Lucifer: Godless Reawakening

What was going through Emma's mind? She was currently being targeted by something that carried the suffocating presence of a Devil General.

The students around her were dying. A deep-rooted panic had taken hold of everyone, and Emma was no exception.

She stood in the middle of the area, unmoving, her thoughts scattered. The faint metallic scent of blood lingered in the air. In front of her, she could see Kevin charging at the creature that had come to claim their lives, only to be thrown back again and again, his efforts amounting to nothing.

Outside the gym, a massive golem rampaged, each of its steps shaking the ground beneath it. The teachers were capable, but with Aether thrown out of balance, they were reduced to fragments of their true strength.

All that remained was their experience and physical prowess, and perhaps that alone was the reason they were still alive.

But for how long? After all, it wasn't just the golem. There was someone else orchestrating the ambush.

BOOOM BOOOOM

Explosions thundered one after another, the air trembling with each blast. The world outside flickered between blinding light and suffocating darkness. Some students didn't even get the chance to scream before death claimed them, their voices cut short as if swallowed whole.

It felt as though something unseen was watching, forcing them to remain within its gaze. A single step beyond that invisible boundary meant instant annihilation.

The situation unraveled into chaos, and Emma stood at its center, her fingers twitching faintly as she struggled to gather her thoughts.

"I need to..." She took a slow, steady breath as a voice resonated through her mind, authoritative and familiar.

[It's about time. If not now, we will pay the price.]

A golden glow crept down her neck, warm and searing at once. She heard him clearly. The one who had blessed her was calling.

Emma had to act.

She needed to awaken Kevin before it was too late.

"Hmm?" Zagreus hummed in mild surprise as he swatted Kevin aside with a casual clap. The resulting shockwave tore through the air, violent and sharp, sending the raven-haired boy stumbling across the ground, unable to keep his footing.

The grey-haired devil-human turned, his gaze narrowing at the sudden surge of aether gathering nearby.

Emma hovered in the air. Several magic circles formed beneath her feet, layered, intricate, and humming with controlled power.

Wrapped in an ethereal glow, she looked down at the being who had come to shatter her quiet life.

For a fleeting moment, her thoughts drifted.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what William must be going through. It had only taken her a short while, after learning that the vice-headmaster was a mole, to understand why William had been sent away first for the assessment.

He was an obstacle they didn't want interfering in this ambush.

That's why they isolated him.

A quiet pride bloomed in her chest, warm despite the chaos. Her husband was too much for them to handle, so they crafted an entire scheme just to separate him from her.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

Ahaha... she liked the fear he had carved into their hearts.

Ah, she loved him.

[Focus... Emma. This is important.]

The voice cut through her thoughts again.

Her tongue almost clicked in irritation, but she held herself back.

Two wings unfurled behind her, radiant and vast. The air trembled as her presence deepened, turning oppressive, suffocating for anything that carried Nyx.

Zagreus grinned.

His skin burned, faint wisps of smoke curling from it, his very soul churning under her presence. Yet his body healed just as fast, flesh knitting back together in a grotesque rhythm, making it seem as though he wasn't affected at all.

The purer the Nyx, the heavier the influence.

Emma let out a slow breath, steadying herself as she remained suspended in the air, no longer merely levitating but holding her ground with absolute control.

"As I thought... I should have focused on you first," the inhumane being said, his grin widening, poised to strike at any moment.

Emma didn't flinch nor seemed ready to retaliate.

She was rather preparing.

A spear of light formed in her grasp, its brilliance sharp and piercing, radiance spilling outward like venom to his eyes. The surrounding air shimmered under its intensity.

"Try dodging this."

Zagreus roared, "Come at me! I will show you the power of death!!"

Darkness surged around him in violent waves, thick and suffocating. His presence warped, growing heavier, denser, as if the very air resisted his existence.

His face paled further, eyes sinking into a bottomless abyss as they locked onto her.

That intent was clear.

To swallow her whole.

Emma's wings flared.

