The estate outside buzzed with life. Somewhere beyond the open balcony doors, gardeners traded cheerful greetings while songbirds darted between blooming cherry trees. The scent of dew-soaked roses drifted into the room alongside the crisp morning air, stirring the sheer curtains with every gentle breeze.
Yet inside Lucien's chambers, the world felt strangely still.
Only the faint ticking of the grandfather clock and the distant singing of birds disturbed the silence.
Lucien cradled the lacquered case containing his Evil Pieces, running his thumb across the polished surface. The wood was warm, almost alive beneath his fingers. He opened it slowly.
Fourteen crimson pieces remained: one Queen, two Knights, two Rooks, one Bishop, and eight Pawns. Each one represented not just power, but the future companions who would help him build something greater than a mere peerage.
Kuroka entered with the graceful confidence of a cat who had already decided she owned the room. She wore a simple violet yukata. Her long black hair was loosely tied behind her back. The morning light caught the tips of her twin tails as they swayed lazily. The morning light caught the tips of her twin tails as they swayed lazily. She sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed, golden eyes following every movement. The faint scent of cherry blossoms and warm vanilla clung to her.
She sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed. Her newly acquired Bishop Piece had merged comfortably within her soul, but the others remained untouched, waiting for the companions who would one day stand beside their King.
She had seen him fight without hesitation. She had watched him stand against impossible odds. She had seen him smile in the face of danger.
But this expression… this quiet uncertainty… it was new.
"Nya."
She tilted her head, ears twitching playfully.
"What kind of peerage are you planning to build?"
Lucien blinked. "Hm?"
Her ears twitched again. "Are you going to become like the flaming chicken and build a giant harem?"
Lucien burst into laughter, the sound bright and genuine. "You've officially ruined Riser's name forever."
"I know." She looked entirely too proud of herself. "The Flaming Chicken."
Lucien rubbed his forehead. "I almost feel sorry for him."
"No, you don't."
"…No." He really didn't.
Both of them laughed. The tension dissolved like morning mist.
Then Kuroka's smile softened.
"But seriously..."
"What kind of King do you want to be?"
The question lingered, heavier than any spell.
Lucien lowered his gaze to the remaining Evil Pieces. His reflection shimmered faintly across their polished surfaces.
When he finally spoke, his voice had lost its teasing edge.
"When I rescued you...I made a promise to you."
Kuroka nodded.
"You said I wasn't a burden. I also asked why you risked everything for someone you never met." She remembered every word. "You told me...that everyone deserves somewhere they can return to."
Lucien smiled faintly. "And I meant it."
He gently closed the case. The soft click echoed through the room.
"I'm not trying to build the strongest peerage in history. I'm not trying to build an army." He looked deep into Kuroka's eyes. "I'm building a family."
The words struck harder than any attack.
Family.
Such an ordinary word. Yet it carried a warmth Kuroka had spent years believing she'd never deserve. Memories surfaced unbidden. A frightened little Shirone hid behind her: cold caves, empty stomachs, running, always running, never staying long enough to call anywhere home.
Then another memory: Lucien extended his hand toward her in the mountains.
"Come home with us."
She hadn't realized how desperately she'd wanted someone to say those words.
Her vision blurred. She laughed softly, trying to hide it.
"...You're unfair, Master."
Lucien blinked. "What?"
"You keep saying embarrassing things."
"I thought they sounded cool."
"They do." She smiled, genuine and warm. "That's the problem."
Before she realized what she was doing, she leaned sideways until her head rested lightly against his shoulder. The gesture was small. Tentative. The warmth of her body and the faint scent of her hair filled the space between them.
Lucien didn't move away. Instead, he smiled gently, resting his hand on her arm.
Outside, the estate continued its morning routine. Inside, something far more important was taking shape.
Not a peerage.
Not yet.
The foundation of a family.
After several peaceful moments, Kuroka's ears suddenly twitched.
"So..."
Lucien immediately became suspicious. "...What?"
She looked up with a grin that promised trouble. "You still haven't answered my question."
He sighed. "Which one?"
