Chapter 39: The Five-Day Fugitives and the Silver Sentinel
The dimensional rift deposited the three boys into a jagged, purple-hued canyon on the outskirts of the Underworld. The air tasted of sulfur and ancient magic—a far cry from the smoggy, familiar scent of Kuoh.
Lucian hit the ground first, followed closely by Kiba. Issei, true to form, landed face-first in a patch of demonic brambles.
"My face! My beautiful, perverted face!" Issei wailed, scrambling up. "Lucian, you bastard! We're in the Underworld! They can track us even easier here! We're basically trapped in their backyard!"
"Shut it, Issei," Lucian groaned, leaning against a obsidian pillar. He felt like his mana had been put through a meat grinder. "We have a window. But first... I have a debt to pay."
He looked at Tamamo. The fox spirit was currently sitting on a floating rock, her nine tails swaying rhythmically. She was in her adult form—tall, curvaceous, and wearing a kimono that left very little to the imagination. Her golden eyes were fixed on Lucian with the hunger of a predator.
"Master," she purred, tapping her lips. "The contract. Five kisses. Twenty hugs. All recorded in blood. We did one in the human world. That leaves four... 'gifts' remaining."
Lucian looked at Kiba and Issei. Kiba was already turning away, coughing into his hand to hide a blush. Issei looked like he was about to explode from pure, unadulterated envy.
"Tamamo, we are literally being hunted by a High-Class Devil and her lightning-obsessed Queen," Lucian argued. "Can we do a rain check?"
"A contract is absolute, Lucian-kun," she said, her voice dropping into a sultry, dangerous register. "And I don't care about Rias. My illusions are still holding them back at the station. We have time. Or would you rather I 'accidentally' drop the illusion right now?"
Lucian sighed. He was a Bishop; he knew when he was out-maneuvered. "Fine. Let's get this over with."
The Cost of Freedom
What followed was twenty-five minutes of what Kiba would later describe as "the most awkward and intense display of spiritual affection in demonic history."
Tamamo didn't just want a peck on the cheek. She wanted the full experience. She wrapped her nine tails around Lucian, pulling him into a cocoon of soft fur and overwhelming floral perfume. The "four smooths"—four long, deep, soul-draining kisses—lasted nearly six minutes each.
For Issei, watching this was a form of psychological torture. He sat on a rock, clutching his head, whispering "It should have been me" over and over again like a broken record.
"Stop it, Issei," Kiba muttered, though even he was looking at the ground, his face bright red. "He's doing this for our survival."
"Survival?!" Issei hissed. "He's being kissed by a nine-tailed goddess! That's not survival, that's a vacation! I'm out here getting threatened with holy water and he's... he's getting his soul sucked out!"
When the "cocoon" finally unfurled, Lucian stumbled out. His lips were visibly swollen, his hair was a bird's nest of red strands, and his eyes were slightly glazed over. Tamamo, on the other hand, looked like she had just consumed a five-course meal. She was glowing, her fur lustrous and her demonic energy peaking.
"Master," she whispered, giving him a soft, final lick on the cheek that made him shiver. "You are very... nutritious."
"Are we... done?" Lucian wheezed, wiping his mouth.
"The hugs," she reminded him. "Twenty of them. Five minutes each."
"Mother... damn," Lucian cursed. "Tamamo, listen. I'll give you forty in total. Forty hugs. But only after we get to safety. Either when I successfully escape, or after I get caught and finished with whatever punishment Rias has planned. Deal?"
Tamamo tilted her head, a sweet, devious smile playing on her lips. "Forty? And you'll let me choose the timing?"
"Yes! Just go to the spirit realm and hide our trail!"
"Very well, Master," she said, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I'll collect them when you're most 'vulnerable'. It'll be much more fun that way."
In a puff of golden smoke and fox-fire, she vanished.
The Red Herring (Day 1 - Day 3)
"Alright, lover boy," Issei snapped, poking Lucian in the ribs. "Now what? We're in the middle of nowhere and your wives are coming to kill us."
"We aren't going to the safe house," Lucian said, his brain finally clicking back into gear. He pulled out a Gremory-crested coin—one he had modified earlier. "Kiba, give me your jacket for a second."
"My jacket? Why?"
"Just do it."
Lucian took the jacket, infused the coin with a trace of Kiba's energy and a drop of his own blood, and then tossed it toward a minor teleportation circle heading toward the Sitri Territory.
"The Sitri Household?" Kiba asked. "You're sending them to Sona-kaichou?"
"Exactly," Lucian grinned, despite his swollen lips. "Rias knows I'm close with Sona. She knows Sona is tactical. She'll assume I fled there to ask for political asylum or a place to hide. Sona will see the trace, realize I'm using her as a shield, and she'll probably keep quiet just to watch Rias struggle. It'll buy us at least three days."
"You're a genius and a terrible person," Issei noted. "So where are we actually going?"
"The Gremory main estate," Lucian said. "But we aren't taking the main road. We're going through the capital, under the radar."
The Masquerade of Fools (Day 4)
For the next three days, while Rias and her squad were tearing through the Sitri border and interrogating a very amused Sona Sitri, the boys were moving through the Underworld's underbelly.
By the fourth day, they reached the Demonic Capital, Lucis. The city was a sprawling metropolis of gothic architecture and neon-magical lights. To stay hidden from Akeno's bird familiars, they needed a crowd.
"There," Lucian pointed to a massive, sprawling estate on the edge of the noble district. "House Forneus is hosting a masquerade ball tonight. It's an old noble family—neutral, doesn't care about the Gremory internal drama. If we can get inside, we can disappear among the masks."
