The morning sun filtered through the curtains of the Gremory residence with an almost annoying insistence, as if it refused to acknowledge that the previous night had witnessed a battle that had brought an entire city to the brink. Daniel Hernández opened his eyes with the familiar sensation of a weariness that was no longer merely physical, but an existential fatigue that had settled into his bones like an unwanted guest. Around him, the bed remained a mosaic of warm bodies and quiet breaths: Rias to his right, her crimson hair spilled across the pillow; Asia curled against his left side, murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep; Hikari and Hibiki tangled at the foot of the bed, their electric sparks crackling weakly in the gloom; Reynare sitting on the edge, always alert even at rest; Sakura curled into a ball by the headboard; Tamamo hugging a pillow with a placid smile; Sona on the opposite side, straight and methodical even asleep; and Lala on her futon, floating slightly in the air.
Daniel let out a long, silent sigh. The night had been brutal, like all the recent ones. Scathach did not hold back, and each dream combat left him closer to his limit. But it was also strengthening him. He noticed it in the way his Haki responded faster, in how his body absorbed blows with greater resilience. It was hellish training, but effective.
"Good morning, partner," Ddraig's voice echoed in his mind with a more animated tone than on previous days. "Another night of torture, huh?"
"It could be worse," Daniel replied mentally, sitting up carefully so as not to wake the girls. "I could be dead."
"That's the spirit. Although I must admit that woman is impressive. I'd never seen a human subdue a Boosted Gear wielder like that."
"She's not human, Ddraig. She's an immortal goddess who kills gods. And for some reason, she's decided I'm an interesting project."
"Be glad. If you survive her training, you'll be unstoppable."
Daniel did not answer. He simply got up and headed to the bathroom, where the hot shower water helped clear his mind. The events of the last few days crowded his memory like a storm: the battle against Kokabiel, the defeat of the fallen angel, Azazel's arrival, the exile of Xenovia and Irina, and the promise that Freezer, the intergalactic emperor from Dragon Ball Z, would probably come to Earth to destroy him. Three threats. Three open fronts. And him, trapped in the center, trying to keep everyone safe.
When he came out of the bathroom, the girls were already waking up. Rias greeted him with a sleepy smile and a kiss on the cheek.
"Scathach again?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Yes. Each night is more intense. But I'm learning."
"I hope so. Because if that woman does anything more than train you, I swear I'll gather the entire Underworld to erase her from existence."
Daniel smiled at his fiancée's ferocity. Rias Gremory, heiress to one of the most powerful families in the Underworld, was not someone to take lightly.
Breakfast passed with the usual mix of chaos and warmth. Hikari and Hibiki argued about what kind of electrical training would be most effective against flying enemies; Reynare served tea with silent efficiency; Sakura helped Tamamo prepare the dishes; Asia reviewed her healing books; and Sona, always practical, went over the reports on Kokabiel's activities. Lala, for her part, floated around the table, humming a melody from her planet while devouring her breakfast enthusiastically.
"Today is a new day. And we have to go to school."
"To school?" Asia asked, surprised. "After what happened last night?"
"The school was rebuilt with magic," Rias explained. "Sirzechs took care of it. Everything should be as good as new."
"Should be," Daniel repeated skeptically. "But I wouldn't be surprised if something went wrong."
The morning advanced with the solemnity of school days. Daniel walked beside Rias, Asia, and the twins toward Kuoh Academy, feeling how the school's normality gave him a strange comfort. But the surprise was greater when he arrived at the school and found it as if nothing had happened. The buildings were intact, the trees in place, and the students walked through the halls as if the previous night had not witnessed a battle that had nearly destroyed the city.
"It's impressive," Daniel commented, looking around. "Devil magic is really useful."
"Sirzechs is very skilled at reconstruction," Rias said with a smile. "And he didn't want the students to find out what happened."
"And those who saw something?"
"Memory modified. Sirzechs's devils took care of it."
Daniel nodded, though the idea that someone could modify his memories was unsettling. But it was necessary. Human society was not prepared to know the truth about fallen angels, devils, and dragons.
He walked through the halls ignoring the girls who were not part of his harem, who looked at him with a mixture of admiration and envy. His harem was walking beside him, surrounding him, and that was enough for him. He headed to his seat and, a few seats away, saw Alya with a face mask covering her mouth. It seemed she still did not feel entirely well and had come only to avoid more absences, which was normal for her. But he seriously hoped she would not push herself too much; after all, Alya was one of the girls who took education seriously, almost at Sona's level, which was not healthy for her right now.
Alya saw him approach and smiled at him affectionately, but without kissing him. After all, they still did not know what the limits were between their races. Although Daniel was mostly human, he still had a part of him that was dragon, and with each passing day he advanced further in his transformation, making him less human. Ddraig assured him that diseases existed among dragons, but that they were not very common. However, it was better not to get sick for the moment, so Daniel respected a healthy distance, greeted her back, and let her rest at her desk.
"How do you feel?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Better," Alya replied, her voice hoarse. "But I still have a bit of a fever."
