[BONUS]
Redo of " I'm not Lucifer."...it was truly an out of character chapter.
Also this is now 4500+ words chapter the starting is the same but Later oarts have been changed quite a lot do read it.
Thanks for the powerstones guys...
Turns out all i had to do to get support was nor be a bum for once lol...
Anyway Volume 1 is coming to an end in the next chapter..
It was truly an experience getting here..retaining some two thousand readers with hugh engagement is a true win in my book.
Alas the bum me will have to return after 8 April till then lets have the most possible fun !
---
Zeoticus walked ahead, leading Leo and Tiamat through the Gremory estate's grand halls.
The devil kept his posture straight, hands neatly behind his back — though every now and then, his eyes flicked nervously toward the imposing dragon-woman behind him, who still casually dangled the visibly irritated Koneko like a plush toy.
Tiamat seemed entirely unbothered by the girl's thrashing, held her as if she weighed no more than a feather, her expression one of mild amusement at Koneko's futile resistance.
Venelana walked beside her husband, composed on the surface, though her mind was a storm of questions.
She knew better than to speak immediately — not out of fear, but training.
However, as they approached the ornate doors leading to Runeas' chambers, curiosity finally won over caution.
Just before Zeoticus reached for the handle, Venelana stepped closer to Leo and bowed slightly, her voice respectful but direct:
"Forgive me, my Lord... but I wish to know. Who is she?"
Her gaze subtly shifted to Tiamat, eyes narrowing just a fraction.
It was an honest question.
Venelana, raised as the strongest princess of the Bael clan, had never seen Lucifer in person before, but she knew the faces of many powerful beings.
She also wasn't taught to hold down her curiosity.
Leo, perfectly unfazed by the inquiry, said "She is Tiamat,"
Venelana's eyes blinked once, twice — silent confusion crossing her features. Eh...? Her mind whirled.
That's not the Tiamat I know...
But before she could form the words, before her tongue could give shape to her doubts, Leo and Tiamat stepped past her without pause.
With casual confidence, they entered Runeas' room and, without sparing another glance at the couple, shut the door right in Zeoticus and Venelana's faces.
A quiet click of the latch locking followed.
The two elder devils stood frozen for a heartbeat, exchanging a glance that was equal parts bewilderment and understanding:
They would not question further.
---
Leo sighed a little, running a hand through his hair as he watched Tiamat casually swinging Koneko like a trinket.
"You can let her go, you know," he said, tone somewhere between exasperation and amusement.
"Okay," Tiamat replied far too cheerfully, releasing the small cat from her grip.
Koneko, now free, instinctively tried to back away, her fur still bristling — but before she could even take a proper step, Leo's hand landed gently on her head.
Pat.
Just like that, her yokai features softened, fading away as though soothed by some invisible balm.
Her energy drained in an instant, leaving behind a mix of lingering frustration and confusion.
The emotional roller coaster she'd been riding — from fear, to defiance, to shock — ended in that small gesture.
Leo's fingers rested a moment longer before he finally withdrew, eyes narrowing as he turned to the smug dragoness beside him.
"So," Tiamat purred, folding her arms under her chest with an unmistakable glint of pride in her eyes, "was I right?"
She already knew the answer.
It all started with the little wager they had made.
The game she'd proposed to recover a sliver of her pride after the last time — when she'd found herself far too overwhelmed beneath him.
Personality breaking down under his "dragon".
If she managed to track down Koneko on her first try, she would earn the right to take the lead next time.
And leo would be basically allowing her to be the one to do her thing..
Leo narrowed his gaze at her, almost deadpan..
"Somehow," he drawled, "I'm feeling like I've been scammed and rewarded at the same time..."
Tiamat's smile stretched wider, like a predator who'd just cornered her prey.
"A bet is a bet," she said sweetly, leaning in closer, her voice dropping to a sultry, teasing whisper. "Don't tell me you of all people would back out of a promise, hm~?"
Leo clicked his tongue, feigning annoyance but unable to hide the small tug of a smirk at the corner of his lips.
He may have to sacrifice control this time but its not like he didn't want the "Mommy" persona so it was a win win in his books.
"Tch. Fine."
Koneko, still recovering from emotional whiplash, just stared at the two of them, wide-eyed, wondering what exactly she was doing here.
"Yo, little cat... how you doing?" Leo's voice was casual, laced with amusement as he tilted his head slightly.
Koneko blinked, clearly still confused and overwhelmed by the situation, her tail flicking behind her with restless energy.
