Disclaimer: Just in case nobody realized I don't own nor do I claim ownership of Highschool DxD, all characters and worlds belong to their real world respective owners. I'm just having some fun, that's all.
Warning sexual content disclaimer: All characters and actions are above 18+
Highschool DxD: The Cursed King of Kuoh
S1 Ch 22: A New Peerage Member
The abandoned church stood like something half-forgotten at the edge of the night, its silhouette jagged against the pale moonlight. Cracked stone walls leaned inward with age, and the shattered remains of stained glass windows reflected faint glimmers of light like dying embers.
The air around it felt wrong—not overwhelmingly or oppressive, but with a subtle resistance, as if the space itself rejected any attempt of intrusion. Even the wind seemed to bend around it, refusing to pass too close.
Rias Gremory slowed her steps as she approached the outer boundary, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied the faint distortion shimmering ahead. It wasn't visible in a conventional sense, but the moment her senses brushed against it, the structure revealed itself—layered, steady, and unmistakably holy in origin.
"The barrier is still active," she said quietly, more to confirm her thoughts than to inform the others.
Beside her, Akeno Himejima tilted her head, her gaze soft but focused as she traced the same invisible boundary. There was a faint shift in her expression, something between curiosity and caution, as she felt the holy energy pressing outward like a quiet pulse.
"Ara… and not a weak one either," she murmured. "It's been reinforced."
On Rias's other side, Ura stepped forward without hesitation, her posture straight, her eyes fixed on the church itself rather than the barrier surrounding it. She didn't study it or even try to analyze it.
"I'll remove it," she said with a certain finality in her tone.
One of her metal fans slid open softly.
The shift in the air was almost immediate. The temperature didn't drop, but something had changed with the small decree—like the moment before a blade was drawn.
Rias turned sharply, her hand lifting instinctively. "Wait Ura—"
"That barrier is woven with holy energy," Akeno added, her tone still gentle but edged now with something firmer. "If you strike it carelessly, it could react in ways that injure—"
Ura ignored both of them and just continued to raise her fan.
It tilted slightly in her grip as violet-black energy began to gather along its edge, the space around it warping faintly as the power condensed into something sharp, something meant to cut rather than overwhelm.
Rias stepped forward again, more urgency in her voice now. "Ura stop—"
Suddenly the ground darkened.
At first it was subtle, easy to miss beneath the low light of the clearing. Then the shadows deepened, stretching unnaturally across the ground, pulling inward as if drawn toward a single point just ahead of them. The air shifted with a quiet distortion.
Akeno's smile faded, replaced by confusion, Rias' body stilled, and Ura slowly turned as the shadows folded.
Not like smoke or mist. They collapsed inward, forming a small, precise rupture in the space before them—a hole where the world seemed to give way, its edges rippling faintly as though reality itself hesitated to hold shape.
And from that darkness—he stepped out.
Sukuna emerged without sound, his presence settling into the space like something that had always been there. The loose white gi shifted lightly with his movement, the sleeveless fabric exposing the black markings that traced across his arms and up along his collarbone. His second pair of eyes rested half-lidded, not strained, not wild—just aware.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Rias was the first to find her voice. "Sukuna what are you—"
"You shouldn't be moving yet," Akeno added, more quietly, her gaze lingering on the faint tension still held in his posture.
Ura moved before either of them could say more, stepping forward quickly, her energy rising—not aggressive, but protective.
"Master—your body hasn't recovered yet you can't—"
"Silence." He ordered, his breath a little uneven from the shadow travel.
The word cut cleanly through her sentence, making Ura stop mid-step.
Her expression tightened briefly, something flickering behind her eyes—frustration, concern—but it didn't last. She lowered her fan and stepped back without another word, the shift immediate.
The two devils witnessed the exchange with slight confusion and curiosity wondering how someone as powerful as Ura was so subservient to the young man.
Sukuna didn't acknowledge any of them. His gaze had already moved forward, settling on the barrier as if everything else had already been decided.
He slowly stepped past them.
Each movement was measured, his posture straight despite the lingering stiffness in his body. The air around him felt different now—quieter, heavier, stripped of the casual arrogance he had worn so easily before. What remained was something colder, and much more focused.
