Sweat was still sliding down his back when Daniel Hernández let himself fall onto the grass of the back garden of the Gremory residence. The sun had set a good while ago, and the stars twinkled with that sharpness found only on private demonic grounds. His chest rose and fell at a deep but controlled rhythm; after entire weeks pushing his body to the limit, muscle fatigue had become an old acquaintance, almost a comforting companion.
—That was impressive, Daniel —Rias's voice came from the wooden terrace, wrapped in a crimson silk robe that contrasted with her long red hair. She approached barefoot, indifferent to the dew, and sat beside him without caring about the dampness—. You've been training for more than four hours straight. Even my brother would be surprised.
—I appreciate the compliment —he murmured, rising onto his elbows—. But you know I can't relax. Kokabiel is moving, and Lala's suitors will appear soon. I don't intend to let anyone endanger what we've built.
Rias stroked his cheek with infinite tenderness, the kind that always reminded him why every damn second of effort was worth it. She said nothing more; she didn't need to. Around her, the rest of the girls began to peek out: Hikari and Hibuki whispered excitedly as they prepared a cold towel for him; Reynare, always alert, watched the edge of the forest; Sakura waited with a glass of water and that shy smile that made his heart clench; Asia fidgeted with her fingers, nervous; and Sona, standing by the door, analyzed his every movement with an appraising gaze, probably taking mental notes for the next student council meeting.
Tamamo-no-Mae appeared from among the shadows with a tray of onigiri she had prepared with her own hands, and Yasaka, who had arrived from Kyoto that same afternoon, gave him a bow of her head laden with pride. Lala, the most recent addition, was literally floating in the air with her flight device, not entirely understanding the complexities of the training but absolutely amazed by the dedication of her future husband.
That night, after a light dinner and countless displays of affection that he still found hard to process without feeling his chest expand, Daniel withdrew to the main bedroom. The bed was enormous, a battlefield of tangled sheets and pillows that had ceased to be Rias's exclusive territory and become the nest where all of them converged. He slipped between the warm bodies of his fiancées, feeling each one's scent, the touch of skin against skin that always managed to calm him. Hikari and Hibuki snuggled to his left, their tiny electric discharges tickling his side. Reynare clung to his back, a fallen angel who now only wanted to protect him. Asia, in a recent burst of boldness, had claimed the space under his right arm. Rias lay across his chest, naked, just as had become customary, while Sona, after an initial hesitation, settled at the foot of the bed with a book in her hands, ready to watch over everyone's sleep. Tamamo purred in her nine-tailed fox form, curled up on the adjacent pillow. Yasaka and Lala, not yet fully accustomed to the group dynamic, stayed on separate futons beside the bed, but their presences were as solid as the others'.
Daniel closed his eyes. His last thought before falling asleep was for the enemies approaching: Freezer, Kokabiel, the alien princes... He was sure he could defeat Kokabiel, but preparation never hurt. He trusted his Haki, his Boosted Gear, the women who loved him. However, a part of him sensed that fate would give him no respite.
And then, without transition, without the usual lethargy of sleep, he opened his eyes.
The landscape that received him was a freezing slap to his senses. He was no longer in bed, nor in Kuoh, nor anywhere he could recognize. A desolate wasteland stretched in every direction, covered by a fog so dense it could almost be chewed. The ground was made of blackish, cracked earth, as if it had been scorched millennia ago. Skeletal trees, without a single leaf, rose in the distance like dead sentinels, and among the shadows of the mist moved silhouettes that were not alive. No, they did not move: they simply were there, and then disappeared, like echoes of something that should never have existed.
A chill ran down his spine. Something inside him, deep within his expanding draconic instincts, screamed that this was not a simple dream. It was too real: the texture of the ground beneath his bare feet, the smell of ozone and ash, the oppressive sensation of being watched.
—Ddraig? —he called aloud, raising his left arm. The Boosted Gear gleamed there, the green jewel embedded in the back of his hand radiating a pulsing light. But the dragon did not answer. Normally, Ddraig's presence was a warm current in his consciousness, a sardonic whisper in moments of calm and a fierce roar in battle. Now, there was only a sepulchral silence—. Ddraig, answer, where are we?
