"Why are we walking again?" Velzard asked, her voice calm but laced with mild exasperation as Rimuru's group — goblins, wolves, dwarves, and one very conspicuous horned man — trailed along the dirt path toward the forest village.
"How else are we supposed to go?" Lucian shot back, adjusting his coat. "You offering a ride?"
"Oh, I would love that," Rimuru said brightly, bouncing atop Ranga's head. "Riding a dragon's been on my bucket list since—"
A sharp flick of frost-laced wind sent her tumbling several meters down the road.
"I'm not giving a ride to anyone," Velzard said coolly, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. "I was referring to your teleportation ability, Lucian."
"Oh. Right." Lucian blinked. "That makes a lot more sense, actually."
Rimuru gurgled indignantly from the ground. "Communication is important, people!"
Lucian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, I've never used it on others before… but it should work." He lifted a hand and began forming a sigil — threads of gold and deep violet spiraling together into a floating ring of light. Rather than direct teleportation, he opted to open a stable gate, just as he'd done back in Purgatory. Safer for passengers, less chance of spontaneous combustion.
The air rippled, and a circular portal unfolded before them, revealing the goblin village bathed in gentle sunlight.
"Whoa…" Rimuru whispered, eyes wide. "A real teleportation gate!"
Even Velzard raised a brow in faint approval. "Functional. Stable. Not bad."
On the other side, a few terrified goblins dropped their tools, ready to bolt — until they recognized Rimuru bouncing out of the gate.
"Relax, everyone!" she called. "No apocalypses today!"
The dwarves followed, already surveying the land with professional zeal. Within moments, they began measuring, shouting about foundations and water flow. Rimuru, proud of her village's growing population, supervised from atop Ranga's back like an adorable blue foreman.
Velzard, meanwhile, looked unimpressed by mortal construction speeds. With a flick of her fingers, a castle of pale crystallized frost rose behind the work site — intricate spires, polished walls, the faint shimmer of moonlight frozen in daylight.
Lucian stared. "You… built an ice castle."
"Waiting is tedious," she said simply.
"Don't you feel uncomfortable sitting on, you know, ice?"
"Come see for yourself," Velzard replied with a knowing smile.
Lucian humored her — and realized instantly that fantasy worlds cared nothing for physics. The "ice" was soft, pliant, and warm where it touched his skin, like a perfectly tempered mattress.
"Wow," he breathed, leaning back. "This beats the Midnight Inn's luxury suites."
Velzard's lips curved faintly, almost imperceptibly.
{Velzard's Affection Score increased by +1.}
{5× Multiplier Applied → +5.}
{Current Score: 52 → 57.}
{Relationship Type: Interest → Care / Tendre.}
Lucian blinked as the faint glow faded from his vision. Tendre? Huh. I didn't even do anything that romantic.
He sank deeper into the frosty cushions, unaware he was literally cuddling a fragment of Velzard's energy — the frost that surrounded her like a living extension of her essence. Within moments, his breathing steadied, and he drifted off to sleep.
---
A jet of water smacked him in the face.
"WAKE UP, YOU BIG BAD MONSTER!"
Lucian spluttered, blinking through droplets. "What the— Rimuru?! Why are you attacking me?!"
"Because—" Rimuru huffed, hopping in agitation — "Vel here just told me that the monster that wrecked half the forest a week ago was you! You know how close I was to panicking myself into cardiac slime failure?!"
Lucian scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "Oh… yeah, that. Reasonable meltdown. Also, thanks for the shower. Haven't had one in a week."
Rimuru's amorphous body somehow managed to convey a deadpan glare. "You're impossible."
"Hey, to make it up to you, how about I take you back to Japan? You'll still be a slime, but hey — unlimited manga."
"Say no more." Rimuru's body practically sparkled. "You're forgiven!"
Lucian chuckled, stretching his arms as old memories stirred — and with them, guilt. He thought briefly of Sona, of how she might have worried after he'd vanished without warning. She'd been calm when angry, scary when calm, and loyal to a terrifying degree. Yeah… she'd probably come looking for him if she could. He winced.
"Vel, you coming too?" he asked, half to change the topic.
"Of course. I haven't traveled the realms in centuries. Might as well see how your world fares these days," she replied.
Rimuru arranged everything with the goblins before they departed — leaving Rigurd and the others with strict instructions not to blow up anything in her absence.
Lucian focused, forming another sigil. "Alright… anchor point. Let's use Sona's city as a destination, not her directly — last thing I need is to pop into a girl's bathroom mid-shower. I'd rather not be that cliché."
A vast circle of white and azure energy flared beneath them, expanding outward to encompass Velzard and Rimuru perched atop his shoulder. The light folded inward, and the trio vanished.
---
They reappeared under a cloud-streaked crimson sky.
"I think we're still in the Cardinal World…" Velzard mused, glancing around at the shattered landscape.
Lucian frowned. "Yeah. Must've fumbled the anchor point."
The air around them trembled with power — ancient, malignant, unmistakably demonic.
"There's a battle nearby," Velzard noted, eyes narrowing. "And the signatures… Devils. You do attract the most entertaining chaos, Lucian."
Lucian's heart dropped. If Devils are here, and Sona came after me…
He didn't wait for her to finish. Wings of shadow and frost flared behind him as he shot toward the disturbance, Velzard following with graceful strides that seemed to fold the distance beneath her feet.
---
The scene that greeted them could've been ripped straight from an anime finale.
A crimson-haired man — radiating overwhelming demonic pressure — clashed against a dark figure wreathed in black flame. Their strikes split the air like cannon blasts, reality itself rippling at the edges.
"Sirzechs," Lucian muttered, recognizing him instantly.
The other — his opponent — was worse. A Primordial Demon. Noir.