His mystic eyes took in the sight of the building and the barrier surrounding it. Its structure unfolded into layers of light and motion. Threads of holy energy intertwined with one another, forming a dense lattice that pulsed with steady rhythm.
His eyes absorbed every detail and deciphered them in the blink of an eye. The glyphs, the formulas, the formation, but most importantly the weakest link between them.
Behind him, Rias stepped forward again, her voice tightening. "If you try to force your way through while you're still injured you might—"
He cut her off by slowly lifting his hand, while the air around him suddenly changed. Shimmering and humming with power.
Akeno felt it first—the shift beneath the surface, something coiling inward rather than expanding outward.
"Sukuna…wait a second we could-"
But she couldn't finish her sentence before he brought his hand down—and then the world split.
A vertical line carved itself into existence, cutting through the barrier as though it had never been there at all. For a fraction of a second, the structure held, the holy energy straining against the intrusion.
Then it broke.
The sound followed was instant—a sharp, cracking rupture as the barrier collapsed inward, its structure unraveling completely where the cut had passed. The line didn't stop there. It continued forward, slicing through the outer wall of the church itself, tearing away a section of stone and wood with overwhelming power.
Debris erupted outward, with dust filling the air. The impact echoed across the grounds like something struck at its foundation.
Neither of the devil girls spoke or moved, they just stared at the destruction with clear shock. The path had been cleared, and Sukuna began walking towards the slightly bisected building with Ura in tow.
Rias and Akeno awakened from their stupor and quickly followed the pair as they made their way inside the church.
Once Inside, they were greeted with a moment of silence that lasted just long enough to feel unnatural. Then movement followed—robes shifting, weapons rising, voices catching as the intruders were finally recognized.
They didn't stop walking.
Their steps were quiet against the broken floor, the faint crunch of debris marking their path as they moved deeper into the structure. Ahead, the sound of steel rang out—sharp, strained.
Kiba stumbled back a half-step, his blade catching against another as he struggled to maintain control of the exchange. Across from him, Freed Sellzen grinned wildly, two glowing blades in his hands, their light sharp and unnatural in the dim space.
"You're slowing down already, devil swine?" Freed laughed mockingly.
One of the lower exorcists turned, spotting Sukuna at the edge of the room. His expression twisted immediately as he raised his weapon, the barrel aligning with Sukuna's chest.
"Target—!" He didn't speak another word.
The space around him collapsed inward, folding unnaturally as a small, perfectly circular distortion formed at his center. For a brief moment, his form compressed, drawn into the point before vanishing entirely. The distortion snapped shut without sound.
Ura slowly lowered her glowing hand, while Sukuna glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
"He wasn't worthy of your attention master," she answered his unspoken question.
Sukuna just looked at her for a moment before tilting his head and continued his way forward.
Then Freed noticed him as he made his way towards him, his grin stretching wider, more unhinged.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up," he called out, kicking Kiba away to create space as he turned fully toward Sukuna. "I was starting to think you weren't coming!"
He raised one of the Excalibur fragments, the blade gleaming with sharp, unnatural brilliance.
"This ain't going to be like last time asshole," he continued, his voice rising. "Now I've got these—!"
Behind Sukuna, Ura's energy rose again, her hand lifting slightly, but then he raised his own, showing her the back of his hand signaling for her to stand down.
Which she promptly did, while Freed raised his blade high.
"Prepare—!"
But suddenly Sukuna moved. One moment he was standing across the room, and the next he was right in front of the deranged exorcist.
His hand closed around Freed's face, lifting him clean off the ground, the motion so effortless it didn't even seem like it required any effort at all. Freed's words were cut off, as his limbs jerked when he was suddenly hoisted off the ground.
Freed struggled against Sukuna's grip, trying to free himself, but Sukuna clamped down harder while his four crimson eyes narrowed.
"Cleave."
Freed's body immediately stilled as hundreds of small lines ran across his entire body. Then as one they fell apart into perfectly cut cubes of meat that made a pile on the floor.
Everyone froze at the gruesome sight.
Kiba and Koneko just stared, their eyes widening slightly. The lower exorcists became pale, a few passing out while more vomited. Rias just took in the sight, surprised but not particularly bothered by her pawn's action, while Ura and Akeno smiled at the rogue exorcist's fate.
