If we collect 700 Power Stones by the end of the weekend, I'll post an extra chapter!
________________
"Alright, let's go...."
Upon realizing that Alear had agreed without any objection, a discreet smile of relief appeared on her lips. Without wasting time, Serafall raised one hand, and a magical circle expanded beneath the feet of the two. The runes spun slowly before releasing an intense glow that enveloped their bodies. In the next instant, both disappeared from the corridor.
Moments later, a new magical circle appeared on the top floor of another hospital located in the territory of the Sitri Clan.
Just as the Haängenti Family had built its fame throughout history by mastering alchemy and potion production before being cruelly struck by the 'Sleeping Disease,' and the Agares Family was recognized throughout the Underworld for the extraction, polishing, and research involving magic crystals, the Sitri had consolidated their influence through medicine. For centuries, they invested enormous sums in the development of healing techniques, training of doctors, research of illnesses, and creation of hospitals, becoming the greatest medical authority among devils. Their hospital centers spread across practically the entire territory of the clan and even into the capital of the Underworld, where the famous Serafall Memorial Hospital was considered the most prestigious medical institution of the demonic race.
It was precisely to one of these hospitals that Serafall led Alear.
The two walked through some silent corridors until they reached an area completely isolated from the rest of the building. Unlike the other floors, that sector had various high-level magical barriers scattered across the walls, in addition to guards positioned discreetly at each access point. It was evident that the patients kept there held far above normal importance.
Without saying a word, Serafall opened the door to the last room.
As soon as he entered, Alear naturally directed his gaze to the only bed in the spacious room.
Lying on it was a young woman of impressive beauty.
As expected of a member of the ancient Leviathan lineage, her appearance possessed a supernatural charm. She appeared to be a little under twenty years old and emanated a naturally enchanting aura, as if her mere presence was capable of attracting anyone's gaze. Her long purple hair spread elegantly across the pillow, contrasting with her fair and delicate skin. Even while asleep, her features remained calm and refined, preserving an elegance worthy of high demonic nobility. She wore a traditional white outfit used by noble ladies of the Underworld, with long sleeves and high side slits that exposed a good part of her ample breasts, accompanied by a black miniskirt...
Alear observed the young woman for a few moments before turning his gaze back to Serafall.
"She is Ingvild Leviathan?"
Although he already knew her through the memories of his past life, he had never imagined meeting her there. From what he remembered of the original story, Ingvild should have remained hidden under the protection of the remaining nobles of the old Leviathan faction, completely isolated from the rest of the Underworld. She would continue sleeping for almost a century, awakening only when her Sacred Gear evolved into the Longinus, [Nereid Kyrie].
After her awakening, the situation would quickly spiral out of control. The devils who kept her hidden would realize they could no longer contain her or deal with a Longinus of that magnitude. With no other alternative, they would contact the government of the New Maous and also Grigori. The organization led by Azazel would assume her protection and begin a series of studies on her Sacred Gear. Later, Ingvild would end up being kidnapped by Nyx, becoming one of her subordinates under mind control.
Precisely because he knew this future, he couldn't hide his surprise since she had been mentioned earlier by Serafall....
That didn't make sense.
Why was Ingvild under Serafall's care? At what point had events taken a different path from the one he knew?
Serafall confirmed with a slight nod.
"Yes. She was born from the union between a human and a devil belonging to the old Leviathan Clan. Because of that, she spent her childhood living in the human world, in a small coastal town in Europe, completely distant from the political disputes of the Underworld."
She walked slowly to the bed, observing the sleeping girl with a gaze filled with nostalgia.
"Unfortunately, during her youth, Ingvild ended up developing the Demonic Sleeping Disease. As soon as the symptoms appeared and she fell into a coma, her parents did the only thing they could. They contacted the few remaining nobles of the old Leviathan faction and asked for help. She was immediately brought to the Underworld in the hope of finding a cure."
Serafall sighed softly.
