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The massive, ultra-high-definition flat-screen television that Kaiju had transmuted weeks earlier emitted the soft, colorful glow of a late-night variety show. In the immense and warm main living room of the tree house, the atmosphere was the very definition of domestic comfort, though with certain visual anomalies that would make any ordinary human lose their mind.
Kaiju was reclining in the center of the wide titanium sofa covered in velvet. On his left side, Sylvie had her head resting on his shoulder, her legs tucked up and a smile of absolute peace on her face as she watched the screen. On his right, Asia Argento held a cup of hot chocolate with both hands, laughing shyly at the host's jokes on television.
It was a perfect image of tranquility. At least in that corner of the laboratory.
About fifteen meters away, in the thermal isolation area, a pitched battle was unfolding that bordered on the ridiculous.
"It won't move! This stupid mountain of rocks won't lift its arm!" Mittelt shrieked, the small six-winged Fallen Angel currently wearing a Victorian maid uniform Sylvie had forced her into. She was pushing with all her strength against Tery the Tyranitar's immense leg, trying to pass a soapy brush over the colossus's stone scales.
"Use more strength, useless! Master Kaiju said he wanted all the titans clean before midnight!" Kalawarner shouted at her. She was soaked from head to toe in soapy water, holding a high-pressure hose while her majestic three pairs of black wings dragged pathetically across the wet floor.
"Shut your mouths, both of you, and scrub!" Raynare growled, rubbing her foam-stained forehead. The woman who had once been Issei's sadistic killer was now standing on a stepladder, vigorously scrubbing the back armor of the Tyranitar with a giant sponge. "If Tery doesn't end up shining, Master will send us back to the dark dimension! And I have no intention of seeing that trench coat guy's face again!"
Tery, the imposing Tyranitar, simply released a lazy snort. He closed his eyes and dropped heavily onto the steel floor with a crash that made the cups on the coffee table tremble, crushing Kalawarner's hose in the process and soaking the three six-winged maids even further.
Kaiju did not even blink at the crash. He shifted his one healthy eye toward the three former enemies of humanity.
"If you break even one tile, I'll make you clean Sharky's teeth with a soft-bristled brush," Kaiju warned, his voice sounding monotone and never rising in volume, yet resonating with the clarity of a lethal threat in the Fallen Angels' ears.
The three women instantly turned pale, nodded frantically, and doubled their cleaning efforts in absolute silence, terrified by the mention of the aggressive Garchomp.
Asia watched the scene from the corner of her eye and let out a small nervous giggle. She still struggled to process that the same creatures who had kidnapped and nearly murdered her were now scrubbing the back of a giant dinosaur in lace aprons.
Kaiju turned his face toward the blonde nun. The girl's smile was genuine, but beneath that tranquility, the reincarnated God's brain was evaluating a variable he could not ignore. Sylvie, thanks to Sona's Pawn piece and the Lunar Mark, had her life secured. He himself had stopped her biological clock. But Asia was still a simple human, bound to the fragility of time.
"Asia," Kaiju called, lowering the television volume with a simple telekinetic thought.
The nun blinked, turning toward him with her immense emerald eyes. "Yes, Kaiju-san?"
"You like being here, right? With us. In this place."
"Of course!" Asia answered immediately, her face lighting up. "It's the first place where I truly feel at home. You are my family."
Sylvie smiled tenderly, sliding her hand over to stroke the nun's blonde hair. However, Kaiju's expression remained inscrutably serious.
"If that's the case, then we have a logistical problem, Asia," the scarred young man said, resting his elbows on his knees. "Sylvie and I are immortal. We've paused our cellular aging. If things follow their natural course... in sixty or seventy years, you'll grow old and die. And frankly, I refuse to witness that. I hate goodbyes."
The air in the living room seemed to grow a little denser. Asia lowered her gaze toward her cup of chocolate. She knew his words were true. Her humanity was an hourglass that never stopped running.
"I... understand, Kaiju-san," she murmured, her voice tinted with resigned sadness. "I'm human. I know my time by your side will be short compared to yours, but I will treasure every second I..."
"You didn't let me finish," Kaiju interrupted, raising one hand. "I'm not going to accept your time being short. So I'll make you a proposal: would you like to become a devil, like us?"
Asia gave a small start, her eyes widening. The word "devil" alone was tied to decades of religious indoctrination. The Church had taught her that creatures of the Underworld were the embodiment of sin and damnation.
"B-But... Kaiju-san... if I become a devil... what will happen to my prayers?" Asia asked, her hands trembling slightly around the cup. "My body would reject the light. I wouldn't be able to hold my cross again... and the God I believe in..."
Kaiju released a soft snort, shaking his head. He extended his right hand and lightly touched the silver crucifix hanging from the nun's neck.
"Asia, you already saw what I did with Sylvie and myself in front of the heiresses. Basic devil biology is defective, yes. They have stupid allergies to silver and holy light," Kaiju explained in his pragmatic tone. "But I don't follow their factory rules. If you agree to join our system, I promise that nothing Christian, sacred, or luminous will affect you. You'll be able to pray, hold your cross, and use your Twilight Healing with the same purity as always. The only difference is that you'll have all the time in the world to be with us."
