In his lifetime, he had only ever been able to see. From the very moment of his birth, his sight extended beyond the limits of mortal comprehension.
Gifted with the Eyes of the Lord , he was not bound by the constraints of past, present, or future. He saw through the fabric of reality itself—every branching possibility, every fractured timeline, every world where a single choice could alter fate entirely.
This timeline was no exception.
It was a deviation unlike any other, an anomaly so distant from the others that it had birthed a tangled web of offshoots within the vast tree of time. A path that should not have existed, yet now stretched before him in defiance of order.
Yet, no matter how many branches there were, sin remained unique and eternal.
And just as he could see these fragmented presents, so too could Lust.
But amidst the infinite echoes of possibility, one truth shone with undeniable clarity. No matter how this path had strayed from the others, there existed a conclusion he could not ignore—one where Lust was destroyed, eradicated from all existence.
If this timeline could bring about the annihilation of Lust , then all others would be freed from its grasp as well.
And so, he would use any means necessary to ensure this branch reached its rightful conclusion.
For the Eyes of the Lord watch all.
And they see all sins.
The castle's gate loomed over them, an imposing structure in this endless night made of dark stone. Kanami quickly looked up, her face already growing exhausted just at the thought of climbing to the top.
"Hey, Luka… Please tell me there is the same thing that Nina has. An… Elevator was it? Is that how you call it?"
Luka, standing beside her, simply exhaled and adjusted his runic glove. "Nope. No shortcuts. We climb."
Kanami groaned dramatically, already mourning the strain this was about to put on her legs. "You have to be kidding me. This place is made for wings, isn't it? Of course it is…"
"Anyway, let's get going," Luka sighed before walking forward, Kanami following right behind him.
Soon, they were met by succubi who stood at the entrance, one looking oddly familiar to Luka.
"You cannot enter!" she said, her figure trembling slightly. "L-Luka! Stop right there! Sak—The Nightlord will not see you!"
"Piss off," Luka sighed wearily, shoving her aside. He pushed the gates open and entered the castle despite her protests.
"Stop right there Luka!"
"Mwahaha! We are bad succubi now! We will devour you!"
Luka almost let out a chuckle seeing all these idiots trying to intimidate him, but he kept a straight face and shoved them aside one by one.
Kanami stifled a laugh as she watched Luka wade through the cluster of succubi like an annoyed older brother dealing with a group of hyperactive siblings.
"You'd think the new Nightlord would change her subordinates…" Luka muttered, effortlessly peeling one off his back and tossing her aside like a ragdoll.
The succubus he'd shoved earlier scrambled back to her feet, her hands clenched into weak fists. "Luka, you don't understand! The Nightlord—!"
"Yeah, yeah, she won't see me, whatever," Luka interrupted, rolling his eyes as he flicked another clinging succubus off his shoulder. "Look, unless she told you to fight me, I suggest you get out of the way. I'm here to steal your lord. We got a honeymoon to do."
"W-We are stopping you!" one of them tried again, puffing out her chest in a poor attempt at intimidation.
Another chimed in with forced bravado, "Yeah! We're bad succubi now! We will devour you!"
Kanami lost it. She doubled over, laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach. "Pfft—Are you guys serious right now?"
Luka, unimpressed, shoved past the last of them and strode deeper into the castle. "You all suck at this. Go back to giving wet dreams or whatever it is you do for a living."
The succubi huddled together, whispering amongst themselves in distress. "He's not even listening to us…"
Kanami wiped a tear from her eye and patted one of them on the shoulder. "Look, girls, great effort, but you're up against Luka. Either get stronger, or find a new hobby."
With that, she followed after Luka, grinning from ear to ear.
The grand hall stretched before them, its gothic beauty undeniable. Velvet banners lined the towering walls, each one embroidered with intricate symbols of the Nightlord's dominion. An emblem made of dark triangles with an eye in the center.
And at the end of it hall stood…
Ntwali, the priest, facing off against a man in knight armor holding a long and heavy sword.
Luka's expression hardened as he took in the sight before him.