Sukuna released the last bits of flesh in his hand letting it join the others on the floor, before turning his attention to the remaining lower exorcists. His hands came together again, forming a familiar hand seal.
The shadows at his feet thickened, rising into form as two massive figures emerged, their bodies taking shape from darkness itself. Crimson eyes burned to life within them as they fully solidified—living shadows in the shape of two identical hounds.
They stood on both sides of his body staring at the exorcists with clear anger, as they sensed their master's emotions. Sukuna gave them a simple command.
"Kill them all."
They responded immediately.
Both hounds dissolved into streaks of darkness, their forms breaking apart and reforming across the floor and walls as they surged forward. The remaining exorcists barely had time to react before the shadows reached them.
The room suddenly filled with the stench of blood and the screams of agony, as the two shadow dogs literally tore the humans apart with the claws and fangs devouring entire limbs whole.
It took less than a minute for them to finish killing and eating the enemies whole, before returning to their master's side.
"Return," he ordered, which they did slowly sinking back into his shadow, one still holding an exorcist's dismembered arm in its mouth.
Koneko and Kiba were brought out of their shock by their king who quickly followed along with the others behind Sukuna as he made his way down the church's stone steps and into the basement. The groups' footsteps echoed across the stone as they made their way down, eventually giving way to a chamber that felt carved out of something older than the building above it.
The air changed as soon as they made their way inside. It was heavier, and thick with magical energy that pressed faintly against their lungs with each breath.
Sukuna stepped off the final stair first.
The others followed, their movements quieter now, instinctively measured as their eyes adjusted to the space before them.
The chamber stretched wide, its walls lined with crude markings and half-burned candles that flickered weakly against the stone. Everything about it felt deliberate, almost like it had been built for a single purpose.
And that purpose stood at its center.
Asia Argento hung suspended against a towering metal X-shaped frame, her arms outstretched and bound in place by dark restraints that held her body unnaturally still. The faint glow that had once surrounded her was gone, leaving only pale skin beneath the dim light, her head tilted slightly to one side as if caught between motion and stillness.
Sukuna stopped.
His gaze locked onto her, something tightening behind his eyes as the rest of the room fell away. The noise, the presence behind him, even the figure standing atop the altar—none of it mattered in that moment.
His focus narrowed to a single point, while his sight sharpened.
The patterns beneath the surface revealed themselves, lines and currents that should have been there, that should have been moving.
They weren't.
There was no blood flow, no pulse, not even a shallow breath. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut, settling into place with certainty that didn't leave any room for doubt. Making his eyes widen.
Asia was already dead.
"Sara," he whispered to himself.
Atop the altar standing next to the bound girl was a certain fallen angel who was grinning ear to ear as she examined her hand admiring a new ring on her finger.
Eisheth slowly turned her attention away from her new accessory, her expression shifting as she finally took in the full group. Her gaze lingered on Sukuna for a moment longer than the others, recognizing him quickly and the clear pain in his eyes, something that made her satisfied smile shift into one of profound sadism.
"So you finally made it," she said, her voice carrying easily through the chamber, light in a way that didn't match the space. "I wasn't sure you would get to see the show after our last encounter."
Her hand lifted, and with it came light. It gathered instantly, forming into a spear that hummed faintly with contained energy, its edge sharp enough to distort the air around it.
"Don't worry," she continued, tilting her head slightly as if amused by the timing of it all. "We can pick up where we left o—"
Sukuna's slash moved before she could even finish talking, the strike arriving without warning. A clean line passed through her arm just below the elbow, separating it in a single, precise motion. The spear dissolved before it could form properly, the light scattering as her severed limb hit the ground.
For a brief second, Eisheth simply stared at her severed arm with bewilderment. Then it started glowing.
Spreading through her body in soft waves, weaving through her form with steady rhythm until the missing limb reformed seamlessly, restored as though it had never been removed. Her fingers flexed once, testing, confirming.
Her smile returned, though thinner now, edged with something more cautious.
"Oh I'm so sorry," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but you'll have to try harder than that boy."
