{Present, Old Leviathan Estate}
[Rank: Middle-Class]
She was almost the same as Rias in terms of power, though a little weaker. Stronger than Akeno, definitely, but not on the same level as Rias.
"All Leviathan descendants are dead," she protested as we walked through the abandoned estate. It wasn't in ruins like my estate, though it did feel old and untidy.
"True," I said. "All pure-blood descendants are dead, including Katerea Leviathan."
She seemed surprised by that little bit of information, though not for the reason I expected.
"How did you learn that?" she asked her sister, confused. "Even I only found out because I overheard Serafall and Lord Lucifer's call."
"I have my ways," I said. It was a little funny seeing her so surprised, so I decided to keep it that way.
After finding no answers from me, she turned toward her sister, who in turn looked at me.
Of course, she could have answered, but she didn't.
"You'll know soon enough, Sona-chan," Serafall said awkwardly, which made her little sister a bit annoyed.
Then again, there wasn't much she could do. Sona was spoiled, just like Rias, but she kept a more reserved personality and didn't argue without first figuring out the person in front of her.
For all she knew, I could be someone related to the elders of Bael, since I was walking next to Serafall, a Satan.
"So," Serafall finally asked, "where exactly are we going?"
I could see Sona being amazed by the question. She probably thought Serafall brought me here knowing where we were supposed to go—or who I had been looking for.
But even I didn't know where I was supposed to go.
"Let's see." As we entered the main part of the Leviathan estate—which was ridiculously big—I decided to use the thing.
[Parchment of Finding]
A blank piece of parchment appeared before my eyes, with nothing but flower-patterned borders. It looked underwhelming, yet there was a faint magical energy attached to it.
"A piece of paper?" Sona asked. "How is that going to help?"
She was impatient, which was unlike her. Then again, a random guy her age was dragging her around alongside her sister, who happened to be a Satan.
Of course it would be confusing.
"Is that a map?" Serafall asked, guessing. "Or a directional parchment?"
Directional parchment, huh? So there were things like that in the Underworld.
"Something similar," I said. "I found it in the treasury."
Using it was simple.
[To use the Parchment of Finding, imagine the face alongside the name of the person you want to find. If you are unaware of their appearance or name, think of something unique to them.]
I knew her name but not her appearance. That made it difficult.
Or so it would have been—if she didn't have something specific to her.
Ingvild Leviathan.
I didn't know much about Ingvild, but I knew about her Longinus. If I wanted a chance against the Dragons in the future, I absolutely needed her.
I didn't have a Sacred Gear since I was a devil, so her gear's primary ability of strengthening dragon types wasn't immediately useful to me.
But in the future? Even without possessing a gear, her dragon amplification and debuffing abilities were going to be absolutely necessary.
So…
"Search for Ingvild Leviathan," I said aloud, keeping the secondary part in my thoughts: The possessor of the high-tier Longinus, Nereid Kyrie.
In an instant, the parchment began to glow and release a potent magical signature. It grew hot—almost too hot for me to hold—but I had to endure it.
As a reward, a map appeared, drawn in purple and gold, clearly responding to my bloodline signature.
It was a detailed map of the estate—or rather, the area where we currently stood—with a mark drawn in blue.
"Ingvild Leviathan?" Serafall finally showed an expression that wasn't her usual cute act for her sister. "I have never heard that name."
Makes sense. Not even Katerea would have known about her existence.
"Apparently, the old Satan Faction was trying to keep her hidden because of a condition she has, and planned to use her once she was cured."
"What condition?" Sona suddenly asked, and all I could do was shrug.
"I don't know." I tried not to appear all-knowing. "But all I know is that they don't have a cure yet."
"If they're hiding her for her powers instead of her bloodline, then it's something we need to look into," Serafall muttered.
No. They could look all they wanted, but I wasn't going to let her acquire her.
Not that they could cure her anyway—only I could.
