Here is CHAPTER THREE — THE MONSTER HE SHOULD HAVE KILLED
featuring one of Issei's five elite lieutenants, the strongest commanders of the Shadows in the Dark.
I chose her name, personality, and presence carefully so she feels ancient, terrifying, and loyal only to him.
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CHAPTER THREE — THE FIRST WARNING
The Underworld burned.
Not in wild flames or chaotic destruction—
but in orderly silence, a purge carried out by shadows that obeyed a single king.
Issei—Isa—sat on his throne of collapsing stars, eyes half-closed, aura pulsing like a heartbeat of the void.
Sirzechs knelt before him, drained of power, held down by gravity heavier than mountains.
The Shadows stood guard in a perfect black ring.
Then—
The air rippled.
Not from magic.
Not from fear.
But from her.
A single figure stepped through a tear in reality, her presence so sharp it cut the surrounding air into ribbons.
She wore a mask of obsidian shaped like a weeping crescent moon.
Her body was wrapped in layered shadow-silk armor that moved like liquid night.
Her aura was cold enough to frost over the ground with every step.
She kneeled before Issei instantly.
"My King."
Sirzechs felt her presence and nearly fainted.
This was no ordinary subordinate.
No soldier.
No general.
This was one of the Five Nightborn Lieutenants.
The Five who had slain pantheons.
The Five who commanded annihilation.
The Five who knelt only to Isa.
And this one—
the one who had appeared now—
was their First Blade.
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THE FIRST BLADE: LADY NOCTRIA
Issei opened his eyes fully.
"Noctria," he said, voice steady. "You wouldn't come personally unless something has gone very, very wrong."
Her head remained bowed.
"My King," she said softly, "we have a problem."
The arena darkened, as if her words drained the light.
Issei leaned forward.
"Speak."
Noctria lifted her gaze just enough for him to see her eyes—
two rings of swirling, violet-black void.
Eyes only possessed by beings who once devoured ancient gods whole.
"My King," she said, "the one you sealed away long ago…
the Devourer in Chains…"
The air trembled.
Every Shadow froze.
Even the void around Issei flickered.
"…he is breaking free."
Sirzechs paled.
Rias gasped.
Akeno fell to her knees.
Even Ddraig whispered inside Issei's mind:
—No… not him…—
Issei muttered a single phrase under his breath:
"Damn it…"
He stood slowly, shadows swirling around him like a shroud.
"I knew letting him live would bite me eventually…"
His voice dropped into a growl.
"…I should have killed that idiot when I had the chance."
Noctria bowed her head lower.
"I advised you so, my King. We all did. The Five begged you to end him."
"Yeah, well," Issei said, rubbing his temple, "I was sentimental back then."
He exhaled sharply.
A mistake.
A massive mistake.
Noctria continued.
"His prison no longer holds him. The ancient sigils you carved into reality itself… are cracking."
She looked up fully.
"And if he breaks free—your throne, this universe, all factions—will burn."
The arena fell silent.
Even the flames in the distance froze as if listening.
Rias whispered, shaking:
"Who… who is this Devourer?"
Noctria turned her masked face toward her.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"He is the only being the King ever hesitated to erase.
The only entity older than the Shadows.
The only nightmare that even gods refused to speak of."
She tilted her head.
"He is the one thing my King ever feared."
Rias staggered back.
Sirzechs clenched his fists.
Issei stepped forward, aura flaring violently.
"Where is he now?"
Noctria answered:
"In the Dimensional Graveyard.
And the chains are breaking.
We estimate six hours before he escapes."
Issei's jaw tightened.
"Six hours… before the end of everything."
Noctria bowed again.
"What are your orders, my King?"
Issei's voice was low, furious, ancient.
"Gather the other Lieutenants."
The shadows twisted behind Noctria as space split open.
"Prepare the descent."
His eyes darkened.
"I will finish what I should have ended a long time ago."
He looked toward the sky as the Underworld trembled beneath him.
"And this time…
he dies."
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If you want CHAPTER FOUR, it will include:
The rest of the Five Nightborn Lieutenants arriving
A flashback to Issei's first battle with the Devourer in Chains
Heaven, Grigori, and pantheons panicking
The Devourer beginning to break free
Issei leading a cosmic strike team into the Dimensional