be 'average', considering the sizes on the likes of Rias and Akeno.'

She voiced her next thoughts aloud as well. "Holy shit, I'm in DxD-verse, aren't I?"

Then, a shiver as she remembered she's no longer a member of the dominant consumer gender of that story. It was followed by a chilling realization that given this was all real for her now, she was being plunged into a cold war with a doomsday cult at large behind the scenes.

"Oh shit, I'm in DxD-verse... aren't I?"

And as a Devil, no less.

Would that mean she's under the effects of Heaven's System? That given her body, she'd be vulnerable to light-based or holy magic and artifacts?

Oh goodie. She'd have to test that. Luna shivered. Hopefully this body had a better pain tolerance than her last.

What else would she have to test...?

"Oh right, the Power of Destruction. Forgot, that's a Bael thing." That put a smile on her face. "I'll have to save a napkin when dinner rolls around to test it on. Maybe I'll have gotten lucky and gotten that broken ability."

Broken was a fucking understatement. Rias really could have been something phenomenal if she put her full creativity and effort into mastering her power. Sirzechs became the embodiment of destruction to a degree that only the Hindu god of destruction was able to wield it to a greater extent than the Crimson Satan. Hell, Sirzechs was in the Top Ten, if Luna remembered correctly.

But that's all on a power scale. And if Luna's seen enough videos, played enough games, and read enough stories; raw power can be overcome by technique and skill, particularly if they're used in a way that nobody has ever seen before.

Luna's smile grew to something more manic as she thought about it. If she had the PoD, even if it wasn't to the same degree of raw power as the Gremory siblings, there was a lot she had planned.

After all, was it ever stated that the Power of Destruction could only erase physical objects? It could clash against forms of magic and energy after all, which can go beyond the standard three dimensions on which most understandable life operated.

She started giggling, getting swept up in the fantasy of what ultimate mastery over the PoD could grant her. Forget just annihilating 'things', could she annihilate 'concepts'? Could she erase things like affinities? Weaknesses? Could she use the PoD for a bootleg fucking Sephiroth Graal? Hell, on that line of thought, could she erase concepts such as 'distance', or 'time', or even 'mortality'? Could she become a mistress of conceptual manipulation and effectively become a god in her own right?

"Uhuhuhuhuhuhu~"

If any human were in the room right now they'd likely be concerned by the mania in Luna's grin and eyes, and the way her legs were rubbing against each other eagerly.

The manic look on her face faded as Luna glanced down and pursed her lips as she realized that there was a... hunger, down below.

"Huh. So power makes devils horny." Her tongue clicked and her expression went flat. "Ugh. Go figure."

Probably a female instinct thing for Devils if Luna had to take a guess, and if thinking about power could have gotten her so worked up, then... maybe that was why harems were more or less accepted in Devil culture? Part of why anyway.

'Goodie.' She was going to have to deal with that somehow. 'Go figure that I got isekai'd, but as the wrong gender. Almost feels like a cruel joke of some sort.'

"Haaaaah..." Lunarunn breathed out slowly. "Okay, so. No getting worked up on what can't be helped. I'm in a girl's body now. That comes with additional challenges that I'll need to deal with. I shouldn't get too worked up about that, and just deal with it as they come."

She paled as she came to the realization of what said challenges might entail. Particularly one that would come up each month.

"Oh, fuck me."

Stoicism as a dogma dictates that one not be bothered by what they can't fix. When Luna was Sol, Luna liked to follow that stance.

Stoicism, Luna decided, at least as far as this particular twist goes, could suck her now nonexistent dick.


Thankfully, if one other thing carried over from her old life, it was that Luna had a good ear for pitch. And was a decent singer on top of that. She wouldn't be winning any positions as an idol in either life, but it was still quite nice to be able to sing without getting pissy that she couldn't get the notes right.

So at least she could hum a sad tune as she realized that, of course the world wouldn't just give her that ability. How did she realize this?

Naturally, after eating Luna decided to see if she could channel any of the Power of Destruction.

Naturally, she found she couldn't.

The brunette tried everything she could think of. She tried closing her eyes and envisioning the concept of obliteration focused on the napkin. She tried drawing from a supposed well of power from her core. Luna even tried doing a Dragon Ball Z and attempt a screaming power up.

