Once upon a time, in an easier life, little Lucius visited a good friend.

"Cassedey, are you busy?" He asked the girl that had found his brother before the trial. After he won and left the house, Lucius had kept in contact with her. Wondering if he returned, but she didn't know anything.

"What's up, Cricket?" The older girl stopped washing the car she was working on, using the length of her arm to dry off the sweat she built up.

Little Lucius cringed.

"She told you."

"It's a cute name." Alexis replied, placing her hands on her hips "So? What brought you here? You don't visit just to say hi."

"Sis will go out tonight as well."

Alexis groaned.

"Please take care of her."

"I don't want to pull an all-nighter again." The girl frowned "She went out yesterday, what gives? Can your mom pay for this?"

"Hm? Yeah." Lucius stared at her, confused.

"I thought she didn't work." Alexis shook her head "Ah, I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"Mom's very clever. Even before… Dad…" Lucius pursed his lips "She had the habit of living it up, buying expensive, nothing less than four stars at hotels and restaurants and you'll never catch her admitting to accepting that even number."

Alexis didn't look like she understood, but Lucius didn't intend her to. Those were family secrets, after all.

"You okay there, bud?"

"Yes." Lucius replied sternly "Regardless, Sis is going out and I'd like you to chaperone her."

"Ugh, fine." Alexis made a pained expression "The money's good, if nothing else. And if it doesn't hurt your wallet, then fuck it. Count me in, little guy."

Lucius nodded.

"It comes from mom's wallet, so whatever."

Alexis was too nice to not feel bad about it, but Lucius knew she'd end up accepting all the same. She had grown to like his sister, after all.

"Does she make you take money from your mom?" Her question made Lucius stop in his tracks.

"No. This is a way I came up with myself to keep her out of trouble." Lucius scoffed "She goes through life way too carelessly, even dad said that."

Alexis didn't look convinced.

"So she made you think that the only way to keep her out of trouble is for you to pay me to follow her around?" Alexis smirked "Isn't that too dumb for you, bud?"

Lucius opened his mouth, tried to tell her that she was grossly misinterpreting his words, but then he closed his mouth again.

Was his sister so dumb? Of course not. He, more than anyone, knew this. It didn't make sense that she'd need someone to prevent her from over-drinking or making the wrong decision while at a party or something. Like, sure, even if alcohol made her dumber; he couldn't imagine his sister not understanding the risks and acting accordingly.

Like, sure. She was 17 now. The same age as their brother was when he got them into the whole legal problem, the same age when their father died. And Lucius understood that teens were doing things they weren't supposed to, drinking at someone's home, pretending to be of age… Still, Lucius found it really hard to think of a reason to be worried about his sister that didn't involve being tricked by her.

Alexis smiled at him with a bit of pity.

"It makes mom feel calmer." He spoke up again.

"You still had to come up with the idea."

"Yes." Lucius had a complicated expression now "Which means that I have to get back to her now."

Alexis shook her head and returned her attention to the car.

"Good luck… Same hour, right?"

Lucius nodded, pissed off and feeling very embarrassed.

Diodora felt nervous, too full of energy to stay put. He tapped on the floor, staring at the door in his apartment that didn't exist when he retrieved his Evil Pieces, and looked at the rest of the room.

Kuroka and Miyuzuin emerged from the other side.

"It's a labyrinth." Miyuzuin stated "The main door leads to the empty Kuoh Town, and this one leads to a labyrinth… We're trapped."

Diodora covered his face, filled with shame.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"I told you you were too reckless." His sister groaned "Now we're stuck like this by… What? Another super-duper special devil?"

"One of the three Super Devils, yes." Diodora replied without revealing his face again.

"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad. Not at all." His sister gritted her teeth.

"Leave the guy alone, meow. He's been through a lot." Kuroka interjected, still in her human form for some reason.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm freaking out!" His sister shook her hands like she wanted to strangle the catgirl "I've been awake for less than a full day! And now I'm stuck in this magic illusory world!"

"He designed the alternate dimension where Rating Games take place." Diodora sighed, not even bothering to activate his Autosuggestion again "His power is multilayered, so we could actually be stuck in a real space. Just, y'know, nowhere in the 'real' world."

"And you thought that asking for this guy's blood was a good idea?!"

"Hey, he always listens to Sirzechs. I thought it'd be fine if I asked him instead." Diodora didn't want to accept it, but now in retrospect it did sound pretty dumb "I didn't think he'd bother investigating, given how things turned out last time and before that. He's never shown any interest in me."

