We were led to prepared rooms after leaving the throne chamber.

"Using Ignis like that? You're something else," Alice muttered, eyeing me.

I gave a wry smile. "Guys like that need a show of force. You and Xenovia wouldn't have settled for less."

Even with Crow Cruach there, Xenovia and Alice were furious. Without some intimidation, their frustration would've boiled over.

Xenovia exhaled. "I wanted to destroy that man on the spot."

"I understand," Reivel said, calming her. "But our goal was reuniting with Rias-sama and Kiba, and protecting Valerie. Fighting there would've been a mistake."

Exactly. Clashing with Crow Cruach would've leveled the castle, endangering Valerie and preventing us from meeting the Vlad family head.

The teacher, still irritated from Marius, muttered, "A heretic unlike any vampire."

Rias nodded. "Few vampires prioritize personal desires over pride or lineage."

Marius felt different from Elmenhilde. Tradition meant nothing to him—only his own desires.

The teacher narrowed his eyes. "That's why he's dangerous. He'll shatter vampire rules for his greed. This coup started there. The nobles we saw sided with him—some for Holy Grail enhancements, others to settle grudges against the government. Reviving an evil dragon made toppling the king easy. And the trigger was 'that guy.'"

I'm curious about this 'that guy' the teacher keeps mentioning.

Walking down the corridor, I asked Rias, "Where's the original Tepes king?"

"He was critically injured and evacuated from this territory," she replied.

Sounds like quite the power shift.

I turned to the teacher. "Has the Tepes king sought help beyond Carmilla?"

"No. With the Khaos Brigade involved, other factions' negotiations have failed. We're an exception, allowed in."

Stubborn pride, strangling their own survival.

Our values differ, but this is extreme.

I recalled Valerie speaking to empty air. "Who was she talking to?"

The teacher's expression hardened. "The dead."

"Like human souls in the underworld?"

"Human, monstrous, mixed beyond recognition. Her mind's heavily tainted from overusing the Holy Grail."

Mental corruption. It explains her hollow eyes.

"What happened to Valerie…?" Gaspar murmured, his face clouded.

He's taken it the hardest, looking ready to cry since seeing her.

The teacher explained, "The Holy Grail forces you to understand life and souls. Each use floods your mind with the living, the dead, their thoughts, their concepts. It erodes you. Her soul's overwhelmed, her mind breaking."

"So she's…" Gaspar trailed off.

"Her corruption's near fatal. Chatting happily with the dead proves it. Marius pushed her to use the Grail excessively, even reviving an evil dragon. Reckless and extreme."

It's worse than I thought. Marius forced her to abuse that power for his own ends.

"We have to help her," I said. "Is there a way?"

"There is. First, we stop the Holy Grail's activity—" The teacher stopped, noticing someone approaching.

A silver-haired man in his forties, wearing a devil king's attire like Sirzechs, but silver-dominated.

He seemed… familiar.

The teacher's eyes widened, his face twisting with anger.

The man grinned innocently. "Well, what a coincidence♪"

His tone was lighter than expected.

The teacher snapped, "So it's you…!"

"Heya! Long time no see, Azazel ol' man! Lookin' spry, huh?"

A friend of the teacher's? No, his reaction says otherwise.

The man's aura marked him as a devil.

"Who is he, Azazel?" Rias asked, unfamiliar with him.

"Rizevim. Even you, Rias, should know the name. A Gremory would."

"What…!? No way…" Rias's voice trembled.

Rizevim?

Only Rias and the teacher recognized the name. Even Akeno, a veteran Gremory, seemed clueless.

The teacher introduced him. "I'll never forget this bastard's face. Right, 'Lilin'? No—Rizevim Livan Lucifer!"

Lucifer!?

This Rizevim is a Lucifer? Only Sirzechs can claim that title in the current underworld.

Wait… another possibility hit me.

I know one other who could claim it.

"Teacher, is he… Vali's…?"

"Yeah. The legitimate son of the former Lucifer and Lilith, the mother of devils. Known as 'Lilin' in scripture. Vali's real grandfather."

Vali's grandfather. The resemblance makes sense now.

But why is he here, in vampire territory?

Then the teacher dropped a bombshell. "He's the current leader of the Khaos Brigade. The 'guy' I mentioned."

We were speechless.

This guy's the head of the Khaos Brigade? Euclwood's new boss is Vali's grandfather!?

The son of the former Lucifer, leading the Khaos Brigade. His presence here fits.

Rias murmured, "Back when the old demon kings ruled, Rizevim Livan Lucifer was counted among the 'Transcenders,' alongside Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth."

