Chereads / Of Alliances And Assimilation / Chapter 32 - VI-4: The Underworld Reformation Faction, Part 4

Chapter 32 - VI-4: The Underworld Reformation Faction, Part 4

Lilith adjusted the position of her tails, and how her legs wrapped around Raylix slightly, shifting herself down a little. Pushed up between Raylix and the wall by her bedroom door like she was, she didn't have much room to manoeuvre herself, and let out a soft moan as she felt Raylix's cock go that little bit deeper inside her. Looking down, she allowed herself a small smile as she saw Raylix lean down, sucking on one of her tits like a baby as he thrust in and out of her like an overenergized madman.

It was kind of cute, and somewhat funny, seeing him souped-up on her milk like this. And it wasn't like she was in any real discomfort, she could EASILY overpower him and wrest back control if need be… but she had so many other ideas cooked up in her head for what she and Raylix could do together tonight, and she had a feeling forcing back control would mess with the mood that she'd worked so hard to curate between the pair of them. And she WAS enjoying getting screwed hard and fast… to a degree.

She didn't NOT like it, consensual big dick in her was still consensual big dick in her, she just preferred being in control of her own pleasure was all. But if she was giving Raylix the so-called chance to fully take control…

"That all you can do, big boy?" Lilith asked, as Raylix pulled his mouth back from the tit he'd been latched onto earlier. A thread of mixed saliva and tit-milk connected his mouth and her nipple for half a second before it broke, and Raylix, who had some drops of her milk around his lips, could only let out a mixture between a moan and a growl by way of reply. His hands- which had been at Lilith's back before now- snaked down to her ass, as he adjusted his grip on her against the wall and redoubled his thrusting efforts, letting out rhythmic grunts as he did so.

"That's it, stick it right up in- ooh, good boy~"

Lilith threw back her head, letting out a low moan as she felt Raylix's tongue travelling an extra half inch further into her pussy than he'd been going before. After a couple of seconds, though, Lilith noticed Raylix tapping on the bed beside her with one hand and lifted herself off of him for a couple of seconds to allow him a couple of breaths before lowering herself back onto him. Another couple of seconds passed before she felt that same tongue sliding back in-between her lower-lips, and beginning to move up and down, to the top nearer her clit down to the bottom nearer her butthole and back again.

Sighing in pleasure, Lilith began to slowly rock her hips back and forth herself, grinding herself atop Raylix's face and moaning all the while. Mentally smirking as another idea formed in her head, she reached down to Raylix's chest and began tracing her thumbs around his perked-up nipples, immediately causing the auburn-haired Devil to visibly shudder beneath her. She upped the ante still further after a moment of massaging the sensitive areas by taking them both in-between her thumb and index fingers, lightly squeezing and pulling on them rather than just rubbing.

Raylix let out what sounded like a muffled squeal of mixed surprise and pleasure from below, his tongue momentarily seizing up inside Lilith's pussy before he continued his motion with it inside her. Lilith could only let out a small laugh at the sound, under the moan of pleasure at her lover's vigour. She actually hadn't been totally sure if he even knew how to eat a girl out, before tonight: as the Gremory Clan's Heir, in a position of power over damn near every woman he could possibly sexually encounter, and knowing he hadn't had sex with anyone AT ALL since leaving said Clan, she'd been wondering if he'd ever done anything like this.

Good to know, at least, that he had at least SOME skill in this particular area.

"Haah… Ahh~! Ohh… shit, shit, shit!"

It was harder than Lilith thought it'd be to openly giggle at the sight of Raylix squirming, the sounds he was making… but who could blame her? Six of her seven tails wrapped around his body to keep him in the desired position, a seventh wrapped tightly around the base of his cock like a makeshift ring, one hand also clenched on his cock and mercilessly pumping up and down, the other a little bit further down at his ass.

Her middle and index fingers were lubed up, thanks to a slight variation on a simple water-spell, and rammed themselves up Raylix's tight asshole while massaging his prostate at the same merciless speed as she was pumping his tied-up dick, giving him quite the intense bout of pleasure. Lilith was pretty sure that he would have climaxed at least three more times by now, had she not got her tail wrapped around the base of his cock to prevent exactly that from happening.