"Can we really just walk in?" Kiba asked skeptically.
"I'm a Gremory and a relative of the Lucifer. Watch me," Lucian smirked.
Using his status and a bit of "Lucifer Archive" persuasion at the gate, the trio was ushered inside. They were given ornate masks—Lucian a silver fox, Kiba a stoic knight, and Issei... Issei chose a red dragon mask that looked suspiciously like Ddraig's head.
The party was absolute havoc.
Lucian, finding his rhythm again, began to flirt his way through the room, using the noblewomen as human shields to stay out of sight of any Gremory-aligned guests. Issei, however, couldn't help himself.
"Check it out, ladies!" Issei shouted, standing near a buffet table and letting his Boosted Gear manifest briefly. "The Red Dragon Emperor is in the house! Who wants an autograph on their... uh... dress?"
"Issei, you idiot! Shut up!" Lucian hissed, pulling him back.
Kiba stood in the corner, his hand never leaving the hilt of his hidden sword. He was scanning every face, every shadow. "Lucian, we need to go. The energy in here is getting heavy. I think the masking spell is wearing off."
"You're the only idiot, Issei," Lucian muttered, grabbing both of them. "Kiba, you're right. We've stayed too long. Let's move. We head for the Gremory outskirts now."
The Sitting Council of Wrath (The Girls' Perspective)
While the boys were enjoying their "banger" at the Forneus estate, the mood in the human world had turned from angry to apocalyptic.
In the Occult Research Clubroom, Rias sat at her desk, her head in her hands. Akeno, Yubelluna, Asia, and Irina were gathered around a map of the Sitri territory.
"I don't understand," Akeno muttered, her eyes narrowed. "The trace was right there. At the Steiner-Sitri crossroads. But Sona says she hasn't seen them. And she looked... suspiciously smug when she said it."
"That damn bastard," Rias growled. "He sent Tamamo back to the spirit realm, didn't he? He cut our link."
"President," Asia said, her voice eerily calm. She was holding a massive holy cross, and her eyes were fixed on a photo of Issei. "We can still crucify them. If we can't find them, we just need to wait at the one place they'll eventually go."
"Asia, please," Rias sighed. "Calm down. We can't actually crucify Lucian. He just got his demonic core back in order; if we bathe him in holy water, he might lose control of the Power of Destruction again. We'd level the city."
"We can still do it to Issei," Irina suggested, her Archangel Michael 'Ace' wings twitching with holy fervor. "As an Angel, it is my duty to punish the sinner. Issei-kun has been very, very bad. Lucian-kun is clearly the mastermind, but Issei is the accomplice."
"I should have never let them go out," Yubelluna sighed, leaning her staff against the wall. "I thought Lucian needed a break. I didn't think he'd turn into a fugitive."
"He's not just a fugitive," Rias said, standing up. her crimson aura flaring. "He's a Gremory. And I know exactly where he's going. He's going home to Daddy."
The Silver Sentinel (Day 5)
The outskirts of the Gremory Main Estate were beautiful—rolling red hills, ancient forests, and the towering spires of the castle in the distance.
Lucian, Issei, and Kiba reached the final ridge, looking like they had been through a war. Issei's jacket was torn, Kiba's hair was a mess, and Lucian was still nursing the "soul-drain" from Tamamo.
"Almost there," Lucian panted. "If we can get inside and see Uncle Zeoticus, Rias can't touch us. He'll find the whole thing hilarious. He'll protect us for the entertainment value alone."
"I just want a bed that isn't made of rocks," Issei groaned.
"I just want to not be dead," Kiba added.
They began the final sprint toward the massive silver gates of the estate. But as they reached the bridge, the temperature didn't just drop—it froze.
A woman stood in the middle of the bridge. She was dressed in a pristine maid's outfit, her silver hair tied back in a perfect bun. Her eyes were cold, calculating, and held the weight of a thousand years of service and slaughter.
Grayfia Lucifuge.
The Silver-Haired Queen. The Strongest Queen in the Underworld.
Lucian stopped dead in his tracks. Issei let out a sound like a dying tea kettle. Kiba immediately drew his sword, though his hand was shaking.
"Master Lucian," Grayfia said, her voice like cracking ice. "And the Red Dragon Emperor. And the Knight. You are late for dinner."
"Aunt Grayfia!" Lucian forced a smile, his otaku-brain screaming Run! "What a pleasant surprise! We were just... coming by to visit Uncle Zeoticus. Family business!"
"Is that so?" Grayfia stepped forward. The sheer pressure of her aura made the bridge beneath them groan. "Sirzechs-sama received a message from his sister. It seems there was an incident involving a 'Buddy Day' and a 'pilvrimate of perversion'."
"It was Issei's idea!" Lucian and Kiba shouted in unison, both pointing at the cowering Red Dragon.
"In brotherhood," Grayfia quoted, her eyes flashing with a rare, terrifying glint of amusement, "all brothers suffer together. Is that not what you said, Lucian?"
She raised her hand, and a massive magic circle—far more complex than anything Lucian had seen in the archives—materialized in the sky above them.
"The girls are currently arriving at the Sitri border," Grayfia noted. "But they will be here in less than an hour. Until then... I believe Sirzechs-sama has requested that I 'soften you up' for your eventual return to Kuoh."
"Wait! Auntie! Let's talk about this!" Lucian yelled, backing away.
"There is no more talking, Lucian-kun," Grayfia whispered, her silver aura exploding outward. "Now... let us see if your 'Wildcard' training has prepared you for a real Queen."
To be continued...