The man causing sleepless nights for both Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury was currently experiencing what could only be described as absolute peak degeneracy.
Luke lay in Skadi's lap, her thighs forming a surprisingly comfortable pillow beneath his head. The Deep Sea Hunter sat with perfect stillness, her serene expression unchanged as Luke reached up to run his fingers through her hair.
"Titi, I've always wanted to do this." He twisted a strand of silver-white around his finger, marveling at the texture. "You're always going on about how proud you are of your hair. Had to see what all the fuss was about."
Whatever products they used in Ægir—if the Abyssal civilization even used conventional hair care products—worked absolute miracles. Skadi's hair was impossibly soft, like touching spun silk or the world's most expensive cashmere. It flowed through his fingers like water.
"If Doctor likes it, that's all that matters."
Skadi reached up and undid her hair tie. The cascade of white buried Luke completely, surrounding him in a curtain of silver that smelled faintly of sea salt and something he couldn't identify. Without the tie holding it back, her hair seemed even longer, spreading across the couch like a bridal veil.
The sight of her with her hair down was somehow even more stunning than usual. Softer. More approachable. Less like a weapon of mass destruction and more like a woman.
Luke allowed himself to enjoy the moment. He'd earned this, hadn't he? All those years of grinding gacha games, spending money he probably shouldn't have spent, suffering through maintenance periods and rate-up lies. This was his reward.
From across the room, Riven watched the scene with an expression that could charitably be described as "complicated."
Her hand rose unconsciously to touch her own hair—the short, practical cut she'd worn since her military days. It had never occurred to her to grow it out. Long hair was a liability in combat, something an enemy could grab, something that could get caught in armor joints.
But seeing Luke so obviously enjoying Skadi's long hair...
I should grow it out, she decided. Then he could touch mine like that too.
The thought led to others. Over the past few days, Riven had observed something uncomfortable: Luke seemed to prefer Skadi.
It wasn't that he treated Riven badly. He was considerate, appreciative, warm in his own awkward way. But there was something different about how he interacted with Skadi. More comfortable. More... familiar.
Riven understood why, intellectually. It made sense if she thought about it logically.
Unlike Riven, Skadi actually said sweet things. She responded to affection with affection, accepted casual touch naturally, expressed her feelings without the walls Riven had built around her heart.
And Arknights was a mobile game. Luke had probably spent more time with it than any PC game in recent years—checking in daily, running through stages while commuting or waiting in lines, poking the little orca mascot in Skadi's dorm room.
That kind of constant, casual interaction built connections in a way that intense but sporadic gaming sessions couldn't match. Luke had thousands of hours with Riven, yes, but concentrated into specific moments. He had years of passive companionship with Skadi, spread across countless mundane moments.
The math wasn't in Riven's favor.
She tried not to let it bother her. Jealousy was unprofessional. Unworthy of a Noxian soldier.
It bothered her anyway.
"Let me try, Doctor."
Skadi's voice was soft, almost tentative. "Let me touch your hair as well."
Luke closed his eyes as gentle fingers began carding through his hair. It was... nice. Really nice. Skadi's touch was surprisingly delicate given her superhuman strength.
He could have stayed like that for hours.
Eventually, though, he forced himself to sit up. Partly because they had work to do, and partly because Riven's increasingly intense stare was starting to make him nervous.
"Your turn," he said, relocating to Riven's lap before she could protest.
The difference was immediately apparent. Where Skadi's thighs had been soft—impossibly soft, given her documented ability to crater concrete—Riven's were firm, taut with muscle. It was like lying on a high-end leather sofa. Supportive. Structured. Somehow still comfortable.
Luke made a mental note to investigate how Skadi maintained that cloud-like softness with her superhuman physiology. It defied physics. Everything about her defied physics.
Riven, meanwhile, had frozen completely.
She wasn't sure what to do with her hands. Luke's head was in her lap. His hair was right there. She could touch it if she wanted. He'd just touched Skadi's hair, so it would be normal to reciprocate, right?
But what if she did it wrong? What if she pulled too hard, or not hard enough, or—
"You smell nice," Luke said, eyes still closed.
Riven's face heated. "I... the shampoo. You bought it."
She'd started using proper shampoo and body wash since arriving in this world—products she'd never encountered in Runeterra. Noxian soldiers made do with harsh soap and river water. The concept of "conditioner" would have gotten you laughed out of the barracks.
But Luke had specifically bought these products for her. Picked them out himself. So she used them.
"Suits you."
