The leftover ripples from the magic circle were still buzzing in the air of the office. Rias was leaning on the desk just to stay on her feet; the blue contract mark on her collarbone was burning like crazy.
She shakily raised her hand and pressed it into empty space. A crimson-purple magic circle flared to life again.
"Dad! Pick up, now!"
A middle-aged demon's hologram flickered into view inside the circle. Zeoticus Gremory's face glowed faintly red. "Rias? Why's your magic power going completely haywire?"
"Dad! Sirzechs, he—" The words jammed in Rias's throat like someone had grabbed it. Whatever she tried to say just wouldn't come out.
"Sirzechs? What happened to your brother?" Zeoticus frowned. "Are you in some kind of trouble down in the human world?"
"I need—" Rias clenched her teeth, fighting to get the request out. "Please contact the other Demon Kings… No!"
A wave of dizziness slammed into her; she stumbled back and hit the wall. Deep in her soul, a voice kept whispering sweetly: Rias~ you can't go threatening your Master, okay?
"Rias! What nonsense are you spouting?!" Zeoticus's voice shot up. "A Gremory heir does not stutter!"
"I…" Rias stared at her trembling hands. Blue lines were crawling under her skin like they were alive. "My brother got into a fight… somewhere…"
She couldn't say the exact location. Every time she tried to use the contract to pinpoint where Gaio was, her mind got forcibly blocked.
"A fight? With who? Does the family need to step in?"
"It's…" Rias's pupils shrank. She almost said Gaio's name.
The backlash from the contract made her whole body shudder. "Never mind… false alarm, Dad."
Zeoticus's eyes narrowed like knives on the other side of the circle. "You're lying to me, Rias."
"I…" She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. "It was my mistake. Already handled."
"Handled?" Zeoticus gave a cold laugh. "Something big enough for you to use the emergency channel gets 'handled' that easily? Did Sirzechs go help you?"
Rias dug her nails into her palms. "He's… fine. I just missed you, Dad."
"…" Zeoticus definitely knew something was off. Those occasional flashes of blue light on her body might fool others, but not him.
"No, Rias. Your magic power is a total mess. That blue glow…" His brows furrowed. "Have you been cursed or corrupted by some spell?"
"I…"
Before she could answer, space tore open in the middle of the office. Rias whipped around. Gaio stepped out of the portal alone—no one behind him.
Rias's lips trembled. She stared at the empty space behind him, nails practically digging into her own flesh.
Zeoticus was still roaring through the comm circle: "Rias! Answer me! Who is that man? What the hell happened to Sirzechs?!"
Gaio raised an eyebrow and strolled up to the circle. Zeoticus's hologram immediately locked onto him; crimson light crackled wildly around the edges. "Who are you? Did you do something to my daughter?!"
"Dad!" Rias tried to stop him, but Gaio casually pressed a hand on her shoulder.
The electric tingle from the contract mark shut her up instantly. She could only watch as Gaio poked the glowing screen with one finger.
"Pretty sharp eyes," he said, tracing a ripple of blue light across the circle. "But you're letting worry cloud your judgment. That magic isn't my doing."
He flicked Rias right in the forehead with a crisp thock. "Jumping to funerals before you even see a body? Is that the level of education in the Gremory house these days?"
Rias winced, eyes instantly turning red. "Master… he…"
"He what?" Gaio snorted. "I'm actually curious—how do you demons even survive all those long, complicated spell chants?"
"Insolent punk! How dare you disrespect the House of Gremory—" Zeoticus's hologram swelled with rage; the whole circle started shaking.
"Dad, no!" Rias's warning got drowned out as space ripped open on the other side of the room.
Sirzechs stumbled through, soaked and dripping seawater, his red hair a total mess.
"Big brother!" Rias broke free from Gaio and threw herself into Sirzechs's arms.
Zeoticus froze on the call. "Sirzechs? Why do you look like you just crawled out of the ocean?"
Sirzechs wiped the sweat off his forehead and gave Gaio a complicated look. "Father, this gentleman and I are heading to the Underworld together. We're going to check out that 'greatsword.'"
"The Greatsword?! That's one of the Underworld's ultimate treasures—something that ranks even higher than the Godly Longinus! A random human has no right to get anywhere near it!" Zeoticus snapped (basically telling his son: You may be a Demon King, but there are three others. Letting an outsider touch a sacred relic is gonna piss them off.)
Sirzechs understood perfectly. He hugged his little sister and sighed. "Father, that sword's been stabbed into the ground for hundreds of years. Even mid-tier demons get crushed or straight-up killed just by getting close."
"Yeah, it's a holy relic, sure—but it's not a demon's holy relic…"
Zeoticus went stiff for a second, then turned deadly serious. He knew Sirzechs was right. There was even more classified stuff his son wasn't saying out loud.
Over the centuries, not only demons had tried to pull that sword—fallen angels and regular angels had sneaked in too. Every single one ended up the same way: dead.
Sirzechs continued, "The aura coming off that greatsword… feels a little similar to this gentleman's."
Zeoticus's jaw actually dropped.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, voice low. "Sirzechs… do what you believe is right. I've got your back, and the entire House of Gremory does too."
"I'll lock down the Forbidden Valley ahead of time. Keep this quiet—no leaks, no panic." Zeoticus gave Gaio and his daughter one last long look, then cut the call.
As the light from the circle faded, Gaio glanced at Sirzechs. "Lucifer, ready to go?"
Sirzechs frowned. "Don't you need to rest a bit, sir?"
"Rest?" Gaio smirked. "You mean that little play-date we just had? Nah, barely broke a sweat."
Sirzechs's hand froze mid-air. In all his centuries of life, this was the first time someone had called a fight to the death "playing house."
"Dad still needs time to seal the valley—"
"No need." Gaio cut him off, tapping the air with one finger. "Just give me the coordinates."
Sirzechs saw the look in his eyes (no room for argument) and sighed again.
Demonic power gathered in his palm, forming a complicated purple sigil. He gently pushed it toward Gaio. "These are the spatial coordinates for the Forbidden Valley. You'll need to sync it with—"
Before he finished, Gaio pressed his hand against the sigil. Ghostly blue flames swallowed the rune and sucked it into his palm like a shooting star.
"Done." Gaio swung his arm through the air, slicing a cross-shaped rift open. "Let's roll."
"Wait!" Sirzechs stepped forward, eyes flicking to the glowing contract mark on Rias's collarbone. "Sir, if this trip confirms the secret of the greatsword… my sister's contract…"
Rias's head snapped up, blue eyes shining with hope.
Gaio paused at the edge of the portal and glanced back. "Fine. I'll take care of it when we're done."
"Big brother…" Rias grabbed Sirzechs's sleeve, staring at Gaio's back as he was about to step through. Her voice shook just a little.
Sirzechs patted her hand and called out firmly, "I'll hold you to your word, sir."
Gaio didn't turn around. He just stepped into the rippling blue void and vanished. The cross-shaped portal snapped shut behind him, leaving only the faint scent of demonic power hanging in the air.