{Late Morning, Ancient Leviathan Grounds}
—Sona Sitri—
Many didn't know that the Sitri family had more in common with Satan Leviathan than with Satan Lucifer, who was known as the father of devils.
Most devils inherited the raw, destructive demonic power of Lucifer or some variation of it. Others had complex abilities that could be traced back to him. But the Sitri pillar was different. Their strength lay in stability and control. And that control wasn't limited to demonic power—it extended to the natural forces around them.
Especially water.
"They need to fix these pathways." Sona grumbled, stepping through the mud in her boots. She was thankful she had listened to her sister's advice and prepared herself with proper boots and mud-resistant robes. "They never bother with the old cities."
The Sitri bloodline gave them the ability to control water, to bend and shape it at will. Sona had even seen Serafall manipulate mud itself, using the high water content within it. But Sona wasn't at that level yet.
Her current skills were limited to forming solid attacks from water, creating barriers, and splitting streams or bodies of water. Manipulating mud was far more advanced, and even simple magic to make her clothes water-resistant required more concentration than she could currently manage.
"Is there nothing useful in here?" she muttered, frustrated. Hours of searching had turned up nothing.
She had come here hoping to find some link between the Sitri pillar and the original Leviathan. If she uncovered anything useful, she might be able to learn about the original Satan Leviathan's powers—and maybe even recreate them.
She knew she needed something unique. Rias would outshine her in raw strength thanks to the Power of Destruction, and her own sister could flatten cities with sheer demonic power even without water abilities. Sona couldn't compete with that. She needed creativity. She needed something new.
The Sitri pillar took pride in tsunamis and high-pressure water jets, but Sona wasn't satisfied with that. Her father insisted their water manipulation was already perfect, but she disagreed. She believed that when two devils were evenly matched, craftiness and creativity were what decided the outcome.
"I don't have much time either."
She was only here because of Serafall's permission. Ordinary devils weren't allowed to roam the old cities, even the Lords. The danger of Old Satan Faction remnants lurking around was always present.
Serafall had refused her at first, worried for her safety, but reluctantly agreed when Sona promised to stay within Satan-controlled territory.
The problem?
"There is nothing in these controlled grounds." She sighed again, disappointed. 'And Serafall said she would be here in a bit.'
Sona didn't understand why her sister was coming. Serafall had mentioned someone else needed to be here, but she gave no details.
'But why would anyone want to come here? It's practically barren land.'
With nothing better to do, Sona decided to return to the spot where Serafall would arrive. Maybe, if the person her sister was guiding needed to go deeper into the Leviathan estate, Sona could tag along. That thought gave her at least a little hope.
She walked quickly, carefully avoiding mud. She hated getting dirty—appearance meant everything, after all.
A few minutes later, she was already at the meeting point. Now all she could do was wait.
'But who is it?' she wondered. 'Who would want to be here?'
It couldn't be a Satan. They had the authority to enter freely. It couldn't be the Baels either. With their authority rivaling the Satans, they rarely bothered asking permission unless it directly concerned the safety of the other pillars.
'Definitely not my pillar, or Rias'.'
Rias would not ask Serafall. She had her brother. And no other heir would get permission that easily, at least not from Serafall.
'And other than devils, no other faction is allowed in here.'
Now she was getting impatient. She just couldn't figure out who it could be, and that wasn't helping her already annoyed self.
She didn't find anything in the place, nor was she able to figure out who her sister was escorting.
'Though there had been some talks,' she tried recalling. 'Could it be him? The guy Rias talked about?.'
She was curious but Rias didn't know much about the guy either and her sister didn't explain anything to her.
"Just what could it—"
"Soooonnaaaaaa-Chhhhaaaannnnn!"
Her head was forcibly turned to the side by the familiar shout.
The circle that had appeared over the ground was one she had known since forever, and with it came the figure most important to her.
A woman, beautiful enough that Sona felt jealous of her despite sharing blood.
Her sister, Serafall Leviathan.
And beside her was the devil she was curious about.
Tall, noble-looking, a handsome body with a face that made her stare unknowingly.
He was dressed in something akin to a deep navy-blue ceremonial suit. Mandarin-styled high collar with a curve, flared hem, metallic buttons, and beautifully done silver embroidery. Inside that coat was a satin cravat. To go with the coat, he wore deep navy-blue trousers and black shoes.
He was someone noble. She was certain of it. Or at least, he looked the part and carried himself like one.
"Are you alright, Sona-chan!"
She felt like cringing at being referred to with a chan. She was well aware that her sister was addicted to magical girl shows from Japan, even dressing like one at times. But when she called her Sona-chan in front of others, it embarrassed her.
And even after a thousand requests, her sister never changed her habits.
"I… Yes, I am." She was taken aback for a moment, but realizing that there was another person, she went back to her stoic expression. "But you are late."
