High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Beast Emperor and the White Dragon’s Challenge

Azazel rubbed his temples, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Beside him, Minagawa Natsume suddenly clutched the sides of her head, her eyes darting between the two silver-haired brothers.

“Wait, no, hold on!” she sputtered. “Did you two just casually spill all the darkest, most highly guarded secrets of the Lucifer Clan right in front of us?!”

“The family’s dark history…” Vali murmured. At the mere thought of Rizevim, the arrogant smirk vanished from his face, replaced by a chilling, murderous frost that seemed to lower the ambient temperature.

In stark contrast, Levi stood with his hands resting easily in his pockets, that same faint, indifferent smile playing on his lips.

“Little Levi…”

The soft murmur broke the tension. Lavinia Reni blinked, her eyes widening slightly as if she had finally solved a complex puzzle that had been bothering her all afternoon. She stared straight at the older Lucifer brother, the nickname slipping past her lips before she could stop it.

Levi paused. He knew the blonde witch had a penchant for giving people eccentric nicknames, but he certainly hadn’t expected to be caught in her crosshairs so quickly.

“Little Levi…” Lavinia tilted her head, her blonde hair catching the light. “Can I call you that?”

“If you think it rolls off the tongue, go ahead,” Levi replied, his tone perfectly even. “I’m not exactly picky about titles.”

Lavinia offered a satisfied nod.

Nearby, Samejima Tsunao leaned over, jabbing an elbow into Vali’s side. “Hey, Teacher Lucifer-Dragon. Look at your own flesh and blood over there. How is he so polite and well-mannered, while you’re completely different? You’re as crude as a street thug.”

Vali swatted the delinquent’s arm away, his silver eyes flashing with irritation. “Tsk! Who told you to call me Lucifer-Dragon?!”

As the two immediately devolved into a petty bickering match, Azazel let out a long, exhausted sigh. “Same old kindergarten.”

The Governor General of the Fallen Angels shook his head, withdrawing his gaze from the squabbling duo to focus entirely on Levi. The weariness in his eyes sharpened into the calculating gaze of a leader.

“Levi. You came all the way out here, and you brought an entourage.” Azazel’s eyes flicked briefly toward the silent, dark-haired boy standing near the back. “Don’t tell me you just dropped by to check on your little brother.”

The moment Azazel spoke, Samejima and Vali snapped their mouths shut. The playful atmosphere evaporated, and every pair of eyes in the room zeroed in on Levi and the quiet Ikuse Tobio.

“I did intend to see him,” Levi admitted, his smile fading into something far more pragmatic. “But if that were my only reason, I would have chosen a much more entertaining method to surprise him. I rushed over today because we have serious business to attend to.”

Azazel wasn’t surprised. From the second he realized it was Levi standing at his door and not the madman Rizevim, his attention had been subtly drawn to Tobio. He recognized the boy. He had seen him years ago, and even back then, he knew the child harbored a Longinus of terrifying caliber within him. Levi bringing the wielder of Canis Lykaon into Fallen Angel territory was a calculated move.

“I came to your side for three specific reasons,” Levi stated, holding up a finger. “Let’s start with the first. Lavinia.”

The blonde witch straightened her posture.

“After I finish discussing the broader strategic matters, I have something to tell you regarding the Witch of Oz and your master,” Levi said, his voice dropping an octave. “I didn’t want to bring it up so abruptly, but if I don’t tell you now, you’ll only figure it out when you cross paths with them on the battlefield. By then, it will be too late.”

At the word ‘master’, Lavinia’s breath hitched. Her mentor had been missing for what felt like an eternity. She opened her mouth to press for details, but Levi had already shifted his gaze toward Natsume and Samejima.

“The second matter concerns the Void Cicada organization,” Levi continued smoothly. “I promised Tobio that I would help him rescue your classmates. So, my presence here is to synchronize our intelligence and review your current progress.”

Finally, Levi turned his full attention back to Azazel. The faint amusement was entirely gone from his features.

“The last thing requires a private conversation between the two of us. To be precise, there are certain variables I lack concrete data on, and I need your insight.”

