Daniel Hernández's awakening was not the usual kind. After the dreamlike experience with Scathach, his body felt strangely heavy, as if the Land of Shadows itself had left an invisible mark on his muscles. It was not the physical exhaustion of intense training, but a deeper fatigue, anchored in the spirit. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the faint brightness that filtered through the curtains of the main bedroom of the Gremory residence, and for an instant he remained still, letting the rhythm of his heart settle.
Around him, the bed was still a whirlpool of warm bodies and soft breaths. Rias Gremory slept beside him, her crimson hair spilled over the pillow like a river of fire; her naked skin pressed against Daniel's side with a naturalness that had already become habit. On the other side, Asia Argento murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, clinging to his arm as if she feared he would disappear. Hikari and Hibiki, the Sekirei twins, lay tangled around each other at the foot of the bed, their tiny electric discharges occasionally crackling in the gloom. Reynare remained seated on the edge of the mattress, in a posture that seemed uncomfortable for sleeping but that she adopted every night to stay alert; her black wings, folded, trembled slightly with each breath. Sakura Matou had curled up into a ball next to the headboard, and Tamamo-no-Mae, in her human form, hugged one of the pillows with a placid smile. Sona Sitri, methodical even in rest, occupied the opposite side with her body straight and her hands crossed over her abdomen. Yasaka and Lala, who had not yet fully integrated into the dynamic of sleeping in the giant bed, rested on separate futons laid next to the bed, wrapped in silk sheets.
Daniel let out a long, silent sigh. The lethargy he felt was different from that of other mornings: it was not the simple desire to stay between the sheets, but a heaviness in his soul, as if Scathach's trial had sucked away part of his vitality. Ddraig, in the corner of his consciousness, emitted a faint pulse, a sort of growl of acknowledgment.
"You're awake, partner," the dragon's voice sounded fainter than usual, as if he too were feeling the wear.
"Barely," Daniel replied mentally, rubbing his face with his free hand. "What exactly was that woman? How could she silence you?"
"The Queen of Shadows is no common adversary. She projected her consciousness through the dream plane with an authority that should not be possible in this world. My connection with you was blocked by a spiritual barrier of a purity I had not felt in millennia. I could not intervene, and that irritates me."
"It wasn't your fault. But if she appears again, I need a way to counter that suppression."
"You will have to train your spirit. Your mental resistance is high, but she plays in another league. If she truly wants to make you her student, she will be the hardest teacher you have ever had."
Daniel nodded to himself and sat up with slow movements, trying not to wake the girls. He did not entirely succeed: Rias half-opened her eyes at once, with that ability of hers to detect any change in her betrothed.
"Good morning," she whispered, raising a hand to caress his cheek. "You look terrible. Did you dream about her again?"
"It was only a replica. She didn't appear again, but the memory of the fight left me exhausted. It's strange, because physically I'm fine."
"Spiritual exhaustion is as real as physical," Sona interjected, already sitting up with her glasses on, though still in her nightgown. "You should take the day easy. There are classes today, but you could stay home."
"No," Daniel refused gently. "I need distraction. Normalcy will help me focus. Besides, I don't intend to let an immortal witch alter my routine."
The girls gradually woke. Hikari and Hibiki stretched with a chorus of identical yawns, and upon seeing him awake, they pounced on him in a double embrace full of static electricity. Reynare was already on her feet, preparing a cup of tea with a silent efficiency that never ceased to surprise him. Sakura smiled shyly at him from her corner, and Tamamo, stretching, gave him a look loaded with complicity.
"Today I'll have to return to Kyoto for shrine matters," Yasaka announced, already dressed in an elegant purple kimono. "But I'll be back as soon as I can. Kunou asks about you, Daniel."
"Tell her I'll come see her soon. And be careful on the way."
"I am the leader of the yōkai, darling. I think I can take care of myself," she replied with a proud smile, though her eyes betrayed the pleasure Daniel's concern gave her.