The others stared at her with a mixture of hatred and disgust, Sukuna just remained silent. Eisheth's wings shifted slightly behind her, the motion controlled but no longer casual.
"You killed all of my subordinates, though I suppose I don't need them anymore," she continued, her tone carrying a quiet confidence she was forcing into place. "Not when I can heal any injury faster than you can make them."
She spread her wings a little wider, the gesture meant to reassert control.
"You're already too late, the nun slut's Sacred Gear is mine now."
Sukuna stepped forward from the group.
"Good." The words landed flat surprising the fallen as well as the devils."That means I get to take my time with you."
He then looked over his shoulder to his attendant.
"Protect the others," he ordered.
Before she could respond, the atmosphere broke.
An overwhelming surge of cured energy filled the chamber. The pressure hitting the room all at once, heavy and suffocating, slamming into the walls with enough force to send cracks racing outward through the stone. Dust fell in thick streams from the ceiling as the structure groaned under the strain.
The aura wasn't just powerful, it was overwhelmingly evil and filled with pure malevolence. Pressing down on everything around it. It mirrored its owner's intent—which was pure indiscriminate destruction.
Eisheth was thrown back before she could react, her body slamming into the far wall with a sharp, echoing impact. She dropped to the floor hard, the air leaving her lungs in a broken breath as the confidence she'd held moments ago faltered.
Behind Sukuna, the others staggered.
The pressure bore down on them immediately, turning something as simple as breathing into a difficult task. Their hearts seized as the space itself seemed to close in on them.
Ura immediately moved to fulfill her master's command.
A black and purple cubed barrier formed around the group in a smooth, controlled expansion, pushing back just enough of the pressure to allow them to stand, to breathe, and to remain and observe the scene without being inadvertently crushed by the intensity of his aura.
Meanwhile the chamber continued to tremble.
Above them, the church responded in kind, the structure groaning as fractures spread through its foundation. Debris fell in scattered bursts, the sound echoing faintly upward and outward into the night beyond.
Outside, the effect spread further, as squirrels fell out of trees, and birds plummeted out of the night sky.
Eisheth managed to push herself up off the floor, her movements slower now, less certain as she steadied herself against the wall.
"What are—"
Before she could finish speaking Sukuna was already in front of her.
The first strike came without warning, his fist driving into her face with enough force to snap her head back and lift her from the ground entirely.
Her body arced across the chamber before crashing into the floor, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.
Then he was next to her looking down at her body before driving, his foot drove into her ribs before she could recover, sending her upward in a sharp, uncontrolled arc. The moment she left the ground, he followed, closing the distance.
The third strike came midair, sending her back down to the ground with a crushing impact making the pillar behind her shattered when she collided with it, stone cracking and splintering outward as her body struck and fell.
The chamber began shaking violently, making Rias's attention snapped to the altar.
Asia's body remained bound, unmoving, framed against the falling debris as the structure continued to fracture. A large chunk of stone broke loose from above, tumbling toward the frame.
"Ura—!" Rias called, her voice cutting through the chaos. "We need to move her body!"
Ura's gaze flicked toward her, irritation flashing briefly across her expression.
"Do not presume to command me devil!" She snapped
"If something happens to her body," Rias cut in, her voice tightening but steady, "your master won't be happy."
Her words made her pause. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
Ura closed her eyes briefly before she moved.
A thin tear opened in space beneath the altar, precise and controlled. The metal frame vanished instantly, along with the body bound to it, reappearing within the safety of the barrier as a reinforced violet construct formed around it, protecting it completely from the falling debris.
Across the chamber, Eisheth forced herself upright again. The glow returned, fainter this time, but still present.
Her body restored itself once more, wounds closing as the energy coursed through her, though not as smoothly as before. Her wings flared outward as dozens of light spears formed above her, filling the space with sharp, radiant points that illuminated the chamber in stark contrast.
She thrust her hand forward, making them all descend at once.
Sukuna raised his right arm before making an exaggerated swing of his hand infusing it with his cursed energy. An invisible web of interlocked slashes arching across from him.
Every spear shattered instantly, the energy dispersing in fractured light as the attack continued upward, carving through the ceiling and tearing away a massive portion of the church above. Moonlight flooded into the chamber, pale and cold, illuminating the space in a way that made everything feel sharper, and clearer.