Sylvie nodded energetically, resting her head on Kaiju's shoulder. "It's true, Asia. It doesn't hurt at all, and it feels like a great weight has simply been lifted off you. I want you to stay with us forever."
Asia looked at the gray-haired girl, then at the former Fallen Angels scrubbing the Tyranitar, and finally at Kaiju, the teenager who had split the heavens and healed an entire hospital out of pure kindness disguised as boredom.
If her God was all love and understanding, surely He would not punish her for wanting to stay beside the people who had saved her from the darkness.
A warm and radiant smile bloomed across the blonde nun's face.
"Yes, Kaiju-san," Asia said, tears of happiness gathering in her eyes. "I want to be a devil. I want to stay with my family."
Kaiju smiled crookedly, an expression of genuine satisfaction.
"Good. Tomorrow, we'll settle the bureaucracy with the owners of the territory."
The following afternoon, the old building of Kuoh Academy cast long shadows over the grass.
Inside the Occult Research Club, Rias Gremory was signing a stack of authorizations for the Student Council, while Akeno served tea and Kiba silently polished his sword. Issei Hyoudou was lying on the sofa, reading a manga with a bored expression, feeling strangely at peace after closing his cycle with Raynare.
The peace, however, lasted exactly until the heavy oak doors opened without warning.
Everyone in the room tensed at once. Kiba set the sword on the table, Akeno froze the teapot in midair, and Rias lifted her gaze, her blue eyes widening slightly from instinctive alertness.
Kaiju Hano crossed the threshold with his usual lazy posture, his hands in his pockets and his uniform jacket unbuttoned. Beside him, walking with timid but determined steps, was Asia Argento.
Issei shot up from the sofa as if a spring had been placed under him.
"A-Asia!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed, his eyes shining with joy at seeing her safe and wearing the Kuoh uniform, though his demonic brain immediately warned him not to get too close.
Asia gave him a small, sweet smile. "Hello, Ise-san."
Rias stood, her posture straightening with the elegance and caution of a head of state receiving a foreign superpower. Although Sona Sitri had accepted Kaiju as her Pawn, the aura of the scarred boy remained an indecipherable abyss that imposed absolute respect.
"Kaiju-san," Rias greeted, trying to keep her voice firm. "It's a surprise to see you in my domain. I understood, according to the rules you established with Sona, that you preferred to stay out of our activities."
Kaiju walked to the center of the room, ignoring the sofa and standing in front of the president's desk.
"That's still the rule, Gremory," Kaiju replied coldly. "But today I'm not here as Sitri's Pawn. I'm here for a matter of family logistics. And you're the only one who has the resources I need."
Rias arched an eyebrow, intrigued and nervous at the same time. "Resources?"
Kaiju pointed his thumb toward the blonde nun beside him.
"I need you to turn Asia into a devil. Today."
The silence in the club became so dense it could almost be chewed. Issei opened his mouth, unable to articulate a word, while Akeno and Kiba exchanged looks of pure disbelief.
Rias blinked, processing the request. "Turn the former Church nun into a devil? Kaiju, you know perfectly well that Sona is your King. Why not go to her for this?"
"Sona is no longer useful to me for this," Kaiju replied, shrugging with brutal tactical honesty. "Sona is meticulous. She spent her pieces in a balanced way. But for Asia, I need a specific piece. Her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, and her immense reserves of holy magic make her the perfect archetype for a Bishop, the piece of support and pure magic. Sona no longer has any Bishop pieces available. She used them long ago."
Rias swallowed. Her analytical mind began working at full speed. Bishop pieces were invaluable, and Kaiju was right; he had done his homework.
"I... do possess an available Bishop," Rias admitted, crossing her arms beneath her chest as her political instinct awakened. "And Asia's healing ability would be a legendary addition to my peerage. But... Kaiju. You made it very clear to me that none of you will obey my orders. If I reincarnate Asia, I will consume one of my most valuable pieces on someone who will never fight for me. What do I gain in this transaction?"
Kaiju smiled. It was not a lazy or mocking smile; it was the smile of a predator who knew perfectly well the value of his cards. He slid his hands out of his pockets and placed his palms on the redhead's desk, leaning forward. The pressure in the room increased suffocatingly, and Kiba had to take one step forward to protect his president, even though he knew it was useless.
"I'll tell you what you gain, Rias," Kaiju whispered, his one brown eye locking onto hers with an intensity that chilled her blood. "If you spend your Bishop piece on her and let her live her life in peace under my protection... I will owe you a debt."
Rias's heart lurched.
"I will owe you exactly one favor," Kaiju continued, marking each word with steel precision. "One absolute and unrestricted favor. When the time comes and you are cornered; when the rules of your world, your parents, or the entire Underworld push you toward an abyss you cannot escape... you will call it in. And I will destroy whoever is standing in front of you."
Rias Gremory stopped breathing.
Kaiju's proposal was not a simple exchange; it was the Holy Grail of political negotiations. Rias knew perfectly well what was approaching in her near future. She knew the shadow looming over her freedom: Riser Phenex. The imminent, suffocating arranged engagement her parents would impose on her. She had been training Issei desperately, with the vain hope that her Pawn would achieve a miracle in the Rating Game.