Lala, for her part, was already floating in the air with her flight device, oblivious to the weight of the morning conversations, and circled the room humming a melody from her planet.
After a breakfast in which Daniel barely tasted a bite, the group prepared for the school day. Kuoh Academy received them with its usual mix of uniformed students and rumors about the beauty of the Gremory and Sitri girls. Daniel walked beside Rias, Asia, and the twins, feeling how the normalcy of the institute provided him with a strange comfort. Classes passed without incident; he could barely concentrate on the lessons, his mind wandering between strategies to face Kokabiel, the memory of Scathach's crimson spear, and the disturbing mention of that name Lala had let slip days earlier: Freezer.
At lunchtime, they gathered in the Occult Research Club, where Sona joined with her own entourage. The conversation drifted toward the logistics of the confrontation with Kokabiel and the recovery of the holy swords. Irina and Xenovia, the newly arrived exorcists, had been collaborating with them, and although there was still a natural tension due to their differences, they shared a common goal.
"The fallen angel has not made any open moves," Xenovia reported, standing with her arms crossed. "But the Church has detected fluctuations in the swords' energy. He is looking for something, perhaps a place of power to activate them."
"We'll find it before he does," Daniel said with conviction, and although his tone was firm, part of him wondered if he would have time to deal with everything.
At the end of the school day, the group set out on the return to the residence. The afternoon sun dyed the sky in orange tones, and a warm breeze stirred the tree leaves. Daniel, however, felt a growing need for answers. He needed to know what he was facing on the front of Lala's suitors. The time had come to ask her directly.
They settled into the spacious living room of the Gremory residence. Rias sat on one of the sofas, with Asia beside her; Hikari and Hibiki plopped down on the floor on cushions; Reynare remained standing by the window, attentive; Sakura and Tamamo took another sofa; Sona sat in an armchair with a cup of tea; and Yasaka, although she should have already left, had stayed a little longer, claiming she wanted to hear the conversation. Lala, excited, floated in the center of the room.
"Lala," Daniel began, choosing his words carefully. "You mentioned before that your father announced your engagement on a galactic level. That is going to attract many suitors, right?"
"Yes!" she replied with a radiant smile. "Although most of them won't be a problem. Just a bunch of silly princes."
"Tell me about them. I want to be prepared."
Lala tilted her head, pensive, and let herself fall onto a pouf with her legs crossed. Her long, slender tail waved behind her as she spoke.
"Well, you see, most of my betrothed weren't that powerful. My father, Gid Lucione Deviluke, is very powerful and keeps the peace of the worlds with an iron hand. That means many planets wanted to ally with us. The princes they offered me were typical sons of kings: kept, spoiled, some perverts, others completely useless both in politics and in society. Others weren't even interested in me; they only wanted the title. In general, those were my betrothed."
Daniel nodded slowly, feeling growing relief. He had imagined armies of interstellar warriors, not a parade of incompetents. If he only had to deal with spoiled princes, the threat was manageable.
"That's a relief," he murmured, relaxing his shoulders. "I thought I'd have to face galactic monsters of destructive power."
"Well, most of them are like that," Lala continued, oblivious to the change in his expression. "But then there was that Freezer, who tried to marry me. That guy gave me a really bad feeling."
The name hit Daniel like a sledgehammer. At first, his mind processed it absently, as if it did not quite fit the context. Freezer. Freezer? No, it couldn't be. It had to be a coincidence. There were thousands of aliens with strange names in the universe. But the echo of that word resounded in his memory with the force of thunder: the emperor of evil, the intergalactic tyrant, the nightmare of Dragon Ball Z.
"Who did you just say?" he asked in a tense voice, sitting up on the sofa.
Lala blinked, surprised by his reaction.
"Freezer. Another ruler of space. You don't know him?"
Daniel's throat went dry. No, it couldn't be. Freezer, the being who destroyed Planet Vegeta, who annihilated the Saiyans, who turned cruelty into an art. That Freezer could not exist in this world. And yet, if Lala mentioned him so naturally, it was because he was real. A void opened in his stomach.
