The morning air atop the hotel was crisp, carrying the scent of rain and the distant, low hum of Bucharest waking up.
Jay stood at the very edge of the concrete roof, his silhouette stark against the pale, unfolding Autumn morning. Beside him, Gasper Vladi looked smaller than usual, his blonde hair ruffled by the wind that whipped across the heights.
Only yesterday, the atmosphere in the room below had been thick with the heavy weight of the Governor General's revelations about the Book of Solomons and the likelihood that he would finally go to the Devil World in Underworld.
After Azazel and Penemue had departed, Jay had sought out the Fallen Angel once more.
He needed a place, a temporary refuge, for the survivors of both the Tepes Faction and the Carmilla Faction... the children, the women, the ex-dhampirs, and the remaining Carmilla vampires, who had now turned human.
Azazel had initially been hesitant to lend out his private estate in the Transylvanian outskirts.
However, every man, especially man like Azazel had a price. Jay had simply offered a selection of unique scrolls retrieved from the Tepes Treasury, knowledge that the exceptionally eccentric Governor General of Grigori could never resist. The deal was struck.
Jay had spent the remaining hours of the day moving between the hotel and the Carmilla territory.
He had personally overseen the relocation of the rest of the Carmilla Faction, the surviving children, and the women to the borrowed mansion. It was a very large mansion with nearly a hundred rooms. Some adjustments were needed to fit everyone inside, but overall, Jay was satisfied.
But after all of this, there was one thing that Jay and Lavinia agreed upon.
If you need something, better call Azazel.
But his work had not ended there.
Once his soul and mana reserves had stabilized, Jay turned his attention to Valerie Tepes. Using the Sephiroth Grail was a taxing ordeal especially to heal Valerie's soul as her soul had been frayed, torn at the edges by Rizevim's ruthless Sacred Gears extraction process.
It was like trying to stitch together two pieces of torn cloth using a needle and thread made of the black grail energy, but with his level of control, Jay was able to do it, although it took two tries before her pale face regained a hint of life.
The night had been a quiet one.
Gasper and Valerie talked until the stars began to fade, their voices a soft murmur behind the closed door. Jay had expected Valerie to beg Gasper to stay and to always remain by her side.
But what she said to Gasper surprised him. She emerged from the room with a tired but resolute smile, saying that she was happy Gasper had finally chosen a path of his own. She would not chain him and wholeheartedly supported his decision.
Now, on the rooftop, the final departure was at hand.
"I will ask you one last time, Gasper," Jay said, his voice level and devoid of judgment.
"I can remove the Evil Piece from your soul right now. You would be human, free from the chains the devils placed on you. You could meet Valerie anytime at the place I will build. It will be a place where people like you and her finally belong. A home for you and Valerie."
Gasper looked up at the sky, the wind catching his pink eyes.
"Thank you, Illya-san. Truly. But I have made up my mind."
Jay did not answer immediately.
But it was Gasper who glanced at Jay.
"Illya-san," Gasper whispered, his voice hesitant.
"Do you... do you hate Devils?"
The silence stretched long and thin. Jay didn't turn his head. He didn't offer a confirmation or a denial. He simply watched the sun climb higher, its light glinting off the metal of the vents.
Suddenly, the air rippled.
A silver magical circle, intricate and glowing with a cold brilliance, manifested on the rooftop.
Two figures stepped out of the light. Grayfia Lucifuge was there as promised, her silver hair perfectly braided and her maid uniform immaculate.
Beside her, however, stood the Crimson Satan himself. Sirzechs Lucifer had decided to come in person, his presence exerting a subtle, crushing pressure that made the air feel heavy.
Jay saw Sirzechs close his eyes.
'It's seems like he was being extra careful.'
"Then, Illya-san, I will be going," Gasper said, taking a tentative step forward.
Jay's response was not a word.
In a motion so fluid it seemed instantaneous, he reached into his pocket dimension and pulled Habakiri.
The jet-black blade hummed with a low hum, and with a sudden light swing, Jay unleashed the world-cutting slash.
SHIIING
The black arc of energy tore through the space as a literal dimensional rift aimed directly at the head of the Crimson Satan.