"I know you want to cum, Raylix…" she shifted over and whispered, directly into Raylix's ear. "You want your fifteenth release so… so badly, but you're going to have to earn it. You shouldn't have a problem with begging- maybe even praying- for your Goddess to let you cum, right?"

It was so… no, it had gone beyond cute at this point, it was straight-up HOT to watch Raylix squirming in her grasp like this, clearly wanting more than anything to let out what was probably going to be a bucketful of cum, but too prideful to beg. Whatever he was feeling beneath her, it was clearly extremely intense: his breaths were coming out at a feverish pace, his body was practically thrashing back and forth even when tied up like he was, and Lilith spied tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Eyes that flicked over to Lilith and stared up at her for a few seconds, before Raylix opened his mouth. Lilith smirked and leaned down slightly, she couldn't wait to hear this.

Lilith let out a half-gasp as she felt herself pulled upward slightly, as Raylix adjusted his grip on her horns and continued to thrust deep, hard and fast into her. The very tips of her gigantic breasts brushed against the bedsheets, which had long-since been drenched in sweat, female fluids, cum and a bit of saliva, with every time Raylix's hips slammed against her from behind.

Letting out a small moan as she felt Raylix's balls slapping in a particular way against her clit, Lilith resisted the urge to yawn… at which point, when she glanced over at the clock on her bedside table, that she and Raylix had been at it the whole night, and it was almost morning. She'd been half-joking seven-and-a-half hours ago, but she'd really surprised herself with how far she'd been able to go, and how eager Raylix was to keep going. Though the fact that she'd had to top him up every now and again with another couple of mouthfuls of her milk had definitely had something to do with that, it was still a minor miracle that his body hadn't simply given out on him and crashed at any point before now.

A sharp smacking sound, and a light stinging sensation on one of her ass-cheeks brought Lilith from her thoughts. Turning her head around to look behind her as best she could, she saw Raylix continuing to thrust in and out of her with as much force and speed as someone who'd been getting constantly screwed by (and occasionally screwing) his sexual superior for more than a quarter of a whole day with no breaks possibly could, under the circumstances. The look on his face painted a picture of someone who was barely conscious, continuing on the last embers of energy granted by the last batch of Succubus tit-milk he'd received from her, but he was clearly still conscious enough to raise his hand and smack her huge ass again as he thrust, causing it to ripple in reaction to his strike.

Lilith let out a small giggle at the sight and sensation, winking at Raylix before turning back around and adjusting how she rested on her elbows slightly, giving Raylix an easier time of keeping up his hard and fast thrusts, and feeling his hands returning to her horns that he'd been using as handlebars for the past several minutes. She totally got why any lusty male Devil would use a Succubus' horns in this way while doing them doggystyle: it was a popular enough position, and she couldn't deny how useful said horns were for-

"Ahhh~ haaaaaa~!"

A loud moan, from behind her, interrupted her thoughts once again, followed almost immediately by… well, it was less a forceful torrent of cum this time around, let alone the firehose-like spurt that had come out when Lilith had had a go at Raylix's prostate, more a moderate splatter. Though Raylix had came in and on her and the bed so much, Lilith thought, that even with her milk and magic to help him out, he was bound to run dry sooner or later.

She felt Raylix's cock exiting her with a light squelching sound, followed immediately by her overflowing pussy beginning to ooze his cum out of it and onto the bed below, and the sound of something heavy landing on the bed behind her with a soft thud. Blinking before turning around, Lilith's eyes widened slightly when she saw Raylix lying on his back on the bed: his entire body flushed red, his eyes half-shut and glassed over, and his breaths slowing down to a more normal pace.

He was unconscious. He'd literally screwed himself into a stupor.

Lilith had opened her mouth, to say… something, she wasn't quite sure of what. Probably some kind of remark to remind Raylix that out of his attempts throughout the night to establish SOME kind of dominance in the bedroom with her, the amount of success he'd achieved on that front hovered around zero… but that remark died in her throat when she realised that he was too unconscious to possibly hear it.

Her attention left Raylix when she heard the door opening, and a voice wafting in.