"Please, go forward," Ntwali suddenly spoke up, his head not even turning the greet the two of them. "Knight Relius has already advanced deeper inside. The Nightlord's thralls have been sent to slow us down."
"No one shall meet the new Lord," the thrall said, his voice muffled by the helmet.
Ntwali chuckled lightly. "Oh, I'm just a humble priest, my friend. I've come to bless a union—possible or not. So, Luka, go! Prove me wrong!"
Luka didn't need further explanations. Without a word, he stepped past the knight, his presence daring the warrior to stop him.
The knight tensed but did not move to strike, his mission clear: hold the line, nothing more.
Kanami, trailing behind Luka, cast Ntwali a wary glance before smirking. "Thank you, mister priest."
She caught up with Luka as they ascended the spiral staircase leading deeper into the castle.
The air grew heavier, the walls began to distort the higher they went, and yet, a strange and quiet atmosphere permeated this new floor.
The floor was covered in dead bodies, the thralls all dead or dying, gasping for air.
Deeper, they found a courtyard littered with dead bodies, a priest standing at the center, his arms crossed behind his back.
"So you've come, Luka Morgen," the priest suddenly said, his head turning around to meet him. As usual, his eyes were closed, yet it felt as if he could see him.
The balance was swinging in one of his hand, but for now it offered no problem to Luka or Kanami.
"I hope you have come here to finally get rid of Lust, as I said," Relius Caelius continued, his face betraying no emotions.
Luka exhaled through his nose, taking a slow step forward. "I'm here to save Saki, yeah. Sorry but I don't take orders from you," he chuckled before walking forward.
"What a shame," Relius sighed, bringing the balance forward. "Luka Morgen, you are a sinn—"
"No."
The balance did not move, and Relius, for the first time, frowned.
"I don't consider myself a sinner anymore," Luka declared, a defiant grin on his face. "I am not going to be judged by a liar like you either. So move out of my way."
Relius' lips pressed into a thin line as he studied Luka—truly studied him, though his eyes remained closed. The balance in his hand trembled slightly, as if it, too, hesitated.
"Hm," he finally murmured, his usual calm faltering for just a moment. "You have changed."
He held the balance toward Kanami next, but it didn't move either.
"I see. So you truly believe you are in the right," Relius sighed while putting away the balance inside his robe, a sudden magical pressure surrounding him. "What a shame."
"Luka, I can take care of him," Kanami patted his shoulder to tell him to move. "You must see Saki as soon as possible, right? Leave it to me."
Luka hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Yeah. Don't get yourself killed."
Kanami smirked, rolling her shoulders as she stepped forward. "Who do you take me for?"
Relius was unfazed. "Your confidence is commendable," he said, his voice as steady as ever. "But misplaced."
Luka didn't wait to hear the rest. He turned, striding toward the massive double doors leading deeper into the castle.
"However, it seems this timeline was a mistake, and so were you, Luka Morgen," Relius sighed, suddenly clapping his hands together. "Reflect on your mistake."
Kanami felt a ripple of magic in the air, when suddenly—
Luka blinked out of existence right at the moment where he was about to cross the doors. Kanami's heart pounded in her chest as her eyes darted around in disbelief. Luka was gone . Not just teleported, not just thrown somewhere else—he had ceased to exist , erased from her senses entirely.
Her breath hitched. "What the hell did you just do?!"
"I corrected an error in the timeline." His tone was as measured as ever, as if he were merely stating fact. "Luka Morgen was not willing to cooperate, so I sent him elsewhere."
Kanami's fists clenched, and for the first time, a flicker of panic twisted her gut. This can't be real. He can't just be—
"Bring him back." Her voice was low, dangerous.
Relius shook his head, the faintest flicker of something akin to pity crossing his face. "I cannot. Only the 'me' from where he is can. But perhaps I should explain further..."
He took a deep breath, his arms crossing. "My name is Relius Caelius, Sacred Knight of the Order, codename: 'Eyes'. I see all past, present, and future, for I am the eyes of the Lord."
He paused as if letting the weight of his words settle. "In summary, I hold omniscience."
Kanami's grip on her sword tightened, knuckles turning white. "So? What gives you the right to judge whether or not he should be elsewhere?"