A powerful gust erupted outward, whipping through the battlefield as she shot forward, her figure cutting through the air like a streak of light.

Zagreus met her charge head-on. His fists were coated in condensed Nyx, raw and hungry, energy that could drain the life out of a common sorcerer with a single touch.

For a brief, suspended moment, they stared at each other.

The angel descended upon the devil, ready to purge the plague and free the world from its infection.

Zagreus struck.

His fist shot forward just as Emma entered his range, carrying enough force to shatter bone and crush her skull in a single blow.

But then—

CRACK CRUMBLE

Zagreus's eyes widened.

What shattered beneath his strike wasn't her.

It was a replica.

An illusion, layered over a barrier, reflecting the sorceress with flawless precision.

The real Emma had already moved.

She still held the spear of light.

She had attacked.

But Zagreus was not her target.

"Huh?" Zagreus's eyes widened as he turned, only to find the spear buried deep within the apostle who had been lying there, seemingly useless until now.

Emma gritted her teeth, her jaw tightening as she forced more and more aether into him, the glow intensifying with each passing second.

Kevin's eyes welled with tears as his body began to burn and twist. A low, broken gasp escaped him. It felt as though an entire ocean had collapsed onto his body, its crushing weight snapping at his bones, its pressure seeping deeper, wrenching even his soul in unbearable agony.

The light from Emma's spear didn't remain.

It was devoured.

Absorbed completely into him.

And then—

"AHHHHHHH!"

A scream tore through the air.

Not just pain.

Change.

His body convulsed, veins lighting up beneath his skin as something surged awake from within. The very air around him warped, trembling as if rejecting what he was becoming.

A transformation.

Emma exhaled softly, her chest rising and falling.

She had finally awakened the true protagonist within Kevin.

.....

"Mm..." William groaned, a dull ache spreading through his body as he slowly opened his eyes.

White.

Endless white stretched in every direction. It felt suffocating rather than peaceful. The space was empty, save for a bloodied figure levitating beside him, unmoving.

He pushed himself up slightly, his vision unsteady, and looked ahead.

A wide projection hung before him.

There he was.

Encased within his telekinetic barrier, its surface trembling under relentless assault. Ranked Devils surrounded him, striking from all sides without pause.

Elemental attacks crashed against the shield in bursts of heat and frost. Mental assaults pressed inward, unseen but suffocating. Physical blows hammered against it, each impact sending ripples across its surface.

Everything they had.

All of it was being thrown at him.

William stared at the scene, his gaze heavy and dazed.

"Did... I lose?" he asked quietly, his voice echoing faintly in the hollow white space, directed at no one in particular.

Lamb calmly responded, "Not really... you just lost consciousness."

William let out a quiet huff and tried to push himself up. The moment he did, his legs trembled beneath him, weak and wobbly, and he collapsed back down, the weight of his own body too much to bear.

He had killed three ranked Devils.

Five still remained.

The battle had stripped him of everything. His experience, his careful experiments with his powers, every ounce of strength he could muster. It had all been poured out, piece by piece, until nothing was left but exhaustion clawing at his bones.

And yet, they hadn't stopped.

They kept coming.

Relentless.

Unyielding.

They proved, with every strike, why they carried that title.

A rank.

"Tch... why am I so weak?" William muttered, frustration tightening his voice, his fingers curling faintly against the empty ground.

He couldn't finish it.

He couldn't end this and return to Emma.

A sharp unease settled in his chest.

He knew.

This wasn't meant to kill him.

It went beyond that.

He didn't know how, but he could feel it, like a distant pull tugging at his instincts.

And under such circumstances...

He lay there, useless, his breathing uneven, waiting while his enemies still stood out there.

Waiting for death to reach him.

Just then, a hand was extended towards him. A deal...made by a devil.

"What do you say? Want me to take care of things for you?"

William turned...Lamb stood there. And for the first time, he saw the creature smiling.

Fuck...this looked suspicious as hell.

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Ngl, I didn't intend to add that last line but William's personality is like that XD.

Anyway, thanks for reading.