Eisheth stared, her expression changed.
"You can't just—" she started, her voice shifting as she reached for something—authority, leverage, anything that might slow what was happening. "There's a ceasefire between our factions! You can't harm me I have a high position within Grigori and Lord Kokabiel will—"
Sukuna appeared in front of her, his hand piercing her abdomen. Her words died in her throat as he tore into her liver.
Her body jerked, her breath catching as she looked down at the source of her pain with both confusion and pain mixing in something raw and unguarded.
Then she looked up staring into his cold hollow eyes.
"Shut up."
He jerked his hand free, blood pouring from the wound.
Before she could fall, he gripped her by the back of her head, lifting her from the ground as he moved. The motion carried her body through the air before slamming her face-first into the wall. He didn't stop there—he continued charging forward, dragging her across the stone, her body scraping along its surface as cracks formed in its wake, leaving a dark trail of blood and teeth behind.
Then he released her, letting her drop to the floor face first. She tried to activate Twilight Healing but the glow died out before it could repair anything.
Her breathing broke apart into uneven gasps as she tried to move, dragging herself forward inch by inch towards the devil group. Her wings trembled behind her, no longer steady, no longer strong.
She reached out. "Please—"
Sukuna slowly walked behind her following her body, his sandals making bloody foot prints along the floor. Once she was a few yards from his group's barrier he raised his foot high and smashed it into the center of her back, flattening her against the stone floor which cracked from the pressure. Keeping his foot pinning her to the floor, he slowly reached down and gripped her three pairs of wings.
For the first time a slow sadistic smile spread across his face as he began pulling the wings back.
"You seem to be so proud of these wings, crow." He said his tone dripping with sadism as he pressed down harder on her back. "I bet you're very attached to them."
Eisheth, bloodied and frightened, looked back over her shoulder at him.
"N-no what are you doing?" she asked, her eyes wide while terror filled her voice.
The others stood shocked by the scene as Sukuna began pulling the wings harder while pressing down with his foot, until finally something gave.
*Snap*
"Argah!"
She screamed in pain as her wings were torn off of her back, the sound filling the otherwise silent room.
Koneko flinched sharply, her hands rising to cover her ears. Kiba turned away, his jaw tightening at the brutal scene. Rias just watched unfazed, while Ura and Akeno stared at the scene with almost gleeful grins. Akeno in particular rubbed her thighs together as her panties dampened.
Sukuna stepped back, dropping her dismembered wings to the floor next to the high tier fallen angel.
"This is where you belong, Eisheth," he said coldly. "Crawling on your belly like a worm."
Eisheth didn't answer him, she just continued to hiccup and writhe in agony on the floor. Seeing she couldn't heal or even move anymore, Sukuna raised his foot again, but a voice called out to him making him stop.
"Sukuna," Rias said, her voice calm despite the brutal scene.
He glanced at her, meeting her stern gaze. For a moment the room held its breath as the pair stared into each other's eyes. Then after a moment of hesitation he slowly lowered his foot and his aura along with it.
Ura let the barrier dissolve, the violet construct fading away.The chamber slowly settled while the echo of violence hung in the air.
Dust drifted through the fractured air, catching the pale wash of moonlight pouring in from the shattered ceiling above, each beam illuminating the cracks that now split the stone walls from end to end.
Sukuna stepped aside, as Rias moved past him stopping just in front of the mutilated fallen. Surprisingly, her expression was just as cold as Sukuna's own.
"You made a mistake, Fallen," she said, her voice even, carrying cleanly through the chamber without needing to rise. "More than one."
Eisheth stirred, her breathing uneven, her body struggling to respond as she tried to lift her head, though even that small movement seemed beyond her now.
Rias continued, her tone cooling further, the shift subtle but unmistakable. "You put your hands on a member of my family. You reaped chaos and pain in my territory. And you convinced yourself that there would be no consequence for any of it."
A faint glow began to gather in her palm as she spoke, the Power of Destruction forming in slow, controlled compression. It did not flare outward or surge wildly; instead, it condensed inward, tightening into something far more dangerous than its size suggested, the air around it warping faintly as if the space itself resisted being erased.