The void was his only answer.
Daniel swallowed and took a few steps, attentive to any change. The mist seemed to ripple around him. His Observation Haki, constantly active from training, began to throb at his temples like a warning drum. He had been polishing that ability to the point of exhaustion, and now he could extend his perception up to five seconds into the immediate future. It was not a clear vision, but an overlay of probabilities, flashes of what was about to happen almost before the enemy had finished deciding.
Suddenly, a flash of murderous intent pierced the mist.
His mind flooded with the image of an attack: a crimson line cutting through the air, aimed exactly at his neck. Five seconds. He reacted with a fluidity that had cost blood and sweat, turning his torso to the left while his right leg pivoted. The air hummed where an instant later something sharp passed, so fast that normal sight would never have caught it.
He had no time to celebrate it. A second premonition struck him, this time from a completely different angle. Four seconds. He ducked, almost touching the ground with his knee, and the attack whistled over his head. The mist around him tore from the object's trail, briefly revealing a metallic gleam.
—Who's there? —he growled, raising his fists in guard. His Armament Haki was already flowing, darkening his forearms up to the elbows with a blackish, warm gleam. But whoever his attacker was did not answer.
The third wave came without prior warning in his emotions; this time, his Observation Haki could barely show him a blur. Two seconds. Faster. Damn it, it was faster than Zastin, faster than anything he had faced before. He couldn't dodge it. So he wouldn't.
With a growl, Daniel reinforced the entire right side of his torso with Busoshoku and, over that layer, applied Ryou, the internal emission of Haki that Thanatos from One Piece would describe as "flowing." His skin became an invisible armor, a fortress of pure will. The impact came a fraction of a second later, and a deafening metallic "CLANG" resounded across the wasteland as if they had struck a giant bell.
Sparks flew. He could feel the force of the attack transmitting through his defense, vibrating in his bones. He gritted his teeth but held his position. The object that had struck him kept pressing against his side, stuck against the impossible resistance of his Haki. He took that instant to look.
The first thing he saw was the tip of a spear. Crimson, long, lethal. The metal seemed to absorb the scant light of the place and return it in the form of a sinister gleam, like freshly spilled blood. His draconic instincts roared with alarm: that thing was dangerous, capable of wounding even a dragon.
Then, following the shaft with his gaze, he made out its wielder.
She was a woman of impossible beauty, one of those that remain engraved on the retina like a vision that transcends reality. Her hair, an intense purple that bordered on the supernatural, fell in a long mane almost to her hips, partially gathered in a side braid. Her eyes, red as the purest ruby, watched him with a mixture of curiosity and contained fierceness. She wore a tight dark-purple outfit with metal plates protecting her shoulders and forearms, leaving exposed shapely legs clad in black stockings that disappeared into tall boots. Over her shoulders rested a kind of short cape or shawl, and her entire bearing radiated the authority of someone who had killed more times than she could remember.
Over her shoulders rested a kind of short cape or shawl, and her entire bearing radiated the authority of someone who had killed more times than she could remember.
Daniel's mind stopped. The world froze in a microsecond that felt like an eternity to him. He recognized her. He recognized her perfectly.
—Scathach?! —his own voice sounded alien to him, a mixture of disbelief and poorly concealed panic.
The woman showed no surprise at being identified. On the contrary, a smile curved her lips, an expression laden with an almost predatory interest. Before he could process it, she exerted more pressure on the spear, forcing him to slide several meters backward over the dead earth. The soles of his bare feet scraped the ground, raising dust and small splinters. Daniel shifted his weight forward, digging in his heels to brake the inertia.
Scathach withdrew the weapon with a graceful movement and spun it in her hands before resting the butt end on the ground. She tilted her head slightly.
—Hoh, you're interesting. I had never seen abilities like yours. They're very useful, from what I've seen.