"You should have stayed home. It's not healthy for you to come like this."
"I can't afford more absences. Classes are important."
"Your health is important too."
Alya looked at him over the face mask, and her blue eyes shone with a mixture of gratitude and stubbornness.
"You're very considerate, Daniel. But I'm old enough to take care of myself."
"I know. But that doesn't mean I don't worry."
Alya lowered her gaze, and Daniel could see her cheeks blush slightly under the mask. It was an adorable gesture, one of the many that had made him fall in love with her.
"Idiot…" she murmured in Russian, so low that Daniel barely heard it. "You always say things like that."
Daniel smiled. He knew what that word meant, and he knew it was not an insult.
The teacher entered shortly afterward, and the day's announcement was that Parents' Visit Day was approaching. Daniel felt a chill run down his spine. That event marked the beginning of another story arc in the DxD world, one that would bring new complications and new challenges.
"Parents' Visit Day will be in two weeks," the teacher announced. "Make sure to inform your families and prepare for the meetings."
Daniel sank into his seat. Parents' Visit Day. That meant his parents would come to Kuoh. And that meant he would have to explain to them everything that had been happening in his life since he arrived in this world.
"Are you okay?" Rias asked from the seat beside him.
"Yes. I'm just thinking about how to explain to my parents that I added more than one girlfriend to my harem again."
"Ah. That."
"Yes. That."
The mention of parents reminded him of his own. The last time he saw them was when he went on summer vacation to introduce Sona and Sakura as his newly added girlfriends to his harem. The beating his parents gave him was legendary, but they accepted the new additions to his love life. But now he had to call them and inform them that, somehow, he had gotten engaged to an intergalactic princess and that her father had threatened to destroy the planet if anything happened to her. In addition, he had another intergalactic emperor who would probably come for him sooner or later to kill him and the planet. Yes, he was not very excited about giving his parents that news.
And in just a few weeks he would have to return to Mexico to spend the Day of the Dead with them again, like last year, only now he would be adding Lala as a girlfriend and also Yasaka, who could not leave Kyoto because of the magical lines she had to watch over. But at least he could take Kunou and introduce her to his "grandparents," which, when they found out they were grandparents, would give them heart attacks. But preferably he would like to take Yasaka too to formally introduce her.
What was certain was that, if he managed it, his parents would kill him when they found out that Yasaka was much older than him. He did not know how old she was, but she was a nine-tailed fox, a legendary creature in Japan and a deity, so she could well be immortal or very long-lived like devils. And somehow he had managed to get her as his girlfriend and future wife. The more he thought about those cases, the less and less Daniel wanted to go back to Mexico with his new girlfriends and introduce them. He knew that path was hell, since not going would make the situation worse and would bring punishment.
What Daniel did not know was that, behind his back, Tamamo, as a joke, sent a message to his in-laws with the phone she had, informing them about Parents' Visit Day at school. They confirmed that they could go for a few weeks and stay until the Day of the Dead arrived, which drew a mischievous smile from Tamamo as she imagined Daniel with his adorable faces being scolded by his parents.
And Daniel was not the only one being betrayed. Grayfia betrayed Rias and told Sirzechs and her parents about Parents' Visit Day, while Sona was betrayed by Tsubaki, her own Queen, by notifying Serafall about Parents' Visit Day. In short, both Daniel and some of his girlfriends would have a big surprise in a few days.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Kuoh, Yukari Takeba and Rin Tohsaka were trying to find ways to get closer to Daniel without giving away their feelings. After all, both were tsunderes, but Yukari was a little more open with her feelings. Rin, for her part, was more reserved, but her violet eyes shone with an intensity that betrayed her true intentions.
"I don't know what to do," Yukari admitted, sitting on a park bench. "Every time I try to talk to him, I'm left speechless."
"That's because you're a tsundere," Rin said with a mocking smile. "You can't admit that you like him."
"I'm not a tsundere!" Yukari protested, blushing. "And you're not the one to talk!"
"I didn't say I wasn't."
The two girls looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. Despite their differences, they shared the same problem: both were in love with Daniel Hernández, and neither knew how to approach him without seeming desperate.
Meanwhile, Mitsuru Kirijo was still trying to win Daniel over through his stomach and through various sentimental conversations. After all, she was the heiress of the Kirijo Group, and her father had given her the green light to conquer Daniel. Since he was the one who freed her from a marriage to a subordinate of Kokabiel and had also helped, along with Reynare, to remove the traitors within the Kirijo organization, Mitsuru's father owed Daniel a great deal and did not want to let him escape without him becoming the next head of the group alongside his daughter. And it did not help the situation that Mitsuru had fallen in love with Daniel.
"Mitsuru-sama," one of her servants said. "The chef has prepared the lunch you requested."
"Thank you," she replied with an elegant smile. "I'll take it myself."
Mitsuru had discovered that Daniel had a weakness for well-prepared food, especially traditional Japanese cuisine. So she had been practicing her cooking skills, hoping to impress him. So far, her efforts had been received with smiles and compliments, but she was not sure if that meant anything more.