Eisheth's eyes flickered upward, whatever remained of her focus narrowing onto that light. For a moment, something like resistance tried to surface, something that might have once been pride or defiance—but it didn't hold. Her body trembled instead, her voice breaking as she forced the words out.
"Please…just kill…me…"
There was nothing left behind the request. No threat, no bargaining, no attempt to regain control—only exhaustion.
Rias didn't hesitate.
The energy in her hand surged once, then collapsed inward, erasing everything it touched in a single, precise instant. There was no sound, no struggle, no visible destruction—Eisheth's form simply ceased to exist, reduced to nothing as the power consumed her entirely, leaving the stone beneath untouched, as though she had never been there at all.
When the glow finally faded, there wasn't a trace of the fallen left behind.
The silence that followed was deafening as the ragtag group stood in the now empty, and mostly destroyed church.
Then the air shifted.
A faint shimmer appeared above the altar, subtle at first, then more defined as two identical rings materialized into view. They hovered in place, suspended gently as soft green energy curled around them, the light pulsing faintly with something far calmer than what had filled the room moments before.
Asia Argento's sacred gear.
Rias stepped forward and caught them as they drifted downward, her fingers closing around the rings with quiet precision. She turned them slightly in her hand, examining the glow that moved within them, the energy flowing softly as though it had simply been waiting to return.
"Beautiful," she murmured.
There was no greed in her voice despite the sight of a longinus, just recognition. Her gaze shifted.
"Sukuna," she said, glancing back toward him, "shall we return them?"
He met her eyes.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then something in his expression changed, subtle but clear, the sharpness easing just enough to reveal something beneath it that hadn't been there before. He gave a small nod.
That was all and that was enough.
Rias smiled faintly.
When she turned and made her way towards Asia's body, an all too familiar ringing filled Sukuna's head, making him still.
[Celestial System Notification Received]
The words formed without sound, clear and precise against his mind, followed immediately by a cascade of information that slotted into place with unnatural clarity.
[Cursed Energy Output] — Level 8 → Level 9
[Reinforcement] — Level 7 → Level 8
[Cursed Energy Manipulation] — Level 8 → Level 9
[Innate Technique — Shrine: Cleave] — Level 6 → Level 8
[Innate Technique — Shrine: Spiderweb] — Level 4 → Level 5
The updates continued without pause.
[Ten Shadows Technique: Shikigami Unlocked — Max Elephant]
[Innate Technique — Shrine: Divine Flame Unlocked]
For a brief moment, the weight of it lingered—growth, progression, something gained as a direct result of his rage and effort.
But for once Sukuna didn't care about any of it. Ignoring the alerts as he slowly made his way towards the young nun's body.
As Rias and Sukuna approached Kiba lowered Asia's body carefully onto the stone floor, his movements deliberate, controlled, ensuring nothing shifted too roughly as he set her down. The others gathered close, their attention pulling away from the surrounding destruction.
He slowly bent down and kneeled at the young girl's side, and for a long moment he didn't move or speak. His gaze lingered on her face, the serenity of it, the faint traces left behind despite the agony she almost certainly endured having her sacred gear forcibly removed.
Without a word he held his hand out to Rias, who carefully placed the pair of rings into his open palm.
He took them carefully, his fingers brushing hers only briefly before he turned his attention back to Asia. One by one, he slid the rings back into place, restoring them to their rightful owner. The faint green glow pulsed once beneath his touch, then settled, as though recognizing the return.
He looked down at her and for a brief instant, something surfaced. Or rather someone he'd never get to see again. Slowly he reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair out of the girl's face.
Sukuna took a deep breath before exhaling slowly trying to steady his nerves.
"Thank you," he said quietly to the group of devils.
Surprise flickered briefly across their expressions at the sincerity in his tone, though none of them spoke. He then turned his attention towards the red headed devil king.
"Can you bring her back?"
The question hung there, unexpected.
Rias tilted her head slightly, considering him, her expression shifting into something thoughtful as she folded her arms lightly.
"And why should I?" she asked.
Her cold tone and answer caught him off guard. His brow furrowed slightly, the disbelief slipping through before he could hide it.
"She's valuable," he said. "A Longinus user. Someone like that would—"
Rias raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Relax Sukuna, I'm just joking."