"Mother?" Hikari's voice sounded before the silverette herself stepped inside. "Tamamo's making breakfast, did you want-"

It was at that moment when Hikari noticed the state of Lilith's bed… and the two people on it. Her crimson eyes widened, and one of them twitched as she stopped in her verbal tracks, taking in the sight before her for a couple of seconds.

"Morning, Hikari." Lilith replied, as if her adoptive daughter HADN'T just walked in on the aftermath of her in bed naked with Raylix. "I'll have some French toast, if it's not too much trouble for Tamamo. In about half an hour, though, I've just got some stuff to sort out up here."

"Oh… okay…" Hikari replied, her voice a couple of octaves higher than half a minute ago, before she walked backwards, slowly retreating from the room.

"Could you get Adam to come up here and change the sheets, too?" Lilith called out, before Hikari shut the door behind her. "Thanks, Hikari!"

Letting out a giggle, Lilith returned her attention to Raylix before letting out a breath. Well, the proverbial cat was out of the bag now… oh well, she'd deal with that in a bit, she figured as she slid off her bed, before strolling over and bodily picking the unconscious Raylix up with one arm. Holding him against her naked body, she moved over to the door to her ensuite bathroom, opening the door with her free hand and heading inside, Raylix still flopped against her chest. Immediately upon entering the bathroom, she pointed at the bath- which was built into the floor and looked more like a pool than a bath- with her free hand, which began to quickly fill with water.

When enough of it was in, and still holding onto Raylix the entire time, she elected to levitate herself and him into the water, and rest against the side as the bath filled up around them. Letting out a satisfied sigh as she felt the adrenaline of the night's activities finally beginning to melt away, Lilith looked over at Raylix and let out another giggle. Her lover looked so cute, sleeping in the pool/tub like he was… though maybe after the night that had just passed, it might be accurate to call him something else.

Boyfriend, at least? Maybe something further? Fiancé? Skip all the preamble and jump straight to husband?

Probably something to talk about when Raylix was actually conscious.

Line Break

Raylix didn't recognise the smell that he registered immediately entering his nostrils as he felt himself gently pulled from unconsciousness. Not at first, at least: he knew it was a pleasant smell, made him want to sink even further into the pillows his head was already resting on and go back to sleep, he idly registered that. Though as his mind transferred from the state it was usually in when Raylix was asleep to its full working condition when he was awake, a few more things began to register.

Firstly, that the pillow he was resting his head on… it seemed softer than the ones he had on his bed in his room. Not by much, because the pillows in his room were already soft enough, but…

Now that he thought about it, the pleasant smell he could feel wafting in his nostrils… he didn't remember that smell being present in his room. As his eyes steadily made their way open, and vision slowly returned to him, a few things began to come a little clearer. Namely that he was, as initially suspected, not in his room. Or in his bed: the one he was lying in was even larger and grander than the one in his room. Easily large enough to fit at least four people quite comfortably, and with sheets so warm and comfortable that part of Raylix just wanted to sink right back into them and go back to sleep.

Pulling himself up, Raylix couldn't stop himself from wincing slightly as he felt a dull pain in his torso. Feeling a little more awakened, he blinked a couple of times and looked around the room, his eyes flicking from the half-shut curtains in front of the window, to the vanity right across from the bed he was currently sitting in, to the wall-to-ceiling bookshelves. All pristine, all extravagant and impressive, all… not his, but still familiar.

And then it clicked. This was Lilith's bedroom. He was sitting in Lilith's bed. He had been SLEEPING in Lilith's bed.

Oh, and he was naked, but that registered a little less in his mind than the previous three facts. And that was to say nothing of the memories that came with the realisation that he was in Lilith's room. What had happened yesterday, and the night before between him and Lilith…

He almost doubted that that had even happened, ignoring the boner that immediately (and slightly painfully) began to form beneath the sheets. No way Lilith- THE Lilith- had… kissed him, crawled all over him, sucked him off, ridden him, smothered him with her indescribably perfect body, just overall DOMINATED him for multiple hours on end. All those feelings, those climaxes upon climaxes, the positions they'd done it (or more accurately, she'd done him) in… that all had to be some incredibly vivid dream. And that wasn't even getting into the memories that she'd planted in his mind when she supposedly kissed him the first time.