Cold sweat ran down the back of his neck. Scathach, the Queen of Shadows, the Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith, Cú Chulainn's teacher and slayer of gods in the legendary world of Fate. In the universe he originally came from—that Mexican-American one that now seemed so distant—she was a character from video games and visual novels. But in the amalgamated madness of this world, where demons, fallen angels, Sekirei, and alien princesses coexisted, nothing surprised him completely anymore. Even so, having her before him, feeling her spiritual pressure, was terrifying.
She seemed to read his thought, because her smile widened.
—One ability that lets you see the future, though only partially... and another that lets you harden any part of your body in an instant, right?
Daniel forced his features to remain neutral. He didn't want to confirm anything to her. But for some reason, he knew it was useless.
—Hoh, so I hit the mark, eh? —Scathach let out a quiet laugh, pleased with herself.
—There goes my advantage —he thought, with a trace of bitterness.
She gave him no more respite. Without warning, she moved. This time she was serious: the distance between them shrank to zero in a blink. The spear danced in an impossible arc, seeking his throat, his ribs, his legs, all at the same time. Her speed surpassed any record Daniel had ever experienced. Neither the training with Zastin, nor the fights against Nyx, nor even the conceptual battle against Angra Mainyu compared to this woman's frenetic rhythm.
His Observation Haki screamed constant warnings at him, but even seeing the attacks three or four seconds in advance, his body could barely keep up. Scathach was simply too fast.
—If she's not going to talk, I have no reason to hold back —he muttered to himself.
—Boost!
The jewel of the green gauntlet emitted a flash. The world underwent a radical change: suddenly, Scathach's speed was no longer an unintelligible blur, but a sequence of fluid and predictable movements. He could see every contraction of her muscles, every correction of her trajectory. His reaction time had doubled.
And she noticed.
Scathach's eyes widened with genuine surprise, one Daniel would never forget. She had begun her charge with no possibility of stopping, confident that her speed would be enough. Now he could follow her, and what was better: he could hit her back.
He closed his right fist. Busoshoku flowed, hardening his skin until it became living steel; then he forced the emission, the Ryou that had cost him so much to master. All in a single instant. His fist headed straight for Scathach's face.
Somehow, she managed to interpose the shaft of her spear. The clash was brutal: an expansive pressure wave shot out in all directions, tearing the surrounding mist and raising a cloud of dust. The sparks that flew illuminated both their faces for a second; hers, with a savage confidence; his, with absolute concentration.
But Daniel still had one card left.
He extended his will beyond the point of contact, pushing the invisible flow of Ryou through the spear and into the warrior's body. It was a titanic effort, something he had never done in a real context; he had only practiced it against rocks and trees that ended up pulverized from within. Now, he felt his Haki pass through Scathach's natural barrier and strike her internally.
The Queen of Shadows opened her eyes wide. Her smile did not disappear, but it tensed. A mouthful of blood escaped her lips. The internal blow had been effective.
Daniel did not stop. Taking advantage of the thousandth of imbalance, he unleashed all his brute strength—that of his muscles boosted by the Boost, that of his body in transition toward dragon—and externalized the Ryou in a devastating push. Scathach was sent flying backward like a projectile, her silhouette outlined against the mist. She flew dozens of meters until she crashed into something invisible; perhaps the very limit of that dreamlike space, because the impact made the air ripple and a dull roar shook the wasteland.
Daniel breathed deeply. Fatigue did not even show itself; adrenaline and the Boost kept him standing. But he did not allow himself to relax. Not with her.
From the point of impact, among the shreds of mist, Scathach emerged. She walked with a firm step, wiping the blood from her chin with the back of her gauntlet. Her smile, far from fading, had become a grimace of pure sadistic delight.
—Good warm-up —she said, and her voice sounded velvety and dangerous in equal parts—. Let's continue.
