Suspended midair, Serafall let out an exaggerated sigh, her magenta eyes scanning the lifeless crater below.
What was once a vibrant landscape had been reduced to smoldering ruins, the residual energy dissipating as if mocking her efforts.
Ugh, all this work and nothing to show for it! No clues, no suspects… not even a dramatic villain monologue! Seriously, what kind of explosion doesn't come with an over-the-top speech?
She crossed her arms, her pout deepening.
The investigation was a bust.
The experts weren't wrong—there was definitely a clash of opposing forces here, one sacred and the other... something else.
Something eerie.
But without more information, she had nothing to report back to Sirzechs except "Oops, sorry, still clueless! Tee-hee!"
Not happening.
"Alright! If the answers aren't here, maybe they're over... there!" she declared, spinning in the air before zooming off toward the nearest barren stretch of land.
Then, she spotted him.
A lone figure trudging through the desolate wasteland, his movements slow, unsteady—like a puppet with tangled strings.
Dust clung to his tattered clothes, silver eyes dim, lips cracked from dehydration.
He didn't belong here.
Not in this scorched ruin.
He looked completely out of place—like a lost soul thrown into the wrong world.
Oooh, what's this? A mysterious cutie wandering in the middle of nowhere? Serafall hummed, descending gracefully.
As she landed, she put on her best cheerful smile and raised a hand in greeting.
"Heya, cutie! You look a little—"
Before she could finish, the boy's legs gave out.
His body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, falling face-first into the dirt.
Silence.
Serafall blinked. Then, placing a hand over her heart, she gasped dramatically.
"Oh no! Another one falls for the great Serafall Leviathan! Ooh, how sinful I am! My charm is too powerful even for wandering strangers~! Tee-hee!"
Despite her joking tone, her eyes softened.
With a snap of her fingers, a gentle layer of ice coated the ground beneath him, cooling his overheated body.
She crouched beside him, checking his pulse.
Weak, but stable.
"Well, well… guess I'll be taking you with me, mystery boy."
She placed a hand on his back, lifting him with surprising ease.
"Time for an emergency Serafall-style rescue! A magical girl must always save the day!"
And with that, she vanished into the night, carrying an unconscious boy.
———✗———
An unfamiliar ceiling.
The thought drifted into his mind as his heavy eyelids fluttered open.
A classic anime cliché, yet somehow, in this moment, it felt unsettlingly real.
The ceiling was smooth, polished, and luxurious—a far cry from the endless wasteland he last remembered.
His body ached, but it wasn't unbearable.
As he shifted to lean against the backboard of the bed, the motion felt sluggish, as though his limbs had been drained of all energy.
A rustle at the door.
He turned his head just in time to catch a glimpse of a young girl wearing a western-style maid costume, frozen in place.
The moment their eyes met, she stiffened, then quickly turned and hurried out of the room.
His brows furrowed.
That was… odd.
Then again, everything about this situation was.
His throat burned with dryness.
That's when he noticed a cup of water on the bedside table.
He reached for it, his fingers trembling slightly, and took a slow sip.
The cool liquid soothed his throat but did little for the growing unease in his chest.
Something was wrong.
He took in his surroundings more carefully.
The elegant furnishings, the sheer extravagance of the room—it wasn't normal.
Not for him, at least.
His gaze shifted toward the window.
The sky beyond was vast, eerily serene—like a painting meant to distract from an underlying nightmare.
He should be panicking.
Every instinct screamed that something was wrong.
But his mind felt too… detached.
Like it was processing something huge in the background, but not yet ready to make sense of it.
Minutes passed.
Then, footsteps. Light but deliberate.
The door opened.
And the moment he saw her, everything clicked.
Serafall Leviathan.
Pink-tinted black hair. Bright, mischievous magenta eyes.
A childish yet undeniably commanding presence.
There was no mistaking it.
A Maou.
A Devil.
And more importantly—
He was in High School DxD.
His breath hitched.
The realization slammed into him like a freight train.
This world—this reality—was...
His thoughts raced.
Countless implications, dangers, opportunities—his entire perception of his situation shifted in an instant.
Was he dreaming?
Hallucinating?
Reincarnated?
Dead?
None of those questions had clear answers.
But what he did know was that everything just became far more complicated.
Serafall skipped into the room with a bright smile, completely unaware of the mental hurricane she had just unleashed in him.
"Hehe, you're finally awake, mystery boy!" she chimed, her voice playful as ever.
He forced himself to breathe.
To act normal.
The worst thing he could do right now was panic.
Instead, he exhaled and masked his reaction with a neutral gaze.
He needed information.
Why he's here.
What do they know about me.
Serafall tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her magenta eyes.
"How are you feeling?"
He went with the safest response.
"Like I spent days wandering a desert."
I smiled wryly at my response.
She giggled.
"Well, you kinda did! Might wanna rethink your travel methods next time."
The playful tone.
The carefree attitude.
But behind her bright eyes, he could feel the weight of her scrutiny.
This wasn't a casual conversation.
It was a probe—a test.
She continued, her tone light yet measured.
"Say, cutie, what were you doing all the way out there?"
There was an ease to her voice, but he caught the intent beneath it.
He met her gaze, keeping his expression neutral.
"I don't know," he admitted.
I don't know what I'm thinking, honestly.
"I don't remember..."
I don't remember planning for after I got out.
