Location: Naruse Residence - Backyard
Time: 7:00 AM
The morning sun shone down on a peaceful domestic scene.
Mio was hanging laundry.
Maria was sweeping the patio.
And a fifty-foot-tall bio-mechanical robot, the Gigas Machina, was carefully pruning a bonsai tree with a laser cutter.
"Lower left branch," Raiden commanded from his lawn chair, sipping coffee.
"Acknowledged. Precision Cut."
Zzzzt.
The Gigas trimmed the twig with surgical accuracy.
"This is surreal," Basara muttered, watching from the kitchen window. "We have a Weapon of Mass Destruction acting as a gardener. The neighborhood association is going to file a complaint."
"Relax," Raiden took a bite of toast. "I applied a perception filter. To the neighbors, he just looks like a really big oak tree."
Yuki Nonaka stood by the fence, looking anxious. She hadn't gone home since the Zolgia incident.
"Raiden... my sister is coming. I can feel her spirit energy approaching the city. You should hide Mio."
Raiden looked at Yuki.
[Passive Skill: Charm]
Yuki blushed and looked away.
"Hide?" Raiden scoffed. "Wolves don't hide from chihuahuas. If your sister comes, we'll set an extra plate."
Location: Hijirigasaka Academy - Rooftop
Time: Lunch Break
The school day proceeded normally until noon.
Raiden was eating a bento box (the size of a suitcase) prepared by Maria and the Succubus Maids.
Suddenly, the sky turned purple. The sounds of the students downstairs vanished.
The scenery shifted. The school building was now floating in a void of checkered floors and giant clocks.
"Dimensional Isolation Field," Basara drew his sword instantly. "We've been pulled into a barrier!"
A girl stepped out from behind the water tower.
She had short dark hair, a cold expression, and a massive battle-axe that looked too heavy for her small frame.
Kurumi Nonaka.
"I found you," Kurumi said, her voice flat. She ignored Raiden and Basara, focusing entirely on Yuki.
"Onee-chan. You have been corrupted. You failed to kill the target. You fraternize with the enemy. I have come to correct your mistakes."
"Kurumi!" Yuki stepped forward. "Listen to me! The situation has changed! Raiden isn't a normal enemy!"
"Silence."
Kurumi spun her axe. Magic circles appeared around her.
"If you won't come back... I will cut off your limbs and drag you back. For your own good."
Kurumi slammed the butt of her axe onto the ground.
"Come forth! Salamander (Flame)! Undine (Water)! Sylph (Wind)! Gnome (Earth)!"
Four massive elemental spirits materialized. A fire lizard, a water serpent, a wind fairy, and a rock golem.
They roared, shaking the dimensional space.
"High-level Spirit Summoning?" Basara grit his teeth. "Four at once? She's a prodigy!"
"Attack," Kurumi pointed at Mio.
The spirits charged. A tsunami of fire, water, wind, and rock converged on the Demon Lord's daughter.
Mio screamed, raising a defensive barrier. "I can't block all of that!"
Raiden stood up. He wiped a grain of rice from his lip.
"You interrupted my lunch," Raiden said. "Again."
He stepped in front of Mio.
He didn't block. He didn't dodge.
He took a deep breath. His chest expanded, his ribs audibly creaking.
[Heavenly Dragon Art: Gluttony - Elemental Vacuum]
WHOOSH.
The fire was sucked in first. Then the wind. Then the water.
The rock golem tried to brake, but the suction force dragged it across the floor.
Raiden swallowed the fire, drank the water, inhaled the wind, and caught the rock golem with his hand as it flew into his face.
Crunch.
He bit the golem's head off.
"Mmm," Raiden chewed the stone. "The fire was spicy. The water was refreshing. The rock is... a bit gritty. High in minerals though."
The rooftop was silent. The spirits were gone.
Kurumi stood there, her eyes wide.
"You... you ate the Four Great Spirits?"
"They were barely appetizers," Raiden spat out a pebble. "Do you have anything with more substance? Maybe a Thunder Spirit? I like the fizz."
Kurumi's shock turned into rage. Her sister complex flared up.
"You monster... you're the one who brainwashed Onee-chan!"
She dashed forward. Haya-Gake.
She was faster than Yuki. In a blink, she was in front of Raiden, swinging her massive axe toward his neck.
"Secret Art: Severing Void!"
The axe glowed with spatial magic - similar to the Dimension Eater from before.
Raiden didn't move.
He caught the axe blade.
With his teeth.
CLANG.
Sparks flew. Raiden's jaw clamped down on the enchanted steel.
His eyes glowed with the golden light of Lust and the purple light of Gluttony.
"Mmph," Raiden grunted (Translation: Bad move).