Riven's hands finally settled on his head, fingers tentatively threading through his hair. It was softer than she expected. Thick, healthy, nothing like the battle-worn warriors she'd known back home.
Luke, for his part, was thinking about bunny costumes.
He'd secretly purchased one. Battle Bunny Riven was her most famous skin for a reason—the combination of her serious personality and that ridiculous outfit created a gap that fans found irresistible. He was just waiting for the right moment to... suggest she try it on.
For private viewing only, obviously. He wasn't about to let anyone else see her like that.
The degeneracy ran deep.
After thoroughly indulging in what could generously be called "team bonding," Luke reluctantly returned to business.
Today's vampire hunt had been productive. Since rescuing Blade from Deacon's ritual, they'd established a working partnership—the Daywalker provided intelligence on vampire nests and gathering points, and Luke's team handled the cleanup.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Some locations were simply too dangerous for Blade to tackle alone—too many vampires, too well-fortified, too likely to result in even the Daywalker getting overwhelmed. Luke's group could clear them effortlessly.
And in return, Luke got drops.
Today's drops had been... interesting.
He stared at the item in his hands, barely believing what the system had given him.
"Sparda demon bloodline."
The words came out as a whisper. He read the description again, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Grants the user the bloodline of the demon knight Sparda. Transforms the user into a half-human, half-demon hybrid. Same tier as Dante and Vergil (NOT quarter-demon like Nero).
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
This was Devil May Cry. This was the power that let Dante and Vergil casually demolish building-sized demons. The power that had made Sparda himself a legend in both the human and demon worlds.
And the system had just... given it to him.
"Half-demon, huh." Luke turned the crystalline vial over in his hands. The liquid inside swirled with impossible colors—red and black and something that might have been purple, constantly shifting. "Shouldn't affect fertility, right? Vergil managed to have Nero with just one shot."
It was important to consider these things. He had waifus to think about.
Ah, what the hell.
Without further hesitation, Luke crushed the vial in his palm.
"AAAAAAGH!"
The transformation was agony.
The Sparda bloodline was invasive by nature—it didn't just enhance human biology, it rewrote it entirely. Human cells were converted to demon cells. Human organs were restructured into demon organs. Every nerve ending in Luke's body screamed as millennia of demonic evolution compressed into seconds.
He collapsed, body convulsing, vision going white with pain.
"LUKE!"
"DOCTOR!"
Two voices, two sets of hands catching him before he hit the floor. Riven and Skadi held him upright, their faces swimming in his distorted vision.
The pain passed quickly—faster than it had any right to. One moment he was dying, the next he was fine. Better than fine.
Powerful.
Luke looked down at his hands. The musculature was different. More defined. He could actually see individual muscle fibers beneath his skin, carved with the precision of a master sculptor.
"I'm fine," he managed. "Just... stronger now."
Riven's grip didn't relax. "What did you do?"
"Absorbed a demon bloodline. From Devil May Cry." He flexed his fingers experimentally. "The good kind of demon. Mostly."
Both women stared at him.
"Let's test it," Luke said, suddenly eager. "Riven, arm wrestle me."
Their hands locked across the coffee table. Luke braced himself, drew on whatever new power was flowing through his veins—
And lost instantly.
Riven hadn't even tried. The moment they started, Luke's arm was slammed to the table so fast he barely registered the movement.
"Huh." He stared at his defeated limb. "That's... disappointing."
From Riven's perspective, the difference was negligible. Level one versus level two. She literally couldn't tell he'd gotten stronger.
"Maybe the Devil Trigger hasn't awakened yet," Luke muttered, ransacking his memory for DMC lore. "Right, you need to get impaled by Rebellion to unlock it. Family tradition—the Sparda clan passes down stabbing."
He didn't have Rebellion. Or Yamato. Or the Sparda sword itself. All the cool demon weapons were still out there somewhere, waiting to be dropped.
So his current power level was... what, exactly?
Probably enough to handle the Winter Soldier. Maybe Captain America on a good day. Super-soldier tier, not demon prince tier.
Still a massive upgrade from "regular guy who played too many video games."
"It's fine," Luke said, forcing optimism into his voice. "Getting the bloodline at all is amazing. I'll reach Dante and Vergil's level eventually."
He had to believe that.
In the meantime, there were vampires to kill and drops to farm.
And maybe, just maybe, one of those drops would include a certain legendary demon sword.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.
300 , 500 , 1000 for each milestone 1 Bonus Chapter.