His expression immediately became flat and unimpressed.
"Seriously?" he said. "You're joking right now?"
Rias smiled, bright and unapologetic.
"I couldn't resist," she said lightly. "It's rare to see you like that."
Akeno laughed softly, Kiba just looked away trying to stop himself from chuckling, and even Koneko's lips twitched faintly.
Sukuna stared at her for a moment longer before exhaling through his nose.
"Unbelievable." But he didn't press it further.
Rias stepped forward, the moment shifting again.
She stood over Asia's body before placing a bishop chess piece on the center of the girl's chest.
Rias then spread her arms wide forming a magic circle beneath her body. Crimson light spread outward in intricate lines, weaving together into a structure that pulsed steadily against the stone.
"In the name of Rias Gremory of house Gremory…" The circle brightened. "I call Asia Argento. Return your soul from the shadow of death to the human realm. Rise once more as my servant. Rejoice—for you have been given new life."
The magic circle flared as the chess piece sank into her body, the crimson light eclipsing the room, before slowly dissipating.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then her fingers began to twitch, while her chest rose and fell. Her eyes fluttered open. Confusion filled them first, her gaze unfocused as she tried to process where she was, what had changed, what had been taken and returned.
Then she saw him.
"S-Sukuna…?" Her voice was soft, uncertain. "What… happened?"
He just looked at her, and instead of answering, he reached out, his hand resting lightly against her head, fingers brushing through her hair in a gesture that came easier than any explanation.
"Welcome back," he said quietly, a small smile followed.
Around them, the tension eased, the weight in the room finally beginning to lift as the moment settled into something softer. Behind them Rias stared at Sukuna's back as her expression softened and became warmer. Though she didn't mutter a word not wanting to ruin the moment for her new servant.
o-O-o
Back in the Occult Research Club the room felt completely different compared to the last couple of days.It was warmer and more welcoming as the tension that hung over the club for days like a shadow finally dissipated.
Asia Argento stood near the center of it all, hands clasped lightly in front of her, her expression soft and uncertain at first as she looked around the room. The unfamiliar space, the unfamiliar faces—none of it seemed to overwhelm her the way it might have before. Instead, there was something fragile but genuine in the way she smiled, the way her voice lifted slightly as she greeted each of them in turn.
She bowed her head politely, thanking them, her words stumbling just slightly as she tried to express something she hadn't had before—something she wasn't used to holding onto. A place to call home . People who stayed. People who didn't turn their faces away from her like the church had.
Kiba responded gently, offering reassurance in his usual composed tone, while Koneko lingered nearby, quieter but no less present, her gaze steady as she observed the exchange.
Akeno's laughter flowed easily through the room, light and teasing as she welcomed the newest member in her own way, the warmth in her voice unmistakable beneath the playful edge.
At the center of it all—Rias stood watching with a happy smile as her peerage welcomed her new bishop.
Across the room, Sukuna didn't move toward them. He seemed content to just watch from a distance. Leaning slightly against the edge of the table, a glass already in his hand, the amber liquid catching faint light as he tilted it slightly, letting it settle before bringing it to his lips.
His gaze shifted back to Asia. She was laughing now, smiling from ear to ear, and that's all he wanted for her.
Before anyone could notice he turned away and made his way towards the balcony doors.
The door slid open quietly as he stepped out onto the balcony, the night air meeting him immediately. It was cooler and calmer, at least compared to the busting noise inside. The city stretched out beneath him, lights scattered across the distance, steady and indifferent to everything that had happened beneath it.
He leaned forward slightly against the railing, lifting the glass again, letting the silence settle around him.
Then—
"Sukuna."
He glanced back.
Rias Gremory stood just inside the doorway, her silhouette framed by the warm light of the room behind her. For a moment, she simply watched him, as though deciding whether to say anything at all.
He raised his glass slightly.
"Princess."
It wasn't mocking, at least not this time.
She stepped outside.
The door closed behind her with a soft click, cutting off the sound of laughter from within. The quiet returned, settling between them as she moved to stand beside him at the railing, her gaze drifting out over the city just as he had.
For a while—neither of them spoke.
