DxD: The Heir of Asura

—Serafall Leviathan—

"Your Highness," Serafall called out to the woman who seemed lost in a daze, covered in blood and surrounded by corpses.

The woman, the beautiful pale-haired queen whose hair was now streaked with red, slowly turned toward the voice and cracked a smile that looked more tired than anything Serafall had ever seen.

"Your Highness Leviathan," she replied in an utterly exhausted voice. "You finally came."

Serafall felt a pang of guilt twist in her chest as she took in the sight of the woman who had dealt with the entire force on her own. She hadn't interacted much with Carmilla in the past, at least not at a level worth remembering. But she knew enough to recognize the similarities.

Both were political figureheads, burdened with power and responsibility. And both had learned to carry the weight and blame of war alone.

"Is it over?" Carmilla asked, too tired to even glance around her.

Serafall had sensed the presence as soon as she reached the Vampiric lands. Most of it belonged to Faiser's legions and peerage, with vampires scattered among them. That alone was proof of victory, aside from the troubling presence surrounding Faiser himself. As much as she wanted to go there, she knew it was better that Sirzechs handled it.

He was stronger than her. More capable.

"It appears so, Your Highness," Serafall answered, maintaining her respectful tone.

Carmilla stumbled as she tried to move, but managed to steady herself before falling. "And that… draconic presence? Not Bova's, nor Tannin's… I know Tannin's presence. But—but that evil draconic presence."

Serafall fell silent. She did know what Carmilla was referring to. Crom. And she had felt his presence vanish as well.

"His presence went cold a while back," Serafall replied, taking a few steps forward. "Faiser's demonic signature is weak, but he's alive. So is Tannin, and the other presence." She wasn't entirely sure about that last one, but since there had been no outburst after Crom's presence vanished, she chose to believe it hadn't been directed at Faiser. "Satan Lucifer arrived shortly after. Everyone is safe."

What unsettled her was that Crom's presence had weakened significantly even before Sirzechs arrived. And though she felt the Power of Destruction extinguish the Evil Dragon, it didn't make sense that Faiser, Tannin, and the White Dragon Emperor could have subdued him.

'Three Ultimate Class devils should stand no chance against a Satan—' Her eyes widened. 'Faiser's presence…'

She remembered Faiser's demonic signature swelling to absurd levels when they arrived here. It hadn't made sense then, and it made even less sense now.

'It's weaker now. He's injured. But that signature… it was Satan Class.'

That alone made no sense.

He had only been Ultimate Class not long ago. Reaching Satan Class in such a short span was impossible. Or at least, it should have been.

She needed to go there as soon as possible, but that wasn't an option until everything here was settled.

Or at the very least, until Queen Carmilla emerged as the undeniable victor.

"He's alive, isn't he?" Serafall asked as she stepped closer to the queen. "You didn't kill him?"

"All his sons are dead," Carmilla replied. "Only a fraction of his army remains, and everything he built has been reduced to ruins."

Serafall waited a moment before asking, "So?"

"So he will be executed. But not on the battlefield." Carmilla took a deep breath. "He will be executed before my people, before his people, after every one of his crimes and sins is laid bare for all to see. Only then can I expect peace."

Serafall didn't need to think hard to understand Carmilla's intent.

When, not if, Carmilla followed through with this, King Tepes' reputation would crumble completely. With his crimes exposed before the people, hatred would take root. And with a little more effort, Carmilla could absorb his remaining forces without fear of future rebellion.

There would still be those who needed to be dealt with. Noble houses that believed Tepes' bloodline was superior. But even that belief wouldn't last forever.

With King Tepes unconscious, his forces broken, injured, or dead, the outcome was clear.

This was Carmilla's victory.

And so, Serafall, bearing the authority granted to her by the other Satans, the elders, and the noble houses of Devil Society, declared:

"Queen Carmilla, I, Serafall Leviathan, on behalf of the Devil Faction, declare our support for the Carmilla Faction and accept you as the one true queen and ruler of the Vampire Kind." She continued, "We also declare King Tepes a terrorist who sought to overthrow the peace of the Vampire and Devil worlds. For having sided with the Old Satan Faction, we renounce all support for him. Every deal that was ongoing with the Tepes faction will now be transferred to the Carmilla faction, with the agreement that all credit and debt involving the Tepes faction be erased."

It was a shrewd move, and Serafall knew it. From Carmilla's expression, it was clear that the queen understood it just as well.

The declaration of support strengthened the Devils' stance in the Underworld. With a firm alliance between vampires and devils, the other races would lose much of the political leverage they usually enjoyed.

And the part about credit and debt? That was meant to ease the Devils' own burden. Carmilla knew the Devils were ensuring that everything they owed, amounts that ran into the trillions, would be forgiven and wiped clean.

The queen let out a quiet sigh, realizing she couldn't demand those payments be redirected to the Carmilla faction. That would only sour what they had just built. In the end, she nodded.

"I agree," she said, maintaining a faint smile. "I, Queen Carmilla, ruler of the Vampires, accept the conditions and the friendship of the Devil Faction."

After all, it was far better to have them as allies than as enemies.

And besides, she owed Faiser a great deal.

"Should we…" She glanced at Serafall. "Should we check on Faiser?"

As for Serafall? She was already itching to do exactly that.

"We should."

* * *

—Tiamat—

It had been a long time since Tiamat had taken interest in the affairs of the Underworld. Like most dragons, she remained neutral toward devils, Fallen, and the other races below.