She was a stickler for punctuality, promises, and rules. And those rules applied even when it came to her family.
Surprisingly, it turned out her sister wasn't the one that caused the delay.
"The fault is mine," the guy next to her explained. He didn't seem much older than her. "I had to clear up a few things before coming here, so we got a little late."
She glanced at the guy and gave a slow nod. It was difficult to speak with him without knowing who he was. Maybe he was a nobody, but if he was someone of high authority, making him angry would only cause trouble for her sister.
And if she had to think about it, it was most certainly the guy that Rias was talking about. He did look as good as Rias promised after all.
"Now, now, Sona-chan~" Serafall held her hand and pressed her palms. "Don't be angry at me or Faiser. We were late because something came up."
'Faiser,' she noted in her mind as she sighed outwardly. "Fine, but are we going to go inside the Leviathan territory now?"
Serafall looked a little unsure. "Do you want to go?" she asked. "I can drop you home, then we can go. It may be dangerous there."
Sona frowned, even though she knew her sister only wanted the best for her.
"I didn't wait all this time just to go home," she complained. "I'm going with you. There was nothing here that helped my research."
As Serafall looked confused, Faiser stepped forward to help.
"I doubt anyone will try anything with a Satan around," he meditated. "And as the Satan Leviathan, you have every right to be in the Leviathan territory and to bring anyone with you at any time." He gave Sona a knowing smile. "So, it shouldn't matter if you bring your sister."
Serafall pondered over it while he extended his hand towards Sona.
"And I apologize for not introducing myself yet. I am Faiser Valefar-Barbatos, the heir to the Pillars. Currently, I am under the care of your sister."
Now, that caught Sona by surprise.
"Valefar and Barbatos?" she muttered without even realizing. "Heir to not one but both?"
This brought Serafall back from her thoughts, and she gave her sister an awkward smile.
"Well, this and that happened, and we found out that he legally had the right over both pillars." Serafall scratched the back of her head comically. "It's a long story."
Sona was just about to pry further, but Faiser cut her off before she could speak.
"I'd love to tell you about my situation once we're done with this place," he suggested. "How about it?"
She wasn't stupid. She instantly figured out that he didn't want to waste time talking about himself right now. And truth be told, as much as she was curious, she also wanted to explore the Leviathan territory before anything else.
As shocking as it was, and even though it gnawed at the corner of her mind, she forced herself to focus on the Leviathan questions for the time being.
But once they were done here, she was definitely going to find out more about him. Valefar and Barbatos were two significant fallen pillars of the devil world, and it made no sense that five hundred years later, some unknown man appeared, claiming heir rights over both.
'What legal right grants the ability to hold heirship over two pillars?' She thought, more confused than curious. 'Is that even allowed?'
But for now, there was only one question that mattered.
"So, is there something you need to find in the Leviathan territory?" Sona asked, looking at Faiser. She had long since figured out that her sister was here to help him search for something, not the other way around.
"Well," the boy pushed his hands into his pockets and took a step towards the inner Leviathan territory, "it's not something. It's someone."
That only made her even more confused.
"What do you mean?"
And his next words left her speechless.
"We are here to find the Leviathan," he smirked. "The one that controls the seas and oceans."
* * *
{Same Time, Lucifer's Office}
—Sirzechs Lucifer—
Sirzechs was stressed. He was tired. Over the past few days, he had gone through more documents than he had in the last decade.
All because a certain somebody didn't go sightseeing, but went hunting.
"You can take it slow, my lord."
The voice didn't calm him like it usually did.
"Maybe on most matters," he admitted. "But not with this. Lord Zekram has already heard of the situation and is calling for another meeting."
"Will it be troublesome for Faiser?" she asked, walking closer to her king and husband.
Sirzechs pressed the bridge of his nose. "It will be a long meeting, even for him. A lot to clarify and maybe even a few heated debates. But it should be alright, Grayfia." He gave his silver-haired wife a small smile. "All he did was defend himself, and he managed to take down a named terrorist in the process. He did us a favor, and I won't let the Baels twist it the other way."
In truth, he wasn't worried about the paperwork. What he really cared about was finding a way to turn the situation in Faiser's favor. To make sure he was rewarded instead of blamed.
After all, Faiser had helped them deal with a member of the Old Satan Faction, and it was their fault for letting Katerea Leviathan even reach him in the first place.
"Is there anything you want me to do, my lord?" she asked, eager to help.
Sirzechs thought for a moment, and then an idea came to him.
"He will have a peerage one day, since he already has the pieces. And to become a lord, he's required to rebuild his estates." He looked at his wife and smiled. "Find the best architects and builders. We may not be able to help him much, but we can at least take one worry off his shoulders. Let's help with the construction of the Valefar and Barbatos estates."
And well… there was something else he hoped to gain from Faiser.
'Once he returns, I'll have to talk to him.'
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{A/N:A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters.}