The night passed quietly.
Morning arrived in the blink of an eye, chasing away the chill of the darkness.
It was still a holiday, so Kuoh Academy showed none of its usual bustle. No students were around—only a few teachers and staff walking the grounds, keeping the campus from feeling completely deserted.
Naturally, no one knew that more than a dozen people were living in the old school building.
The location was secluded to begin with, and hardly anyone ever came by. Even with three servant groups moving around inside, it wouldn't attract attention.
Leo Eligos took the opportunity to get a bit of sleep, recovering his energy and shaking off the exhaustion from the previous day.
After waking up, just as he was about to check on his own servants, a familiar suddenly appeared in front of him and led him toward a room at the end of the second-floor hallway.
A sign hung on the door—
Occult Affairs Club.
Clearly, this was Rias's clubroom.
The familiar vanished after leading him there, making it obvious that Rias had called for him.
Leo stepped forward and knocked. Rias's voice soon came from inside.
"Please come in."
Hearing that, Leo didn't hesitate. He pushed the door open and walked into the Occult Affairs Club room.
It was a rather old-fashioned office. The space wasn't large, but it carried an air of mystery. There were only a few sofas and desks inside, yet all of them were lavish—luxury items at a glance. Even if they weren't antiques, they were clearly top-brand pieces.
Still, the most eye-catching things in the room weren't the furniture or the retro decorations.
It was the strange writing covering nearly every corner.
Leo recognized it at once. They were devil inscriptions—ancient characters that would activate and produce effects once infused with demonic power.
As for what they did exactly, he couldn't tell without examining them carefully.
But the enormous circular formation in the center of the room, occupying most of the floor, was impossible to mistake.
He had one in his own basement. There was another in the Occult Affairs Club room at Sobu High. And there had been one in the student council office he visited yesterday.
A magic circle used for spatial teleportation.
At this moment, it was glowing faintly, as if someone on the other end was preparing to arrive.
Rias and Sona were gathered in front of the magic circle, with Akeno Himejima and Tsubaki standing behind them, clearly there to receive a guest.
"Leo."
"Leo."
"Eligos-sama."
As soon as Leo entered, Rias and Sona looked over and called out to him.
"Leo-sama."
Akeno and Tsubaki bowed respectfully toward him.
"You two are already okay?" Leo asked as he stepped forward, giving Akeno and Tsubaki a once-over.
"Yes, we're fine now."
"Thank you for your concern."
Both women smiled at him. One had a gentle, Yamato nadeshiko-like smile, while the other's was faint and cool.
After a full day, the two Queen piece holders truly seemed to have recovered. There was no trace of their earlier disheveled state. No visible injuries remained. Their clothes were neat and elegant, their beauty intact—making it hard to believe that just yesterday they had been battered and covered in blood.
"That's good," Leo said.
Seeing that they were fine, he didn't dwell on it and turned his attention to Rias and Sona.
"So, who's coming?"
At first, Leo thought it might be a devil delivering Phoenix Tears. But after a moment's thought, that didn't make sense.
If it were just a regular devil delivering something, there'd be no need for Rias and Sona to personally bring their Queen piece holders here, much less send a familiar to summon him.
That level of formality meant only one thing.
Whoever was coming wasn't ordinary.
And sure enough—
"We just received word," Sona said, "that a Maou will be arriving in person."
"Maou?!" Leo blurted out.
A Maou was the supreme leader and guide of the devil race—the highest-ranking existence among devils.
Especially the current Four Great Maou.
Even though the Old Maou Faction mocked them as "false Maou," when it came to strength alone, all four had surpassed the old Maou without exception. None of the old Maou's descendants could compare to them.
They were once the pride of the great devil families—the ones who led the reformist faction to defeat the Old Maou Faction and establish the current devil regime.
Without them, there would be no present-day devil society, and no fragile balance between the three major factions.
For hundreds of years after the Old Maou Faction's defeat, these four had worked tirelessly to keep the devil world running. They were the four pillars holding everything up.
Losing even one of them would be a devastating blow to the entire devil race.
And now—
One of those figures was coming here?
"Who is it?" Leo asked nervously. "Don't tell me it's Leviathan-sama?"
Leo wasn't unfamiliar with Maou.
When he advanced to High-Class Devil and received his Evil Pieces—only to awaken a mutated trait that resonated with them—the current Maou responsible for Evil Pieces, Ajuka Beelzebub, had personally appeared and spoken with him briefly.
But aside from Ajuka Beelzebub, Leo hadn't met any of the other Maou.
If it were Lucifer or Asmodeus, he wouldn't be this tense.
But Leviathan…
That was another story.
He'd heard more than once that Serafall was displeased with how close he was to Sona—and had even messed with him over it, causing him no small amount of trouble.
If it was that Maou coming…
Leo suddenly felt like running away.
"Relax," Sona said, seeing his expression. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh. "It's not my sister. It's Rias's older brother who's coming."
"Rias's brother?" Leo froze, then turned to Rias. "Sirzechs—"
Rias didn't speak. She simply nodded.
Leo immediately sighed of relief—followed by a surge of anticipation.
Sirzechs Lucifer.
That was a legendary name.
"Lucifer" wasn't a title just anyone could inherit.
He was the progenitor of devils, the first Maou, the strongest among the Four Great Maou—and the son of Lilith, the mother of devils recorded in history.
After the first Lucifer's death, his son became a Super Devil but failed to hold onto the title of Maou and fled. In the end, it was Sirzechs Gremory—who personally slew the sons of the first Beelzebub and first Asmodeus—who inherited the name and became the strongest Maou in the current devil world.
In the original story, he was the strongest devil to appear. When he unleashed his true form, even gods were shaken. His strength was considered to be within the top ten in the world.
The thought of meeting such a figure filled Leo with anticipation.
"He's here," Rias said suddenly.
Everyone's attention snapped to the glowing magic circle.
The next instant, light burst forth, and two figures gradually took shape within it.
They were striking in every sense of the word.
A man and a woman.
The man stood slightly ahead, clearly the one in command. The woman stood behind him, like an attendant.
Both possessed an aura that set them apart from ordinary beings.
The man wore luxurious attire and had the same vivid crimson hair as Rias. Tall and refined, he radiated an otherworldly elegance.
The woman had long silver hair and wore a maid outfit. Despite that, her noble presence and powerful aura were impossible to conceal. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Seeing them, everyone present bowed in unison.
"Greetings, our most honored Maou—Lucifer-sama."
Yes.
The man before them was the strongest existence in the current devil world—
Sirzechs Lucifer.
Sirzechs stepped out of the magic circle with his maid-attendant and looked over everyone present.
His eyes weren't red, but a clear sky-blue. His gaze was gentle, making him seem more like a refined noble than the king of devils.
His eyes swept across the room, pausing briefly on Leo. A flash of crimson passed through those blue eyes before they softened even further.
"There's no need for formalities," Sirzechs said.
His voice matched his demeanor—warm, courteous, and reassuring.
"There are no outsiders here. Just us. Let's set aside the complicated etiquette."
He smiled.
"Think of me as a doting older brother visiting his sister—or a neighbor dropping by."
"Yes," everyone replied.
The atmosphere relaxed noticeably.
After all, he really was Rias's brother, and he had visited them before. Outside of public settings, it was easy to feel at ease around him.
Except for one person.
"You must be Leo Eligos," Sirzechs said, turning to the only face he hadn't seen before, his smile widening. "This is our first meeting. I'm Sirzechs Lucifer. I look forward to getting along with you."
Leo smiled back.
"Likewise, Lucifer-sama."
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You can read up to chapter 158 on patreon.com/NiaXD.