"I have to be more direct," she told herself. "If I keep waiting, another girl will conquer him before I do."
With those plots developing, it was logical that another would develop as well. In a very distant part of the universe, after having destroyed another planet because they had made him angry, Freezer was watching the planet reduce to ashes while a to-do list appeared on his ship's screen. Among the items were some coordinates in the galaxy that said "secure his loyalty or destroy him," while other coordinates said "kill the species and sell the planet," and at the end it said "find Lala Satalin Deviluke and her fiancé and destroy the fiancé and his planet."
There was still some time left, but Freezer was doing these things as quickly as he could to finish his pending tasks. Normally he would send his subordinates to deal with such an annoyance as the fiancé of the daughter of his greatest rival and nemesis, Gid Lucione Deviluke. But this was a matter of pride. She had rejected him without hesitation because "she didn't like him," but she goes to a planet full of unevolved monkeys like Earth and marries one of their species. That was already insulting, and that was why he would demonstrate that he was the best in the universe by destroying that planet and Lala's fiancé.
A malevolent smile drew itself on his face, and he laughed to himself.
"So Lala's fiancé is a human," he murmured. "How pathetic. Gid must be rolling in his grave… if he were dead."
Freezer turned toward his throne, and his gaze settled on a small device he held in his hand. It was a communicator, and on the screen was the image of Daniel Hernández, captured by one of his spies.
"He doesn't look like much," Freezer said with disdain. "But if Gid accepted him as his daughter's fiancé, he must have something special. Maybe it'll be fun to play with him before destroying him."
His laughter echoed through the ship, a cold sound that froze his subordinates' blood.
Back with Daniel, classes had ended and the day was over. He spent time with Alya and walked her home when classes ended. Alya hugged him and said goodbye with a gesture, still wearing the face mask.
"Take care," Daniel said. "And don't push yourself too hard."
"I'll try," she replied with a smile under the mask. "But I promise nothing."
Daniel smiled and watched her walk away. Then he spent time with his girlfriends and called Yasaka to see how she was. He talked with her and with Kunou, promising them that he would visit soon. It was also almost time to go see them.
"I miss you," Yasaka said softly. "Kunou does too."
"I miss you both too," Daniel replied. "I'll come see you soon. I promise."
"I hope so. Kunou has been asking about you every day."
"Tell her I love her very much."
"I will."
When he finished his tasks, he bathed with some of his girlfriends—Rias, Sakura, Hikari, and Hibiki—and lay down in his bed, followed by his entire harem. When he fell asleep, he was once again dragged into another forced training session with Scathach.
The dream landscape was the same as always: a forest of skeletal trees, covered by dense fog and a floor of black, cracked earth. Scathach waited for him in the center of a clearing, her crimson spear glowing in the gloom.
"You're late," she said with a predatory smile. "Have you become lazy?"
"I've had a long day," Daniel replied, adopting his combat stance. "But I'm ready."
"I hope so. Because today I don't plan to hold back."
The combat was brutal, as always. Scathach was fast, strong, and ruthless. Her attacks were increasingly difficult to dodge, and Daniel had to use all his Haki, his Nen, and his Rokushiki techniques to stay on his feet. But in the end, as always, Scathach was superior. An especially skillful move disarmed Daniel, and the spear stopped a centimeter from his throat.
"You've improved," she said with a tone of approval. "But you're still not enough."
"I know," Daniel gasped with a tired smile. "But I will be."
Scathach looked at him for a long moment, and then withdrew the spear.
"Time is running out," she said, raising her gaze to the dream sky. "But before you go, I want to tell you something."
"What?"
"Next time, we will meet in the real world."
Daniel felt a chill run down his spine.
"In the real world? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I have been observing your world through your dreams, and I have found an access point. The next time we face each other, it will be in your reality."
"And is that safe?" Daniel asked with concern. "Couldn't you cause collateral damage?"
"Don't worry. It will be a controlled combat. But it will be real. And it will be the definitive test of your worth."
Daniel swallowed. He knew Scathach was not joking. If she said they would meet in the real world, she would.
"All right," he said with determination. "I'll be ready."
"I hope so. Because if you're not, you could die."
Scathach smiled, a smile that was both beautiful and terrifying.
"See you soon, my young student."
The dream world began to crumble, and Daniel woke with a start. Sweat soaked his body, and his heart pounded. But this time, it was not only exhaustion he felt. It was a mixture of fear and determination.
"Daniel?" Rias's voice came from beside him. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," he replied with a forced smile. "It was just another night of training."
"Scathach again?"
"Yes. But this time, she said something worrying."
"What?"
"She said that next time, we will meet in the real world."
Rias paled.
"In the real world? Is that possible?"
"Apparently, yes."
"Then we'll have to prepare. If that woman comes here, it won't be a simple visit."
"I know. But for now, I just want to sleep."
Daniel lay back on the bed, surrounded by the warmth of his girlfriends. Tomorrow would be another day. There would be classes, training, and probably more problems. But for now, he just wanted to rest.