The last one was naturally done into her loyal pillow, who once again performed an admirable job in making sure no nurses ran into her room to see why she was screaming.

Luna wasn't sure she'd be able to survive the embarrassment.

That being said, if looks could kill - or trigger the Power of Destruction - then the napkin would have been eradicated already.

But, it seemed that for all intents and purposes, she was lacking in not just that ability but magical power in general.

'A real Hyoudou Issei moment, there.'

Maybe she just needed to figure out what exactly she needed to do in order to channel her inner power.

Devils were, after all, a race whose magics ran almost wholly on imagination and willpower.

She certainly wasn't lacking in either either, especially in her ire at that napkin which despite all her efforts stubbornly refused to be erased from existence.

Another thought struck her, and caused the brunette to fall back onto her back, placing her pillow back against her head as she stared up at the ceiling from her bed. Her expression was more grim than anything else at this point as a particularly nasty worry took root.

'What if... the accident that stripped Luna of her soul also stripped her body of its magic?'

She bit her lip. That... was definitely a possibility given what had happened. Hopefully it really was just a matter of not being able to locate the right mindset to channel her magic, or that it's being suppressed for some reason, rather than that she lacks it completely.

'Well, if that's the case then all my evil plans to assfuck Ishibumi's canon are... well, assfucked.'

Luna wasn't sure what those plans would be, but she'd be working on that.

'Since clearly I've got something going on that's keeping me from casting, I should probably do that instead.'

Since she had a good idea of how events were going to go, perhaps she could write them down for futureproofing instead. Maybe pass them off as future sight? Definitely not right away though. Luna didn't exactly have access to a notebook at the moment.

"Uuuuuugh. Never realized just how boring hospitals could be."

Sleeping sounded like a good idea. Maybe she'd get a dream sequence and wind up waking up knowing how to cast. Maybe she'll even get hints as to how or why she ended up in Luna's body to begin with?

Pulling the blanket back up over her, Luna's eyes slid shut as she huffed out a laugh.

'Hah. We'll just have to see, won't we?'


The next morning saw Lunarunn in a rather irritated mood, poking at her breakfast with a fork and a scowl, since she hadn't received any mystical dream. Not even memories of who Luna was in the first place. No memories appeared, no powers awakened alongside her, nothing.

It really was as though the girl who'd inhabited this body before no longer existed.

'Soul magic is scary,' she decided then and there. Then she realized that was a foregone conclusion given such things as the Sephiroth Graal and the Sacred Gear Extractor. Maybe the other Lunarunn was ballsier than this one had first thought.

Or more foolish. She'd have to ask her parents about the original before determining either way.

And her parents would be showing up soon, she was sure. Hopefully they'd be in a more forgiving mood for something that couldn't be helped.

Then again, people tended to be rather irrational when it came to family anyway, so it wasn't out of the question that they'd not show up.

Ahhhhh, uncertainty and the anxiety that follows. How she missed that feeling. Not.

'Then again, you can't exactly give up on family when your race as a whole is effectively an endangered species, unless you're a really bad actor like Diodora.'

When she put it that way, Lunarunn felt a little better that she wouldn't be left without some form of support.

So when the door to the hospital halls opened up and her parents walked in with a plus-one, Luna was understandably conflicted.

On one hand, her parents were back, and they seemed to be in a decent mood, clearly having made up their minds. That was something that the body-jumper was happy about.

The other though, was that she was pretty sure that the man that joined them, with combed-back green hair and similarly-colored, sharp eyes, was someone she probably didn't want to meet any time soon.

'Oh fuck.'

"Good morning, Luna," Thelastia started, smiling while her daughter stared blankly at their guest. "Considering what happened, you have a guest who wanted to visit and help with your... being a human in a body different from the one you remember."

She blinked. Then gulped. Something said 'guest' noticed, and furrowed his brow.

"You recognize me." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

"I... do," Luna replied slowly and truthfully, as though treading carefully. "I definitely recognize you from somewhere..."

She trailed off, as describing where the brunette was pretty sure she saw him wouldn't be a good idea, before speaking again. "But I don't think I know you. Not by name anyway."

That was a lie, but they definitely were not on first-name terms. So more a lie by omission. It'd have to do.

"Might I receive an introduction? So I know what to call you?"