"If a beautiful woman asks to join your peerage…" Her tails wagged mischievously. "…are you recruiting based on talent… or are you secretly grading everyone on how pretty they are?"
Lucien stared at her for three long seconds.
Then he reached over and flicked her forehead.
"Nya!"
"I can't believe I almost had a heartfelt moment with you."
She rubbed her forehead dramatically. "It was heartfelt."
A knock sounded at the door before Lucien could reply.
Three measured knocks. Precise. Controlled.
Grayfia.
Without waiting for permission, the Silver Queen entered the room. She took in the scene in a single glance: Lucien, Kuroka, the open case of Evil Pieces resting between them.
Her silver eyes softened almost imperceptibly.
"Good."
Both teenagers looked toward her.
Grayfia folded her hands neatly before her. "It seems you've already begun thinking like a King."
Lucien smiled. "I'm trying."
"I know."
For perhaps the first time in his life...
Grayfia smiled first.
Then her expression became serious.
"There is another matter."
Lucien straightened. "Mother, what is it?"
Grayfia's silver eyes narrowed. "This isn't merely magic. The ambient mana of the estate is flowing toward your room."
Lucien frowned. "...Is that bad?"
Grayfia looked toward the window. The cherry blossoms outside had stopped falling. Every drifting petal hung motionless.
"I've never seen anything like it."
Lucien glanced toward the floating notification that had quietly appeared moments earlier.
[Rare Summoning Token Detected.]
[Would you like to consume one Rare Summoning Token?]
Lucien blinked. "So that's how this works."
Kuroka frowned. "...Master?"
His eyes widened. "You can hear it?"
She looked equally confused. "I... think so?"
Another window appeared beside Kuroka, golden, translucent, filled with shifting runes.
Kuroka's ears shot upright. "Nyaa?!"
She reached toward it. Her fingers passed through, then touched one glowing icon. The window slid smoothly beneath her fingertip.
Her golden eyes widened. "It's responding…"
She stared at the information displayed before her.
Name: Kuroka
Race: Nekomata
Peerage: Bishop
Rank: High-Class Devil
Level: 34
Experience: 0 / 18,000
Loyalty: MAX
Shop: Locked
Party Chat: Locked
Skill Evolution: Locked
"Nya..." Her golden eyes became enormous. "It knows everything..."
Lucien stared just as hard. "So, peerage members receive a system interface too..."
A new notification appeared.
[Peerage Link Established.]
[Members of your peerage may now access limited system functions.]
[Additional functions unlock as the King's authority increases.]
Lucien couldn't help grinning. "That's actually incredible."
Kuroka poked her floating experience bar. "...What exactly is experience?"
"I..." Lucien laughed. "I honestly have no idea."
She looked scandalized. "You're the King!"
"I'm a freshly minted King!"
The system chimed once more.
[Rare Summoning Token Ready.]
Recommended target: Knight Piece
Would you like to proceed?
Lucien frowned. "...Wait. If I'm only getting one of these...what exactly is it?"
A new window unfolded before him.
[Rare Summoning Token]
A Rare Summoning Token is an artifact capable of reaching beyond the boundaries separating worlds.
Unlike standard summons, Rare Tokens dramatically increase the probability of obtaining extraordinary individuals whose talents exceed conventional expectations.
Rare Summoning Tokens do not summon randomly.
Summons are determined through compatibility calculations.
Variables include:
Host personality, Host ideals, Current needs, Existing peerage composition, Future kingdom development, Fate Synchronization
Lucien slowly lowered his hand.
"...So... I'm not choosing them."
The System answered immediately.
[Negative.]
[You are finding one another.]
Silence settled over the room.
Even Kuroka could tell something important had just happened.
Lucien smiled. "...I like that."
He carefully lowered the mutated Knight Piece into the center of the summoning circle. Ancient runes etched into the stone floor answered immediately, glowing with a faint crimson radiance beneath his feet.
Lucien inhaled slowly.
His heartbeat echoed inside his chest.
This was it.
Not a random draw.
Not luck.
Somewhere...
Beyond the walls separating worlds...
Someone was about to answer his call.
