High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Silver-Haired Maid

“I have plenty of time to develop steadily,” Levi murmured to the empty room, the silence of the estate pressing in around him. “As for that little task Rizevim threw at me before he left…”

A cold, knowing smile touched his lips. He reached into the void, his fingers closing around the familiar, braided hilt of Yamato. Drawing the legendary katana from his system space, he didn’t hesitate. He reversed his grip and drove the blade directly into his own chest.

There was no blood. No pain. Instead, a dense, black sphere of light was forcibly stripped from deep within his body, sliding smoothly up the dark metal of the blade.

“You want me to stay in the Underworld as your inside agent?” Levi scoffed, watching the dark mass pulse against the steel. “I suppose I can play along until I finally take your head. But using this parlor trick to leash me? Rizevim, you really overthink things.”

He flicked his wrist, tossing the black restriction directly into the infinite void of his system space, locking it away entirely. “Keep dreaming.”

With the tracking magic dealt with, Levi prepared to resume his sword training. However, the hesitant voice of a low-class servant drifted through the heavy oak doors.

“Lord Levi, the devil arranged by His Majesty the Satan to attend to you has arrived. Will you receive her?”

Levi paused, sheathing Yamato with a soft click. He had almost forgotten. Sirzechs had given him a heads-up about this arrangement days ago. Levi hadn’t paid it much mind; it was obviously an eye planted by the Reformist Faction to monitor the remnants of the old bloodline, and he had already drafted several countermeasures.

“Lead the way,” he called out, smoothing his collar.

He followed the servant to the grand foyer, expecting a standard operative. But when his eyes fell upon the woman waiting by the entrance, his steps faltered for a fraction of a second.

She wore a pristine, traditional maid uniform, her silver hair framing a face of striking, icy beauty. She offered a flawless, elegant bow. “My name is Grayfia Lucifuge. From today onward, I shall be your exclusive maid, Lord Levi.”

Grayfia?

Levi kept his expression perfectly neutral, though his mind raced. He knew Sirzechs wasn’t married yet in this timeline, but to actually send the strongest Queen, a Satan-class powerhouse, to act as a maid? The Reformist Faction was truly sparing no expense to keep him under their thumb.

However, a translucent blue screen materialized in his vision.

[Objective: Spend 5 minutes with Grayfia]

Levi glanced at the newly activated sign-in task, the corners of his mouth curling into a genuine smile. He nodded at the silver-haired woman. “Very well. Welcome to the estate, Grayfia. Let’s get along well from now on.”

After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, Levi used the excuse of explaining her daily duties to show her around, familiarizing her with the current, desolate state of the House of Lucifer.

Five minutes? That was entirely too simple.

Their footsteps echoed loudly against the marble floors as they walked down the empty corridors. “After Vali left, Rizevim departed as well, leaving me as the sole remaining heir in the main house,” Levi explained, gesturing to the vacant halls. “Vali took a portion of the retainers, and Rizevim took the rest. Now, only a handful of low-class devils remain to handle the basic chores. Forget an Ultimate-Class Devil—you couldn’t even find a High-Class Devil in this mansion right now.”

He paused by a large window overlooking the barren courtyard. “The territory isn’t vast, but most key locations are currently being watched by outside servants. The House of Lucifer is a shadow of what it used to be, though maintaining basic operations isn’t a problem.”

Grayfia listened to his calm, measured explanation, her silver eyes scanning the empty estate. “Understood,” she replied softly.

She was acutely aware of the reality of the situation. Before she arrived, the House of Lucifer was pitifully weak. The gap in combat power was so severe that if they encountered any real trouble, they wouldn’t even have the strength to fight back. But now, things were different. With her—a Satan-class entity—holding down the fort, this family was no longer a target that could be slaughtered at will.

“Alright, that covers the general situation,” Levi said, turning away from the window. “If you want to know anything else, feel free to explore and see for yourself. In the House of Lucifer, there is nowhere you are forbidden to go.”

He walked two steps down the hall, then stopped, glancing back over his shoulder. Grayfia looked at him, a flicker of surprise breaking her composed facade.

“And… thank you for being willing to come back at a time like this,” Levi said quietly.

Without waiting for her response, he mentally confirmed the sign-in. He turned the corner, his figure disappearing completely at the end of the corridor.