The green-haired man tilted his head and then nodded once, deciding to drop the subject of where she might have seen him before. Something that both relieved and concerned the brunette. "Very well. My name is Ajuka Beelzebub. As you probably have surmised, you aren't exactly in Kansas anymore."

'Well shit, that's what I was worried about.'

That put Luna in a bind. If Ajuka was interested in her as a body-jumper, that would mean a lot of scrutiny right off the bat.

But on the other hand, this was an opportunity. If a Satan, one of the Underworld's supposed leaders, had taken an interest in her, that gave the wayward soul a chance to obtain a powerful contact. Perhaps even a mentor...?

Luna's face grew blank, as Loedrick and Thelastia's gazes shifted between the Maou and their daughter, gauging her reaction.

'Quick, use humor to distract from my own expression!'

"Sorry to say my name isn't Dorothy, but that's the gist of it." She gave a small laugh, glancing between her three guests, before continuing nonchalantly. "Interesting name though, Beelzebub. Mine's Bael apparently. I might still be a little confused, but I'm pretty sure those are names from demons in the Ars Goetia. Are they code names? Or... am I speaking to a supernatural being?"

Ajuka decided to humor her, from the looks of it, giving a lifted brow and a slow nod. "Indeed you are. Then I assume you've figured out exactly what kind of supernatural being you are?"

"...Well, that explains why my tits are so much bigger than before, at least," the brunette commented, glancing down with a tilted head. "Not that I'm complaining; I'm a bombshell, so why would I? And why aren't these things bothering my back, now that I think about it?"

She shook her head. "Right, new physiology. Anyway. So... I'm a demon now? What kind, succubus? Einerye?"

Loedrick was clearly not amused by the crass comment, nor was Thelastia, though apparently the green Maou wasn't phased, instead lifting a finger to correct Luna. "Devil, not demon; Devils are a race unto themselves, Eineryes are the official name for the Greek Furies, and Succubi are functionally extinct. But back to the topic; you seem to be taking this rather well."

That got the girl to shrug nonchalantly, looking back up from where she had started inspecting her own chest. "Eh, I was never the most religious. Plus, you aren't exactly in the form of a giant bug monster who breathes poison, and Mom and Dad mentioned you had taken an interest in the fact that I've got the soul of a human. So I'm probably safe, depending on whether or not you plan on dissecting me like a frog in a highschool Biology class."

"Luna! Please, be respectful!" Thelastia admonished her daughter, who just looked at her askance. "You're speaking to one of the heads of Devilkind!"

"I mean, I sort of figured that? Beelzebub's a pretty recognizable name considering it's one of the BIG demon names," Lunarunn pointed out. "Bael, not as much, but since I'm related to one of the Pillars it's probably okay to get away with a bit of casual speak?"

"Yes, I suppose that simplifies matters if you know at least some of our bloodlines," Ajuka mused, before getting seated. "Though it's more accurate to say that you're from a distant branch, so for you the surname is simply that; a name, albeit a good one."

"Shoot. So I can't expect any special demon powers like transformation or spitting acid?"

"That gets more into the topic of demonic energy. Which, you'll end up learning later."

"Why is it called 'demonic' energy anyway, if we're an entirely different species?"

"Technically we're descended from demons," Loedrick supplied. "Hence the surnames."

"Curious one, aren't you?" Ajuka's gaze bored into Lunarunn's, who just gulped before smiling wanly.

"Can you blame me? New body, new world, apparently I'm meeting a top official, who may or may not be a poisonous bug monster in disguise-"

"Luna!" Her mother started.

"No, no, her comments are valid," the green-haired Maou admitted, even as he pinched his nose and sighed. "Though I will say I am not a 'bug monster' as you put it. That was Metatron likening my more introverted tendencies to being like an insect under a rock."

Luna's mouth went flat, as did her gaze. "...Angels existing too aside, that makes way too much sense. But yeah, I mean, why wouldn't I want to know the world around me? If I want to do anything I can't be blind to my surroundings."

Ajuka's hand lowered from his face to eye the body-jumper again, more inquisitively. "And what is it that you want to do?"

"Well the first step is figuring out what kinds of stuff I can do," she replied easily. "I wasn't a supernatural being before, after all. Aside from having a quite humanly unfair figure, what else do I have going for me?"

