High School DxD: The Lucifer's Devil Trigger — Chapter 82

Chapter 82: The Heaven Envoy

To be completely honest, Serafall hadn’t expected Levi to actually drag her to the heart of the Fallen Angels’ territory.

Levi pulled a stamped credential from his coat—Azazel’s personal pass—and flashed it to the black-winged guards flanking the obsidian gates of the Grigori. The guards stiffened, their spears lowering as they immediately stepped aside to clear the path.

Serafall watched the exchange, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping against her cheek. Sirzechs had made his intentions crystal clear: he was grooming Levi to inherit the mantle of Maou Lucifer. If she didn’t know that for a fact, she would have seriously suspected the boy of defecting. The Three Factions hadn’t signed any formal peace treaties yet. Devils and Fallen Angels were far from friends; while the Angels remained isolated up in Heaven, border skirmishes between Devils and the Grigori were a weekly occurrence.

Levi pushed open the heavy oak doors to Azazel’s office without bothering to knock, leading Serafall straight inside.

The Governor General turned from his cluttered desk, his single visible eye widening slightly at the sight of the magical girl-cosplaying Maou standing beside the young Lucifer.

“Serafall… this is a rare sight.”

“If I came knocking on your door by myself, your lackeys would have chased me out, wouldn’t they?” Serafall sighed, her twin-tails drooping slightly. She had genuinely thought she could take a day off. But looking at the heavy atmosphere in the room… she was still on the clock.

Azazel crossed his arms, his gaze shifting to Levi. “Are either of you going to explain why you’re crashing my sanctuary?”

Levi leaned against the doorframe, his expression impassive. “I’ll cut to the chase. We’re here because of the Beast Emperor.”

The Beast Emperor?

Serafall frowned. “Isn’t that thing sealed away at the edge of the world?”

“It is.” Levi’s tone remained flat. “But what happens if someone decides to crack the cage?”

The Apocalyptic Beast had no mind, no loyalty. It only knew absolute destruction. Who would be insane enough to—

Her breath hitched. The playful glint vanished from her eyes, replaced by a chilling realization. She did know a madman capable of exactly that.

Rizevim Livan Lucifer. Levi’s own grandfather.

“You…” Serafall’s voice dropped an octave. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly.” Levi answered without a second of hesitation.

Azazel nodded grimly, confirming the threat. Serafall fell silent, her mind racing to process the sheer scale of the danger.

While she digested the information, Levi turned his attention back to the Governor General. “Did you investigate the seal like I asked?”

“I did.” Azazel leaned back against his desk. “The Beast Emperor is still locked away. I couldn’t get too close, but I pulled some strings through a few underground channels and got a read on the situation.” He paused, his expression darkening. “Rizevim did breach the seal site years ago. He went in empty-handed, but he came out carrying something.”

“No one knows exactly what it was,” Azazel continued. “But based on your theory—that killing him will trigger the beast’s awakening—whatever he took is almost certainly the catalyst.”

Levi nodded slowly. He had always suspected that an old fox like Rizevim wouldn’t keep the dead-man’s switch physically on his person. The man was a coward who thrived on dirty tricks, which was exactly why Levi had outsourced the reconnaissance to Azazel.

“Is there any way to track down what he took?” Levi asked, his eyes narrowing. “Or at least identify it?”

He despised leaving loose ends. The cleanest tactical approach was to locate the catalyst, draw Yamato, and sever the spatial and magical connection binding Rizevim’s life to the seal. Once that trump card was destroyed, Levi could simply lure the old man out and butcher him without triggering the apocalypse.

Azazel shook his head. “It’s not that simple. The Beast Emperor’s seal was cast by the Seraphs. The Angels hold absolute administrative authority over the site. After Rizevim’s little break-in, Heaven doubled the guard. We can’t just waltz in.”

Serafall closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. A dead end.

But Levi’s eyes gleamed.

His worst-case scenario had been that Rizevim had hidden the catalyst in some obscure dimensional rift. If that were true, Levi would have had to beat the old man half to death, seal his Sacred Gear Canceler, and lock him away until he had the time to deal with the Beast Emperor personally.

But this? This was manageable.

“Azazel,” Levi said, his voice dangerously calm. “Are you certain that if we go to Heaven, we can find the records of what Rizevim took?”

Before the Fallen Angel could answer, Serafall whipped around. “Levi… you aren’t seriously thinking of going to Heaven, are you?!”

Levi met her stunned gaze without blinking. “This concerns the Beast Emperor. It threatens the entire world. Who cares if we have to knock on Heaven’s door? It can’t possibly be more dangerous than facing Trihexa itself.”

He sounded perfectly righteous, but internally, his mind was already calculating the absolute defense of his [Morning Star] skill. Light magic meant nothing to him.

Azazel stared at the young Devil for a long time. Finally, he let out a long, exhausted breath. “Fine. I defected from the place anyway. If you’re dead set on this suicide mission, I’ll tag along.”

Serafall sighed, her posture suddenly rigid with theatrical determination. “Your logic is sound, but Sirzechs values you too much. I can’t just sit by and watch you throw your life away.”

Azazel shot her a deeply skeptical look.