Leo briefly weighed his options — reveal himself?
No. Not yet.
Timing was everything, and this wasn't the moment yet...
But he could still leave her with something.
Something that would gnaw at her thoughts until the moment was right.
He stepped closer and met her gaze.
"How are you liking the upgrades?"
Her ears twitched at his words.
"Upgrades...?" she repeated, the pieces clicking in her mind, and her eyes sharpened. "So it was you who—?"
"Well, yes," Leo interrupted smoothly, flashing a slight smirk. "I improved your Evil Piece to turn you into a perfect hybrid....The best of both worlds."
For a brief moment, there was silence — then he noticed her expression darken, lips pressing into a thin line, frustration clouding her face.
Leo raised an eyebrow. " Are you angry at me?"
His voice carried a teasing lilt, but beneath it, there was a genuine note of curiosity.
"Yes," Koneko snapped back, her small fists clenching at her sides.
"Why would you do that without asking me?"
Leo's expression relaxed into something oddly gentle, almost fond.
"To help you," he replied simply. "To make you better."
He paused, exhaling slowly, letting his gaze soften just enough to pierce through her walls.
"I wasn't thinking of anything in particular at the time.... It wasn't a grand scheme. "
" It was just... helping out someone I thought deserved more than what fate gave them."
Koneko's eyes widened, her breath catching slightly at the honesty in his tone.
Before she could answer, Leo's hand moved with speed that escaped her senses — a gentle tap to her forehead, a surge of energy, and she slipped into unconsciousness, her body cradled by a cushion of magic before it could fall to the floor.
Leo stood up, dusting his hands off with a slight shake of his head.
"You'll understand soon enough, little cat," he murmured under his breath, almost like a promise.
Tiamat , watched the scene with a knowing smile. "You're far too soft for your own good, you know that?"
"Aren't you supposed to be the 'Actually Satan', in your own words as you called it."
Leo only smirked, his crimson eyes gleaming, "Soft?, No.... Just patient and Logical"
"I'm aware of the consequences of too hard handed approach."
"So, are you going to talk to Runeas,"
Tiamat asked with a small, amused tilt of her head still happy about having one over him.
Leo exhaled, a breath of mild irritation and amusement blended into one.
"I'll talk," he answered coolly.
With a casual flick of his wrist, the aged, ancient magic broke apart like fragile glass under a hammer.
The magic gently unraveled so cleanly done, that it left not even a ripple behind.
Time, which had stubbornly clung to Runeas like chains halting her aging, let her go at last.
She stirred slowly, rising from the deepest ocean of sleep.
Her eyes fluttered open, half-lidded at first, then fully as she took in her surroundings with growing confusion.
Tiamat.
The cat girl shrinking against the corner.
And finally — Leo.
Her brows furrowed.
She blinked once...Twice.
Her gaze darted back to Tiamat, then to Leo again, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to adjust to a glare that wasn't there.
Her lips parted, but no words came out — just a quiet breath, a puzzled hum.
Leo crossed his arms loosely, watching the whole scene with thinly veiled amusement.
Runeas tilted her head, looking him over from head to toe, her mind clearly working overtime to piece things together — but coming up empty.
Leo let the silence stretch just long enough to become noticeable, then clicked his tongue with feigned impatience.
"How long are you going to sit there gawking like a bumbling fool?" he said smoothly, voice sharp with the emulated tone of authority — the heavy charisma laced with command that even the most ancient of devils had learned to obey.
Runeas visibly flinched at the familiar cadence, her eyes widening.
"You keep staring like the answer will appear on my forehead," Leo continued, stepping toward her with slowness, letting his presence weigh down the room like a storm front rolling in.
"You may not have seen me in this form before, Runeas but have the ages dulled your senses to the point you can't even recognise the one who gave you your name?"
Her breath hitched.
Her lips parted again, this time trembling ever so slightly.
No. No, it couldn't be—
But the moment she truly looked at him, really saw through the mask of time and situation, the illusion of chance faded away.
That bearing, that arrogance, that undeniable aura of supremacy disguised as casual grace — it could only belong to one being.
Her heart seemed to stop for a beat.
"D...Dad...?" she whispered, voice cracking under the weight of disbelief.
Runeas flinched unconsciously, her breath caught halfway in her throat but she said nothing — only kept staring at him, like a child who had just been scolded yet didn't understand why.
Leo's eyes narrowed, but not at her.