The horizon stretched out ahead, distant and unmoving, the glow of the city blending into the dark sky above it. The kind of view that didn't demand attention, but held it anyway.
Rias drew in a quiet breath, her lips parting slightly as if to speak but Sukuna beat her to it.
"Why did you help me?"
She turned slightly, caught off guard as she looked at him, her expression shifting in brief confusion. "What do you mean?"
Sukuna didn't look at her right away. Instead, he ran a hand back through his hair, exhaling softly as if searching for the right way to phrase something he wasn't used to asking.
"I talked to you," he said, his tone quieter now, stripped of its usual edge, "to all of you… like crap."
He finally glanced at her.
"So why go through all that trouble?" he continued. "Saving me. Picking a fight with the Fallen."
The question lingered between them.
Rias didn't answer him immediately. Her gaze drifted back toward the city, her expression softening slightly as she considered it, not as something difficult—but as something she wanted to say correctly.
"Because you're part of my family, Sukuna."
The words landed gently, but still managed to strike him, making him turn completely away from the horizon to face her.
His eyes widened slightly, the shift small but unmistakable as he looked at her, something in his expression catching for just a moment longer than usual.
Rias met his gaze.
"I know you've had it rough," she continued, her voice steady, her tone losing any trace of teasing. "I know the kind of life you came from… and I know the people who were supposed to be there for you weren't."
Her eyes didn't waver.
"But that doesn't matter anymore."
The city lights reflected faintly in her gaze as she held it.
"Whether you like it or not," she said softly, "this is your family now. We're your family."
For a moment—Sukuna didn't respond, he just looked at her.
Then slowly, he straightened, pushing himself off the railing as he turned to face her fully, his posture shifting as though something had settled into place inside him.
"...Maybe I was wrong about you, princess."
Rias let out a soft laugh at that, the sound light but not dismissive.
"Well," she admitted, tilting her head slightly, "you weren't entirely wrong."
His brow lifted slightly.
She exhaled softly, her expression turning more honest, more open than before.
"I didn't try to understand you," she said. "Not really. I saw what you could do, and I thought that was enough."
Her gaze dropped briefly, then returned.
"I thought you were the answer to my problems," she continued. "A way out."
She shook her head faintly.
"But you're not a solution, you're a person." She paused before locking eyes with him. "And for that I'm sorry."
His eyes widened again, just slightly, the reaction slipping through before he could hide it. Then he exhaled.
"...Well maybe this whole devil thing won't be so bad after all."
Rias smiled.
"Careful," she teased lightly. "You're starting to sound like you belong here."
A grin spread slowly across his face, sharper now, more familiar.
"Don't push it," he said. "I'm still not delivering flyers."
Rias let out a small, incredulous laugh. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"Not a chance."
She opened her mouth to respond—then stopped when he suddenly turned.
The shift was subtle, but immediate.
His gaze locked onto something beyond the railing, somewhere in the dark just past the edge of the grounds. The easy edge in his expression vanished, replaced by something sharper, more focused.
With a flick of his wrist a thin, invisible cut traced through the air.
A small strange red bird in the branches of a nearby tree split cleanly in two before dropping silently into the grass below.
Rias blinked confused.
"What? What is it?"
"Nothing," he said casually, his gaze still fixed outward for a moment longer. "Just some nosy neighbors."
The tension seemed to ease at least for the time being.
o-O-o
Far away from the club, down in the pits of the underworld, gold light danced across polished stone, reflecting off glass and metal in a chamber far more lavish than anything above could offer. Laughter echoed faintly, rich and amused, as a man leaned back in his chair, a glass of wine swirling lazily in his hand.
Riser Phenex smiled.
Around him, his peerage stood at ease, their attention drawn toward him as he lifted the glass slightly, inspecting the liquid as though it had just told him something entertaining.
"Well now…" His voice carried easily through the room, smooth and unbothered. "It seems my little Rias' new pet sensed my familiar."
He took a slow sip, then laughed.
"Ah… what a tender little scene though." His smile widened slightly as he lowered the glass. "Gag me."
The flames of the chamber flickered higher with the Phoenix heir's mood.
A/N: If you like this story and what to read ahead chapters 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 are already available for Patrons.
Just go to to Google and type in RoguePrince69 and click the link.