Craze: Read up to chapter 98 at [email protected]/phelio 50% discount. (Promotion: No need to pick the highest tier to read all the chapter Cookie Box was enough.)
...
The moonlight silvered the tiles of the Ryōzanpaku roof as Lucifer sat cross-legged, the cool night air pulling the heat from his overworked muscles.
Below, the dojo was a silhouette of traditional discipline, but here on the heights, the atmosphere was different. It felt like a crossroads.
Takeda, known to the underworld as Hermit, stood balanced on a nearby pine branch with a grace that defied physics.
His coat billowed slightly, and his eyes—sharp, cynical, and weary—locked onto Lucifer.
"You aren't like him,"
Takeda said, his voice a low rasp.
"I came here expecting to find the 'disciple' everyone in Ragnarok is laughing about. But instead, I find a monster, sitting on the roof like he owns the night. You have the eyes of someone who's seen the abyss."
Lucifer didn't stand. He didn't even drop into a combat stance. To him, Takeda wasn't a boss; he was just a lost kid.
He was part of a "story" Lucifer had no intention of participating in.
"I don't have time for the drama,"
Lucifer said, his voice flat and practical.
"I'm just here for the curriculum."
Takeda's eyes narrowed, his hands tightening in his pockets.
"You talk like a man who thinks he's above the fight. In Ragnarok, we don't allow outsiders to just 'visit' the neighborhood. If you're here, you're an enemy."
Lucifer didn't move a muscle, but his mind expanded.
He activated Fundamental Insight, layering it with Basic Empath.
He wasn't looking for a physical weakness—though he found dozens in Takeda's current stance—he was looking for the source of the man.
The world turned into a series of transparent layers.
He saw Takeda's heart rate (elevated, but controlled), the tension in his Achilles (primed for a dash), and deeper... the emotional resonance.
He saw a hospital room. A little girl's laughter.
A betrayal by a master. He saw the loneliness that gave "Hermit" his name.
"You're Takeda Sougetsu,"
Lucifer stated, his voice cutting through the wind.
"You're here because you're angry at the world for taking your sister's health, and you're angry at your Master for being a manipulative snake. You joined Ragnarok because you thought 'strength' was the only way to protect what's left. But right now? You're just lonely."
Takeda froze.
The branch beneath his feet creaked as his weight shifted in genuine shock.
"How... How do you know that? Who the hell told you about Tani?"
"Nobody told me,"
Lucifer replied, finally standing up, his movements fluid and relaxed.
"I can see the weight you're carrying. It's heavy. It's also inefficient. You're fighting to prove something to a world that doesn't care. I'm just here to learn how to punch through iron so I can survive my own family."
Before Takeda could respond with violence, a ripple of darkness appeared on the roof beside Lucifer. Raven manifested, her cape flowing around her like ink in water.
She looked at him with the cold, absolute indifference of a predator watching a moth.
She stood slightly behind Lucifer, her hand resting naturally on his shoulder—a gesture of total, unyielding devotion.
"The intruder is emotionally unstable,"
Raven said, her voice a soothing, dark melody.
"His 'Martial Spirit' is a facade for grief. Lucifer, do you wish for me to displace him? The rooftop should remain a quiet space for your recovery."
Takeda took a step back on the branch, his instincts screaming.
He was one of the strongest fighters in the city, but the girl... she felt like a void.
"What are you people? You aren't martial artists."
"We're logistics experts,"
Lucifer said, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his face.
"And I'm telling you this for your own good: Don't fight me. I could win, but it wouldn't serve my schedule. I have six hours of sleep programmed before my next session with Apachai. Fighting you would just be a waste of calories."
Takeda let out a short, bitter laugh.
"A waste of calories? You're the most arrogant brat I've ever met. Most people would be honored to duel an Eight Fist."
"Honor doesn't pay the bills,"
Lucifer countered.
"Listen, Takeda. You want to see Kenichi? He's downstairs, probably crying in a bucket of cold water. Go talk to him if you want to play the role of the rival. But if you want to get stronger for your sister, stop wasting time posing on trees and go find a master who actually gives a damn about you."
Takeda stared at Lucifer for a long moment. He looked at the "Fist of Destruction" calluses on Lucifer's hands, then at the eerie, calm girl standing by his side.