No — his sharp gaze wasn't directed at the girl.
It was at the phantom of the past that he had gleamed from her memories.
—What the hell…?
A young Runeas, eyes bright with pride, presenting her achievements — only to be met with Lucifer's cold, biting dismissal.
"Zekram would have done it better."
"Astaroth already mastered this."
"Agares' lineage is leagues ahead."
Every word a nail in her self-worth.
Every comparison, a chain that bound her tighter to that pit of inferiority.
And then — Leo saw it.
The reason, the disgusting rationale of the old Lucifer.
Her power.
The chaotic force of Luck itself.
An unbridled, wild power that swayed the balance of fate unknowingly.
A power that was impossible to control consciously — and yet, the bastard kept shoving her into the fire, expecting her to do so.
Damn you, Lucifer...
Leo felt his teeth grit behind closed lips, his jaw tightening with rising fury.
How could you be so cruel to a girl like this…?
Runeas was such a bright kid before she became a hollow version with a gaping pit of insecurity as her heart forever.
She had been forged under impossible standards, expected to chain the winds of fate itself to her will, all while being mocked for failing to tame a hurricane.
No wonder she had developed an aversion to combat.
No wonder her eyes were filled with such hesitation, such uncertainty and fear at this moment.
To her, he was the return of her tormentor.
Leo took a breath, steadying the storm inside.
"You don't have to fear me, Runeas."
She flinched ever so slightly, her shoulders twitching at his words, but she didn't raise her eyes.
Her head hung low, as if weighed down by invisible chains wrapped tight around her neck.
"I'm sorry," Leo continued, softer now, "for everything that was done to you."
But it wasn't enough.
Even as he spoke, her posture stiffened instead of relaxing.
Her back went straighter — not out of pride, but out of old, beaten-in instinct, like she was bracing for the next blow, the next lash of disappointment she had known all too well.
Her hands tightened into fists at her sides.
Leo's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.
It's not working.
She was too deep in it — the echoing trauma, the pitiless cycle etched into her soul.
No matter what gentle words he used, they'd bounce off the walls of her broken self-image, never reaching her.
Leo's expression hardened, his eyes narrowing with quiet finality.
Enough of this.
Time to shatter the illusion at its roots.
He took a slow step forward, the sound of his heel against the marble floor sharp and commanding.
Runeas's breath hitched at the noise — a sound so simple, yet filled with authority that dragged her attention up just a little.
She kept her gaze down, but her eyes flicked toward him, uncertain.
Her lips parted, then closed.
Her mind was still trapped in loops of fearful recognition, like a battered animal unsure whether the hand reaching out was there to save or strike her down.
Leo sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he turned his head towards Tiamat.
There she was, sitting casually on a chair like she owned the place, one leg crossed over the other.
He mouthed silently, almost pleading: "Please help me..."
It didn't help that, of all people, he was the living shadow of her tormentor.
He could see it clear as day in Runeas's gaze.
Even if he wasn't the same Lucifer, to her, it didn't matter.
Tiamat met his look with a deadpan stare, her eyes half-lidded like she was contemplating whether he was even worth the effort.
Then she sighed, long and heavy, as if saying: Seriously? You're the Father here and you're begging me?
Her arms folded across her chest.
She didn't move from her seat, just tilted her head slightly, studying Runeas like an old teacher.
Tiamat caught his pleading eyes again — and this time, with that infuriating little smirk, she mouthed back:
"Eh, I don't know..."
Leo felt his soul die a little inside.
If he had the mood to, he would've groaned audibly, but instead, his expression just slowly drained of hope.
A mental image of himself flashed through his mind — a slumped, defeated Hashirama-like figure, sitting on the ground with his arms around his knees, storm clouds looming over his head. Depressed mode: activated.
He walked over and dropped himself beside Runeas.
Leo ignored runeas for now, crossing his arms and leaning back just a little, as if trying to look casual — as casual as a man standing in a minefield could be.
Alright, he thought grimly. If there's no saving throw coming from Tiamat, then I guess it's time to rely on my true, ultimate technique...
Bullshit no Jutsu.
He shot Tiamat a glance — she only gave him a slow, lazy shrug in response.
Wonderful... How useful...
And with that, he leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he fixed Runeas with a steady, unreadable gaze.
"Runeas," he started, his tone laced with just the right amount of gravitas,
"let's have a proper talk... like father and daughter."
At this point, Leo had already sifted through most of Runeas's memories — each fragment painting a clearer, darker picture of her life under the original Lucifer's shadow.