Grayfia stood in the empty hall, staring at the spot where he had vanished. The coldness in her eyes slowly melted into something softer. She had originally expected to be met with intense hostility upon returning to the old faction’s territory. She had even mentally prepared herself to take drastic measures just to gain a foothold in the mansion.

It seemed she had overthought the situation.

Her gaze lowered. That’s right. He is just a child. How could he possibly be a lunatic like Rizevim?

She closed her eyes, a quiet resolve settling over her. Then so be it. Until you truly grow up, the House of Lucifer will be left to me to protect, Lord Levi.

Back in his private quarters, Levi checked the system interface.

[Sign-in Reward: Summoned Swords]

He stared at the prompt, blinking slowly. “This system is absolutely determined to make me walk Vergil’s path…”

Whether it was Yamato or the Summoned Swords, these were all Vergil’s signature assets. In the world of Devil May Cry, these spectral blades held a status roughly equivalent to Dante’s twin handguns. They were blue, ethereal flying swords designed for lethal long-range attacks. They could spin around the user to form an impenetrable sword formation, blocking strikes from all directions, or be fired off in rapid succession to impale distant targets.

They also came with a spatial pulling effect—either dragging enemies toward the user or pulling the user toward the embedded target.

However, as Levi absorbed the knowledge of the skill, he realized the Summoned Swords in his possession were slightly different from the original versions. There were minor variations in their spectral appearance, and their core function had been heavily modified. The physical pulling effect had been entirely replaced by instantaneous teleportation.

It functioned almost exactly like the Flying Thunder God technique.

“If I remember correctly, these Summoned Swords are condensed purely using magic power,” Levi muttered.

He raised his right hand, spreading his fingers. A brilliant blue flying sword instantly materialized, hovering above his palm. He flicked his wrist casually. The spectral blade shot forward, stopping mid-air to orbit rapidly around his body. Immediately after, the air rippled, and dozens more Summoned Swords emerged from the void, forming a dense, glowing blue ring of blades around him.

Levi exhaled, dismissing the extra swords and leaving only a single, rotating formation.

With my current demonic power reserves, I can manage to keep the Summoned Swords active for a short skirmish, he analyzed internally. But if a fight drags on, or if I try to release dozens of swords at once to teleport across vast distances, I’ll drain myself dry in the blink of an eye.

He sighed, dismissing the final blade. Unlike a freak of nature like Vali, who possessed an ocean of demonic power and could throw around magic casually, Levi’s own reserves were currently limited. He had to be calculating in combat, treating every drop of energy as a precious resource.

But this limitation wouldn’t last forever. He didn’t need innate talent. He had the sign-in system.

Judging by the fact that Rizevim and Grayfia had both triggered tasks, while the nameless low-class devils in the mansion hadn’t, the system clearly only targeted significant figures who held weight in the world’s overarching fate.

Levi bit his thumb, his mind working through the variables. It was time to make a move.

“Are you going to House Gremory?”

Grayfia stood in the doorway of his study, her silver eyebrows slightly raised in surprise at his sudden decision.

House Gremory was the most vital pillar of the Reformist Faction. The current Lucifer, Sirzechs, was the pride of the Gremory family. For Levi, the last true descendant of the original Satan Lucifer, to willingly visit their territory—and to take her with him—was a massive political statement. Sirzechs would undoubtedly be present.

“That’s right,” Levi replied, grabbing his coat.

His understanding of House Gremory’s internal structure was likely deeper than Grayfia’s. He had two distinct reasons for this visit. First, if his luck held, there could be up to four major sign-in targets residing at the Gremory estate. Even with bad luck, there would be at least two. Second… he needed to start laying the groundwork to deal with Rizevim.

“Don’t worry, Grayfia. I’m not going there to cause trouble,” Levi said, noticing her slight hesitation. “I just have some urgent matters that must be discussed privately with the current His Majesty Lucifer. This kind of intelligence isn’t suited for formal, public channels. If I want to meet Sirzechs secretly, going directly to House Gremory is the fastest route, isn’t it?”

Grayfia nodded slowly. Levi prepared to offer a few more excuses to justify the trip, but she spoke before he could open his mouth.

“In that case, using my magic to infiltrate the Gremory territory directly will be much more covert. If you require private contact with His Majesty, bypassing the formal gates is far better than a public visit.”