Transcenders. I'd heard from the teacher there were three devils so powerful they seemed beyond demonic.

Sirzechs and Ajuka, two Transcenders, lead the current demon world. During the beast riots, Sirzechs went to the underworld to counter Hades, revealing his true form—his power ten times that of the former Lucifer.

I was floored when I heard that.

One Transcender went missing… and this is him?

The teacher growled, "After he vanished, Sirzechs and Ajuka carried the demon world. He was a core figure in the old demon king faction. No wonder he didn't align with their peace and survival goals."

Makes sense for a terrorist leader.

The teacher pressed, "Why show up now? Not just old grudges like the old demon faction, right?"

"Hyahahaha! I came back 'cause I found something fun to do. Not driven by hate like Shalba or the others. Demon politics? Sirzechs and them handle that fine. I'm just using my group to do what I want."

His words, light and laced with malice, rang true. Unlike Shalba, he's not after underworld dominance.

The teacher, veins bulging, said, "I could punch you and stop this, but this country isn't formally allied with us. Can't act rashly. You're probably posing as a VIP here, huh?"

Rizevim's laugh grew uglier. "Hyahahaha! Spot on. I'm funding Marius's research and revolution. The interim government treats me like a state guest. Attacking me here? Bad move. Not that I'd lose, mind you."

A small girl appeared behind him, dressed in black.

I gasped. "No way…"

She looked exactly like Ophis.

Rizevim patted her head. "This is Lilith-chan, my group's mascot, made from Ophis's stolen power. Named after my mom. Cool, right?"

Cao Cao stole Ophis's power with Samael's, and we'd been tracking it. To think it became this girl!

Lilith was silent, expressionless.

Unlike Ophis, who's grown expressive, this girl felt empty.

"She's small but insanely strong, being Ophis and all. My personal bodyguard. Ain't it romantic? Tiny girl, massive power!" Rizevim grinned.

The pressure from her was overwhelming.

A Transcender's son with another Ophis as his guard. What a combo.

His gaze shifted to me. "Well, well, the Red Dragon Emperor back from another world. Been dying to meet ya."

We froze.

His gaze moved past me, to those behind. "And that black-haired girl's the other world's demon king's daughter, and the blonde's a princess, right? Your crew's wild."

How does he know about the other world!?

Was our info leaked? Loki's incident exposed me and Miu, but…

Alice's identity should be secret. Only a few know, and there's no way it leaked.

So how—

I lowered my voice. "Who're you working with? Loki?"

"Scary, scary! Don't glower like that♪ Not Loki. He's locked up in Norse land, right?"

"Then how do you know so much about us?"

"Hyahahaha! Curious? You'll meet him soon enough. That kid's eager to see you too."

Someone wants to meet me? They told Rizevim about us and the other world? Are they tied to Loki?

As I raced through possibilities, Rizevim smirked. "You three, wanna join us? VIP treatment, promise. You'd speed up my ambitions♪"

"No way, idiot," I shot back.

"Absolutely not," Miu said.

"Senile old man. Want a shock to the brain?" Alice snapped.

We rejected him instantly.

Rizevim laughed. "Aww, too bad♪"

With that grating laugh, he walked off.

As he left, the teacher called out, "Rizevim, Vali's coming for you."

"Oh yeah, you raised my grandkid, didn't ya, Azazel?"

Rizevim turned back. "He gotten strong? Stronger than his dad, my good-for-nothing son?"

"He'll take your head someday."

"Wow, makes this grandpa wanna cry."

Rizevim walked away, waving over his shoulder. "If you and Carmilla wanna counter-coup, go for it♪ I'm pumped."

His mocking tone lingered.

A loud crash echoed. The teacher, unable to hold back, punched a hole in the wall.

"Vali, I get how you feel," he muttered, seething.

I'm clearly a target for some dangerous people.

"Onii-chan…" Miu whispered.

"Issei…" Alice murmured, both anxious.

Who is this person? When and where did they learn about us? What's their tie to Rizevim's Khaos Brigade?

I felt a gaze on me but saw no one around.

What's about to happen?

A chill ran through me.

[Third Person Side]

In a VIP room at Tepes Castle, someone watched Rizevim's exchange.

A boy, munching cookies, spoke. "Grandpa Rizevim didn't mention me. Could've, though."

Hood up despite being indoors, he looked like an ordinary kid eating cookies. Yet he was in a vampire castle's VIP room.

The maid, serving him on orders, couldn't make sense of it.

Sipping tea, he grinned innocently. "Well, since Grandpa said that, guess I should move soon. Haha, can't wait to see his face. Oh, maid-san, more tea, please♪"

[Third Person Side Out]

-----------------------------

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