But if that was the case, just what the hell was he doing in Lilith's bedroom, in her bed, butt-ass naked? And why did his torso and hard-on hurt like they often did after an entire night of nothing but lust and debauchery?

Leaning forward, ignoring the twinge of pain that his torso sent his brain's way as a form of protest, and resting his head in his hands, Raylix took a couple of breaths. The talk that he and Lilith had had, back in the training arena, which had definitely happened. He remembered that, he remembered what he'd said, he remembered… openly crying in front of the woman he'd had a crush on for centuries.

Followed by Lilith smacking the shit out of him and giving him the biggest dressing-down he'd ever received in his entire life. One that, after he'd returned to his room to think on it, he'd come to the realisation that she was absolutely right in giving him. Every single thing she'd said, every single conclusion she'd came to about him, had been completely accurate.

But then, hours later, Lilith had come to his room to follow up on their conversation and tell him about her own past. Then they… they…

The door to Lilith's bedroom was pushed open, immediately attracting Raylix's attention along with a pleasant smell wafting in, that he didn't immediately recognise. Looking up at the door, his breath hitched slightly when he saw someone- a very, VERY familiar someone- stepping into the room, carrying a plate with some kind of chicken and pasta meal on it.

She looked across the room before her crimson eyes locked with Raylix's blue, and made her way over to him, transferring the plate from her hands to a couple of her tails once she got close enough to the bed, and laying the plate down in Raylix's lap as she sat down on its edge.

"I'm gonna be honest, I thought you'd be out for a bit longer." She remarked, by way of greeting. "With how drained you were come morning, I wouldn't have been surprised if you were out for days."

Snapping her fingers, she procured a knife and fork from nowhere that she handed over to Raylix, which he immediately used to tuck into the meal she'd given him.

"How long HAVE I been out?" Raylix asked, through the first mouthful of food before swallowing.

"About ten hours." Lilith replied. "Tamamo just made that for everyone just now, so I had her save a portion for you… they all know, by the way."

"They all…?!"

Raylix almost choked on his second mouthful of food, but managed to hold himself together before swallowing it down.

"So, we… we really…" he trailed off, prompting Lilith to let out a giggle.

"We sure did." She replied, shifting herself slightly closer to Raylix before leaning in closer, her mouth centimetres from his ear and her breath warm against his skin. "Not just another of your wet dreams, Raylix. We really did it."

Raylix felt his cheeks flushing again, a shiver passing through his entire body, as Lilith pulled back and gestured for him to keep eating, which he did.

"Hikari walked in on the pair of us after you fell out of me." Lilith remarked. "After that, I assume she told everyone… or Kurumi got it out of her, and SHE told everyone. Either way, they all know."

Raylix didn't reply immediately, swallowing another mouthful of his meal and forming another with his cutlery before looking up at Lilith.

"Guess that's one way to prevent a competition over who gets to jump me first." He remarked. "Win it before it even happens."

"Yup." Lilith nodded, shifting more securely onto the bed and lying beside Raylix, before reaching over and gently cupping his chin in one hand, tilting it to face her. "But last night, and this morning, was only the first step."

"First step?" Raylix repeated, his eyes narrowing slightly as he chewed on and swallowed his most recent mouthful. "What do you… oh, yeah."

"Yeah." Lilith remarked, leaning back slightly, taking her hand off of his chin. "The others. You're going to have to face them, Raylix. I might know you better now, after the talk we had yesterday, but the others… they're still in the dark. They deserve to know what's been going on with you, why you've been the way you've been, and a look at the real you. An apology probably wouldn't go amiss either, don't you think?"

Raylix, who had been raising the next forkful of food to his mouth, paused for a second as he considered Lilith's words. Up until yesterday, the thoughts of how his behaviour affected the others would never have even crossed his mind. But after yesterday…

"Think of it as the first part of your new relationships with them." Lilith remarked. "Like we talked about yesterday." Though her voice was soft, there was still a tint of seriousness behind them as she looked him up and down. "Unless you'd rather not?"

"No! I'm still for it." Raylix quickly replied, shaking his head immediately. "I'm not about to forget everything you told me in a hurry. Not when you were just… totally right about me."

