The summons came without warning.
Emergency Raid Authorization.
High priority. Restricted access.
Lucifer didn’t even bother knocking.
He walked straight into the briefing chamber—
And stopped.
“…Of course.”
Across the room—
Seraphine Vale.
Already there.
Already calm.
Already watching him.
Chirin groaned.
“…I hate this already.”
At the center of the room stood the principal.
Her aura alone silenced everything.
“This is not a request,” she said.
“It’s a necessity.”
A flick of her hand—
A map appeared.
Distorted terrain.
Marked in red.
“An anomaly has formed beneath the academy.”
“A dungeon… that shouldn’t exist.”
Lucifer tilted his head.
“…Interesting.”
Seraphine didn’t react.
“Previous teams entered,” the principal continued.
“They didn’t return.”
A pause.
“You two will investigate.”
Silence.
Lucifer laughed.
“…You’re serious?”
Seraphine spoke at the same time—
“No.”
The principal didn’t blink.
“You complement each other.”
Lucifer smirked.
“…We don’t.”
Seraphine added coldly,
“He’s unstable.”
Lucifer chuckled.
“And she’s annoying.”
The principal stepped forward.
Pressure dropped like a hammer.
“You don’t have a choice.”
Silence.
Then—
Lucifer sighed.
“…Fine.”
Seraphine closed her eyes briefly.
“…Understood.”
The entrance pulsed beneath the academy.
Wrong.
Everything about it felt wrong.
Lucifer stepped in first.
Seraphine followed.
Distance maintained.
Trust = zero.
The world shifted instantly.
Gravity… inconsistent.
Sound… delayed.
Shadows… moving without cause.
Chirin whispered,
“…I don’t like this place…”
Lucifer smiled faintly.
“…Good.”
Seraphine spoke calmly,
“Reality distortion.”
“Time lag in perception.”
“Likely a layered illusion field.”
Lucifer glanced at her.
“…You figured that out already?”
“I don’t walk blind.”
A creature emerged.
Not fully formed.
Half-shadow. Half-flesh.
It lunged.
Lucifer moved—
Fast.
Precise—
But—
His strike missed.
By inches.
The creature twisted unnaturally.
Seraphine’s voice cut in—
“Your timing is off.”
Lucifer clicked his tongue.
“…No. Something’s delaying perception.”
“Exactly,” she replied.
The creature attacked again—
This time—
Seraphine moved first.
A perfect strike—
But—
Too early.
It passed through nothing.
Lucifer smirked.
“…You’re off too.”
A pause.
Then realization hit both at once.
Lucifer:
“…We’re seeing different timelines.”
Seraphine:
“…A delay between perception and reality.”
Silence.
That meant one thing—
Individually, they would fail.
Lucifer exhaled slowly.
“…Annoying.”
Seraphine didn’t hesitate.
“We sync.”
Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
“…You trust me?”
“No.”
A pause.
“But I trust patterns.”
He smiled.
“…Fair.”
“Count,” Seraphine said.
Lucifer nodded slightly.
“Three… two… one.”
They moved—
Together.
Perfect timing.
Lucifer struck—
The creature solidified at that exact moment.
Seraphine followed—
A second strike—
Clean.
Precise.
The creature shattered.
Silence returned.
Chirin blinked.
“…That was… smooth.”
Lucifer glanced at her.
“…You’re not completely useless.”
Seraphine replied instantly,
“You’re barely tolerable.”
They moved further in.
More creatures.
More distortions.
But now—
They adapted.
Count.
Move.
Kill.
Repeat.
Efficiency rising.
Tension rising with it.
Lucifer stopped suddenly.
“…Something’s wrong.”
Seraphine didn’t stop walking.
“It’s a trap.”
Lucifer smirked.
“…You walked into it anyway.”
“Of course,” she replied.
“I needed to confirm it.”
The ground beneath them—
Collapsed.
They landed in a massive chamber.
At the center—
A crystal.
Pulsing.
Breathing.
Controlling everything.
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed.
“…There it is.”
Seraphine’s voice sharpened slightly.
“…No.”
A pause.
“That’s not the core.”
Lucifer glanced at her.
“…Explain.”
She pointed—
Not at the crystal—
But at the shadows around it.
“They’re watching.”
And then—
It moved.
A figure stepped out of the distortion.
Humanoid.
But wrong.
Too many angles.
Too many layers.
Voice overlapping itself—
“Two anomalies detected.”
Lucifer smiled slowly.
“…Now we’re talking.”
The entity attacked.
Time fractured.
Space twisted.
Lucifer moved—
Seraphine followed—
No words now.
No counting.
Just instinct.
He distracted.
She calculated.
He forced openings.
She exploited them.
A perfect loop.
Unnatural synergy.
Lucifer stepped into danger—
Deliberately.
The entity targeted him.
Everything focused—
On him.
Seraphine didn’t hesitate.
“…Idiot.”
But she moved.
Through the distortion.
Through the chaos.
Straight to the core—
Hidden behind the illusion.
A single strike—
CRACK
The crystal shattered.
The dungeon collapsed instantly.
Reality snapped back.
Silence.
Lucifer landed roughly.
Seraphine steadied herself.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then—
Lucifer laughed.
“…Not bad.”
Seraphine exhaled.
“…You’re reckless.”
A pause.
“…But effective.”
He smirked.
“…You kept up.”
She turned away.
“…Don’t get used to it.”
As they exited the dungeon—
The principal watched from above.
Smiling slightly.
“…As expected.”
Below—
Lucifer glanced sideways at Seraphine.
“…Next time, we charge extra.”
Seraphine didn’t look at him.
“…Next time, I work alone.”
A pause.
Lucifer chuckled.
“…No, you won’t.”
She didn’t respond.
But she didn’t deny it either.