A flicker of emotion, a sigh of resignation, passed over Relius's face. "Simple," he said, voice smooth, devoid of anger or frustration. "It is the Lord's will. Once Lust has been taken care of, Luka shall return."
"And if you think this is going to change anything," Kanami smirked, unsheathing the short sword on her waist. "You're mistaken. Luka will come back."
Relius's lips curled into a barely-there frown, his expression unreadable. "We shall see. But I am troubled to say that I cannot see you, on the other hand." He raised a hand, almost regretfully, to his face. "How sad to see someone forsaken by the Lord himself."
"I don't give a damn about your "Lord's will'," she spat, her grip tightening on the sword hilt. "Like Luka, I don't believe in fate nor in any God's will. In fact, who is this 'Lord' you're speaking of?"
"The Lord is simply the Lord. Our creator," the priest replied. "Unlike you, he creates."
"Well, none of it holds us," Kanami poised herself, the blade resting above her shoulder in a low stance. "My name is Kanami Ryuuji, spawn of Araël, the dragon of the end. I am sure you priests heard of it, but nothing shall hold me down. And I can say with absolute confidence…"
She smirked, her eyes closed for the briefest of moments. "That Luka is not someone who would just stop after being sent to another world. He will come back, and he will prove you wrong."
"How shortsighted," Relius sighed, his eyes suddenly opening just slightly—revealing pupils that weren't pupils at all, but dark, endless voids. "If Luka Morgen were to come back, even I cannot foresee what would happen." He paused, considering the weight of his next words. "It seems I must stop the both of you."
Kanami's smirk never wavered. "Then come at me."
In the blink of an eye, her sandals struck the cold floor with a sharp clack as she vanished from her position, the tip of her blade poised to pierce Relius's heart. But just as quickly, he sidestepped, his movements calm and measured. Without a word, he brought the back of his hand up in a sharp, fluid motion, striking her squarely in the stomach.
The blow sent her skidding across the floor, the air driven from her lungs in a harsh exhale. Kanami gritted her teeth, the force of the strike momentarily disorienting her. But she didn't let it stop her—her eyes, narrowed and intense, locked onto Relius as she pushed herself back to her feet.
Void step! She gritted her teeth as she took another step, vanishing once again, reappearing behind him. Her blade was already in motion, aimed to strike with precision.
Relius, however, didn't even flinch. He simply turned with the ease of someone who had anticipated her move. "It seems you are mistaken, my dear," he sighed, raising a hand to stop her blade mid-swing. With an almost absurd level of precision, he avoided the edge of the weapon by mere inches, not a single cut to show for it.
Kanami's breath caught in her throat as she tried to withdraw her blade, but Relius's hand was already there, gently gripping the sword's edge with a grasp that was neither rushed nor strained.
"It is not because I cannot see your past nor your future that I cannot see the space you are in," Relius explained calmly, his voice as smooth as ever. "I simply choose not to. And thus, I know your next move before you even decide to make it."
Kanami's eyes flared with irritation as she quickly adjusted, bringing her leg up in a swift kick aimed directly at his head.
But Relius was already lowering his body with uncanny grace, dodging her strike with ease. Before she could land, he moved in with startling speed, countering with a sharp elbow to her side. The hit drove the wind from her lungs, making her wince in pain as she staggered back, clutching her ribs.
"I must say," Relius continued, standing straight, unbothered by the flurry of movements, "you are nothing if not persistent. But it is to be expected from a foolish dragon like yourself."
He knows every move I make? Kanami composed herself from a distance as she clutched her side. She had never seen anyone react to her besides the Hatman or the man with a mask.
Am I still behind him? Even after all that training?
But as she was pondering her next move, the room suddenly stilled.
"It seems I must retry again," Relius sighed again, the magic around him humming and vibrating. "Perhaps I should meet him sooner this time… Yes, it must be."
Kanami's pulse quickened . I need to stop him now!
If he could truly control the flow of time then—
A sharp crack resonated throughout the courtyard. Relius blinked, feeling his magic fade and his spell breaking.