His expression hardened slightly, but he masked it behind a long, steady breath.
He began slowly, voice low and heavy with something rare for him — raw, unfiltered honesty.
"I died in the Great War," Leo started, his gaze distant as if looking back through centuries of pain and reflection.
"And in the time that followed... I had a lot of time to think. To think beyond just me, mine, and my power."
Runeas's head tilted slightly, her confusion visible in her knitted brows.
She'd never heard that tone from Lucifer before.
Never.
Her wide eyes reflected a flicker of something foreign: cautious curiosity.
Leo continued, his words like carefully chosen weights.
"I had time for introspection. Time to realise there were things about the way I lived, the way I acted, that were... inherently flawed."
He let the words hang in the air, letting their weight settle before continuing.
"Listen," he said, voice soft but firm, "I know I hurt you. And I won't ask you to forget the past."
" I won't insult you by pretending it didn't happen."
Runeas's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no words came.
"Because the damage is irreversible," Leo admitted, looking directly at her now.
There was no mask, no facade.
Just him, as bare and as real as he could be. "And I carry that weight."
He inhaled deeply, the next words heavy with a quiet, almost painful vulnerability.
"Right now, at this point in time... you're my only child left."
Runeas's breath hitched audibly, her eyes trembling as they locked onto him.
"I just think," Leo continued, his voice roughening at the edges, "that somewhere along the way... I ended up becoming the same as him."
Runeas's heart pounded in her chest like a war drum.
She had never, ever seen Lucifer speak this way.
Not to Zekram, not to Lilith, not to any of his children, not even in quiet moments when he thought no one watched.
It shook her to her very core.
The unapproachable, ever-dominant Lucifer — the man who stood taller than any shadow, who barked commands with authority, who never doubted, never wavered — was now here, sitting beside her like a man who had seen his own sins play before his eyes, and regretted them.
Her lips trembled.
"...Why?" she finally whispered, the word barely a breath.
Leo's answer came without hesitation.
"Because you deserve better," he said simply.
Just that...? She thought.
Runeas's eyes glistened, the walls she had built so high over the centuries trembling, threatening to collapse under the weight of a truth she had yearned for all her life but never believed she would hear.
Her hands trembled violently at her sides.
At first, it was just a slight twitch.
Her nails dug crescent moons into her palms, small enough to leave marks, not enough to bleed.
But her heart — her heart was bleeding.
The words Leo had spoken were the words she had wanted to hear once.
Just once.
Centuries ago.
But now, they were like salt in a wound too old and too deep.
Her throat closed in on itself.
Her breath hitched.
As moments of her life flashed in her eyes
A little girl standing in a grand hall, standing at the very back, watching as her father's hand landed on the shoulders of Zekram and Astaroth. Praises flowing like honey.
"Brilliant performace," Lucifer had said to them.
Her heart had soared, hoping… waiting for her turn.
But his eyes never found her. His gaze passed over her like she was no more than mist in the air.
Her fists clenched tighter.
Centuries of moments, like daggers twisting in her chest.
—
The day she had first discovered her "gift."
A spontaneous surge of luck during a spar.
Her opponent tripped, lightning struck perfectly, she had won by sheer accident.
"Control it," her father had barked coldly. "Control it, or you're useless."
She remembered the lump in her throat, the tears she swallowed back.
She never wanted to win like that again.
Her knuckles turned white.
Her breath grew ragged.
Her entire body shook.
And then — her eyes, brimming with tears, snapped to Leo's face.
Her vision blurred as hot streams spilled over her cheeks, but she saw him.
She saw him.
A tear slipped from her chin, splashing against her fist as it flew forward.
"LIAR!"
Her voice cracked, hoarse and raw from holding it in for too long.
The punch landed squarely on his face
— and did absolutely nothing.
No movement. No flinch. No recoil.
It felt like punching an immovable wall, like fate itself had mocked her one last time.
Her eyes widened, but not from surprise.
It was rage.
It was despair so sharp it could only come from knowing it was always like this — she had never been able to reach him.
Her voice rose, her emotions unraveling like threads from a torn tapestry.
"You think you can just say these things now and it'll all go away?!" she screamed, her voice shaking with years of swallowed resentment.
"You think some kind words will fix this?!"
Her fists pounded against his chest, again and again, the blows growing weaker with each strike.
"You never looked at me… not even once."
Another memory bled through her mind.
—
She stood in front of him, bruised and bloodied, having fought against a leigon of angels.