But now, the monster who had altered Kuoh's reality, the being who dominated celestial dragons and possessed undetectable magic, was handing her an absolute guarantee of victory on a silver platter. A favor from the God of Destruction in exchange for a Bishop piece. It was a deal so ridiculously in her favor that refusing would be the greatest mistake of her immortal life.
Rias looked at Asia, then at Kaiju. Ambition and relief flooded her system.
"Deal," Rias declared, extending her hand over the desk. "Asia Argento will be my Bishop, and you will owe me your intervention when I demand it."
Kaiju firmly shook her hand. The boy's skin was cold, but his grip transmitted crushing certainty.
"Prepare the piece," Kaiju ordered, stepping back and signaling Asia to come forward.
Rias nodded to Akeno, who approached with a dark velvet-lined wooden chest. When she opened it, a chess piece shaped like a Bishop, glowing with a dense crimson aura, rested in the center.
"Asia, this may be a little overwhelming," Rias warned, taking the piece between her fingers. "The demonic energy will clash with your holy nature. There will be pain, but you must resist..."
"There will be no pain. Step aside, Gremory."
Kaiju did not wait for the redhead to finish her warning. With one swift step, he positioned himself in front of Asia. His one healthy eye instantly mutated, shining with the radiant White of Transmutation intertwined with the Pale Silver of Lunar Enchantment.
Kaiju's presence enveloped the entire room. Rias felt the Bishop piece in her hand begin to vibrate unnaturally. Kaiju did not touch it; he simply directed his will toward the demonic artifact. At the molecular level, the boy restructured the magic of the Underworld, purifying it, reinforcing its foundations so it could contain Asia's immense healing energy without collapsing, and eliminating any biological rejection.
"Insert it now," Kaiju ordered, never taking his eyes off the piece.
Rias, swallowing hard at the display of conceptual manipulation, brought the Bishop to the blonde nun's chest.
"In the name of Rias Gremory, I command you... be reborn as my servant. Be my support, be my light, be my Bishop."
The piece sank into Asia's flesh like a drop of water into a pond. An intense crimson glow illuminated the room. Issei clenched his fists, afraid to hear the girl's cry of agony after having suffered the same when he was converted.
But the scream never came.
Asia closed her eyes and released a sigh of absolute relief. Demonic energy flowed through her veins, but instead of fighting against her holy light, both forces intertwined in a perfect dance, tamed by Kaiju's will.
Before the red glow began to fade, Kaiju lifted his right hand and gently pressed his index and middle fingers to the nun's forehead.
"Lunar Mark."
The silver flash shone intensely on the girl's forehead, leaving the subtle silhouette of a waning moon that vanished with a breath.
The reaction was immediate and overwhelming. Asia's magic reserves multiplied exponentially, climbing to the status of a High-Class Devil in a matter of milliseconds. The biological weakness to light, crosses, and holy water was completely eradicated from her genetic code, armoring her with the same invulnerability he and Sylvie possessed.
Asia opened her green eyes, now brimming with unbreakable vitality. She looked at her own hands, feeling the flow of power. She was no longer a fragile human; she was an immortal entity, capable of healing any wound without fearing retaliation from her own biology.
"We... we did it," Asia whispered, looking at Kaiju with a dazzling smile, tears of happiness gathering in her eyes. "I won't grow old anymore, Kaiju-san... I'll be able to stay with my family forever."
Kaiju returned a genuine smile and affectionately ruffled her blonde hair.
"I told you. Welcome to immortality, little nun."
Rias Gremory and her peerage watched the scene in sepulchral silence.
The red-haired heiress had just obtained a Bishop with unprecedented healing power and a biological immunity that flagrantly broke every rule established by the Maous of the Underworld. But more importantly, she had obtained the absolute promise of the deadliest being in Kuoh.
Kaiju turned toward Rias, sliding his hands back into his pants pockets.
"Our business here is done, Gremory. Don't call me for stupid things," the scarred boy sentenced, his tone returning to its usual icy indifference. "And remember: you have one favor. Use it well."
With no further farewells, Kaiju signaled to Asia. The young nun gave a small and polite bow toward Rias and the others, saying goodbye to Issei with a warm smile before following her protector out of the room.
The heavy oak doors closed behind them with a soft click.
Inside the club, Issei dropped onto the sofa, exhaling all the air from his lungs. Kiba mentally sheathed the swords he had never actually summoned, and Akeno released a trembling sigh, wiping a drop of sweat from her forehead.
Rias Gremory remained standing in front of her desk, looking at her own hands. She had surrendered part of the control of her peerage. She had accepted a servant who would never follow one of her orders. And yet, as the shadow of Riser Phenex appeared on the horizon of her future, a smile loaded with monumental relief formed on her lips.
Kaiju Hano had just handed her the key to destroy her fate. And Rias was more than willing to use it.
Season Finale
Thank you to everyone who followed this fanfic up to this point. I appreciate your support, comments, views, and giving this project a chance. We'll see each other again another time. Take care.