"F-Freezer?" he repeated, like an idiot, hoping he had heard wrong.
"Yes, Freezer. Another ruler of space," Lala said with exasperation, as if it were obvious.
Daniel wanted to interrupt, wanted to stop her, wanted to deny what he was hearing. But Lala kept talking, and each word of hers drove a stake deeper into Daniel's growing anguish.
"A while ago, my dad and he fought over territory. To say that Freezer lost disastrously is an understatement. Since that first confrontation, there were many more, and in all of them Freezer lost. When my dad began to get bored with everything that being king of the universe entailed, he reached a somewhat tense peace with Freezer."
Daniel listened with a mixture of disbelief and growing terror. Gid Lucione Deviluke, Lala's father, was apparently so powerful that he had defeated Freezer repeatedly. That, at least, was a consolation. But the fact that Freezer existed was already a monumental threat.
"A few years passed and I was born," Lala continued. "A few years ago, he came on a 'diplomatic' visit to Deviluke and proposed a union between him and me to unite the universe under his yoke. Since my dad was already fed up with ruling, he accepted the engagement without hesitation, as long as I agreed."
She paused, and her expression darkened slightly, something rare for her.
"The thing is, as soon as I saw him, something didn't sit right with me. Everything about him screamed evil. And boy, was he evil. He wasn't like my dad. It's true that my dad also destroyed insurgents and entire planets if they committed atrocious crimes, but Freezer was someone who committed cruelties just for fun. He wiped out entire races, including a species known as Saiyans and Namekians, just because they dared to rebel."
Daniel's hands trembled. He had heard those stories a thousand times in his previous life, through a screen. He knew what Freezer was capable of: torture, genocide, slavery. He knew that his power was capable of destroying planets with a finger. He knew that he was a monster without scruples, an emperor who ruled through fear.
"And that's why I refused to marry him," Lala finished. "His face was one I will never forget. He tried to maintain composure by showing his 'friendly' face, but I saw that there was indignation in his eyes. He couldn't do anything about it, so he went back to his part of the universe, which he rules only because my dad allows it."
Lala puffed out her cheeks, remembering the episode with evident disgust.
Daniel, for his part, struggled not to have a crisis in the middle of the living room. Freezer. The damned Freezer. The intergalactic emperor of Dragon Ball Z existed in this world, had been Lala's betrothed, and probably held a grudge. And not only that: if Lala had rejected him, Freezer's pride would have been wounded. A being like that did not forget. And now, with Gid's announcement, it was more than likely that Freezer would decide to appear to claim what he considered his, or worse, to take revenge.
Daniel's girlfriends noticed his sudden pallor and the sweat beading on his forehead. Rias leaned toward him with concern.
"Daniel, are you okay? Who is that Freezer? Do you know him?"
"Yes, I know him," he managed to say, in a hoarse voice. "At least, I know the legend. In my home world, he was a fictional character. An intergalactic tyrant capable of destroying planets with ease. A ruthless genocidal maniac. One of the most feared villains in anime history."
Sona frowned.
"A fictional character? But Lala describes him as a real being."
"Because in this world apparently everything mixes. I don't know how, but if Freezer exists here, then he is not a simple suitor. He is an apocalyptic-level threat."
The girls exchanged alarmed looks. Hikari and Hibiki stopped playing with their electric sparks. Reynare stepped away from the window, tense. Tamamo pressed her lips together. Asia paled. Yasaka stood up gravely.
"Explain yourself, Daniel," Yasaka asked. "We need to know what we're facing."
Daniel passed a hand over his face, trying to organize his thoughts.
"Freezer is an emperor of space, as Lala said. In the stories of my world, he is known as the conqueror of the universe. His race, the Arcosians, possesses an innate ability to transform and multiply their power. In his final form, he is capable of destroying entire planets with a single attack. He is cruel, calculating, and stops at nothing. If he really comes to Earth, our current forces will not be enough. We would have to evacuate everything."
