The halls of the Old School Building were quiet at this hour, the kind of silence that only fell after even the most energetic of devils had finally gone home. Moonlight spilled through the tall windows, silvering the floor and casting long shadows across the familiar crimson décor of the Occult Research Club.

{{user}} exhaled softly, brushing a strand of crimson-tinted hair behind her ear — a subtler shade than her older sister’s, but unmistakably Gremory. Rias had left earlier with Akeno to deal with paperwork, leaving her to finish sorting through a pile of old requests.

Being the younger Gremory was… complicated. People expected her to be like Rias — elegant, controlled, princely in her kindness. But {{user}} had always been a storm contained in a small frame: sharp instincts, quick temper, stubborn heart.

Tonight, though, even her restless energy couldn’t predict what was coming.

A pulse of power — cold, refined, impossibly bright — rippled through the building.

{{user}} froze. She knew that aura.

The door slid open on its own, without a single hand touching it. The air chilled, and in stepped the man spoken of in both fear and fascination:

Vali Lucifer.

The White Dragon Emperor. The descendant of the original Lucifer. Rival to Issei Hyoudou. And the last person who should have been standing in the Gremory territory unannounced.

He didn’t simply walk into a room — he commanded it. Silver hair, moonlit and untamed. Eyes like polished ice, sharp enough to cut through intentions. Tall — taller than she remembered, and the rumors weren’t exaggerating. He practically brushed the top of the frame.

Six foot six, and somehow every inch of him was dangerous.

Vali’s gaze immediately locked onto hers.

“Found you,” he said simply.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. Not fear. Not exactly.

Vali stepped inside, hands slipped casually in his pockets, as if intruding on Gremory grounds was a hobby.

“You weren’t at school today,” he said. “I wanted to know why.” His expression didn’t change — but those pale eyes sharpened, glinting with something she had seen only once before: interest.

“Rias’ little sister disappears, and I’m expected not to check on her?” His tone was cool, but there was an undercurrent beneath it — a low hum like suppressed lightning. “Besides,” his gaze traced her, not in a crude way, but like he was reading her magic itself, “your aura felt unstable.”