Location: Kuoh Academy - Occult Research Club (ORC)
Time: Two Days After the Summit
Status: Peace Treaty Signed
The Three Great Factions - Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels - had officially signed a peace treaty. The supernatural world was breathing a sigh of relief.
But in the ORC clubroom, the atmosphere was... chaotic.
"Why is he here?" Issei pointed a trembling finger at the man sitting at the teacher's desk.
Azazel, the Governor General of the Fallen Angels, was leaning back in his chair, reading a dirty magazine. He wore a lab coat and looked entirely too comfortable.
"I'm the new advisor," Azazel grinned. "Since we have peace, I need a hobby. Also, I need to study him."
Azazel pointed a pen at Raiden, who was sitting on the sofa, eating a literal block of gold.
"Don't point at me while I'm snacking," Raiden grunted. He bit off a chunk of the gold bar. Crunch.
"See?!" Azazel's eyes sparkled with scientific curiosity. "He just ate refined gold! His digestive system converts matter into mana with zero waste! It's fascinating! I want to dissect him."
"Try it," Irina Shidou said coldly from the corner. She was sharpening her demon sword. "And I will mount your wings on a wall, Governor."
Azazel sweat-dropped. "Scary. The Church really lost a fanatic, huh?"
Location: Student Council Office
Event: Sona Sitri's Interrogation
While Raiden was tolerating Azazel, a summons arrived. Sona Sitri (Sona Shitori in the human world), the Student Council President and heiress to the Sitri clan, requested Raiden's presence.
Raiden walked into the office. Ravel Phenex walked beside him, holding a clipboard.
"Raiden-sama," Ravel whispered. "Sona is highly intelligent and strict. She values order. Try not to eat her furniture."
"No promises. Mahogany tastes like cinnamon."
Sona sat behind her desk, adjusting her glasses. Her peerage stood tensely around the room.
"Raiden," Sona began, her voice calm but icy. "We need to talk about my sister."
"Which one? The loud pink one?"
"Serafall Leviathan," Sona sighed. "Yes. She... has been acting strangely since the Summit. She sends me fifty messages an hour asking what kind of bento you like. She is currently designing a 'Magical Girl Bride' costume."
Sona stood up and slammed her hands on the desk.
"You saved her life, and for that, the House of Sitri is grateful. But my sister is a Satan! She is the face of the Underworld! You cannot just... adopt her!"
Raiden leaned over the desk, invading Sona's personal space.
"I didn't adopt her. She attached herself to me like a limpet. And frankly," Raiden's eyes glowed faintly blue - the color of the Leviathan power he had eaten from Katerea. "She has good taste."
Sona froze. She felt the aura. It was faint, but it was unmistakably the primordial water magic of the original Leviathan.
"You... that power..." Sona gasped. "You really ate Katerea's lineage?"
"It was spicy," Raiden remarked. "Listen, Sona. I don't care about politics. I care about competence. Your sister is annoying, but she's strong. You?"
Raiden looked Sona up and down.
"You're suppressing yourself. You want to be a Rating Game champion, but you play it safe. You're boring."
Sona bristled. "I am a tactician! I don't rely on brute force like Rias!"
"Then prove it."
Raiden turned to leave.
"Challenge me. A game of chess. If you win, I'll make Serafall stop bugging you. If I win... the Student Council owes me favors."
Sona's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Chess. Here and now."
Status: The Chess Match
Ten minutes later.
Sona stared at the board. Her hands were shaking.
Raiden sat opposite her, finishing a cup of tea Ravel had brewed.
"Checkmate," Raiden said boredly.
"Impossible..." Sona whispered. "I... I calculated every possibility..."
"You calculated for a logical opponent," Raiden said, standing up. "I'm not logical. I sacrificed my Queen on move three just to open a hole in your defense. You were so busy trying to save your pieces that you forgot to protect your King."
He tapped Sona's forehead.
"You're too rigid, Sona. Tactics aren't about following the rules. They're about breaking them before the enemy realizes the rules have changed."
Ravel Phenex looked at Sona with a smug expression. "He's right, you know. Raiden-sama's unpredictability is his greatest weapon. You never know if he's going to attack you or eat your Pawn."
"He ate my Pawn?!" Sona looked at the board. Indeed, a black pawn was missing, and Raiden was chewing on something wooden.
"Wood needs salt," Raiden critiqued.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
"RAIDEN-CHAAAAN!"
Serafall Leviathan (in full magical girl cosplay) tackled Raiden from behind.
"So-tan! Are you bullying my darling?!" Serafall puffed her cheeks at her sister.
Sona buried her face in her hands. "Sister... please... have some dignity..."
"Dignity is boring!" Serafall nuzzled her cheek against Raiden's back. "Raiden promised to take me to the arcade today! We're going to win all the limited edition plushies!"
Raiden looked at Ravel. "Is that on the schedule?"
Ravel checked her tablet. "Technically, you have a 'Public Relations' slot open. It would be good for maintaining relations with the Satan faction."
Raiden sighed. "Fine. Come on, Sparkles. Let's go get your plushies."
Serafall squealed and dragged Raiden out of the office.
Sona watched them leave, completely defeated.
"He... he tamed her. He actually tamed the wildest Satan."
Location: Raiden's Apartment
Time: Late Night
After hours of arcade games (where Raiden simply used his precision to empty every claw machine), he returned home.
Sitting in his living room, drinking his expensive wine, was Runeas Gremory.
She didn't look happy.
"You spent the day with the magical girl," Runeas stated, her voice cool.
"She bought me crepes," Raiden defended himself, sitting opposite her.
Runeas placed her wine glass down. The glass cracked.
"I am the Progenitor of the Gremory Clan. I offer you power, wealth, and the secrets of the abyss. She offers you... plushies."
"And crepes," Raiden added. "Don't underestimate the crepes."
Runeas stood up and walked over to him. She straddled his lap, her red eyes glowing with possessive intent.
"You are testing my patience, Dragon Lord. I told you, I want to rule this era with you. Not watch you play babysitter."
She leaned in, her lips brushing his ear.
"It is time we accelerated our plans. The Old Satan Faction is regrouping. They have something dangerous. A fragment of the original Lucifer's soul."
Raiden's interest was piqued. "A soul fragment? Edible?"
"Highly," Runeas smirked. "But dangerous. If you consume it, your [Gluttony] might evolve again. Or it might drive you mad."
"I ate a Fallen Angel's spear and a Leviathan's bloodline," Raiden shrugged, wrapping an arm around Runeas's waist. "I think I can handle a dead guy's ghost."
Runeas kissed him deeply, tasting of ancient wine and darkness.
"Good. Because tomorrow... we are going hunting."
Location: The Dimensional Gap
Far away from Kuoh, in the space between dimensions where colors did not exist.
A young girl with black hair and hollow eyes floated in the nothingness. She wore a gothic lolita dress.
Ophis. The Ouroboros Dragon. The Infinite God.
She was staring at a rift in space.
"Vali..." Ophis spoke softly.
Vali Lucifer, who was floating nearby, bowed. "Yes, Ophis?"
"That human..." Ophis pointed a small finger toward the dimension of Earth. "The one who eats."
"Raiden," Vali grinned. "He's strong."
"He is... empty," Ophis tilted her head. "He is like me. But reversed. I am Infinity. He is Void. He eats the silence."
Ophis turned her gaze to Vali.
"I want him."
Vali's grin widened. "Join the club. Half the underworld wants him. But be careful, Ophis. If you get too close... he might take a bite out of Infinity."