A sepulchral silence settled in the room. Even Lala, who normally did not understand the gravity of situations, seemed to grasp the tension.
"Is he that strong?" Rias asked, clenching her fists.
"Yes. And I'm not exaggerating. If Freezer decides to come in person, we would need a miracle. Or an alliance with beings of comparable power."
Sona adjusted her glasses, her strategic mind already working.
"And your Boosted Gear? Couldn't you multiply your power enough?"
"The problem is that Freezer has no clear limits. His base power is already astronomical. Even if I used all my Boosts, I don't know if I could reach him. And if he transforms, the difference would be abysmal."
Ddraig emitted a growl within him.
"Partner, don't underestimate yourself. You are more than a simple wielder. You have defeated primordial gods and conceptual entities. But it is true that this Freezer sounds like a completely different level. We will need to plan carefully."
"I know. And I don't have time for three open fronts."
Three threats. Kokabiel and the holy swords. Scathach and her mysterious interest. And now Freezer. Daniel felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, and for an instant, despair brushed against him. But he dismissed it immediately. He could not afford the luxury of faltering. He had people to protect, promises to keep.
"D-Do you think he will come here?" Daniel asked, turning toward Lala with poorly concealed nervousness.
Lala put a finger to her chin, adopting a pensive expression. It was an adorable gesture, in sharp contrast to the atmosphere of panic in the room.
"Probably," she answered at last, with a naturalness that froze Daniel's blood.
Probably. The word resounded in his mind like a sentence. He not only had to deal with the case of the holy swords in Kuoh, help Irina and Xenovia defeat Kokabiel and recover those swords, worry about the possibility that Scathach would appear again in his dreams, but now he also had to prepare for the eventual arrival of Freezer, the most fearsome enemy of Dragon Ball Z. Three threats. Very little time.
Daniel went blank. His mind, so accustomed to strategy, was paralyzed for an instant by the magnitude of the situation. He looked at his girlfriends, saw the worry on their faces, the determination struggling to show itself. They were strong, brave, and they loved him. But against Freezer, he did not know if it would be enough.
Then something changed inside him. It was not an explosion of rage or a fit of panic, but a cold resolution. Daniel Hernández was not a coward. He would not give up. If fate had thrown three monsters at him at once, he would fight all three. And for that, he needed more power.
"I need to train more," he said, with a calm that surprised even himself. "And if Scathach really wants to train me, then there is no one better for it."
Tamamo looked up in surprise.
"Would you consider accepting her tutelage? That woman is dangerous, master. Her training could kill you."
"I already know. But if Freezer comes, I cannot afford to be weak. Scathach is the god-slayer. If anyone can take me to the next level, it's her. And if that means risking myself, then I will."
Rias looked at him with a mixture of fear and admiration.
"Daniel... I don't want to lose you."
"You won't lose me," he promised, taking her hand. "But I must try. For you all, for everyone. If I want to protect everything I value, I need to become stronger."
Sona nodded slowly.
"Then we will make a plan. First, we will focus on Kokabiel. He is the most immediate threat. Meanwhile, you will train with any available means. And if Freezer appears, we will flee or fight, but not without preparation."
"I agree," Yasaka said. "The yōkai of Kyoto will mobilize. And I will speak with the other leaders. If Freezer is as dangerous as you say, the entire world should be on alert."
Lala, for her part, smiled and approached Daniel, hugging him tightly.
"Don't worry, Daniel. My dad wouldn't allow Freezer to hurt you. And if he comes, I'll fight too. I'm not that defenseless."
"I know, Lala. But I don't want to depend on your father. I want to be the one who protects you all."
The night advanced amid plans and debates. Daniel retired early, his mind seething with ideas. He lay down on the bed, alone for just a moment, before the girls joined him. Sleep soon claimed him, and this time, there was no fog or wasteland. Only darkness.
Upon waking the next morning, the lethargy was still there, but Daniel no longer paid attention to it. He had a clear objective: to become stronger. And he would not stop until he achieved it.