"Totally right about the OLD you." Lilith replied, nodding. "The new you, the real you… well, I guess it's time to start learning what he's truly like. But after the night we shared, I definitely like him so far."

The hand that had cupped Raylix's cheek before took it again, before gently pulling him in for another kiss, one far gentler than most of the ones that he and Lilith had shared last night. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but was no less electrifying than the other kisses they'd had, before Lilith pulled back, and stood up.

"I grabbed some new clothes for you, they're on the chair over there." She remarked, waving a hand and summoning a fresh t-shirt, pair of pants, socks and shoes to the chair of her vanity, opposite to the bed. "In the meantime, though, finish your meal. You're probably starving after how drained you were."

Raylix just then realised the pangs in his stomach that cried out for more sustenance, and immediately doubled his pace in shovelling the chicken pasta bake into his mouth. Giggling at the sight, Lilith turned and made for the door she'd just came through, leaving through it and shutting it behind her without looking back. It didn't take him long to finish the rest of the meal after that, though it didn't do much to sate the hunger-pangs… though that in itself didn't surprise him too much: he'd probably have to eat for a week straight to fully regain all the energy he'd spent, with how hard he and Lilith had gone at it last night.

Putting the now-empty plate and cutlery to one side, Raylix got out of bed and, ignoring his body's aches of protest, made his way over to the chair that Lilith had laid out the clothes for him on, and slipped into them before making as Lilith had done, and leaving her bedroom. Stretching as he shut the door to her room behind him, he made his way down the flights of stairs that took him from the top floor of the URF's compound all the way down to the ground floor. It hadn't taken him THAT long to make his way through the food Tamamo had made, so if everyone was gonna be somewhere…

He heard voices coming from behind an open door, and made his way towards said door. Pushing it open, Raylix stepped inside the URF leaders' compound's grand lounge: a room as imposing as it was impressive, just like damn near every room in the entire compound. It was a massive lounge, larger even than the main lounge back at the Gremory Castle: multiple intricate chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, casting a warm light over the room. Three of the four walls were lined with fine art, some apparently from Lilith's personal storage, and richly detailed tapestries depicting battles from centuries gone by, and the floor was covered in a thick, dark, plush carpet that muffled his footsteps. Had he not been wearing shoes, it would doubtlessly feel amazing against his bare feet.

The lounge was furnished with large and luxurious sofas and armchairs, arranged around each other in small circles that encouraged conversation, and yet enabled multiple conversations to go on at once thanks to the room's sheer size. The wall not adorned with art or tapestries featured a large, ornate fireplace that crackled softly on one end, the end closest to the door that Raylix had just come through, and the other side featuring an AgareScreen-II that was currently turned off.

Irene, Cinder, Esdeath, Tamamo, Katerea, Hikari and Kurumi were all sat around in the room, Cinder lowering her hand at the fire that was currently going. All of them looked up as they heard/saw the door being pushed open, their expressions forming into a mixture of curiosity, concern, and something else Raylix couldn't quite place when he entered the room.

"Raylix." Irene remarked, by way of greeting. "Nice to see you outside the training arena."

Raylix let out a dry chuckle by way of response, as Kurumi shifted herself slightly on her side of the couch that she was presently sharing with Hikari.

"Mom told us just now that you had something to tell all of us." She remarked. "We figured we'd gather here, so you could say it to all of us at once?"

"Good idea." Raylix nodded. "And yeah…"

His mouth remained open, but no sound came out of it. A lump had formed in his throat, one that slowly disappeared as he forced himself to swallow, and take a deep breath. "Yeah, I do."

He took a further step into the room, running his teeth nervously across his lower lip as his eyes flicked to each of the women sat before him, meeting their gazes.

"I… I wanted to apologize." Raylix spoke, after a couple of seconds. "Ever since I met all of you recently, I've been… closed off, more distant than I should've been. Downright cold, or inconsiderate of the feelings you've shown and expressed towards me. I know that's probably hurt some of you-" his eyes flicked in Tamamo's direction, in Kurumi's, in Irene's, before he closed them. "And for that, I'm truly sorry."