Azazel studied the young Devil’s stoic expression. “It’s rare for a Devil to voluntarily seek me out for advice.”

“If you can’t handle the information, then I won’t hesitate to take this to the Angels up in Heaven,” Levi replied without missing a beat.

The reason for his caution was simple.

“It concerns the Beast Emperor.”

Levi hadn’t held back against Rizevim out of fear. The title of the ‘Strongest extraordinary’ meant nothing to him. With the current combat power at Levi’s disposal, assassinating his grandfather was entirely within the world of possibility.

What truly made him wary was the apocalyptic nightmare sleeping behind Rizevim’s grand design—the Beast Emperor, Trihexa.

As someone who intimately knew the trajectory of this world, Levi understood the catastrophic risk. If Rizevim died prematurely, the failsafes might trigger, forcing them to face the Beast Emperor directly. That entity was a monster that eclipsed the extraordinary class, its sheer destructive output brushing against the world of the Dragon Gods. Without absolute, ironclad preparation, Levi refused to step on that particular landmine.

“That’s the board as it stands,” Levi explained quietly once the others had been ushered out, leaving only him and the Governor General in the room. “Rizevim’s current plans are targeting the Devils, the Evil Dragons, and the Beast Emperor. The Devils are easy enough to manage; Sirzechs isn’t a fool and has countermeasures in place. The Evil Dragons are a nuisance, but nothing we can’t slaughter if we get serious.”

Levi let the silence stretch.

Azazel caught the implication immediately. “That lunatic actually wants to let that thing out…”

Normally, Azazel would dismiss such a claim as apocalyptic fearmongering. But he was the leader of Grigori. The vast web of intelligence he commanded wasn’t just for show. Cross-referencing Levi’s warning with Rizevim’s recent, seemingly erratic movements… it all clicked. If the core objective was to unseal the Beast Emperor, then every single psychotic action the old Devil had taken suddenly formed a terrifyingly coherent strategy.

Azazel leaned back, exhaling a long breath. “Regarding the Beast Emperor… after I finish the current mess—no, after we crush the Void Cicada organization, I’ll personally visit the other pantheons to test the waters.”

He forced a half-smile, trying to project an air of control. “You don’t need to lose sleep over it, Levi. Even if the absolute worst comes to pass and that thing breaks its seal, it’s not like we’re completely out of options.”

He looked confident. But Levi saw right through it. Azazel’s so-called ‘solution’ was nothing more than a suicide pact: gathering the leaders of every mythological faction to take turns throwing their lives at the Beast Emperor in a grinding war of attrition that could last ten thousand years.

It was a solution born of absolute desperation.

“Let’s make sure it never reaches that point,” Levi said, pushing himself off the wall. “I can’t openly intervene in that specific theater with my current identity, so I’ll leave the political maneuvering to you. I still have two personal matters to handle.”

Azazel offered a grim nod, watching the young Devil turn and walk out the door. The moment the heavy wood clicked shut, the Governor General’s forced smile shattered.

Ever since the Great War between the Three Factions ended, Azazel had wanted nothing more to do with bloodshed. He had fought enough to last a hundred lifetimes. He was sick to his core of the slaughter. But if Rizevim truly intended to drag the Beast Emperor into the light, this was a war that would consume the world.

I have to stop him before the seal breaks, Azazel thought, his fists clenching on his desk.

Out in the hallway, Levi didn’t even make it three steps before his path was blocked.

Lavinia stood there, her hands clasped tightly together. While the tactical data on Natsume and Samejima could wait, the blonde witch was operating on borrowed time. She had scoured the globe, desperate for any trace of her missing mentor. Now, finally presented with a lead, a fragile, hopeful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

Levi looked at that smile and sighed inwardly.

If I let her walk into the coming battle with this false hope, it’ll get her killed. Better to be the villain now.

Meeting her expectant gaze, Levi cut straight to the bone. “Lavinia. Your master, Glinda, the Witch of the South… she didn’t go missing.”

“Was she attacked by a magician from Oz?” Lavinia asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Levi exhaled slowly. “She wasn’t attacked by them. She was already working for them.”