"Hmmm. You are an advanced one," he muttered, turning his attention back to Kanami. "Usually your kind isn't capable of disrupting spells without touching the caster—"
But Kanami was already in motion. The blade flashed once more, its speed faster than before. It grazed Relius's chin, a thin line of blood appearing on his skin.
His expression remained unchanged, and with a flick of his wrist, he countered, his hand gripping the blade mid-swing. He pushed her back with a force that sent her stumbling, but Kanami quickly recovered, eyes blazing with a fierce determination.
She continued her assault with relentless swift strikes, her blade slicing the air followed by quick kicks. Relius blocked all of them one by one, before finally countering with another strike to her chest, sending her crashing against the far wall.
She slid down to the floor, gasping for air, but her fiery resolve never dimmed. Pain throbbed through her body, but it was nothing compared to the fury that burned in her heart. She would not stop—not until she stopped him.
Because she would not allow anyone else to take control of other's fates.
Her eyes suddenly turned red as lighting coursed through her veins. The one and only power authorized to the spawns of Araël, his lightning capable of destroying anything.
"I wanted to keep you alive but…" Kanami gritted her teeth, her gaze locking onto Relius as she pushed herself back onto her feet, her sword trembling in her hand. "It seems I don't have a choice but to kill you, priest," she pointed her weapon at him, its edge coated with red lightning.
Relius's lips barely twitched, but his eyes… His eyes betrayed something rare: a flicker of unease.
"You're…" he muttered, his posture readying himself for her next strike. "You're about to commit a grave mistake."
"It's mine to make," Kanami replied with a low voice. "If you don't bring Luka back, that is."
Relius's gaze hardened, and he shifted, his fingers subtly twitching as the power in the room fluctuated. "So be it." He sighed, almost resigned. "I am truly against taking a human's life. But you give me no choice."
His eyes flared—no, they burned , their light like two blazing beacons in the night. Kanami blinked, sensing the shift before she even saw it. Something was manifesting behind him, an overwhelming presence she hadn't anticipated.
White wings—massive, angelic wings—unfurled behind Relius with a sound like wind tearing through a storm. The feathers ruffled as they spread wide, their edges glowing with an ethereal light. The wings were enormous, radiating a sense of power that could smother the sun. They seemed to shimmer with divine energy, casting an almost blinding light over the courtyard.
Kanami's eyes narrowed as she took in the sight, her grip tightening on the hilt of her blade.
Behind Relius, a statue emerged, rising as if it had always been there, hidden in the folds of time. It was a figure—tall, imposing, and carved from some dark stone. It held a balance in its hands, but there were no eyes upon its face. The stone visage was vacant, its empty gaze unblinking, yet somehow, it felt like it was watching everything.
Relius spoke in a reverent tone. "I am the one who sees all sins. You shall receive your judgment, Kanami Ryuuji."
Kanami's heart pounded in her chest. She had never faced something like this. She had fought gods, demons, and monsters of all kinds, but this? This was something entirely different.
"Judge me?" Kanami smirked despite the uneasy feeling in her chest. "You're awfully arrogant for a priest. The only one who can judge me today is Luka or the one I strive to best, Wrimbo. You are nothing."
She pressed her foot harder on the ground. The balance in the angel's hand tilted as if to weigh her sins.
Yes, she felt guilty about many things. Yes, she had done horrible things she regretted. But that statue, that being, had no right to judge her.
Because no angel—
Exists for the dragon of the end.
Her entire body crackled with red lightning, arcs of power sparkling and sizzling against the ground. The ethereal light around Relius flickered, his gaze widening in disbelief as he instinctively took a step back.
"You're—" Relius began, but it was already too late.
Kanami had already moved, her blade slicing the angel statue in half before he could even react from her own spot. The wall behind him was split as well as if an invisible blade had cut space itself like butter.
Relius stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape, his mind scrambling to comprehend what had just transpired. The red lightning that surrounded Kanami was a stark contrast to the divine glow of the angelic wings—unforgiving, untamable, and unstoppable.
Like the end itself.
"I said," Kanami growled as she took another step forward. "No one shall stop us."