Not even when he survived the attack by the exorcists, back when he first arrived into this world. Not when he woke up, years after being attacked by Star Seeker. So he thought, hey. Maybe this time will be the same…

No. In reality, Diodora hadn't considered the consequences at all. Stain had told him that it'd be possible to retrieve the Sephiroth Graal, and he had grown desperate after seeing how much strength he lost. How little he could do with his body took a giant toll in his mind, making him anxious again in the wake of the most important victory of his life. And he had jumped at the opportunity to stop feeling that way, like an idiot.

He had no one to blame but himself.

"If it's a labyrinth, then there's probably a way out." Genshirou pointed out the obvious, although he didn't look as worried as the rest. Instead, he looked more confused than anything "If he wanted Diodora-san to not leave, then this place would have no exits. So why bother?"

"A test of some sort?" Yuzu-san asked.

"What kind of weirdo would do that?" A*****l groaned.

"A scientist." Diodora guessed "I… Am I supposed to show him what I'm going to do with his blood?"

"Why are you asking me?" His sister looked more exasperated "I don't know anything about him. You tell me."

"It could also just be a form meant to deceive us, meow." Kuroka pointed out "Maybe it has no exits at all, and looking for one will see us falling for the trap."

Diodora nodded, trying to recall as much of Ajuka as he could.

"I… I like the test idea better." Genshirou frowned "It feels like we have more of a chance that way."

Diodora turned to Stain, who had stayed as a bird on his shoulder.

"Were you blocked off from your bodies outside?"

"No." The slime replied, sounding eerily human instead of like a parrot mimicking a human "This one is looking around the 'here' on the outside, but even where the Lord was there's no trace of a portal or oddity at all."

"We did go outside after fetching the Evil Pieces, meow." Kuroka crossed her arms "I'd have been able to tell if the people we saw were fake."

"So we were snatched right there?" Miyuzuin came to the obvious conclusion "In plain daylight? With no one noticing?"

"I could've not paid for Sis' sunglasses…"

"Lucius, concentrate." Miyuzuin admonished.

"Yuzu-san, please."

"Wait, why can she say his name normally?"

"Not now, Sis."

"I think whatever censorship is in place only affects you two." Miyuzuin replied calmly.

"Okay, so the only normal-ish place is this apartment." Kuroka cut them all off by raising her voice, bringing everyone's attention to herself "The town is desolate, and the labyrinth is all twisted space. I think we're safe here, for now."

"Are you sure?" Miyuzuin tilted her head toward Diodora, toward Stain.

"While it could eat us all and let this body die, I doubt Stain wants to take its chances against a Super Devil." Diodora smirked, looking at the bird thing on his shoulder.

It helped him concentrate, in a strange way. The danger, the imminent problem. It made it easier to ignore the crippling NEED to bust Fate Weaver's skull against his own knee bones. To rip him apart with his own reinforced hands, to…

"Stay with us." His sister interrupted his thoughts, snapping her fingers for more impact.

Diodora scratched his eyelids with the soft part of his fingers.

"If we're safe, you should rest up." Miyuzuin told Diodora "We can give Abigail enough power to pull off something… Probably. Right now it's better if you take it easy. So you can help us figure out a way to leave this place."

"I don't think I can lie down and sleep right now."

"We can help you relax." Genshirou told him "Or I can knock you out… It's something Absorption Line should be able to do."

"Unless you can completely drain that snake within him, that's unlikely." A*****l summoned her Sacred Gear, and the main 'cup' had become transparent. She used it like a magnifying glass, looking at Diodora through the transparent part as if studying a small animal "It's just too mixed up with him now, and trying to negate it will probably make him break down even more."

Genshirou looked at the floor.

"Ah…"

"Ok? I like this." Diodora motioned with his hands "Options, let's think this through. It helps me a whole lot too, makes me feel like we're making progress."

"Are you even sure it's Ajuka's doing?" Miyuzuin looked around the room, trying to find something that Diodora couldn't guess "What makes you think it's him?"

"It fits. Like, I don't think anyone else would have the… Let's call it craftsmanship to go through with this and just let us hang out to try and figure out what's going on." Diodora lifted his pinky and his other fingers as he spoke "It's also too complex for most of the people I can think of, and they'd have probably attacked by now. Seized the opportunity. Also, the blood thing. If he was alarmed by the request, I'm pretty sure he'd intervene before I could actually do something with the blood."

"But I am here." A*****l pointed out.