Lavinia froze.

“To put it bluntly, the magicians of Oz don’t differentiate between ‘good’witches and’bad’ witches,” Levi continued, his voice steady and merciless. “Unlike the fairy tales you read, that place is nothing more than an asylum for lunatics obsessed with the absolute extremes of magic.”

He watched Lavinia’s hands curl into white-knuckled fists.

“Your mentor wasn’t kidnapped. She wasn’t ambushed,” Levi finished. “She herself… is a magician of Oz.”

The hallway plunged into a suffocating silence.

When Levi finally stepped out onto the open rooftop a few minutes later, he found Vali leaning against the concrete railing. The White Dragon Emperor looked incredibly on edge, his jaw tight.

“Thanks,” Vali muttered, not looking at him.

Back in the hallway, the temperature had plummeted below freezing. The sheer, crushing grief radiating from Lavinia was so intense that even Vali had felt it through the walls. It made his skin crawl with an uncomfortable annoyance.

But Vali wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly why Levi had dropped the guillotine now. If Levi had kept his mouth shut, and Lavinia had discovered the truth in the middle of a life-or-death firefight against the Oz magicians, her psyche would have shattered instantly.

A Longinus was fueled by the wielder’s willpower. If her mind collapsed, her Sacred Gear would fail, and the entire battlefront would crumble.

“No need to apologize,” Levi said, stepping up to the railing beside him. “I have my own tactical plans.”

Hearing the dry pragmatism in his brother’s voice, Vali finally cracked a grin. They hadn’t spent much time together since their reunion, but Vali was already getting a solid read on Levi. He liked this ruthless, unpretentious efficiency.

More, it made him burn with curiosity about exactly how much raw power Levi was hiding beneath that calm exterior.

“Brother,” Vali said, pushing off the railing and rolling his shoulders. “Want to head down to the training ground and spar?”

Levi glanced sideways at the silver-haired teen. Vali wasn’t particularly tall yet, but the manic gleam in his eyes practically screamed ‘future battle junkie’. Levi could only offer a helpless sigh.

“Since you’re asking so nicely, I suppose I can see how much skill you’ve actually gained since you ran away from home.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a translucent blue interface flickered across Levi’s vision.

[Sign-in Target (Vali Lucifer): Defeat Vali Lucifer.]

Vali’s grin widened into something feral. If Ikuse Tobio was a natural-born anomaly who stumbled into his Balance Breaker, Vali was a prodigy forged in pure combat. He possessed an innate, terrifying intuition for violence. He never backed down, and the harder he was pushed, the more vicious he became.

Even Albion, the Heavenly Dragon residing in his soul, occasionally felt a twinge of pity for whoever the current Red Dragon Emperor happened to be.

Vali knew his older brother was no longer the frail weakling from their childhood. But he still didn’t think he would lose. Levi was, at best, an Ultimate-Class Devil. Vali just needed to use his Divine Dividing to halve Levi’s power four or six times, and the victory would be absolute.

, even though Azazel had strictly forbidden it, and Albion warned it was too early—if push came to shove, Vali could now forcefully manifest his Balance Breaker, the Divine Dividing Scale Mail, for roughly ten seconds.

With that trump card in his back pocket, Vali calculated his odds of winning at near one hundred percent.

“These two brothers really can’t sit still for five minutes, can they?”

Azazel materialized from the shadows near the rooftop access door. He wasn’t alone. Natsume, Samejima, and Tobio filed out behind him, taking up positions along the perimeter to watch. Only Lavinia was absent, left alone in the cold hallway to digest the shattering truth about her master.

“I never thought a touching family reunion would immediately turn into a cage match,” Natsume muttered, crossing her arms against the evening chill.

“I thought you only saw this kind of meathead plot in shounen manga,” Samejima chuckled, leaning against the chain-link fence. “That’s why you girls don’t get it. But honestly? Between Lucifer-Dragon and his mind-reading older brother… I can’t even picture what it would look like for Lucifer-Dragon to lose.”

Down on the training grounds, the air began to warp. Vali was a Lucifer. And he was a Dragon.