She had won, by sheer luck again, barely.
For a moment, she hoped for even a nod of approval.
But instead, he had turned away.
"Nothing impressive" he said.
Tears blurred her sight.
"I wasn't your child," she rasped. "I was your burden. A cursed mistake you were too proud to discard but too disgusted to embrace."
Her voice, now a whisper, cracked with the weight of centuries of pain.
"Why… why didn't you just kill me instead…?"
Leo felt like the lowest piece of filth in existence.
Even as she stood there — trembling, burning, weeping — he was still trying to pull the same strings.
Still trying to lie.
Still trying to manipulate.
Calling himself anything but who he truly was.
Lucifer.
It tasted like ash in his mouth.
But before he could speak—
"Don't," Runeas snapped, her voice splintering with sharp pain.
Her eyes, red and swollen with tears, glared at him with such raw emotion that it felt like a spear straight through his soul.
"Don't you dare say a word about that stupid code...."
Her voice wavered, but her resolve did not.
It rang out, sharp as steel hammered in fire.
"I don't want to hear it." Her breath shook, but she forced the words through gritted teeth.
"Not one damn word from you about duty, legacy, or any of that hollow garbage you used to chain me."
Runeas's fists trembled at her sides, her nails drawing blood from her palms now, but she didn't care.
She took a shaky breath and pushed through the storm inside her chest.
"No matter what face you have—" she seethed, her eyes narrowing with a storm of emotions — fury, sorrow, longing, despair all crashing together like thunder, "—Lucifer or anyone else. I will not listen to you anymore."
"Runeas…" Leo started, his voice barely above a murmur, a plea carried on the weight of regret.
Her eyes sharpened like blades.
"I said," she growled, her voice cracking like a whip,
"I don't want to hear it."
Her chest rose and fell with shaky, furious breaths.
"Leave. Now."
The finality in her words was absolute.
It wasn't a request.
Then ...A ripple.
A flicker of distortion in the fabric of space behind him, like a curtain of reality being pulled aside.
Leo's senses, sharp as ever, caught it immediately.
A space-time disturbance. A force trying to pull him away.
He could have resisted.
Of course, he could have resisted — a casual flex of his will could've unraveled the magic pulling at him.
But as his eyes lingered on Runeas, as he took in her trembling form, the tears still clinging to her lashes, the storm in her soul burning so painfully raw—
He decided to not resist.
Because this was not the time for him to be here anymore.
Tiamat's eyes met his just as the space around him began to collapse inward, swallowing him whole.
She sat still in her chair, arms crossed under her chest, giving him a long, unreadable look.
But in that gaze, there was a silent understanding of she will handle it from here.
Leo gave her a small, helpless tilt of his head, the closest thing to a thanks he could offer in that brief instant.
Then, with one final glance at Runeas —
The spatial rift closed, and he was gone.
The moment the space behind him sealed shut, and the presence of Lucifer, faded from the room, Runeas's knees buckled.
Her body, still trembling, collapsed to the cold floor beneath her.
A choked, ragged breath escaped her lips.
Then another.
And another — too fast, too shallow, as if her lungs had forgotten how to draw air properly.
Her hands shot up to her head, clutching fistfuls of her hair as her vision blurred with tears she could no longer hold back.
"Hah… haahh… haahhh…!"
She was hyperventilating, her chest heaving as her emotions — so long buried beneath years of ice and chains — came flooding out like a dam finally shattered beyond repair.
Her tears fell fast and heavy, splashing against the floor.
"He's gone… he's gone…" she whispered, her voice barely coherent between broken gasps of air. "I said it… I said it to his face…!"
Her heart pounded painfully in her chest — not from battle, not from exertion, but from a raw collision of feelings too big to hold inside any longer.
There was fear, terrible fear, clawing at her insides.
Fear that he would return.
Fear that this brief moment of freedom was just another cruel illusion, that the nightmare wasn't over.
But there was also something else, tangled deep within the fear.
Joy.
Wild, trembling, disbelieving joy.
For the first time in her long, miserable life, she had spoken to him — truly spoken, without chains or false reverence, without biting her tongue or swallowing her pain.
She had let it all out.
All the venom. All the grief. All the rage that had eaten her alive from the inside out.
And it felt like she could breathe, even if her breaths were broken.
Her fingers loosened slightly from her hair, still shaking, as her lips twisted into a sobbing, disbelieving smile.
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Power Stones and Reviews please