"At that time, only the devils belonging to the old Satán Leviathan faction knew of her existence. To protect her, they decided to hide her presence within their own territory. Not even the government of the New Maous learned of this secret... and, curiously, not even Katerea Leviathan, who was her closest relative, knew that another direct descendant of her lineage was living in the Underworld."
She remained silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"This secret only came to light because of an incident that occurred a few years ago. Your Father was investigating information about his grandparents on her mother's side and ended up following several clues related to the old Leviathans. During that search, he found Ingvild by chance."
Alear turned his full attention to Serafall, unable to hide his surprise. Her father really had the talent to change the course of history wherever he went.....
"He was the one who discovered her?" He asked, keeping a casual tone.
"Yes." Serafall nodded slowly. "At the time, her father immediately realized that her situation was practically identical to that of the Haängenti Family. Both had been victims of the same disease, both were waiting for a miracle that never came, and both were slowly being forgotten by time."
A nostalgic smile appeared on her lips.
"Instead of revealing her existence to the rest of the Underworld, he preferred to entrust her to my care. He said that if there was someone he could trust to protect her, that person was me."
She made a brief pause before continuing.
"Of course, he imposed one condition. Your Father always believed that you would awaken one day. To many, that seemed like nothing more than an impossible hope... but he never lost that conviction. And, in his view, if you were capable of overcoming the Sleeping Disease itself, there was a great chance that, in the future, you would find a way to save other people afflicted by the same ailment... including Ingvild."
Serafall turned her gaze back to the sleeping young woman.
"That's why he asked me to keep her safe until that day came. In exchange, when she finally awakened, she should be reincarnated as part of your nobility. That was the only demand he made."
She smiled discreetly.
"At the time, I thought he was betting on an extremely unlikely future. Today... I realize he was simply many steps ahead of all of us...."
Alear remained silent for a few moments.
The revelation had really surprised him, but he preferred not to show much beyond a slight change in his expression. The more he discovered about his father's actions, the harder it became to understand the extent of his plans. In the memories inherited from the old Alear, he always appeared as an extraordinary figure, an intelligent, respected man surrounded by a certain mystery. However, now that he was beginning to navigate the complex political waters of the Underworld, he realized that the reality was even more impressive than he had imagined.
His father seemed to have prepared countless things for a future whose existence he couldn't even guarantee.
Everything had been built on a single possibility: that one day his son would awaken from the Sleeping Disease.
He preserved the resources of the Haängenti Family that he could, established alliances... and, from the looks of it, even arranged for someone to join his future nobility.
That was almost unbelievable.
Even so, he made no comment. Regardless of his father's intentions, the truth was that he himself already had interest in Ingvild. In addition to belonging to the ancient Leviathan lineage, she was the bearer of a Longinus that would awaken in the future. Her potential was enormous, and having her as part of his Nobility would certainly be an excellent acquisition.
After a few seconds of silence, he turned his gaze back to Serafall.
"So... there's no problem if I reincarnate her while performing the treatment?"
Serafall smiled without the slightest hesitation.
"Problem?" She shook her head slightly. "Actually, that's exactly why her father entrusted her to my care. I simply kept the promise I made to him. If you decide to reincarnate her now, I'll just be completing what was asked of me so many years ago."
Alear nodded discreetly.
"Understood."
Without wasting any more time, he raised his hand and took out a small piece of demonic chess from his 'dimensional pocket.' It was a Pawn. The piece rested calmly on the palm of his hand, radiating a faint demonic energy.
Serafall observed the object for a few moments before raising an eyebrow.
"Just one Pawn?"
She looked back at Ingvild.
"With the absurd amount of demonic power she possesses... I imagine several pieces would be needed to reincarnate her."
Alear simply smiled lightly.
"Indeed, I believe it would normally take six or seven pawns, but in the last few weeks one of my pawns underwent a mutation...."
He walked to the bed while slowly spinning the piece between his fingers.
Serafall opened a small smile of understanding, a bit surprised in her heart — her Ale-chan was impressive!
"I see... so that was it."
Without adding anything else, Alear brought the piece close to Ingvild's chest.