Ignoring him, Serafall puffed out her chest. “If we get surrounded by an army of Angels, Azazel and I will risk our lives to carve a path for you. When that happens, tell Sona not to cry too much. Then tell Sirzechs that the Governor of the Grigori died heroically, and use the opportunity to annex the Fallen Angels so we can wage war on Heaven!”

“Hey, pump the brakes, I’m standing right here…” Azazel rubbed the back of his neck, thoroughly unamused by his preemptive eulogy. “If the three of us march up to the pearly gates together, Michael won’t just attack us on sight. The Governor of the Grigori, a Devil Maou, and the heir to the Lucifer Clan? Even he has to treat that diplomatic nightmare with caution.”

Serafall instantly dropped her tragic heroine act, her face morphing into a bored pout. “Ah, how dull. I was hoping to tease Levi a bit more.”

In truth, neither of them had originally intended to infiltrate Heaven. But the moment Levi proposed it, their tactical instincts kicked in. It wasn’t entirely safe, but letting the boy go alone was out of the question. Their presence would force Michael to the negotiating table.

“Levi,” Serafall asked, leaning in close. “If Azazel and I really did sacrifice ourselves to protect you, would you shed a tear for us?”

Levi blinked, pretending to consider the question. “If you two die… does that mean I get a front-row seat at the funeral banquet?”

The three of them traded a few more dry remarks before splitting up to make the necessary arrangements.

The moment the intel regarding the Beast Emperor circulated, both the Underworld and the Grigori went on high alert. When Levi briefed Grayfia on the situation, the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation immediately invoked her authority to join the envoy.

The party of three became four. Diplomatic requests were drafted, stamped, and fired off to the higher plane.

High above the clouds, Michael stared at the stack of formal applications resting on his golden desk. For a long moment, the Archangel didn’t know what to say.

Gabriel stood beside him, her delicate brows furrowed as she scanned the parchment. “Michael, something massive must have shifted in the lower realms. We Angels are completely in the dark.”

Michael nodded, his handsome face lined with invisible weight. “Whatever this is, it involves us. Azazel and Serafall wouldn’t make the trip personally otherwise. As for Levi Lucifer… does he truly represent the Old Maou faction? Or is he merely an escort?”

Uncertainty gnawed at him. He let out a heavy sigh. “Since they are coming, Heaven will receive them. But hear me well, Gabriel—absolutely nothing can happen to them while they are in our domain. If blood is spilled here, the Angels will be blamed for igniting the next Three-Way War.”

“Understood,” Gabriel replied softly.

Michael watched his sister leave the grand hall. Once alone, his gaze drifted through the layers of holy architecture, settling on the sacred Angel Birth Pool.

Thrust deep into the center of the radiant waters was a single, pristine holy sword. It was the final relic God had left behind before His fall. As long as that blade remained lodged in the pool, the system was jammed. No new Angels could be born.

And the only entity capable of drawing that sword was the “He” mentioned in God’s final prophecy.

Whenever Michael thought of the elusive Third Dragon God—the one who had vanished after a cataclysmic clash with Great Red—he felt a deep wave of exhaustion. He had carried the broken Angelic faction on his shoulders for centuries. He was so incredibly tired.

Sirzechs had recently proposed a formal three-way peace summit once their internal factions stabilized. If peace could truly be achieved, Michael could finally step down, seek out the Third Dragon God, and beg him to take the reins.

‘I pray that day comes soon…’Michael thought bitterly.’This hopelessly dilapidated system… the sealed Birth Pool… God help us.’

The spatial transit smoothed out, depositing Levi and his entourage directly onto the golden clouds of Heaven.

The moment their boots touched the holy ground, Gabriel approached, her six golden wings folded neatly behind her back.

“I didn’t expect such a formidable gathering,” the Seraph greeted, her voice like chiming bells. “It seems a great shadow has moved across the world, one we Angels have been blind to.”

Azazel scratched his head, offering a dry chuckle. “You could say that.”

Gabriel didn’t press the issue, turning smoothly to guide them toward Michael’s sanctuary.

Levi followed at the back of the group, completely silent.

He hadn’t spoken a single word since crossing the dimensional threshold. He had come to Heaven strictly to dig up Rizevim’s connection to the Beast Emperor. He hadn’t expected any side benefits.

But the moment he laid eyes on the beautiful Seraph leading them, a translucent blue interface flickered across his vision. Gabriel was a designated target.

[Check-in Target (Gabriel): Pull out the holy sword in the Angel Birth Pool.]

If any other Devil received that prompt, it would be a cruel joke. Devils burned upon contact with holy artifacts, let alone the concentrated light of the Birth Pool.

But Levi was a different breed entirely.

From a previous reward, he already possessed [Holy Sword Mastery]. And despite his Devil heritage, his [Morning Star] ability granted him absolute, conceptual immunity to light-attribute damage.

With those two trump cards in his arsenal, the holy radiation of the Birth Pool was nothing more than a warm bath. The only actual challenge was figuring out how to slip past the Seraphs and sneak into the heavily guarded chamber.

Levi’s gaze shifted from Gabriel’s back to the towering spires of the holy city. If Gabriel triggered a Check-in reward… what kind of prize was Michael hiding?

Despite the gravity of their mission, the corners of Levi’s mouth curled into a faint, predatory smirk.