Raylix's words were met with silence, as the seven women all shared looks with each other. Thankfully, none spoke up, allowing Raylix to continue.

"Before I joined what's now the URF," he spoke. "I was the Heir of the Gremory Clan- you all probably know that- but before even that, I had two best friends, Sabemka and Tomosei. They were more noble than I could ever hope to be, not to mention the best friends a Devil could ask for. We… I loved them."

Raylix's breath caught in his throat slightly as he spoke those last three words, but he ploughed on.

"But that all suddenly ended, when during a gathering of nobles that announced my engagement to Ruvella, the Heiress of the Phenex Clan, to the entire Underworld… they were both killed, in an attack by Fallen Angels. I bet that attack was just a blip to some, on a night of celebration and joy, but for me, it was the worst night of my entire life."

Raylix heard Kurumi remarking "Yeah, I bet." under her breath, with that being the only voice to cut through the silence left when he momentarily paused. As she didn't seem to have anything else to say, he continued.

"I was… I was just shattered." He recounted. "I felt like I'd lost a part of me, and the way the other nobles reacted… like their lives didn't matter in spite of all they'd done for the Underworld… that certainly didn't help. I mean, it sure helped me start hating the demonic nobility, and drove me to the point that I chose to leave the Gremory Clan and join the then-True Satan Faction in the first place."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Katerea's eyes widening slightly, but no other reaction from her. As Raylix paused, gathering his thoughts and taking a breath.

"But since then, until… I guess still now, I've been depressed." He spoke. "Badly so. Scared, too, of getting close to anyone else, of losing anyone else like I lost them. If I kept everyone at a distance, I thought I'd never have to risk going through what I've been through again."

Letting out a breath, Raylix scanned the room, noting the looks on all the women's faces. Varying degrees of empathy, understanding, concern. At least none of them were yelling at him or slapping him like Lilith had done.

"But that's not an excuse, I know it's not." He continued. "I'm not trying to make excuses for how I've acted, or what I've done with- to you. Only try and explain the old me." He took another deep breath, his heart beginning to pound harder and harder and faster and faster, but still remaining calm. "But that's the end of him. It might be too late, but I've been shown the error of my ways, and I'm ready to open up more than I have been in the past. Even if it means risking the same loss as years ago, I want to let you all in, and at least try having relationships of… of some kind, with all of you. If you'll have them with me."

The room fell silent again, with the only sound being the soft crackling of the fire in the corner of the room. The women in the room exchanged looks with each other once again, their expressions becoming far less readable as silent conversation was had. After a moment or two, and with a small nod, Irene stood up.

Brushing some strands of hair out of her face, she strode over to Raylix, her expression just as unreadable. She quickly weaved between the chairs and couches to make her way over to where Raylix was stood. With every step she took towards him, Raylix's mind suddenly began to race, anticipating another dressing-down coming his way like the one Lilith had given him yesterday, or worse a rejection of his confession and an announcement that she, and all the other women (well, not quite all. Hikari and Kurumi were still loyal to Lilith over him, so they'd be sticking around no matter what) were done with him.

Then- once Irene was directly in front of him- came another slap from her, on the same cheek that Lilith had smacked him on. The sound of it echoed throughout the quiet room, though it definitely didn't hurt as much as Lilith's had done. Which made sense, Raylix vaguely thought, Irene was only human in comparison to Lilith, a being with God-Class strength.

"To make it clear? For how you acted until now, I do feel angry at you." Irene stated as she gave a look that was a mix between a glare and a deadpan stare with traces of subtle anger sprinkled on top.

Before any other thought could form in his mind regarding what he'd just received, however, Irene leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, thrusting her head forward and claiming his lips in a deep, fervent kiss.

Definitely better than a rejection, Raylix thought over the half-second it took him to register the fact that Irene was kissing him, returning the kiss for the remaining two-or-so seconds before she pulled back, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her eyes had also visibly softened, affection damn clear in them as she let out a breath.

"But, if you make sure to walk ahead, and make up for your past actions? I'll have you, Raylix." Irene remarked, her voice steady and sincere as she released the Devil from her embrace and sat back down, as if nothing had just happened. Her sentiment was echoed by the other women sat around, some through nods, others through gentle smiles and encouraging words, Kurumi even let out a "Hear, hear!", which got light laughs out of everyone in the room.