Off to the side, a young woman in a magical-girl outfit battled two other demons, her attacks laced with dazzling frost and light.
"Serafall," Lucian realized, brow furrowing. "And she's losing."
But first things first — he had to find the others.
A pulse of familiar energy caught his attention. He turned sharply, spotting Sona, Rias, and their teams holding back a massive abomination — a twisted fusion of man and shadow.
Lucian landed beside them, reverting to his human form mid-step. Even without transforming, his aura rolled out like a silent shockwave, freezing the monster mid-lunge.
"Hi Sona. Rias." His tone was casual, but his eyes softened at the sight of them. "What's going on here?"
"Lucian!" Sona's composure cracked, relief flashing across her face before she caught herself. "Finally — we found you. You have no idea what's been happening."
Lucian raised a hand and released a burst of Moonfrost, freezing the monster solid. Rias followed with a crimson blast of Destruction, shattering it into dust.
"Now," he said, glancing back. "Quick summary?"
Sona exhaled. "We came here looking for you. For resources, we made a deal with a local — gave him ancient demon-call magic. Everything was fine until he actually summoned one of the oldest demons. The spell backfired. The summoner turned into that thing you just froze, and the Primordial refused our alliance. Thankfully, my sister and Rias's brother followed after us and engaged him."
Lucian's jaw tightened. "You gave a mortal summoning authority and he pulled Noir? Great. Fantastic."
Sona blinked. "You… know him?"
"He's famous here. One of the first demons ever made. I'll handle it."
Before she could stop him, his body began to glow.
Wings burst from his back — scales sliding across his skin like living armor. His horns sharpened, his eyes deepened into molten silver.
"You've gotten stronger," Sona whispered.
Lucian gave her a faint, guilty smile. "Suppose so."
---
In this form, his presence alone could crush the weaker demons. His Draconic state radiated lunar heat and solar frost in equal measure — divine, ancient, dangerous.
He didn't dive into Sirzechs' fight. Instead, he turned toward Serafall, who was mid-spell, spinning a tornado of glacial water.
"Need a hand, magical girl-chan?" he called.
Serafall's eyes sparkled. "Finally, someone gets the reference!"
Lucian grinned, channeling energy into her vortex. "Then let's make it flashy."
Moonfrost swirled into her water tornado, igniting from within as he added streaks of Sunfire. The result wasn't chaos — it was harmony in contradiction, a perfect storm of heat and cold. When they released it, the blast roared like a divine beast, tearing through the two demons in a cataclysmic surge of steam and light.
"You're from Earth, aren't you?" Serafall shouted over the fading explosion.
"Born there, transported here. Long story."
Before either could celebrate, the battlefield shifted.
A calm, unhurried voice echoed across the ruined field — soft, but carrying absolute authority.
"Fancy seeing you here, Noir."
Everything froze. Even the wind stilled.
Noir stopped mid-swipe, his crimson eyes flicking toward the new arrival. "Ahh… Lady Velzard." He inclined his head, respectful, almost deferent. "Always an honor."
The ground itself seemed to bow beneath her as Velzard approached — her white hair glimmering faintly in the hellish light. Her aura wasn't loud; it simply was. Endless. Eternal. A cold so pure it transcended sensation.
Sirzechs stepped back instinctively, his demonic power flickering. "What… what is she…?"
The air pressure dropped sharply. Even Great Red wouldn't have frightened him this much. But this woman — she was calm. Too calm.
"Oh, you're here," Lucian said lightly, transforming back into his Majin form. "Could use a hand. My friends and their siblings are in a bit of a bind, and Noir here's above my current pay grade."
Velzard gave a quiet nod, her gaze never leaving the Primordial.
Noir chuckled. "Hee hee… I was only toying with them anyway. Anyone who impresses Lady Velzard is not one I wish to offend."
With a last amused look, the Primordial Demon dissolved into shadow and vanished, his laughter fading like smoke.
Silence fell.
Sirzechs exhaled shakily, finally lowering his guard. "Thank you, Lady Velzard. I… I don't know who you are, but—"
Sirzechs stopped as he understood Velzard wasn't interested in his thanks.
Velzard's expression didn't change, but her eyes softened ever so slightly — toward Lucian, toward the quiet trust that hung between them.
Rimuru, perched on her shoulder, was practically vibrating with excitement. "That was amazing! I feel like I just watched the season finale of an anime!"
Lucian snorted. "Yeah, except the budget for this one was cosmic-level."
Sirzechs didn't linger. He knew when he was out of his depth. "Let's… return," he said to the other Devils, voice low. "This world's too dangerous."
If only he knew how right he was — his last visit had ended with a clash against another incomprehensible being called Martial. Now, by sheer misfortune, he'd met the other one of the True Dragon sisters.
Lucian sighed and raised his hand, summoning a gleaming blue gate. "Let me send you all back to Kuoh Town. After all this chaos, it's the least I can do."
He opened the rift, leading directly into Sona's courtyard. The Devils stepped through, one by one, offering quick thanks.
Once the gate shimmered closed, Lucian turned to Velzard and Rimuru. "Alright. Let's head to Kyoto. Still Japan, but far enough to give them breathing room."
Velzard gave a small nod. "A quieter place, then. I'll take it."
Rimuru bounced happily. "Do they have manga cafés?"
Lucian chuckled, the tension finally leaving his shoulders. "Plenty."
And with that, another gate opened — pale frost meeting twilight gold — carrying them toward the calm after chaos.
A/n: I just found out that we are at 27 in collections and 35 in Popular ranking which is great. Congratulations to me and you guys too. Thank you.
I just found out about it today, so yeah I'll try to write another chapter and try to post it tomorrow. (No promise tho!)