Grayfia's eyes widened, her hand reaching for a spell, but Sirzechs was faster.
He did not even draw a weapon as a dark, swirling crimson aura enveloped his right hand, the famous Power of Destruction. When the black slash struck his palm, the space-tearing attack shattered into pieces.
It crumbled into nothingness like glass hit by a hammer.
Normally, a slash from Habakiri which bypass the concept of space and distance could not be dispelled by raw force. Yet Sirzechs had negated it with a casual flick of his wrist and his power of destruction.
'So that is the Power of Destruction,' Jay thought.
Behind his dark hazel eyes, the golden X of Avesta glowing with frantic precision.
He wasn't trying to kill the Maou. After all, he isn't called the Strongest Devil for nothing, and he certainly wouldn't die from an attack like that.
Jay watched the crimson mana of the very concept of destruction spiral and move, the way it interacted with matter to erase it from existence.
Even to Avesta, it was a terrifyingly complex array, containing millions of lines of magical runes woven together to create a single, devastating effect.
"What do you mean by this, Zayyn-kun?" Sirzechs asked, his blue eyes narrowing slightly. The air around him crackled with the weight of his latent power.
'He knows my first name already… this guy.'
Jay stood his ground, slowly sliding Habakiri back into the void of his pocket dimension.
The killing intent he had projected vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"I simply wished to see the legendary Power of Destruction with my own eyes," Jay said, truthfully.
He continued, "It is said to be the strongest power among the devils. I wanted to see if it lived up to its reputation."
He did not mention that he was trying to write all of those millions of lines into his memory through Avesta, attempting to recreate it and determine whether it could even be canceled using Avesta in the future. It was far more difficult than he had anticipated.
As Azi Dahaka had said, everything had already been written in Avesta.
Sirzechs remained silent for a heartbeat, his gaze searching Jay's expressionless face. Finally, the tension in his shoulders relaxed, and the crimson aura faded.
"Very well, but don't ever try to do that again. Next time, I might think you're actually trying to attack me," Sirzechs said, sighed.
But Jay didn't respond.
'Next time… I might.'
His expression didn't change.
He turned his attention back to Gasper.
"Then, let us meet again next time, Gasper."
To Jay's surprise, Gasper suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Jay's waist in a tight but warm hug. Jay stiffened, his hands hovering awkwardly for a moment before he let them rest briefly on the boy's shoulders.
"Please protect Valerie, Illya-san," Gasper muffled into Jay's sweater.
"Of course," Jay replied.
Gasper released him, his face streaked with a few tears but his expression more determined than Jay had ever seen it.
He turned and walked toward the two devils. As the silver-bluish light of the teleportation circle began to rise, swirling around the three of them, Gasper waved one last time.
But Jay's eyes locked with the deep blue gaze of Sirzechs.
'About your question, Gasper...,' Jay thought as the circle vanished, taking the trio with it.
'You will get your answer soon enough.'
Jay then looked at his hand.
He had already sent a thread of his mana into Gasper hair.
He would need it later.
Then, Jay stood on the rooftop for a few more minutes, staring out at the Romanian horizon. The sun was fully up now, casting long shadows across the city.
And with a sudden flicker of purple flame, Jay disappeared.
He re-materialized inside the hotel room. The space felt much larger now that Gasper was gone. Valerie sat on the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her lap, chatting quietly with Lavinia.
Lavinia looked up, her face brightening as she saw him.
"Welcome back, Illya-kun~."
Jay nodded to her before turning his focus toward Valerie.
The dhampir princess looked fragile, like a porcelain doll that had been broken and glued back together. Her red eyes were clouded with a deep-seated exhaustion.
"Have you made up your mind?" Jay asked.
Valerie closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. She knew what Jay was asking.
He asked if she was ready to leave her past behind, to abandon the name Tepes, and to become human.
"Yes," Valerie said, her voice small but clear. "Thanks to you, Illya-sama, and Lavinia-sama, Gasper and I are saved..."
But after a brief silence, she continued.
"But I have one condition."
"And what is that condition?"
Valerie looked directly into Jay's dark hazel eyes, her body trembling slightly.