The "Chaotic Energy" he had sensed earlier was still there, buzzing beneath Lucifer's skin like a trapped hornet, but it was being held in check by a terrifying level of self-control.
"You're a freak,"
Takeda finally said, though the murderous edge had left his voice. He jumped from the branch, landing on the garden wall.
"But you're a freak who knows things you shouldn't. I'll leave... for now. But don't think Ragnarok will let a threat like you sit in this dojo forever. The First Fist... he won't be as 'logical' as I am."
"I'll be ready for him,"
Lucifer replied.
"Tell him to bring a snack. Training makes me hungry."
Takeda vanished into the night, his shadow leaping over the gates and disappearing into the city.
Lucifer let out a long breath, his shoulders dropping.
"That was annoying."
"He was a significant emotional variable,"
Raven noted, her hand still on his shoulder. She looked at him, her eyes soft.
"You handled the situation with high efficiency. You avoided a physical conflict that would have damaged the roof tiles and alerted the masters."
"Yeah, well... he's not a bad guy. Just a bit of a drama queen,"
Lucifer muttered.
As they turned to head back down to their room, they saw Akisame standing at the edge of the porch below, watching them. He had heard everything.
"To see the heart is a greater skill than to break the bone,"
Akisame said, his voice carrying clearly in the night.
"You chose not to destroy, Lucifer. You chose the path of the observer. That is the mark of a true philosopher of the martial arts."
Lucifer just shrugged.
"I just wanted to go to bed."
[System Progress Update: $25,000 gained through 'Psychological De-escalation']
[Funds: $8,725,000]
[Fundamental Insight Mastery: Increased]
Back in their designated room—a simple, minimalist space that Raven had already "sanctified" with a few dark tapestries and a faint scent of jasmine—Lucifer collapsed onto his futon.
He was exhausted.
His Healing Factor was busy repairing the micro-tears in his muscles from the Hakai No Ken training, and his mind was heavy with the data of the new world.
Raven sat on the floor beside him, her cape tucked around her. She didn't go to her own futon. She simply watched him, her presence a silent, protective vigil.
"Lucifer,"
She whispered.
"Mmm?"
"The 'reset' you initiated... the kiss,"
She said, her voice barely audible.
"It has changed the way my energy interacts with yours. I no longer feel the need to compete with the golden-haired girl or the masters. I feel... anchored."
Lucifer opened one eye, looking at the girl who had once been a cold tactical partner and was now... something else entirely.
"Good. Because the training is only going to get harder. I need you to be focused."
"I am focused,"
Raven replied, a small, rare smile touching her lips.
"Exclusively on you."
Lucifer groaned playfully and pulled the blanket over his head.
"Go to sleep, Raven."
The next morning, the "peace" was shattered by the sound of Apachai shouting
"APAPAPAPA!"
At five in the morning.
Lucifer was back in the courtyard, but this time, he wasn't alone. Kenichi was there, looking like a zombie, being forced to do handstand pushups while Miu cheered him on.
Lucifer ignored them and stepped up to Shigure Kōsaka. The weapon master was standing with a simple wooden staff.
"The fist is good,"
Shigure said, her words sparse.
"But the body... must move with the weapon. You have 'Void'. You must learn to make 'Void' your blade."
Lucifer's eyes lit up. This was what he was here for. Not the Ragnarok war, not the high school drama, but the integration of his Tier 5 spatial powers into a physical form.
"Show me,"
Lucifer said.
For the next week, Lucifer's life became a blur of wooden staves, broken bones, and spatial tears.
He learned how to channel Void Severance through a weapon, turning a simple wooden stick into a tool that could cut through reinforced concrete without making a sound.
He watched Kenichi's slow, painful growth with a detached respect.
The kid was a coward, but he had a weird kind of tenacity that Lucifer recognized from his own struggle against the System.
By the end of the third week, Lucifer had reached a new milestone.
[Skill Unlocked: Void-Blade Mastery (Tier 1)]
[Hakai No Ken Mastery: 75%]
[Physical Strength: All increased by +10% due to Master-level conditioning.]
He was ready for the next phase.
But the "story" he was trying to avoid was finally coming to the front door.
A massive fleet of motorcycles roared to a halt outside Ryōzanpaku.
The Ragnarok gang hadn't listened to Takeda. They had come in force, led by Ukkita and Takeda, and they were demanding the "Prodigy" come out and face them.