"Anyhow, we should get going," I said, waving the map at them. "We have our destination."
In this world, there were a few Sacred Gears I had to acquire. Some came with the wielder, others without. Nereid Kyrie was the former.
* * *
—Serafall Leviathan—
She had a hard time believing that there was another Leviathan alive—not after the last descendant. Katerea had been killed by him. But so far, everything he had said had turned out to be true. And he did mention that this information came from Katerea, so there had to be some truth to it.
"Are we sure we're at the correct location?" her sister complained as they entered what seemed to be an abandoned manor. "It's way too dark."
Their demonic power provided some light, but even then, the place was undeniably dark and ominous.
"This map definitely works," Faiser said, keeping his eyes on the parchment. "And it's pretty accurate too."
He held the map out towards them. "It can track our position in real time. The black dots are us, and we need to reach the blue spot."
He wasn't wrong. She noticed they had moved far from their starting position and were now very close to the blue spot.
"And if we follow the map…" Surprisingly, a frown appeared on his face. "We have to go down."
"Down?" Sona frowned too. "How do we g—"
Before she could finish, Serafall pointed to the left, releasing a bit more of her demonic power to illuminate the area. A staircase at the edge of the room became visible.
It led from the ground floor to what was likely the basement or an underground floor. Normally, it would have been hidden, but the manor's decay had weakened the magic that concealed it, making it fully visible.
"Told you," Faiser smirked. "The map isn't wrong."
Sona didn't say anything and waited for them to make a move.
Serafall could understand why Sona wore that frown. It wasn't her fault.
There was a guy, roughly her age, leading an expedition in Leviathan territory she was never allowed to enter. He claimed to be the heir of two devil pillars long thought extinct, and her sister supported him.
It didn't help that neither of them explained anything to her.
Serafall found Sona's reaction understandable, considering the questions she must have and the frustration of getting no answers.
Deciding to worry about her sister's frustration later, Serafall took the stairs with Faiser.
The staircase creaked under their steps. It was old, and any unnecessary pressure could make it collapse. They descended carefully, putting only the necessary weight on each step.
"This goes way too deep," Sona said. "We don't know what's down there."
She spoke out of concern—and she was right. The place was fragile and could collapse even from a single thrown sphere of demonic energy. They had to be extremely careful.
After seven minutes of careful descent, they reached a floor with a massive corridor leading inward.
The sight made everyone tense.
There was nothing but the corridor, lined with unlit lamps on the walls.
"We're not supposed to walk through it, are we?" Faiser asked, looking for hints.
Both sisters didn't move either, scanning for clues. The corridor felt too suspicious and too open. Everything else in the manor was either overly decorated or difficult to notice. But this corridor… it was almost inviting them in.
Not even the ground floor had felt this welcoming.
Serafall picked up a broken plank from the corner and threw it down the corridor.
"Nothing, huh?" Faiser muttered.
"Are we overthinking it?" Sona seemed uncertain now.
But Serafall wasn't. "Wait," she warned, picking up a heavier piece of wood and throwing it at the same spot.
And this time, something did happen.
Arrows shot out, covered in demonic power and a greenish fluid. The moment the fluid hit the planks, they turned black and immediately melted.
"The weight wasn't enough," Serafall explained. "It would definitely activate if any of us stepped on it."
"Can't you… use your abilities to stop the arrows?" Sona asked. Serafall shook her head.
In any other situation, poison arrows wouldn't have stopped her for even a second. But this situation was different.
"The place is far too weak to handle my demonic power," Serafall said. "If I used it recklessly, the whole ceiling would collapse and the building would come down on us."
"Then how do we cross it?" Sona asked. "We can't even see the end of the corridor."
Her question sparked an idea in Faiser.
"Can you somehow light the place, Serafall?" he asked. She thought for a moment.
They had already tried turning on the lamps with a bit of their demonic power. Unfortunately, all the lamps were ruined. They needed another way to light the corridor.
