The teleportation magic circle deposited the victors back in the Occult Research Club. Unlike the pocket dimension, here the moon shone calmly, and the air did not smell of melted asphalt or burned feathers.
Issei fell to his knees and kissed the wooden floor. Kiba collapsed onto a sofa, exhausted. Asia ran to check whether Yugo had any injuries, while Akeno and Rias remained standing, absorbing the fact that the nightmare of the arranged marriage had definitively ended.
Yugo Hano, for his part, brushed a speck of ash from his sweatpants and looked at the club's wall clock.
"Three-thirty in the morning," the professor murmured, rubbing his eyes. "If we hurry, I can still sleep two hours before receiving the dairy truck."
Sona Sitri, who had been waiting for them in the club along with her peerage, stepped forward. The Student Council President maintained her rigid posture, but the relief on her face was undeniable.
"You did it," Sona said, staring at him. "The entire Underworld VIP room was left speechless. It was the most crushing victory in recent Rating Game history."
"He was an aristocrat who didn't know how to take a hit, Sona. It wasn't a duel, it was pest control," Yugo replied apathetically, adjusting his glasses. "Can we leave now? My bed is calling me."
Before Sona could respond, or Rias could thank him again, the air at the center of the room became unbearably dense.
An immense and dazzling crimson magic circle, far more complex and ancient than Rias's, drew itself across the floor. The pressure of demonic aura made Issei and Kiba swallow hard. Two figures emerged from the light.
Grayfia Lucifuge, with her eternal expression of ice, and in front of her, a tall, handsome man with long crimson hair identical to Rias's.
Sirzechs Lucifer, the Demon King, had just stepped into Kuoh Academy.
"Brother!" Rias exclaimed, surprised.
Sirzechs gave her a warm, protective smile, embracing his little sister for a brief moment. "You did very well, Rias. You defended your freedom with pride."
Then the Demon King separated from her and swept his gaze across the room. His eyes stopped on Sona, who gave a flawless bow, and finally fixed on the man in glasses and sleepwear standing beside the blonde nun.
Sirzechs walked toward Yugo. The difference in their auras was abyssal: the Demon King radiated a power capable of destroying the world, while Yugo radiated absolutely nothing, like a black hole.
"So you are the anomaly the entire Underworld is talking about," Sirzechs said, with a jovial tone but a gaze that evaluated every millimeter of Yugo's existence. "Yugo Hano. The Pawn of the Sitri heiress. I must admit your performance tonight was... spectacular. Riser is still in intensive care regenerating his ego."
"I did what I was asked. A favor I owed was collected," Yugo replied. "If there are complaints about excessive force, the Student Council suggestion box opens at eight."
Sona coughed into her fist, feeling the migraine return. Had her Pawn just sent the complaint paperwork to the Demon King?
Sirzechs let out a deep, genuine laugh.
"There are no complaints, Hano-dono. In fact, I have come to offer my personal gratitude." Sirzechs opened his arms. "You saved my sister from a fate that, for political reasons, had tied my hands. You have done something priceless for House Gremory."
The Demon King leaned slightly forward, with a magnanimous smile that would have made any low-class devil weep with emotion.
"Therefore, I grant you an absolute favor," Sirzechs declared. "Name it. Do you want a noble title? Lands in the Underworld? Gold, women, a position in my personal army? Whatever you desire will be yours."
The silence in the club was absolute. Issei looked at Yugo with eyes shining with envy. Rias and Akeno held their breath, wondering what a man as mysterious and lethal as him would ask for. Sona crossed her arms, genuinely intrigued.
Yugo's brain analyzed the offer.
Titles? Boring and full of meetings. Land in the Underworld? No way in hell was he moving in with stiff devils. Women? He already lived with three ancient assassins, a saint, and was apparently engaged to his boss. His quota of female stress was exceeded.
However, the corporate side of his soul saw the opportunity of the millennium. A blank check from the supreme ruler of this dimension.
Yugo adjusted his glasses and looked Sirzechs directly in the eyes.
"I want Class A commercial zoning permits in Kuoh's eastern district," Yugo declared, with absolute coldness and seriousness. "I want the complete and legal purchase of the three lots adjacent to my current property. I need a demonic construction team that works exclusively at night so as not to alert humans. And a tax-free food import license."
Sirzechs's smile froze. He blinked once, twice.
"...Excuse me?" the Demon King stammered, glancing sideways at Grayfia as if he had not understood the language.
"I'm going to expand Saturn," Yugo continued, as if presenting a project to a board of shareholders. "The minimarket format is already too small for me, and the profit margin on imported products is ridiculous. With the adjacent lots, I'll turn it into a two-story supermarket. I want the largest cold cuts and frozen foods section in the entire prefecture, and parking for at least forty vehicles."
Issei grabbed his head and fell to his knees.