"True, but that's not the angle. I think he, or the other Demon Lord, would be worried I'd do something like… I dunno, bring it to the Khaos Brigade or something. They did have cloning facilities back when I met Miyuzuin."

"Don't call me by my full name." Miyuzuin closed her eyes, cringing.

"But I like it." Diodora pointed out "Whatever should I call you? Miyu?"

"Not that either." She looked a bit pink, which made Diodora a little confused. As he had seldom seen Miyuzuin actually flustered.

"Hey, you two. Concentrate." A*****l snapped her fingers again "So, what I'm hearing is that you put us all in probation? Some sort of trial if we're legit evil?"

"Isn't that too complicated, meow? Why give the vial to you to begin with? Why not just drag your ass back to the Underworld and ask for answers?" Kuroka hadn't stayed put, and was messing with the dishes and food in the refrigerator. Seemingly testing whether they were real or not while talking "As Gen said: Why bother?"

"Maybe because Ajuka-sama is a scientist?" Genshirou answered "I mean, it sounds to me like he'd at least be curious about what Diodora-san planned to do with his request."

"Devils that strong can probably get away with it too…" Miyuzuin added, caressing her chin as she looked around the room.

"Okay, does this make sense to everyone?" Diodora asked, staring at each of the people in the room and Stain.

"More or less." Miyuzuin said.

"I think so." Genshirou nodded.

"Sounds ridiculous enough, meow." Kuroka added.

Only his sister didn't look convinced, but she didn't know the devil herself. So she refused to comment on it.

"Stain? Still nothing?"

"No." The slime-bird replied "No traces of the Lord's presence at all."

"Hmmm…" Diodora glanced at his sister, at the rest of his team trying to find something odd in the room, and finally at the door "Well, we can't get out by just sitting around all day. Sis, can you give me at least the first mod? I have an idea."

"What if we get obliterated because that's what he doesn't want us to do?" A*****l pursed her lips, annoyed.

"Leave the vial alone for now. We don't know the rules of this place, and I doubt Ajuka wants to come out and speak like a mature person." Diodora looked up, seeing no reaction or trace of demonic power at all. He sighed "Plus, we don't know what's out there. If push comes to shove, I want to at least be able to drag everyone down with me."

"Screw you." She replied instantly.

"No, not you." Diodora added before everyone else could add their voice to the complaint "Everyone involved, in case it's not Ajuka."

"You sounded sure before." Miyuzuin took a step toward Diodora "Did you figure something out?"

"No." He confessed "But, if Sis does it right, we might even get an easy way out."

Miyuzuin frowned.

"What are you asking for?"

Diodora only chuckled.

"It's a surprise."

The young man pretending to be Diodora played along with the theme of the dimension, going with his peerage through some of the rooms and trying to decipher whatever secrets lay ahead. Perhaps find a puzzle or two, so they could solve it and advance. But they eventually found themselves at a dead end.

Ajuka Beelzebub stalked through his personal room, watching and listening as the odd group tried to keep themselves calm. But they eventually grew agitated and started speeding up and trying to attack the dimension itself. With varying degrees of success.

Worthless undid the spatial distortion pretty effectively. But Ajuka's demonic power wasn't something so simple that deleting a layer would unravel the whole thing. He had hid layers within layers, used Kankara Formula to get the right numbers so that all that overlap still allowed for the laws of physics to interact normally. He fueled the dimension himself, aided by little more than a couple of items used for Rating Games and the comfort of a good chair and some snacks.

They had been careless, talking without restraint and not even bothering using code names or anything. Ajuka knew that both this Lucius and Abigail weren't normal, but grew increasingly curious as to why the two of them avoided their names while everyone else didn't.

He hadn't found any oddities in either of them, except for the obvious emptiness in both of them. But perhaps that was the reason why he hadn't found anything? If they were filled in completely, perhaps he'd be able to analyze them properly and figure out what was wrong with them.

The young man pretending to be Diodora made them head back, and it took them even longer to find their way back to the main room. To find the right door that would lead to the replica of his apartment. Right where they started out.

Ajuka didn't know what this infiltrator wanted his blood for, but he'd be damned if he allowed such an obvious threat to run rampant just because Sirzechs thought he could be trusted.

"Get out." The young man finally told his team, staring right at the door that led to the endless maze with a critical eye.

"What?" The girl that should be his sister sounded annoyed "You made us come all the way back, what gives?"

"You'll be caught in the blast radius, leave."

The white haired young woman reacted first.

"Blast radius?"