Lunarunn crossed her arms beneath her breasts and looked down. "I figured I was a demonic being of some sort a few minutes after Mom and Dad left last night, so I tried seeing if I had any supernatural abilities. I haven't had any luck in expressing any, though. Your showing up and supposedly being curious about my... special condition, it's actually incredibly convenient. You get the opportunity to learn from me, and vice-versa."

...

Wrong thing to say? She noted how Ajuka paused before the air started feeling... heavier.

"And what can I learn from you?" Ajuka pressed, leaning in with a foreboding scowl. "From what I can tell, you're simply a Devil who's struggling with learning how to use her abilities. The fact that you bear a human soul intrigues me, yes, but ultimately I could walk away from all this. Or, I could pull rank and have you 'dissected like a frog in a highschool Biology lab', as you put it."

'This is a test of some sort.'

Was it?

'...Yeah, this is definitely a test.'

Probably.

That Loedrick and Thelastia didn't seem too concerned either only compounded upon the veracity of this fact.

The weight in the air that Luna was pretty sure was Ajuka putting power pressure on her was starting to get uncomfortable too.

Well, the ball was in her court. Time to serve.

"If that were the case, why even bother humoring my questions?" Luna clicked her tongue, holding up a finger from her crossed arms. "I'm lost in a new world, but with all due respect I'm not stupid, and the fact that you came to visit not a miraculously revived Bael but a girl whose soul isn't the one she was born means you're a scientist of some sort. You've found an anomaly in the system, so naturally you're going to want to oversee how it develops and how it affects the system around it."

She tilted her head, gaining a slight frown. "Am I mistaken, Lord Beelzebub?"

Silence reigned, Luna's eyes flicking from Loedrick to Thelastia to gauge their expressions. Mild surprise, and approval.

The air lightened once more, letting the brunette take in a deeper breath of relief.

"Quick to pick details up." The scowl was replaced by a more magnanimous smile, and the green-haired Maou leaned back to a natural position in his seat. "You're missing a couple details, but considering what you have to work with your guess is quite accurate."

"So you'll help me figure out my abilities?" Luna perked up with a beam.

"No." The reply was blunt.

Well fuck, there went that idea. She slumped back with a pout.

"What I can do, however, is talk about details on Devil life, culture, and our abilities while I run periodic tests on you. To help you understand what you may be mistaken or otherwise not in comprehension of. I'm a bit too busy to be taking on a full-time apprentice after all. It's unfortunate, but a Satan's work is never truly done. Particularly as the head of Devil R&D."

"Considering I have the scientific interest of one, I'll take what I can get." The brunette's demeanor did another 180, now grinning impishly. "I'm already ahead of a good 99% of the population as it is, aren't I?"

"Hmhm. That you are." Ajuka chuckled. "I need to return shortly, so is it safe to leave under the impression that you have given me permission to conduct an ongoing experiment with you as the subject?"

"So long as you don't refer to me as one in the process," Luna shot back.

"That is acceptable." The researcher rose to his feet, and turned to Thelastia and Loedrick, giving each of them a nod. "Thank you for allowing me to visit your daughter. It has proven to be enlightening, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so."

"It's an honor, Lord Beelzebub," Loedrick replied in turn, he and his wife bowing. "Thank you for expressing your desire to visit our daughter; to garner the personal attention of one of the Maous is a gift received by few."

Luna wasn't sure if she should cut in at this point. She decided not to, as Ajuka stepped out the door and closed it behind him.

Looking at her mother and father again, Luna spoke once more. "...So about those supernatural abilities?"

"Not until we return home, young lady."

"Awwwww..."

A pause, then Luna spoke again.

"I'm still a teenager aren't I? Don't I get to have a rebellious phase?"

"Don't push your luck, Luna. We can still decide to abandon you." There was smirk on her father's face though, so she figured it was a jest.

'Probably.'

...Maybe?

If only she could read people as easily in person as she could in books.


"So, how did your visit with my... new cousin go?"

"About as well as you could hope."

"So you broke the news with the tact of a steamroller, needed to scare her into silence, and then proceeded to get called a bug monster?"

"Surprisingly, no." A pause. "Well, not the first two."

"Heh, figures. You really should get out more, though. Even Falbium spends more time in the public eye than you do, and we both know the sin he embodies."

A groan.

"Lucifer, I swear to all my research I will fly up to Heaven and turn that sadistic Voice into a beetle!"