As soon as it came into contact with her body, the Pawn dissolved instantly into countless particles of dark red light. The energy spread rapidly through the room before converging on the young woman's body, enveloping her completely. The particles slowly penetrated her organism, beginning the reincarnation process. A few seconds later, the energy was completely absorbed.
Ingvild Leviathan had just become the Second Pawn of Alear G. Haängenti's Nobility.
Without even waiting, Alear gently placed his hand on the young woman's forehead.
In the next instant, an intense pinkish-red light enveloped his palm.
The aura spread slowly throughout Ingvild's body, enveloping her in a delicate and almost ethereal glow.
Just as he had done with Misla, Alear activated [Idle Transfiguration].
The energy penetrated directly into her soul and began to reshape it with extreme precision, eliminating the incompatibility that kept her body trapped in the Demonic Sleeping Disease. Every small spiritual imperfection was corrected until soul and body returned to perfect harmony. After a few moments, he withdrew his hand...
Serafall remained motionless. Even after having already witnessed Misla's awakening just minutes earlier, her heart continued to race. Before her eyes, another person everyone considered condemned to eternal sleep was about to defy decades of Underworld medical knowledge.
Then...
Ingvild's delicate fingers moved almost imperceptibly.
Soon after, her long eyelashes trembled.
Her eyelids began to open slowly, gradually revealing a beautiful pair of orange eyes, still misty with the confusion of someone who had just awakened from an endless sleep. She blinked repeatedly, trying to adjust her vision to the brightness of the room, while breathing more deeply. Her gaze wandered slowly across the ceiling, the walls, and the furniture around her, like someone trying to understand where she was.
After a few moments, she discreetly turned her head.
It was then that her eyes met the two people present in the room.
The first figure she recognized was a young woman with black hair wearing an extravagant magical girl outfit. Beside her stood a handsome young man with magenta-pink hair and eyes of the same shade, standing calmly next to her bed.
Ingvild remained looking at him for a few seconds.
Her heart began to beat a little faster without her understanding why. Maybe it was just because she had just awakened in front of a complete stranger... or maybe there was another reason. Either way, that young man had such a refined appearance and such a calm presence that it was hard to look away.
Only after a few seconds did she seem to realize the situation she was in.
Her expression became visibly confused.
"...Where...?"
Her voice came out low, a little hoarse from so many years without being used.
She looked at the two again, alternating her gaze between each of them.
"Who... are you?"
Before Alear could respond, Serafall practically took a small step forward, instantly recovering her usual demeanor.
A wide smile illuminated her face.
"Yay! First of all, welcome back to the world of the awake!" She raised one hand and waved enthusiastically. "My name is Serafall Leviathan! Current Maou Leviathan, super magical girl, defender of justice, perfect older sister of Sona-chan, and, modesty aside, the cutest person in the entire Underworld!"
Ingvild blinked several times, completely disoriented by the presentation.
Serafall, however, continued smiling as if that were the most natural thing in the world.
"You must be very confused, so I'll explain everything calmly." She placed one hand on her waist before continuing in a gentler tone. "You were afflicted by the Demonic Sleeping Disease and remained asleep for many years. Fortunately, today we managed to cure you...."
She then extended her hand toward the young man beside the bed.
"And the one who made this possible was him." Her smile became even warmer. "This is Alear G. Haängenti. He was the one who just saved your life... and, from now on, he is also your King, since during the treatment it was also necessary to reincarnate you as a devil belonging to his Nobility!"
"..."
_______________
(A/N: Want to get ahead?
The story now has 110 chapters available on Patreon — that's right, there's still a lot of content waiting for you beyond the public release. There are currently 30 chapters ahead of the public version, meaning supporters are already deep into upcoming twists, revelations, and the absurd chaos of Fate Gacha summons.
If you can't wait for what comes next — the plot twists, power progressions, and those insane lucky (or unlucky) summons — this is the best time to jump in.
Get access now for just $6.99 USD and read everything ahead of time.
Light spoiler: his luck might be terrible… but the story only gets better from here.
My Patreon: patreon.com/Adam_Kadmon
Thank you for your support — it makes all of this worthwhile.)