Lucifer led them out of the manor without offering any explanation.
The shift in their behavior outside was immediate. Gabriel let out a breath he had been holding, rolling his shoulders as if something heavy had finally been taken off them, while Daniel's posture loosened slightly, though he still glanced back once toward the manor before forcing himself to stop.
Inside, Amelia's open disgust had made staying longer than necessary irritating, and Evelyn's quiet authority had turned even simple conversation into something stiff and inconvenient. Out here, the air felt easier to breathe. The marble pathways curved through the garden before leading toward a smaller structure set slightly apart from the main estate.
It wasn't an official building. Lucifer had ordered its construction years ago, back when they had decided they needed a place of their own. A hideout for their secret meetings of the Holy Trinity of Justice.
At the time, it had felt important, like a private headquarters for their so called meetings, far enough from supervision to make noise without consequence.
Nothing about it had changed.
Gabriel rolled his shoulders again as they walked, still looking more tense than usual, while Daniel glanced back once more toward the manor before finally forcing himself to stop.
Lucifer noticed but didn't comment immediately. He let them walk a few more steps before speaking in a tone that didn't quite match the tension they were carrying.
"Relax," he said. "She won't come after you."
After a moment, he added, "Probably."
Gabriel let out a quiet breath that didn't quite turn into a laugh. "She doesn't need to."
Lucifer smirked faintly but didn't press the point further. He continued toward the outer house until they reached the shaded edge near its entrance. Only then did he stop and turn to face them properly, slipping his hands into his pockets as if the conversation was something casual rather than deliberate.
"So," he said, as though picking up from an earlier discussion, "you two must've heard."
Gabriel frowned, clearly unsure where this was going. "Heard what?"
Lucifer straightened slightly, not enough to be obvious, but enough that his next words carried more weight.
"About my academy admission and some other minor things. I awakened some time ago. You know, the usual stuff. And my bloodline also activated at the same time."
He paused just long enough to let that settle, then added with a faint, deliberate emphasis,
"I am now a natural E rank warrior."
That part he let sit between them.
"It happened faster than expected," he continued, his tone easing into something more conversational. "Once my Origin stabilized, everything else followed naturally. The bloodline activation didn't take long after that, and pushing through the early stages wasn't difficult once the foundation aligned properly."
He watched their reactions carefully, then continued when neither interrupted.
"Most people get stuck because something doesn't line up. Once it does, progress becomes straightforward. I'm already stable at E rank, so the Academy wasn't really an issue."
Gabriel blinked once, clearly processing.
Daniel remained silent, his attention sharper now.
Lucifer leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough to make it feel like he was sharing something important.
"At this level, the difference becomes obvious. Control improves, output becomes consistent, and you don't waste energy forcing things anymore. Compared to F rank, it's not even close."
He straightened again, the faint smirk returning.
"Well?"
He looked between them.
"Impressed?"
They didn't answer immediately.
They were looking at him, but not in the way he expected. There was no surprise, no reaction that matched what he had just said, just a quiet kind of observation that stretched the moment longer than it should have.
Lucifer's expression shifted slightly.
"…What?"
Gabriel scratched his cheek, clearly unsure how to respond. "You really haven't heard anything, have you?"
Lucifer frowned. "Heard what?"
Daniel answered this time, his tone steady.
"Rumors."
Lucifer folded his arms loosely. "About?"
Gabriel spoke more directly. "About you being sent to the Academy as punishment."
Lucifer's brow creased slightly, not out of shock but irritation.
Daniel continued, choosing his words carefully. "Some say the Celestials were involved. That something happened and instead of making it public, you're being sent away to fix it."
Gabriel added, "Others think Valcrest is just trying to keep things quiet. That this is controlled damage."
Lucifer stared at them for a moment before letting out a quiet breath, the tension shifting into annoyance.
"People really have too much time."
Daniel gave a small shrug. "They always do."
Lucifer dismissed it with a slight motion of his hand.
"It doesn't change anything."
He shifted his stance slightly, his tone settling again.