Levi paused, genuinely surprised. “Aren’t you going to ask what exactly I want to discuss with him?”

Grayfia stood tall, her posture immaculate, her tone calm but entirely unyielding. “You are the master of the House of Lucifer. No matter what decision you make, as long as it is your true will, I will stand by your side.”

Levi stared at her face, his eyes narrowing slightly as he searched for any micro-expression that betrayed deception. He found none. She didn’t seem to be acting. Initially, he had treated her strictly as a hostile pawn sent to monitor him. Now, it seemed the dynamic was far more complicated than a simple spy assignment.

Still, Levi wasn’t the type to hand out his trust easily.

After a few seconds of heavy silence, he offered her a practiced, polite smile. “Very well. Since you’ve offered, I’ll leave the transportation to you, Grayfia.”

“It is my honor.”

Miles away, Sirzechs sat heavily behind a massive oak desk, flipping through a towering stack of documents.

Ever since he had been pushed onto the throne as the new Satan Lucifer, he felt the weight of the Underworld crushing his schedule day by day. Even when Ajuka forced him to take a few days off, the paperwork never stopped accumulating.

He rubbed his temples, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. “Being a Satan is honestly more tiring than fighting a war.”

The moment the words left his mouth, a brilliant surge of blue light erupted in the center of his private office.

The terrifying spike in magical power put Sirzechs on high alert instantly. His aura flared, his hand raising to unleash a blast of Destruction to shatter the unauthorized teleportation array. But as his eyes locked onto the complex, glowing crest of the Lucifuge family forming on his floor, his hand froze.

He didn’t strike. The array stabilized, and the teleportation completed.

Two figures materialized in the center of the room. Sirzechs’s gaze immediately fell upon the silver-haired maid. A complex wave of melancholy washed over him. After the incident during the civil war, he knew with absolute certainty that whatever path they might have walked together was completely severed.

He swallowed the bitter feeling, forcing a neutral expression as he shifted his gaze to the young man standing beside her. He recognized that face instantly.

“Levi Lucifer…” Sirzechs said, leaning back in his chair. “You bypassed the gates of House Gremory. Are you here to see me?”

Levi nodded, stepping out of the fading magic circle. “Yes. I don’t know many people in House Gremory. I wouldn’t just drop by for a casual visit.”

Sirzechs chuckled softly, appreciating the blunt honesty.

As Levi made eye contact with the Crimson Satan, the familiar chime of the system rang in his mind.

[Objective: Talk to Sirzechs for ten minutes]

A faint smirk ghosted across Levi’s lips. He walked forward, stopping just short of the desk. Theoretically, the heir of the old Satan faction and the leader of the new Satan faction should be at each other’s throats. Yet, Sirzechs looked at him with a gentle, accommodating smile.

“Speak freely,” Sirzechs said, lacing his fingers together. “What exactly is the matter? Is it because the retainers of the House of Lucifer have all been stripped away, and you require assistance from the central government?”

His tone was entirely sincere. And Levi knew it was the truth. If Sirzechs offered to help rebuild the estate, he would genuinely do everything in his power to see it done. But with Grayfia already standing by his side, Levi didn’t need superficial face-saving projects.

“I’m not here to talk about restoring my family’s pomp and circumstance,” Levi said, his voice dropping to a steady, serious register. “You’ve already provided a Satan-class bodyguard; that is more reliable than any number of low-class servants. The matter I need to discuss concerns Rizevim.”

The temperature in the room plummeted. At the mere mention of that name, Sirzechs’s gentle smile vanished, replaced by the cold, hardened gaze of a ruler.

Levi had expected exactly this reaction. He didn’t miss a beat. “Before Rizevim fled the Underworld, he approached me. He ordered me to stay behind as his inside agent—to monitor the central government’s intelligence and map out your defense deployments. His departure wasn’t just a simple, panicked escape. He took a massive batch of veteran combatants from the Old Satan Faction with him, and the remaining loyalists have already colluded with his forces.”

Levi leaned forward slightly, his eyes locking onto Sirzechs. “This isn’t a retreat. It’s a highly coordinated, planned operation.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Even Grayfia, who had maintained her perfect composure, stiffened. Her eyes darted toward Sirzechs, her magical energy flaring slightly beneath the surface, her body tensing as she prepared to drag Levi out of the room the moment the Crimson Satan showed any hostility.