Serafall's smile remained, but he noticed the briefest flicker of thought behind her eyes before she responded.
"Hmm? You forgot?"
"I've been walking for days."
She let out a dramatic sigh, placing a hand on her hip. "Could it be, amnesia? Talk about textbook lost boy!"
Then, with a playful twirl of her finger, she added, "Guess that makes you an even bigger mystery, huh?"
She said, as if finding something amusing.
He didn't answer.
Serafall tilted her head. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
He hesitated.
"I don't know."
The silence stretched between them.
Then, as if a realization struck her, she smacked her forehead with exaggerated flair.
"Ohhh! That too, huh?" she teased with a wink.
With that, Serafall stretched her arms above her head.
"Welp! I gotta run! Super busy Maou things and all that jazz~"
She struck a playful pose before pointing a finger at him.
"Don't cause trouble, okay? Or else I'll have to punish you~!"
With a dramatic twirl, she flounced out the door, leaving behind a lingering sense of both mischief and scrutiny.
With a final wave, she twirled toward the door and vanished down the hall, leaving him alone.
For a moment, he just stood there, the remnants of her energy lingering in the room.
Then, slowly, he exhaled.
The conversation had ended, but the weight of his situation remained.
This world… was now his reality.
———✗———
The grand meeting chamber within Lucifer's Castle carried the same warmth as before, yet an air of subtle tension lingered.
Serafall Leviathan stepped through the doors, her usual bounce noticeably absent.
Her magical girl outfit, typically a symbol of boundless energy, seemed slightly disheveled.
Her long pigtails swayed as she made her way toward Sirzechs and Grayfia.
She dropped into the chair with an exaggerated sigh, letting her head fall back.
"Ughhh, Zechs-tan, this whole thing was a massive flop!" Serafall groaned as she slumped into a chair.
Sirzechs looked up from the document he was reviewing, setting it aside with an unreadable expression.
"No leads at all?"
Serafall crossed her arms, frowning.
"No one's behind it. Like, nada. Zilch. Zero. I checked every possible faction, secret projects, black-market dealers—nothing. No one's even whispering about anything close to this."
Grayfia placed a cup of tea before her, as composed as ever.
"And the site itself?"
Serafall huffed, blowing on the tea before taking a sip.
"A mess. Total mess. Whatever happened there left residue everywhere. Energy readings were unstable—like, really unstable. If someone actually meant to do this, they were either stupid or had no idea what they were messing with."
Sirzechs leaned forward, fingers interlaced.
"Then you suspect it was an accident?"
Serafall clicked her tongue.
"Not exactly. The energy clash that caused the explosion? It was a disaster waiting to happen. But with how unstable it was, I'm thinking... maybe it wasn't meant to explode like that? Like, whoever was at the center of it just... vanished."
Sirzechs narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Vanished?"
She nodded.
"Gone. Not a single trace of whoever was there. No remains, no personal magic signature, nothing. The cause of that explosion just devoured everyone alive. Just that weird energy residue lingering behind."
Grayfia exchanged a brief look with Sirzechs.
"If there is no responsible party, no known culprit, and only chaos left in its wake... then this was not an ordinary experiment."
Serafall set her teacup down with a small clink, her usually playful eyes unusually serious.
"Exactly. And that's the worst part," she muttered, fingers drumming against the table.
"If no one's responsible, then this wasn't a one-time event. It could happen again, anywhere, and we'd never see it coming."
Sirzechs exhaled, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Then we continue to monitor for similar incidents. This isn't over yet."
Serafall frowned, but there was a glint of unease in her eyes.
"You know, Zechs-tan... something about this doesn't sit right with me. If this was purely an accident, we should have at least some clue about who or what caused it. But there's nothing. Like something just... erased itself."
Grayfia's expression remained unreadable, but her silence spoke volumes.
Sirzechs closed his eyes briefly before nodding.
"That is the part that troubles me most. If something can disappear so completely, then it may not have been an accident at all."
Serafall hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"There's also... the boy."
Sirzechs raised an eyebrow.
"The boy?"
"I found a boy walking mindlessly near the area of the explosion. The moment I walked up to him, he literally collapsed. That's really suspicious, you know."
Serafall shifted uncomfortably.
"Also, I can't put my finger on it, but something about him just feels... off. I don't have proof, but my instincts are screaming at me that he's connected to this."
Sirzechs considered her words carefully.
"Do you want to act on it?"
Serafall frowned, tapping her fingers on the table.
"I don't know. I tried to get information from him and got nothing. If I had something solid, I'd say yes, but right now, it's just a gut feeling."
Grayfia finally spoke, her voice measured.
"Then observation is the best course of action. There's nothing conclusive yet."
Sirzechs thought for a moment before nodding.
"Agreed. Serafall, I'll leave it to you. Keep an eye on him and report anything unusual."
Serafall groaned, slumping forward.
"Ughhh, why me? I don't wanna babysit some weirdo mystery boy!"
Sirzechs chuckled.
"Because I trust you, and you're the one who brought it up."
Serafall pouted but sighed in resignation.
"Fine, fine. But you so owe me parfaits for this."
Sirzechs smiled, though the weight of the conversation still hung over them.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The room fell into a quiet hum, the weight of uncertainty settling over them.
They weren't at the end of this mystery—only at the beginning of something far more concerning.