"I'm still E rank."
This time, the emphasis came naturally.
Gabriel and Daniel exchanged a brief glance that Lucifer didn't notice.
"And you two?" Lucifer asked.
Gabriel answered without hesitation. "Around late F rank."
Daniel followed just as smoothly. "Me too. I had a recent breakthrough."
Lucifer paused for a moment, then nodded, the earlier tension easing.
"That makes sense."
He leaned back slightly, his confidence settling again.
"There's a gap once you cross over. Late F can feel close, but it isn't. E rank changes how everything flows. You'll notice it when you get there."
Gabriel nodded slowly.
Daniel didn't respond, but his gaze remained steady.
Lucifer continued, more relaxed now.
"Don't rush it. If your base isn't right, you'll just end up fixing it later anyway."
Neither of them argued.
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, but it lingered just long enough to feel incomplete.
Lucifer frowned faintly, then turned toward the outer house.
"Come."
Inside, the space felt exactly as it had been left.
Dust hung in the air where sunlight cut through the windows. The old wooden table still stood in the center, its surface marked with scratches that hadn't been touched in years. The walls carried faint carvings from their earlier days, small things that once felt important and now barely registered.
Lucifer moved without hesitation, opening the cabinet as if he already knew what was inside. He pulled out two empty pouches and tossed one to each of them. While they were looking around, he took out origin stones from his storage and filled the pouches.
They opened them.
The reaction was immediate.
"…Fifteen top tier origin crystals?" Gabriel said under his breath.
Daniel's expression sharpened. "These aren't something you just hand out. Where did you even get these?"
Lucifer leaned back against the wall.
"Then don't treat them like something casual."
Gabriel immediately tried to return it. "We can't take this."
Daniel nodded. "This is too much."
Lucifer didn't move.
"Take it."
There was no force in his voice, but the refusal was clear.
They hesitated, clearly tempted. It was obvious they thought he didn't have many and didn't want to take advantage of him.
Lucifer watched them for a moment before speaking again, more evenly this time.
"If you're going to stand next to me at the Academy, don't embarrass me. Train properly and try to reach peak rank before the entrance exams."
That was enough.
Gabriel lowered his hand slowly.
Daniel closed the pouch without taking his eyes off Lucifer.
Lucifer pushed himself off the wall.
"Don't show up here before the entrance exam. Keep your strength stable. And don't talk about my awakening to anyone, not even your families."
Daniel frowned slightly. "Why?"
Lucifer gave a faint smile.
"I don't like unnecessary attention."
They didn't press further.
Gabriel nodded. "Then we'll catch up at the Academy."
Daniel added, "We'll stay in the same class."
Lucifer gave a short nod.
They turned to leave.
Then Gabriel spoke again, more casually.
"We're mid E, by the way."
Lucifer didn't react at first.
"…What?"
Daniel met his gaze. "We broke through last week. Stable."
Lucifer stared at them, the earlier conversation replaying in his head whether he wanted it to or not.
"…You said late F."
Gabriel scratched the back of his head. "We always say that."
Lucifer's expression didn't change.
Daniel added without hesitation, "You used to get irritated when we were ahead. It was easier this way."
For a moment, nothing moved.
Lucifer leaned back slowly against the wall.
"…I see."
After a short pause, he exhaled quietly.
"Get lost, you sons of bitches."
They didn't argue and left laughing.
The outer house fell silent again.
Lucifer stepped outside after a moment and walked back toward the garden pavilion. He lowered himself into the old rocking chair. It creaked softly under his weight, the sound familiar enough to fade into the background.
He leaned back and looked up at the sky.
"…Mid E."
The words lingered for a moment.
"…And I just—"
He stopped himself.
The chair rocked gently as the wind moved through the trees.
After a while, the irritation faded, leaving something quieter behind.
"…Fine."
He adjusted slightly.
If that was where they already stood, then things had shifted.
That didn't bother him.
It just meant he had to move faster.
The chair creaked again.
"Why the fuck did I brag to them?"