Lucifer didn't look at Kenichi. He didn't look at Miu. The arrival of the "protagonist" and the "heroine" of this world was just more background noise.
His goal was absolute: Hakai No Ken.
He turned back to the iron-bound sandbag.
His knuckles were raw, the white of his bone visible for a split second before the Healing Factor flooded the area with warmth, knitting the skin back together.
He wasn't just hitting the bag; he was trying to harmonize his Fundamental Insight with Apachai's explosive Muay Thai mechanics.
Snap. Boom. Snap. Boom.
The rhythm of his strikes echoed through the courtyard like heavy artillery.
Apachai watched with a wide, manic grin, occasionally shouting,
"APAPAPAPAPA!"
While Miu watched with increasing concern, Kenichi looked like he was about to faint from the sheer violence of the display.
However, Lucifer's focus wasn't just on the bag.
He could feel Raven behind him.
Her aura was no longer a calm, protective shadow; it was a jagged, swirling vortex of "Annoyance," "Exclusion," and "Possessiveness."
Every time Miu asked Lucifer a question or adjusted his form, Raven's energy spiked, manifesting as small, dark flickers of shadow at her feet.
She was spiraling.
Her logic was failing to contain the "girlfriend" glitch, and it was becoming a logistical liability.
"Raven,"
Lucifer said, his voice level as he stopped mid-strike.
"Come here."
Raven stepped forward, her hood low, her eyes glowing with a faint, dangerous violet light.
"The training efficiency is dropping, Lucifer. You are distracted by the local inhabitants. We should—"
"Stop,"
Lucifer interrupted.
He didn't use his teenage voice. He didn't use his cold, logistical tone.
He spoke with a quiet, undeniable gravity.
He looked at her—really looked at her—ignoring the confused stares from Kenichi and the curious tilt of Miu's head.
"You're jealous,"
Lucifer stated.
"And you don't even know why it's happening or how to stop it. It's making you a mess."
"I am not a 'mess',"
Raven countered, though her voice trembled.
"I am analyzing the data—"
"No more data,"
Lucifer said.
He stepped into her personal space, moving faster than her heightened senses expected.
He reached out, his calloused hands—still warm from the Healing Factor's work—framing her pale face.
Then, Lucifer did the one thing that wasn't in any of Raven's tactical manuals or emotional data sets. He leaned in and kissed her.
The world of Ryōzanpaku vanished for Raven.
The sound of Apachai's shadowboxing, Kenichi's whimpering, and the rustle of the wind in the trees all flattened into silence.
For Raven, it was like a massive System Override. The jagged "Annoyance" was instantly cauterized.
The spiraling "Jealousy" was overwritten by a surge of sensory input so intense it acted as a reset button for her entire emotional core.
Her mind, which had been a storm of labels and rivalries, went perfectly, blissfully blank.
When Lucifer pulled away, Raven's violet eyes were wide and unfocused.
Her posture, usually stiff and guarded, had gone completely soft—tame.
"You don't have to be jealous,"
Lucifer whispered, his teenage awkwardness returning now that the deed was done.
He cleared his throat, looking away.
"You're my partner. The one and only. Just... chill out, okay?"
Raven didn't speak. She couldn't.
The jealousy was gone, replaced by an emotion that felt like a deep, resonant hum in her very soul—something much more profound and dangerous than simple possessiveness.
It was total, unyielding.
She took a half-step back, her hood falling back to reveal a face that was, for the first time, completely at peace.
She nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving him.
"A—Acknowledged,"
She whispered, her voice melodic and soft.
"The... anomaly has been resolved. I understand my status now."
Lucifer turned back to the sandbag, his heart racing faster than it had during the mountain sprints.
He felt a weird weight lifted off the room, though he could hear Kenichi whispering in the background:
"Did... did he just do that in front of a master? Is that allowed? Miu-san, is that a martial art too?!"
Miu was blushing furiously, looking at the ground.
Even the Elder, watching from the balcony, let out a booming laugh.
"Ho ho! The youth of today! So much fire! Use that fire in your fists, boy!"
Lucifer growled under his breath and threw a massive right hook.
[Hakai No Ken (Fist of Destruction) Progress: 15%]
[Void Severance Integration: Initiated]
With Raven's mind "reset" and focused purely on him with a newfound, quiet intensity, the training reached a new level of efficiency.
Lucifer stopped being a student and became a weapon.
For the next week, he ignored everyone.
He ate the brutal food provided by Akisame, he slept on the hard floor, and he hit things until his bones broke and healed, over and over again.
He watched Kenichi's slow, agonizing start to training with a detached eye, occasionally seeing the boy get beaten into a pulp by Apachai, but he never interfered.
He was here for the Fist.
By the end of the second week, Lucifer stood before a massive, solid iron block the masters had brought in for him.
"Focus your ki,"
Akisame commanded.
"Don't just hit it. Imagine the space behind the iron is what you want to occupy. Your fist is just the bridge."
Lucifer took a deep breath. He didn't just focus his ki. He focused his Fundamental Insight on the molecular structure of the iron, and for the first time, he layered Void Severance over his knuckles just as he initiated the Fist of Destruction strike.
BOOM.
The iron didn't dent. It shattered. Small, jagged shards of metal flew in every direction, one of them slicing Lucifer's cheek before the Healing Factor sealed it shut.
Apachai let out a roar of delight.
"YES! SMASH! YOU SMASHED THE IRON!"
[Skill Unlocked: Void-Layered Strike (Tier 1)]
[Hakai No Ken Mastery: 40%]
Lucifer stood over the ruins of the iron, his breathing steady.
He was becoming something this world hadn't seen—a martial artist with the power of spatial manipulation.
But as he looked up, he saw a group of men in matching jackets lurking near the gates of the dojo, watching.
They had the symbol of Ragnarok on their backs.