Her eyes locked with his, fierce and burning. There was no fear, no hesitation. Only fury. Only determination.
Relius's mind scrambled as the truth dawned on him—too late to act, too late to stop it. He finally understood. This timeline had been a mistake. Luka should have never been allowed to leave Tamia alive because it was never he who had the power to break the chains of fate.
It was them. The spawns of Araël. A being outside of reality itself, bowing to no one but the dominant species of its universe. A force that transcended everything, unstoppable, inevitable.
A force that could not be undone, no matter how many twists of time or dimensions were made.
Relius felt the cold weight of his fate. There was nothing he could do. Not now. Not against her.
Kanami's blade, an extension of that raw, unyielding force, pierced through his chest. The world around him seemed to slow in that instant, the burning of the red lightning searing through his very being. His body jerked from the impact, his mouth opening in a final gasp, but it was useless.
The blood pooled at his feet, spilling onto the cold stone floor.
Even if he could have stopped the strike, it would have been futile. In all the timelines where the dragon had awakened… humanity had not survived. He had not survived. And now, in this one, he was fighting someone who had tamed it.
He stood there, motionless, the strike final. And as his vision blurred, he realized it was too late to change anything.
"Truly… shortsighted," he gasped finally before crumpling to the floor.
"You should've trusted Luka, you fool," she sighed, wiping the blood from her blade. "After all…"
Everyone believes in him.
"Where the fuck am I?" Luka yelped as he found himself in the city of Rome in the middle of the day. "Shit, did this priest do something? That bastard…"
"Hohoho… Seems you've landed somewhere you shouldn't have, young man," a familiar voice chimed, cutting through his confusion. He whipped around—
Only to be engulfed by a pair of ample breasts pressing against him.
"How lucky you are to stumble into me, Daji!" The purple-haired fox woman grinned, her grip unrelenting as she hugged him tight.
Luka shoved her off, gasping for breath. "Holy—! You again? Where'd you even come from?"
"Simple," Daji replied, her smirk widening as she snapped open a fan adorned with delicate lotus designs. "After I was flung back to my own world, I decided to track you down, my sweet disciple."
"Okay, you may have the nine tails in you, but you're not my master. Cut it off," Luka deadpanned.
"Oh?" She arched a brow, intrigued. "And how do you know about my tails?"
"Hatman's memories," he muttered. "Anyway, you still haven't explained why you're here."
"Hohoho," Daji laughed, fanning herself with a flourish. "I've come to put an end to your little journey. I'll lend you my aid—on one condition."
"What condition?"
"You'll find out soon enough," she teased, her voice lilting. "For now, do you want my help or not? You haven't even noticed, have you? That priest didn't just displace you—he hurled you into another dimension."
Luka's jaw tightened, his gaze darting around the unfamiliar streets. The chatter in Italian, the scent of baked bread. It all seemed very familiar to the Rome he knew of but…
"Are you sure this is another dimension?"
"Of course," Daji chuckled, spinning his head to face the gates right in front of them. "In your world, the Vatican's barrier was destroyed by the Hatman, no? How about now?"
Luka closed his eyes, his Control spell rippling throughout the city. Indeed, he could feel the barrier again.
"Alright," he said, opening his eyes. "What's your plan?"
"I'll send you back!" Daji beamed, pulling him close again. Her towering frame cast a shadow over him as she grinned down. "In return, I want you to succeed in bringing her back. Then I'll reveal my condition."
"Isn't that… backward?" Luka sighed. "Shouldn't you tell me the condition first?"
"Hohoho," Daji laughed, fanning herself with a sly smirk. "Oh, I'm certain you'll agree. After all, you're my new king now. I carry all your master's memories, and I know what a good boy you are. You'll say yes—I'm sure of it."
"...You think I have a shot at bringing Saki back?"
"Who else does?" Daji smiled softly at him. "Now," she slapped his ass, making him yelp. "Go, dear hero. Bring down the evil Nightlord and save your beloved! After that, you shall have everything in the world!"
"Wait that's—" he protested as the slap on his ass pulled him inside a portal that she closed just after.
"I am sure you will find a way, my disciple."