Daniel's blood froze. He returned to his combat stance, senses at maximum. But just at that instant, Scathach raised her gaze to the overcast sky. Something seemed to catch her attention, a presence or a voice only she could perceive. She frowned, clicked her tongue against her palate, and then looked down at him with an evident pout, puffing out her cheeks in a gesture so unexpectedly adorable that Daniel's heart skipped a beat.
—It seems it won't be possible. Our time ran out —she announced with a disappointment so genuine that she almost seemed like a girl whose favorite toy was being taken away.
"She looks beautiful like that," he managed to think, though he was very careful not to verbalize it.
Scathach turned her back on him carelessly, the spear resting on her shoulder. Before the mist claimed her, she spoke one last time:
—Prepare yourself, Daniel Hernández. I'm going to see if you are worthy of my teachings.
—How do you know my name?! —he shouted, taking a step forward.
But she was already fading, and with her, the entire world. The mist dissolved into a blinding whiteness, the ground disappeared beneath his feet, and the sensation of free fall enveloped him.
He opened his eyes with a start.
The ceiling of the Gremory residence greeted him with its elegant moldings and the faint light of dawn filtering through the curtains. His body was bathed in cold sweat, his heart hammered against his ribs, and his breathing was ragged. He blinked several times, reorienting himself.
—That was not a dream... —he murmured. He sat up abruptly, causing several naked bodies around him to stir with sleepy complaints.
Rias, beside him, half-opened her eyes with immediate concern. She placed a hand on his bare chest, right over his heart.
—Daniel, what's wrong? You're pale.
Hikari and Hibuki sat up in unison, their little electric sparks crackling in the air. Reynare was already on her feet, a feather of dark light forming in her hand. Asia, Sakura, Sona, Tamamo, Lala, and Yasaka woke one after another, surrounding him with a wall of affection and alertness.
—It's nothing... or maybe it is —Daniel passed a hand over his face—. I saw someone. Someone who shouldn't be in this world.
—Kokabiel? —Sona asked, adjusting her glasses.
—Worse. Or better, depending on how you look at it. Scathach, the Queen of Shadows.
The name provoked no reaction of recognition except in Tamamo, who let out a choked gasp and brought her hands to her chest.
—The god-slayer from Celtic mythology? Here? —the nine-tailed fox's eyes were wide open—. That's impossible, master. She dwells in the Land of Shadows, a plane beyond the reach of the living and the dead. If she has managed to project herself into your dreams...
—It means I'm an interesting target for her —Daniel completed, remembering the woman's words—. She has been testing me. She wants to see if I'm worthy of being her student.
A dense silence settled in the room. Lala, who was floating barefoot at the foot of the bed, tilted her head.
—Is she an enemy or an ally?
—Good question —Daniel lay back down on the mattress, and his girlfriends hurried to snuggle around him, each seeking a point of contact—. I don't know. For now, she doesn't seem hostile... beyond trying to kill me to test my abilities, of course. But if she's here, it means the barriers between worlds are weakening more than I thought.
—That, or someone has summoned her —Sona pointed out—. We must investigate.
—We will —he promised, stroking Asia's hair, which was trembling slightly—. But now... I need a moment.
Ddraig, at last, emitted a faint pulse within him, a kind of mental clearing of the throat.
—You're late —Daniel reproached him silently.
—It wasn't my fault, partner. That woman projected an incredible spiritual suppression field. I couldn't communicate with you until the dream ended. She's dangerous. Very dangerous. Even in my heyday, I wouldn't have liked facing her without a plan.
—Great —Daniel thought—. Another thing to worry about.
He closed his eyes and let the warmth of his fiancées envelop him. He felt Rias's perfume, the electric tingling of the twins, Reynare's contained coldness, Tamamo's warmth, Sakura's tenderness, Asia's innocence, Sona's firmness, Yasaka's majesty, and Lala's vivacity. All those loves woven around him were his anchor, the reason he would fight gods, dragons, aliens, and immortal queens.
Scathach wanted to measure him. Well, she would get it. But when the time came, he was not going to be alone.
That silent promise accompanied him as he fell asleep again, this time without mists or wastelands, only the calm heartbeat of those he loved.