He bit harder.
CRACK.
A chip of the axe blade broke off in his mouth.
He spat the metal shard at Kurumi's feet like a bullet. It embedded itself in the concrete.
Kurumi trembled, trying to pull her weapon back. It wouldn't move. "Let go!"
Raiden released the axe. The force sent Kurumi stumbling back.
"You're strong," Raiden noted, licking a small cut on his lip. "But you're frantic. Your attacks taste... sour."
He walked toward her.
[Unique Skill: Lust - Empathy Sense]
"I can taste it," Raiden whispered, his voice echoing in Kurumi's mind. "You're not angry at Mio. You're not loyal to the Village."
He stopped right in front of her. Kurumi froze, the Charm of the Sovereign weighing down on her limbs like lead.
"You're jealous," Raiden smiled. "You're jealous that Yuki is looking at me instead of you."
Kurumi's face flushed red. "S-Shut up! I just want to protect Onee-chan!"
"Protect her?" Raiden grabbed Kurumi's chin, forcing her to look into his golden eyes.
"You can't protect her. You're too weak. If I wanted to, I could eat you, your sister, and your entire village before tea time."
Kurumi tried to slash him, but her arms refused to obey. The dominance was absolute.
"Submit," Raiden commanded.
[Skill: Domination - Override]
Kurumi gasped. Her knees hit the floor. The axe clattered to the ground.
The hostility drained out of her, replaced by a confusing, overwhelming heat. She looked up at Raiden, her eyes losing focus.
"W-What... are you doing to me?"
"Adding seasoning," Raiden replied.
Yuki ran over. "Kurumi! Are you okay?!"
Kurumi looked at Yuki, then at Raiden.
"Onee-chan... he's... he's too strong. My body... won't move..."
Raiden turned to Yuki.
"Your sister is a brat. She broke my lunch box."
"I'm sorry!" Yuki bowed frantically. "Please don't eat her! She's just... intense!"
Raiden looked at the two sisters. Both silver-haired, both powerful, both currently at his mercy.
His Lust skill pulsed.
"I won't eat her," Raiden decided. "Meat is better when it's aged."
He looked at Kurumi.
"You want to protect Yuki? Fine. Then you stay where I can see you."
"Stay?" Kurumi blinked, regaining some clarity.
"You're moving in," Raiden declared. "We have a giant robot butler and five succubus maids. One yandere little sister won't make a difference."
"I refuse!" Kurumi shouted. "I will never live with a Demon!"
"I have premium ice cream," Raiden offered.
Kurumi paused.
"...What flavor?"
"All of them. I robbed a factory last night."
Kurumi looked at Yuki. Yuki nodded pleadingly.
Kurumi sighed, picking up her chipped axe.
"Fine. I will monitor you. But if you try anything weird with Onee-chan... I will chop you up in your sleep."
"Good luck," Raiden grinned, showing his fangs. "I bite back in my sleep."
Location: Naruse Residence
Time: Evening
The house was more chaotic than ever.
Kurumi and Yuki were arguing in the living room.
Mio was trying to study.
Maria was taking notes on Raiden's "Charm Techniques."
Raiden was in the kitchen, making a sandwich with the entire contents of the fridge.
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the floor. It wasn't demonic. It was Divine.
A projection of a woman appeared. She wore a white suit and had a stern expression.
Chisato Hasegawa. The School Nurse. And secretly an Angel (or something more).
"Raiden," the projection spoke.
Raiden took a bite of his sandwich. "Nurse. You smell like feathers. What do you want?"
"You're causing too much noise," Chisato said sternly. "Eating dimensions. Brainwashing robots. Recruiting Heroes. The Gods of this world are starting to notice."
"Let them look," Raiden shrugged.
"It's not just the Gods," Chisato warned. "There is a faction moving in the Demon Realm. The Current Demon Lord, Leohart. He has heard of the 'Dragon who eats Armies'. He is organizing a tournament to decide the fate of the Realm."
Raiden stopped chewing.
"A tournament?"
"Yes. A battle for the Throne. And since you have Mio, the former heir... you are automatically invited."
Raiden smiled. A savage, hungry smile.
"A tournament means a banquet. Are there strong guys there?"
"The strongest in the Demon Realm," Chisato confirmed.
Raiden crushed the sandwich wrapper.
"Tell Leohart I'm coming. And tell him to wash his neck."
[System Alert]
[New Quest: The Demon Realm Tournament]
[Objective: Defeat Leohart. Consume the Demon Lord's Crown.]
[Reward: Title 'King of Demons'.]
Raiden turned to the girls in the living room.
"Pack your bags, ladies. We're going on a trip to Hell."