Laughter from the other Maou, knowing full well that his friend was playing up his exasperation, before he spoke again.

"How was she?"

A moment's pause.

"Doing quite well for herself considering the circumstances. She knew enough about occultology to pick up the basics of what she's become before I even showed up."

"Hm. And she didn't panic on learning your identity?"

"If she did, she hid it well." Unlike some other things. Ajuka's brow furrowed. "What doesn't make sense though, is how she recognized me before even being introduced."

His friend looked over, pursing his lips before idly commenting. "You do show up on newspapers and television. Occasionally. Rarely, even."

"Unless she has enough willpower to stomach that one documentary literally made to be as dull and boring as possible, I doubt she picked up my semblance from there."

"You checked?"

"Right after I left," Ajuka confirmed with a grave nod. "Your 'new' cousin said she wasn't sure where she recognized me when I pressed her on that recognition, so unless she watched the only program on last night that had my face in it and proceeded to get bored into a catatonic stupor there's no way she could have realized my identity. Or even my appearance."

"...If she did watch that thing then I might have to kill her, just to put the poor girl out of her misery." The concern in the redhead's tone was palpable, head turning from side to side in dismay.

"She didn't seem out of it, so I would assume not," the green-haired Maou rejected the notion dryly. "She also was able to stand her ground after I started exuding some power to intimidate her, so at the very least she's got a spine as well."

"I feel like I should be mad at you for that."

"You would have done the same, just to see how a human in the body of a Devil would react."

"Not to family I wouldn't!"

"She's not 'family' though to you, is she?"

A brief pause, then a shrug. "...Fair enough. Even if my 'cousin' has the same surname as my father, she's so far removed that she could marry back into the Bael family."

Deadpan. "Your criterion for family... is that they could cause inbreeding?"

"Who knows?" A cheeky grin and a more elaborate shrug. "I suppose I'd need to go and meet Lunarunn for myself to decide whether or not to consider her as such. Think she'd recognize me?"

"After getting more settled into Hell, I imagine she would."

"Sounds like I'll need to stuff another meeting into my schedule for today then."

"And why would you visit someone who, by your words, is so far removed from your bloodline that she could marry back into the main branch of the family that bears her surname?"

"To visit the first ever natural Reincarnated Devil, of course!"

"So a PR stunt? Really, Sirzechs?"

Sirzechs Lucifer's grin widened. "She's going to become news soon anyway, like it or not. Better I break the news than have it come out all on its own. Or would you rather I ask Serafall to drag poor Luna into the role of a minor celebrity without so much as a warning?"

"...That's just cruel and you know it. Sometimes I wonder how we've remained friends all these years with a mind like that."

"Lack of selection?" the Crimson Satan offered.

"Yeah, that stands as an accurate reason. Among many," the magical researcher agreed, finally smiling and letting his chest rumble in quiet chuckles while Sirzechs laughed once more.


A/N:

A girl miraculously coming back to life after being all but dead is news-worthy. It might not have as big a splash as other titles, such as a Dragon Emperor crashing and burning an arranged marriage to the ground, but a girl who lost her soul to a ritual gone wrong and then awakening with a new one is useful both as a cautionary tale, and as a way to push the Reincarnated Devil agenda. To prove that even 'pure-bloods' can be Reincarnated, that what really matters is not the blood you bear but the soul of your self.

I get the feeling someone politically-savvy like Sirzechs would see an opportunity to exploit that and weaken the Old Devil Faction, and if he picks up a new friend or family member to work with in the process, that could prove beneficial as well. Particularly if the 'Natural Reincarnated Devil' ends up making waves beyond her revival. And if she doesn't? Well, then the 'NRD' gets her five minutes of fame before fading back into obscurity, Sirzechs gets a political boost against the ODF, the two both stand to gain regardless. It's a win-win, at least in Sirzechs's book.

I deny any allegation that by forcing Luna into the limelight so quickly it helps prevent her from becoming complacent in her new life. Any such effect that comes as a result of Lunarunn being forced into the limelight not even a week after she is reincarnated is entirely unintentional.

...

Why is my baseball hat floating across the room? When did I even get one? Who enjoyed the chapter? What can I do better? Where is my super suit? How about you all let me know!

Edit: Went and applied some changes to this chapter too. Admittedly, I wasn't quite sure where to do some adjustments, but I did my best, and I think it turned out better than before.