He looked toward Kuroka.
She nodded without hesitation.
"I'm ready if you are."
Lucien smiled.
"So am I."
Layer upon layer of intricate magical circles unfolded across the marble floor, each larger and more complex than the last. Devil runes of old, wound together with graceful draconic lettering and symbols from distant realms, emerged in the gaps, shifting and reshaping as though reality itself struggled to grasp the thing being called forth.
The Knight Piece rose from the center of the circle. Hairline cracks spread across its polished crimson surface like fractures in glass.
One.
Two.
Ten.
A low, resonant hum filled the room, not sound, but something felt in the bones. The air grew thick, heavy with the sharp tang of ozone and ancient incense. Tiny sparks of silver and gold danced across Lucien's skin, crawling like living electricity before vanishing into the growing storm.
The windows rattled violently. Books toppled from nearby shelves. The chandelier overhead swayed wildly, crystals chiming like warning bells. Outside, the wind died completely. Every leaf, every cherry blossom petal, every drifting feather hung motionless in the air, as though time itself had paused to witness what was coming.
The shadows throughout the room stretched toward the circle not wildly, but reverently, bowing like loyal subjects before their king. The ground trembled beneath their feet, a deep, deliberate vibration that resonated through the entire estate.
Grayfia's silver eyes narrowed sharply. She recognized devil magic. She recognized dragon script. She even recognized fragments of primordial power.
But the remaining symbols belonged to no magical language Grayfia had ever studied.
Grayfia had witnessed Maou-class spells. She had stood beside Sirzechs during the final years of the Great War. She had watched Ajuka Beelzebub reshape the very foundations of magical theory with her own eyes.
Yet none of those memories resembled what she felt now.
This wasn't greater magic.
It was different magic.
She could feel mana.
She could sense aura.
She could even perceive souls.
This was none of those.
It was as though an entirely new law had entered the world. One that the Underworld itself had never seen or known.
The fractured Knight Piece hovered at the center of the maelstrom as blinding light poured through every crack. A sound echoed through the chamber, not an explosion, not a chant, but the distant ringing of countless swords being drawn across worlds.
The System chimed, clear and final.
[Rare Summoning Successful.]
[Establishing Dimensional Link…]
[Searching compatible candidates…]
[Dragon Bloodline Detected.]
[Knight-Class Compatibility: Exceptional.]
[Synchronization: 15%...]
The magical circles expanded violently beyond the room, beyond the manor, beyond the Gremory territory. Ancient runes blazed across the sky itself.
For one impossible instant, the depths of the Underworld became a living spell.
Sirzechs paused halfway through signing a document.
The ink rippled.
He slowly looked toward the distant Gremory estate.
"...Lucien?"
Sirzechs slowly set down his pen.
The aura crossing the Underworld wasn't merely powerful.
It carried intent.
It was searching.
Grayroad opened his eyes.
The shadows at his feet sank into a bow, their forms pointing toward Lucien's room as if compelled.
"...Impossible."
Ajuka stopped in the middle of an experiment.
Every magical formula surrounding him collapsed.
"What...?"
Ophis looked up from the Dimensional Gap.
"...Interesting."
Great Red's eyes opened.
Far beyond dimensions.
"...A new law has entered the world."
Back within the Gremory estate...
Lucien stood at the center of the storm.
Completely unaware...
...that his first step toward changing every world connected to the System had already begun.
Across the Underworld, dragons stirred within forgotten mountain ranges.
Ancient barriers trembled.
Devils across every territory found their eyes drawn toward Gremory territory without understanding why.
Even magic itself seemed to hesitate.
Within the heart of the summoning circle...
A silhouette began to form.
Tall.
Feminine.
Armor the color of crimson steel.
Long scarlet hair danced within the storm of mana.
One armored hand slowly reached for the hilt of an unseen sword.
A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened.
Ancient dragon mana answered.
The System chimed one final time.
[Rare Summon Complete.]
[Identity Verified.]
[Knight-Class Companion Acquired.]
Before Lucien could see the face of the one fate had chosen...
The world erupted in white.