"NOOOOOOO!! SENSEI, YOU'RE AN IDIOT! YOU COULD HAVE ASKED FOR A HAREM OR A CASTLE AND YOU ASKED FOR A PARKING LOT! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO MEN!"
"Shut up, Hyoudou. Parking attracts suburban housewives and triples Sunday sales," Yugo snapped at him with contempt.
Rias brought a hand to her forehead, incredulous. Akeno burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. Sona Sitri, for her part, covered her mouth with one hand, but her shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter at the sight of the terrifying Demon King's absolute bewilderment.
Sirzechs looked at Yugo for ten long seconds. The man who had atomized the sky and overcome immortality was asking him for construction licenses and municipal permits to sell vegetables.
Finally, Sirzechs could not hold back anymore and burst into loud laughter, a laugh that echoed throughout the building.
"Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating!" Sirzechs exclaimed, wiping away a tear of amusement. "Never, in all my centuries of life, has anyone collected a favor from me with such... practicality. Granted, Yugo Hano! Grayfia will handle the legal paperwork and send the construction golems this very week."
Grayfia nodded, mentally writing "Purchase lots and zoning permits" in her Underworld task notebook, keeping her face expressionless.
"A pleasure doing business," Yugo said, nodding. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go plan the expansion of the cleaning aisles. Let's go, Asia."
Asia, radiant with happiness at the thought of her home becoming larger, said goodbye to everyone with a bow and ran to take Yugo's arm.
"See you tomorrow, Buchou! See you tomorrow, Kaichou!" the blonde girl said farewell.
Yugo, without looking back, left the Occult Research Club, leaving two devil clans and the leader of the Underworld immersed in absolute disbelief at the monster's fierce pragmatism.
...
The streets of Kuoh were deserted. The sky was beginning to stain itself deep blue, announcing the imminent dawn.
Yugo and Asia walked in silence. The fresh air helped clear the professor's mind. The war with Riser was over, the alliance with the Gremory was secured, and his status as Sona Sitri's secret weapon gave him total impunity.
"Yugo-san?" Asia asked softly, breaking the silence.
"Hmm?"
"Are we really going to have a big supermarket?" Her emerald eyes shone with excitement.
"Yes," he answered, a slight smile forming on his lips. "Asia, I didn't come to this world to be a tragic hero or a political devil. I came to survive. And now that I no longer have to kill to do that... I'm going to become the most successful commercial manager in this damn country."
They arrived in front of the "Saturn" minimarket façade.
When they opened the door and turned on the lights, the scene they found greeted them with the routine they had already grown used to.
Sitting on the floor by the cash register, hugging each other out of pure fear, were Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt. The three Fallen Angels had been awake all night, terrified by the magical fluctuations they had felt in the distance, fearing that Kokabiel, Sirzechs, or some deity had come looking for them.
Upon seeing Yugo enter unharmed, the three women released such a huge collective sigh of relief that the shelves almost flew away.
"Boss!" Mittelt shrieked, running to hug his leg. "I thought the fire chicken had killed you and that we were going to end up unemployed!"
"I'm still alive, gothic hat. Let go of my leg," Yugo ordered, gently shaking her until she let go. He looked at the other two.
Kalawarner and Raynare hurriedly stood, smoothing their green aprons.
"So? Was the princess's wedding canceled?" Raynare asked, crossing her arms and trying to hide her relief.
Yugo walked behind the counter, took off his glasses, and set them on the cash register. He placed both hands on the cold steel and looked at his three employees, his adopted nun, and Tamal, who had just dragged himself out of the storage room to fall asleep on his foot again.
"The wedding was canceled. The chicken is roasted. The Demon King owes me favors, and Sona Sitri remains my boss on paper," Yugo summarized quickly. "But that's not the important part."
The three Fallen swallowed. "What is the important part?"
Yugo's smile widened, showing his teeth in a grin that mixed corporate tyranny with pure personal satisfaction.
"The important part, ladies, is that I just got the permits to expand this place into a two-story supermarket. Which means the cleaning area will triple, the shelves will quadruple, and we'll have a fresh bakery section."
Absolute horror painted itself across Kalawarner, Raynare, and Mittelt's faces.
"W-WHAT?!" the three shouted in unison, watching their hopes of having a relaxed shift disappear into an abyss of mops and cardboard boxes.
"Starting next month, you'll have to work twice as much. And no, there is no raise," Yugo sentenced, patting the counter. "Now, all of you go to sleep. We open in four hours."
While the Fallen Angels dragged their feet up the stairs lamenting their immortality, and Asia laughed sweetly as she went to prepare breakfast, Yugo remained alone in the dark store.
He looked at his left wrist. The Omnitrix rested in silence.
He had lost one family, but had built an empire. He had embraced the monster and found his humanity again.
Season one finished, Jose thought, watching the first rays of sunlight illuminate the clean aisles of his store. Now... to sell noodles.