Relieved beyond words at how this had gone just about the best way he could have figured it would go, Raylix noticed Tamamo shifting a little further up the couch she was sat on while looking over at him. The gesture clear, he moved over to said couch and took the seat Tamamo had semi-offered him, relaxing on the comfortable seat as Tamamo leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. When he lifted his hand up and ran it through her pink hair and orange fox-ears, he resisted the urge to chuckle as the kitsune visibly shuddered and let out a small squee-like sound.

"I'm actually curious, Raylix." Kurumi remarked, shifting herself slightly in her seat as she looked over at him. "You mentioned how you'd had your old friends- Sabemka and Tomosei, right?- before you became Gremory Clan Heir… so how did you end up meeting them? Was it during one of the wars, or something like that?"

"Yeah." Raylix replied, nodding as he shifted himself to face Kurumi, and all the other women seemed to lean in slightly. "That's a hell of a story in and of itself…"

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And so it ends, for now. BY FAR the longest chapter of this story, maybe even the longest chapter of any DxD fic PERIOD, comes to a close.

Can anyone ACTUALLY name a longer single chapter of a DxD fic than this? Not trying to get bragging rights or anything, I'm just genuinely curious at this point. I feel like I've got a right to be after a chapter that VERY NEARLY cracked 40k words (discounting A/Ns), yeah?

Anyway, I feel like after that... to be honest, I don't know if what I just uploaded/you all just got to the end of can even be called a chapter. That MONSTER, I should talk about a few points to make sure there isn't any confusion: First and most simply, if anyone was left doubting that Lilith was gonna be the lead member of Raylix's harem... well, I guess the back third of this monster's put those doubts to bed. And for anyone who thought Raylix wasn't gonna have a harem and that he'd only be with Lilith in a single-pairing... well, maybe in another life. Not this one, unfortunately, but I still hope you're open to where I end up taking things from here. Definitely gonna try and make Raylix and Lilith the best couple they can be, as far as my own fics are concerned.

Next on the list, the URF. I don't want to see anyone thinking that this new faction is gonna be just the Old/True Satan Faction 2.0, or even 1.1. This is an entirely new faction, under pretty much-entirely new leadership. Just HOW the faction will prove to be entirely new wasn't the focus of this 25th chapter, and we've (as in both the absolute fucking LEGEND I've worked on this chapter with, and yours truly) decided it'll be best to hold that back until the coming chapters that wind down this first saga, and prep for the next.

And speaking of the next saga, that's where the canon events of DxD and the story so far will meet, and all the changes made as a result of this fic having gone the way that it's gone so far will start having REAL, RECOGNISABLE effects, as we start the long trek towards that fateful encounter at the start of Chapter 1. Shit, it seemed like a lifetime ago when I first started this behemoth of a fic, didn't it?

Throughout which, as well as the rest of it... if you haven't caught on already, it's gonna feature a bit more moral greyness from the leading man and his leading lady. Definitely darker than what I've done with Roxas in Nephalem, and what I TRIED to do with the little shit that will not be named in that one fic that will not be named. But not quite as dark as the main OC of the NEXT DxD fic I've got planning AFTER this.

Not saying it'll be coming anytime soon, God no, it's barely in the planning stage right now, but when I come out with my next (potentially final) DxD fic, unlike with Roxas being a hero and Raylix and Lilith being... morally gray, the main OC will 100% be a Villain Protagonist.

And coming to the end of my little spiel, speaking of Raylix and Lilith: if you're curious about the time they lost their respective virginities to each other, you can read about just that in the first instalment of the Lemon Series of Of Alliances & Assimilation, which is out... *checks watch* right now!

And if anyone's managed to make it through this monster-chapter... well first of all, well done. Second of all, I really hope you enjoyed it. I also hope that you've got it in you all to leave reviews, drop me a PM, look me up on Discord (my name's on my profile) or join my Discord server (link to join that is also on my profile. Just paste it into a browser and take out the spaces). Any of those methods works just fine for me!

Seeya!