"Please... never let me use the Grail again to bring back the dead. I can help if it is for healing. I will mend wounds and help people recover. But I don't want to hear those noises again. The sound of the dead... it's too much."
Lavinia's expression crumpled with sympathy. She sat beside the girl, pulling her frail, pale body into a warm hug.
"Valerie-chan..."
Jay watched them for a moment.
He reached out his hand, and the Sephiroth Grail, or at least what it used to be, manifested above his palm.
It was a terrifying obsidian chalice wreathed in black flames, swallowing the light of the room itself.
"There won't be anyone who is going to force you to do anything anymore, Valerie," Jay said.
The black flames on the Grail's rim flickered, casting long, dancing shadows against the walls.
"You should not follow an instruction if you do not want to do it. Not even if that instruction comes from me or Lavinia."
He took a step closer, the aura of the Longinus pulsing with a dark ancient energy.
"From today onward, you are no longer Valerie Tepes. You are just Valerie, a girl like any other, free to seek anything you want in this world. You have no chains left to bind you. Live the way you choose to live, Valerie."
"You are free."
As he spoke, the light in the room seemed to die away, sucked into the vortex of the black Grail.
***
A few days had passed since the departure of the devils and the relocation of the survivors.
The air in the Maramures region of Romania was turning sharper, a herald of the coming winter that Jay welcomed with a quiet, somber familiarity.
He and Lavinia walked along a winding mountain roadway, their footsteps crunching against the gravel and dead leaves. In Jay's hand was a large bouquet of white lilies, their petals pristine against the brown kraft paper wrapping.
To their left and right, dense forests of pine and beech climbed the slopes, their thick canopies casting long, deep green shadows that swallowed the light.
Between the clusters of trees, soft alpine meadows stretched out, dotted with the last of the season's wildflowers and the occasional cluster of grazing sheep.
It was the middle of the day, yet the wind biting through the valley was chilly, carrying the scent of damp earth and ancient stone.
It was exactly the way Jay liked it.
He walked with a steady, measured pace, his eyes tracing the ruts in the ground.
This path didn't deserve to be called a road as it was little more than a dirt track carved by years of wagon wheels and footfalls.
Yet, it was the only artery that connected the world to the place he used to call home.
Every time Sister Andrea had taken him into the nearby village for supplies, or every time Elena had dragged him along to see the market, they had walked this very path.
Jay had intentionally chosen not to use teleportation.
He needed to feel the distance. He needed the weight of the walk to settle into his bones, to bridge the gap between the Godslayer he had become and the orphan boy who had once lived and played in these woods.
"So this is where you used to live, Illya-kun. It is beautiful," Lavinia said softly, her voice barely rising above the rustle of the wind.
Jay nodded once, his eyes fixed forward.
"It is indeed."
After a few more minutes of climbing, the trees thinned out, revealing a clearing that held the skeletal remains of what had once been a sanctuary.
The orphanage stood there, an abandoned husk of stone and timber. Beside it, the small chapel remained, its cross slightly tilted as if mourning the silence of the grounds.
'It has only been a few months, but it is already this messy,' Jay thought.
Moss had begun to claim the damp stones, and debris from the collapsed roof lay scattered across the yard like unburied bones.
Even though the physical structure of the building had changed, twisted by fire and neglect, the events of that night remained etched into Jay's mind with terrifying clarity.
He knew that even if he lived for a thousand years, or even after he passed into whatever void awaited him, he would never forget the smell of blood or the sound of the screaming on that night.
He led Lavinia toward a quiet corner of the yard, sheltered by a large tree.
There, seven mounds of dirt stood in a neat row. It was a simple, private graveyard he had labored to create.
Sister Andrea, Elena, Andrei, Mihea, Ilie, Iacob, and Filip.
"Sister Andrea..." Lavinia whispered.
Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at the humble markers.
She crouched near Sister Andrea's grave, her movements slow and reverent. From her pocket, she retrieved the chromed pendant, the one she had given to Sister Andrea, the very pendant that also had allowed her and Jay to meet.
She then placed it gently upon the earth.
Jay remained standing for a moment, his shadow stretching over the mounds.
He began to untie the bouquet of lilies, his fingers steady despite the hollowness in his chest.