"Yeah, I think that Sis' cocktail finally did its thing. I'm ready." He looked up, trying to find a camera or a point in which he could talk directly to Ajuka but didn't find it "Not you, Miyuzuin. I need you to tear this thing open again. It might hurt a little, but please do your best."

"Call me Yuzu like everyone else." The young woman insisted "It's embarrassing."

"But…"

"Please."

"Okay, fine." The young man pretending to be Diodora looked very disappointed "Yuzu, Genshirou will take care of you once we're done here. For now, please bear with me for a bit."

"What do you want to do?" The Prison Dragon candidate asked, making his King smile.

"You'll see. Now, shoo. I'm gonna get us out of here."

Ajuka saw them argue against it, but they eventually gave in. The Prison Dragon candidate suggested they try to make themselves useful by looking for clues outside, but the criminal nekomata turned him down. Arguing that they'd remain relatively close in case something happened.

Even the abomination disguised as a bird didn't want to move, but Ajuka focused back on his so-called 'niece'.

"Should I make a shield for myself?" The white haired young woman asked once she used Worthless on the door, taking a big chunk out of the warped space and opening a gate to the middle-dimensions where Ajuka's calculations ran and fueled everything in-between.

"No, it'd probably be useless."

Ajuka had lived long enough to not raise his expectations, but the young woman hadn't. She frowned, and with it came a cheeky smirk from her newfound King.

"You know, putting everything aside, I'm quite a fan of Ajuka Beelzebub." He began, and the Demon Lord couldn't help rolling his eyes. The young man didn't deceive anyone, but it seemed like he liked his own voice way too much to tell "When I first got this body, when I didn't know what to do, I studied. His research on demonic power is probably at the top of anything I've found. Normal Underworld research or Khaos Brigade. Demonic power works with imagination and the ability to create, but devil society always defaults to the same patterns unless an individual has a clan's trait… Or, I guess you'd know them as 'Privilege Magic'. A race-specific magic inside a race-specific magic."

The young man started glowing as he lifted his arms, like an orchestra director getting ready to start his presentation.

"Like Worthless." The young woman took note of the change, but she remained stoic about it. Expectant.

"Precisely. Now, Ajuka's Kankara Formula isn't a Privilege Magic. He came up with it and twisted up his demonic power until it simply started working that way. In theory, anyone that does as much research and practices enough should be able to do something similar. Yet this is Ajuka Beelzebub we're talking about. Anything more complex than a blast spell or a teleportation circle, he's probably the one that invented it: The fake sky, the Evil Pieces, the Rating Game dimension." The young man smirked and shook his head "It's honestly amazing, and his battle prowess is top notch too. He's a Super Devil after all. So I was thinking… If I can cut through and gain something like his demonic power, I should be able to gain enough strength to stave off what's to come."

"I sort of see why your sister calls you 'cricket' now."

"Call me that and I'll call you by your full name forever."

"You were saying?" The young woman motioned with her hand to continue, shamelessly changing the subject.

"Yes. I thought if I had something even remotely similar to the Kankara Formula, I should be virtually unbeatable. Everyone's just too primitive, too brutish in how they fight."

"But you're not a Super Devil." The young woman pointed out "You don't have the raw strength to back such a power up, even if you did have it."

His smirk widened.

"That's exactly what this modification is about." The young man pretending to be Diodora spread his arms to both sides.

"What do you mea-?"

"All is Mine."

Ajuka felt a pulse of demonic power cut through the first layer of his maze, then the layer between layers, the next, and then the next. It was just for a moment, but the effect had devastating consequences for the integrity of the whole thing.

His formula, the calculations that held it all together… They broke down into raw demonic power. As if someone had written them down on a piece of paper, had ripped it apart with their hands, and then had eaten the pieces of paper immediately after. Ajuka had to create new formulas so the whole thing wouldn't just fold and send the group straight to the Dimensional Gap. It was just a moment, but Ajuka's heart skipped a beat as an area of several dozens of meters within that dimension simply turned into raw demonic power and was summarily consumed by that fake devil.

His hands, the pieces of Diodora's body that broke down due to Ophis' power, glowed. They puffed up and reformed into normal hands with normal skin. They served as the channel through which the demonic power accessed that body, and started being 'digested' for a lack of a better term.

His sister had used a bit of her own blood to give him this power. Did… Had he converted the vampiric trait of absorbing blood and using it as power into a custom spell?

Ajuka opened the dimension up, and the whole group fell within his lab.

The threat that pretended to be Diodora smirked at him, getting to his feet without any aid.