We left the artificial realm existing in the office of my brother in silence. Akeno’s unconscious form was lying in my arms.

 

Zekram had chosen to leave before we were completely free from what he did to immobilize us.

 

I had been too confident. I had forgotten that the Archdaemon was as old as the Earth itself but even then, I never would have thought in a million years that Zekram would have used the anti-life formula.

 

I would be surprised if any true fan of the DC comics didn't know about it. I had thought that the world I was now living in was only limited to the obvious supernatural elements of the Vertigo comics but I had been so wrong.

 

The Presence was literally the source and had existed in this world. Following this logic, I should have known that there were more things I needed to worry about.

 

I had been completely blinded by my own confidence and my hubris had led me to make a deal with The devil.

 

Zekram was inherently cruel and evil. That was his nature as an Archdaemon and looking at his true form confirmed to me the fact that such a monster could never truly change for the best.

 

True monsters didn't change. They either were destroyed by good or other evils or they became even greater monsters.

 

He would manipulate me, use me knowing that I knew it was the case shamelessly.  I could not retaliate against him even if I wanted to do so because he had something I desperately wanted.

 

I was a puppet dancing on a board and he was the marionnetist. My best bet was to let him lead until I could retaliate on the perfect occasion. Everyone made errors, even Archadaemons, at least that is what I hope.

 

He had also proven my brother Sirzechs right. I would have failed against the members of our parliament because I wasn't strong enough because I didn't know enough.

 

What kind of curse or demonic sorcery would the members of the Parliament use if I tried to kill them?

 

I wasn't scared of anything happening to me. I was scared of what could happen to my peerage. Us, devils were better tragedy makers than Greek gods after all.

 

There were stories of spiteful devils cursing mortals with immortality without the continuing looking young part of the equation.

 

Other stories spoke of cursing mortals, their entire bloodlines, their friends and the descendants of their friends until the fifteenth generation.

 

The descendants of the Daemon Gremory were known to obsessively care about those they considered family as if they were dragons and those they considered family their hoard.

 

They would know immediately where to strike to really hurt me. Maybe Akeno would be able to protect herself from a would-be curse but I don't think it could be said the same thing about the other members of my peerage.

 

Maybe if I was the strongest, I wouldn't have to fear about the possible consequences of my actions.

 

Maybe if I could reach a level of strength beyond my actual feeble mean, maybe if I could reach the same level of strength as the Darkness that almost was my undoing, I would be able to protect my peerage, those I loved without playing under the tunes of someone else.

 

It made me wonder. If the Anti-life equation existed, it probably meant that the life equation also did so but more than that, did the speed force exist?

 

Was there a living being in this universe with the same powers as Barry Allen the speedster of the Justice League? Did I have to worry about beings capable of crossing the distance between the Earth and the Sun in less than a femtosecond?

 

Should I worry about a possible wielder of the speed force attacking me because of a grudge they held against me in the future?

 

Were the other forces like the sage or strength force also existing here? I felt a headache begin to bloom in my mind when it shouldn't even be possible anymore.

 

This was an endless can of worms that my grandfather had made me aware of, that I wished I could ignore.

 

Following the same logic, would one of my next opponents be someone capable of harnessing the different lights of the Emotional spectrum as the Green Lanterns did?

 

Should I also worry about primordial elemental forces attacking me or members of my peerage like the Green, the Red or even the black?

 

I wish I could remember the different formulas. Sure, I had liked the comics but I had never seen them as real. I had never thought that one day, I would be reincarnated in another world where it would matter.

 

I have never forgotten anything since I had been reincarnated. Things that I had found mentally exhausting before were not anymore.

 

I knew that if I had learned the different formulas as I was now, I wouldn't have forgotten but I had learned them only by glancing at them one or two times, before my essence, before becoming a devil.

 

I hated the fact that I forgot. If I hadn't, the strength that I yearned for would have been mine. I know that There would have been nothing capable of stopping me in any form. The dread and anxiety I constantly felt for my family and I wouldn't exist.

 

“I am sorry,” a voice said at my side bringing me out of my thoughts. I turned toward my brother.

 

Those were the first words he had said after I accepted Zekram’s contact. Usually, I could parse and see through his eyes the different emotions he was feeling but I actually couldn't do so.

 

It's as if a wall had been erected hiding, concealing from me everything behind a wall. It's as if I had turned on a TV and instead of seeing images, I only saw static. We were so close yet it felt as if we were billions of miles from each other.

 

“You did nothing wrong,” I told him back. I didn't blame him. I don't think I could ever do such a thing.

 

Sirzechs was many things but a bad brother wasn’t one of those things. Each time something wrong happened, it was because of an unexpected situation that had blindsided him. I couldn't blame him for every one of my misfortunes.