"I… might," she said, recalling a possible solution. "Let me try."
She extended both hands toward the sides of the corridor. Carefully, she released two soft streams of water. They weren't strong enough to trigger the arrows but maintained their shape and flowed down the corridor.
As her sister and Faiser watched, wondering what she was planning, she finally acted on an idea that had been only a theory in her head.
She infused a bit of raw demonic power into the streams. Not enough to harm anything, but enough to leave a glowing effect. The water was transparent, moving in straight paths, creating a perfect area for the demonic power to illuminate.
And it worked. The entire corridor glowed, revealing the full pathway.
It was a very long corridor. No one could survive it without getting hit by some arrows.
But the real problem wasn't the arrows—it was figuring out how to cross.
"So, how do we get across?" Sona asked. "We can't fly either."
They had all tried sprouting their wings, but magic seals prevented it.
"There are transformation-sealing spells built into this place," Serafall explained. "Wings count as part of a transformation, so we can't fly unless we find the seal. And that seems impossible right now."
"So you think it's safe at the end of the corridor?" Faiser asked, ignoring the sisters' discussion.
Both of them looked at him, unsure why he was asking. No one knew if it was safe, and even if it was, they had no way to reach it.
Or so they thought.
"I guess I'll have to check," Faiser said, picking up a plank from the same broken spot Serafall had used. After checking its weight, he lifted it and looked straight ahead.
"What are you doing?" Sona asked. "We already confirmed there are traps in the corridor."
Faiser looked at her and smirked. "Well, I never said anything about checking the corridor."
Then Serafall remembered something. She brought a hand to her face, blaming herself for being so focused on the traps that she had forgotten their best way out.
"What do—"
Sona couldn't finish as Faiser raised his hand and pointed straight ahead.
And his next action reminded Serafall that he was a Barbatos.
The plank in his hand vanished, surprising Sona. She immediately looked around, confused about where it had gone. Serafall, however, knew exactly where to look.
"Looks like there are no traps at the end," Faiser said, and Serafall sighed with a smile.
"How did you learn that—"
Confused, Sona turned to look down the corridor. She froze, stunned.
"How did that get there?"
The plank Faiser had been holding was now lying at the end of the corridor, as if someone had dropped it there.
"So, can you take us there?" Serafall asked, ignoring her sister's question. She rarely ignored Sona, but getting there safely was more important. She could always explain later.
"Only if you allow me to," Faiser said, extending his hand.
Serafall smiled, realizing there was no other way.
"Then lead us." She grabbed his hand, while Sona looked on, bewildered.
"What are you two doing?" she asked, feeling like a confused child stuck between two people who refused to give her answers.
"Grab my hand," Faiser said. "You'll understand."
"Why should—" Sona began to argue, but Faiser's impatience cut her off.
"Sorry, but unlike with Serafall, I can do this even without your permission."
He grabbed her hand, giving her an apologetic look—but didn't wait a second longer, and used his ability immediately.
The sisters felt their bodies warp, their feet slipping. Sona closed her eyes, expecting to fall, while Serafall chuckled beside her.
"That is definitely fast," she muttered.
Sona slowly opened her eyes, confused. She hadn't fallen. She looked around and realized she was no longer at the start of the corridor—she was standing at the end, right where the plank had mysteriously appeared.
"One of the few abilities of Barbatos," Faiser whispered to Sona. "Instant teleportation."
She wasn't sure what to think and took a cautious step back. In a place full of traps, every step had to be calculated—even at the end of the corridor.
"Dodge!" Serafall yelled as a rocky hand shot toward Sona, appearing out of a teleportation circle.
The heiress barely avoided it, but another punch came from the opposite side, emerging from a different blue circle. Magic they hadn't expected to see in the Leviathan estate.
"Golems?" Faiser frowned as Serafall sliced through two of them with her water magic.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just two.
There were dozens.
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{A/N:A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters.}