He moved from grave to grave, placing a portion of the flowers on each one. He split them equally, seven for seven, just as they used to split their meager meals at the dinner table so that everyone could have a taste.
Once the last flower was placed, Jay stood back. He didn't pray.
He didn't believe in a god that would listen to him, especially not after what he had done to the one he had encountered. He simply looked at them, memorizing the shape of the earth that held his family.
Beside him, Lavinia remained on her knees, her head bowed and her hands clasped. Her soft prayers were the only sound in the clearing, a gentle contrast to the cold wind that whistled through the ruins of the chapel.
After a long silence, they began to explore the remains of the orphanage.
Jay walked through the destroyed hallways, pointing out where the kitchen had been, where the children slept, and where Sister Andrea's room had been.
Eventually, they climbed the narrow, creaking stairs of the chapel, stepping out onto the small flat roof of the bell tower.
They sat down on the edge, their legs dangling over the side as they watched the sun begin its slow, golden descent toward the horizon of the meadows. The sky turned a bruised purple, streaked with orange and gold.
Lavinia leaned over, resting her head on Jay's shoulder.
They sat there in a silence that lasted for an hour, watching the world lose its color as evening took hold.
"So you want to build the place here?" Lavinia finally asked, her voice hushed by the vastness of the view.
"Yes. In those forests," Jay replied, gesturing toward the valley.
"The terrain provides natural cover, and there are not many people live here. I will show the location to Ernesta and discuss the logistics. There will be schools, hospitals, and also houses."
"I see..."
The silence returned, heavier this time. The wind picked up, tugging at Lavinia's blonde hair.
"Illya-kun," she said, her tone shifting to something more serious. "Are you still going to go to the Underworld to do it?"
"Glenda wouldn't-"
But before Jay could finish,
"No. I'm talking about you wanting to kill every single devil."
Jay silenced for a moment,
"Then the answer is yes. I will do it."
Lavinia pulled back slightly to look at him, her sapphire eyes searching his dark hazel ones.
"Is there nothing I can do to stop you?"
"No."
Jay expected her to argue. He expected her to try to stop him from going. Instead, she took a deep breath and straightened her posture.
"I see... Then I will also go with you."
Jay turned to her, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Wait, Lavi... I thought we agreed that you would stay here to oversee Glenda's recovery and help Ernesta with the sanctuary. The Underworld is not-"
He was cut short.
Suddenly, Jay felt a soft, warm sensation press against his lips.
His mind, usually a whirlwind of calculations and magical formulas, went completely blank. The world around him seemed to freeze. The wind, the setting sun all vanished, leaving only the touch of Lavinia's lips against his.
After a few heartbeats, they parted.
Jay sat there like a statue, his breath hitching in his throat. He failed to register what had just happened, his body locked in place by a shock that no dragon or god had ever been able to inflict upon him.
Lavinia's face was flushed a deep, brilliant red. She looked away for a moment, staring at her hands.
After a brief silence,
"I lost my parents," she said, her voice trembling but resolute.
"I lost Sister Andrea. I even almost lost Oshishou-sama. All the people who have ever saved me or loved me have been taken away or hurt, That's why... I won't let anyone take you from me, Jay. Not the devils, and not even death itself."
Lavinia turned back to him,
"So please... let me go with you."
"Uh..." Jay stammered, his usual bluntness failing him entirely.
Suddenly, a small, knowing smile touching her lips despite her blushing cheeks.
"Besides, didn't you tell Valerie that anyone is free to live the way they want to live? That no one should have to follow instructions they don't believe in?"
Jay remained silent, the logic of his own words being turned against him.
"Then... let me live with you," she whispered.
Her blue sapphire eyes met his dark hazel ones, and in that moment, the cold walls Jay had built around his heart seemed to crack.
He saw the loneliness in her gaze that mirrored his own, the desperate need to hold onto the only thing left in this cruel world of gods and dragons.
Without realizing it, Jay moved.
He leaned in and captured her lips in a second kiss, one that was deeper and more certain than the first.
Lavinia's eyes widened for a split second before she closed them, accepting him fully.
They embraced there on the roof of the ruined chapel, their silhouettes merging into one as they were sun-kissed by the dying light of the Romanian sun.