Centuries had passed since she last involved herself in such matters, and even then, it was only because she had sensed the presence of the former host of Ddraig from over a century ago.

"You felt it too, didn't you?"

Now, however, she had a reason to intervene. And it had everything to do with the presence beside her.

"Crom. His presence and signature didn't just weaken, they vanished entirely," the deep, masculine voice said. "It's like… he was erased."

Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, didn't like the evil dragons. But as a dragon, she was obligated to involve herself in matters concerning their kind. Dragons were immensely powerful beings, far stronger than any race save the divine. And the price for such power was their scarcity.

Even the death of a single dragon carried immense weight.

And Crom was no ordinary dragon.

"I sensed Tannin's presence as well, Yu-Long," she said. "And a few others. But the most significant one… was Lucifer's. Sirzechs Lucifer's."

A flicker of irritation stirred within her at the thought of Lucifer. Not because the devil had wronged her personally, but because of the very real possibility that he was responsible for the erasure of Crom Cruach's presence.

And she knew exactly what that erasure meant.

Death.

"Crom always sought out the strong," Yu-Long, the Azure Dragon of the East and one of the Five Dragon Kings, said. "It's possible he challenged the Satan and paid the price. However, the presence of another powerful devil, along with the faint yet sharp presence of the White Dragon Emperor, suggests this wasn't a mere test of strength."

Tiamat frowned. "We need answers, Yu-Long. The other evil dragons will grow chaotic. They must have sensed Crom's fall as well."

Dragons possessed the sharpest senses of all species, able to perceive the presence of their kind across thousands of miles. And the stronger they grew, the keener those senses became.

For Dragon Kings, it was on an entirely different level.

"We need to convene," the Azure Dragon said. "All of us. And we must speak to Tannin if we want the truth."

Tiamat hesitated, then slowly nodded in agreement.

"Then be it," she said. "Find Fafnir, and we will all meet Tannin. And if this was a ploy by the devils… even if Crom was an Evil Dragon, we will still fight for his sake."

Crom wouldn't have done that. They knew that well enough.

But that was what made them different.

They weren't Crom.

* * *

The exhaustion hit me like a truck. Like I'd kept a raging river forced behind a dam, and the moment it cracked, everything came crashing down at once.

My whole body ached. Even with the healing and my skills, I could feel it. This was the first real battle I had fought. The first time I had nearly died.

"You are a monster," Vali commented from the side as he healed himself with potions. "Breaking into Satan Class at the deciding moment." He scoffed, though it sounded more annoyed than mocking. "I can't tell if I should call you lucky… or stubborn."

"Both," Tannin cackled, his arms burned and multiple gaping wounds still leaking blood from his chest. "A stubborn, lucky monster."

Sirzechs neither denied nor agreed, but the amazement on his face was impossible to hide. I could read it clearly, and he knew that I could. The Satan smiled and stepped forward.

"I believe you have awakened the key abilities of Valefar and Barbatos?"

I nodded, not bothering to hide it. "I did. Though I still need to figure out how to use them properly."

The skills had come to me instinctively. I could already use them fairly well from the moment they awakened. Still, their effects weren't fixed. Their applications were flexible, creative. And the scale they could reach was terrifying if I pushed it.

Mastering them wouldn't be easy. But if I did…

I might be able to break into the class beyond Satan.

Sirzechs pulled out a potion from seemingly nowhere and tossed it toward Tannin. Somehow, the dragon managed to catch the small vial without shattering it.

After that, Sirzechs handed one to Vali as well. The White Dragon Emperor eyed the strange pink liquid, waiting for an explanation.

Finally, he passed one to me.

"This was developed by Ajuka using your samples," Sirzechs said. "By combining ancient Beelzebub texts, his own pillar secrets, and the Valefar and Barbatos recipes you shared, he managed to create this potion."

Tannin didn't hesitate for even a second and swallowed it whole. Almost instantly, his wounds began to close.

"It's essentially a replica of Phoenix Tears," Sirzechs continued, "though it lacks stamina recovery. Still, it should heal any and all injuries, even the ones you might not notice."

Seeing Tannin's condition improve so dramatically, neither Vali nor I hesitated.

The potion tasted like spinach juice, despite the color. Not unpleasant, just strange. Tiny cuts I hadn't even noticed started closing faster than my skills could manage.

Within minutes, my wounds were gone, and I was more than ready to check on my peerage.

The exhaustion could come later. I didn't care if I fainted an hour from now, as long as my team was safe.

"Faiser—"

That, however, seemed like a luxury for the moment.

"That presence…" Vali muttered from the corner, his eyes wide. "There's no doubt about it."

I felt it too.

A presence.

A terrifying one.

Worse than Crom.

"Run," Sirzechs said, his gaze locked straight ahead at nothing.

I wanted to ask why, but my instincts were screaming just as loudly.

I had to run.

This wasn't something I could handle. This wasn't something even a Satan Class should be facing.

The presence materialized out of thin air.

"I assumed you would be here."

The voice was cold. Emotionless.

"Sirzechs."

A chill ran straight down my spine.

"Tannin."

The forming face slowly turned.

"Vali…"

The White Dragon Emperor visibly stiffened.

"And… the Thief of the Asura Heart. Faiser."

Yeah.

This was the main villain.

"Grandfather…" Vali growled through clenched teeth.

This was Rizevim Livan Lucifer.

The son of the original Lucifer.

And the man who brought me into this world.

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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters + Other Stories. }

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