 

“Those days, it's always like this. I try to stand by you and I always fail. I was supposed to be there for Riser, for Kagutsuchi and now that I was there, I wasn’t strong enough when I was supposed to be the strongest. What is Sirzech Lucifer if not the strongest?”

 

“My brother,” I answered him. He reacted as if I had struck him. “Sirzechs is and will always be Rias’ brother and Millicas’ father before everything. That's all that matters. That's all I need you to be.”

 

He looked uneasy as if I removed a bandaid over a bleeding injury. “Our grandfather is old. He tricked us, he tricked you. Even then, we only lost because of me, not because of you. I was the reason why you couldn't fight at your best.”

 

A crack appeared in his stoic facade, a surge of anger bloomed in his eyes like a blood-soaked rose.

 

“It doesn't matter!” his voice rose. “It doesn't matter if he was older if he tricked us! I'm supposed to be the leader, the strongest. How can I protect anything, how can I lead our race in this world when I can protect you, Rias, one of the most important things for me in this world!”

 

The way he talked, it was as if he wasn't really talking to me. It was as if he was talking to himself, to Sirzechs.

 

What was something perfect that proved itself faulty? An imperfect thing. When you only knew the stars, falling into the abyss was a greater punishment than someone who had always dwelled in it, who had only known this eternal darkness.

 

“You speak as if I'm dead but right now I'm not. I won’t tell you that I'm not scared. I won't lie and tell you I'm not terrified of the true motives of our grandfather but right now, I'm here brother. Right now, I'm there with you Sirzechs and shouldn't that be the only that matters?”

 

The anger in his eyes was replaced by sadness and shame “You don't know the progenitor of our mother the way I do Rias. Falling into the fires of Gehenna is a kinder fate than his usual schemes.” His head was turned downward as if he was too ashamed to look at me.

 

I sighed. I moved closer to him. Slowly, I closed my eyes and put my forehead against his “You’re right. I don't know. I almost know nothing but one of the things I'm sure of is that until my end, until my existence ends, my brother will be at my side, trying to protect me. Am I wrong Brother?” I asked him.

 

I tried to lose myself in this moment. I ignored the choked sob I heard coming from him “You changed. Since when did you begin to be so wise?”

 

“When I began to listen and repeat the words of my brother. Sirzechs, it doesn't matter that we can’t change the present. He fooled you one time. The shame is on him. Don't let yourself be fooled a second time in the future. Grow stronger, become smarter but stop acting as if everything is lost. The other Satans followed you because they believed in you. Our kind adulate you because they believe in you.”

 

 

 

The original Rias was a devil heiress. Faith, belief in a divine being was anathema to our existence. One of the only rules written and enforced by Lucifer before his death was prohibiting worshipping anyone whether they were god, Daemon, Dragon or Endless yet the original Rias had believed.

 

She had faith in her brother. When she thought of him, she saw the divine. Looking at him she saw endless love and comfort.

 

“I have many regrets and those last days only made me understand how quickly things could go wrong brother. I want you to know that I love you. I want you to know I believe in you. It's okay if you don't believe in yourself. Believe in the me who believes in you. I have enough faith for the two of us.”

 

I felt his hands move and close themselves around me in a hug. Akeno wasn't the only reason why I didn't hug him back.

 

 

His chin rested softly on my head as he continued to hug me. Sirzechs before being the powerhouse he was, before being one of the possible inheritors of Destruction of the Endless, before being the Satan Lucifer was a person, a person I was realizing more and more who was never allowed to be one.

 

The crown he bore wasn't a regalia of power. It was a leach, an abomination made of bloody thorns and responsibilities. I wanted to grab it and reduce it to ashes.

 

“What did I do to deserve you?” he whispered softly.

 

“You were you. You were the best brother anyone could ask for. You were a better parent than our actual parents. You weren't perfect but you tried and that's why I could never hate you Sirzechs.”

 

I felt Something wet begin to fall on my head and my shoulders “Hey brother, after this war, let's leave everything behind for an undermined amount of time. Just us, Millicas and our peerages, no angels or gods or nobles devils.”

 

“Where would we go Rias?”

 

“Maybe in another world,” I told him half joking. “A word where we would all day have fun, not have to worry about anything.”

 

“It sounds nice,” he whispered. “After all of this is finished, I promise you, we'll leave together Rias. I promise you.”

 

“I love you Sirzechs.”

 

“I love you, Ria-”

 

His words were cut by an explosion that shook the castle. A guttural roar followed. This was a scream I recognized. This was the scream of a damned monster from the abyss, this was the scream of a scared and angry boy. This was the scream of Issei.

 

Without thinking, I placed Akeno in the arms of my brother and moved, my form breaking through the walls of the castle of my brother. I had already failed Issei too many times. I could not allow to do such a thing again.