Lucifer Morningstar

"There's no way to summon the God of Man, but there happens to be a demon here."

A magnetic voice sounded from behind him.

Kino turned around. The bar owner still maintained his elegant bearing.

A demon.

Kino had a guess in mind and bowed.

"May I ask your name?"

"Lucifer Morningstar. You can call me Lucifer," Lucifer said amiably.

Good news: He probably wouldn't die today.

Bad news: He had encountered the Lord of Hell, Satan.

Lucifer had originally been the most perfect angel created by God. Dissatisfied with God, he had led a group of angels who shared his discontent in rebellion. After their failure, God cast him out of Heaven and punished him by making him rule Hell for eternity.

"Lord Lucifer, I'm terribly sorry to have disturbed you."

"It's all right. If anything, I'm pleasantly surprised to have encountered a being from another world."

Curiosity and delight filled Lucifer's gaze as he looked at Kino.

Kino said nothing. He had no idea what to say. Today had truly been unlucky. He had come looking for something, only to encounter Mandarin in Marvel and Satan in DC.

"This is an alien life-form. How fascinating. It can even replicate another person's DNA."

At some point, Venom, frozen solid, had appeared in Lucifer's hand.

Kino instantly bristled. Seeing Venom being toyed with in Lucifer's hand, he reached out and snatched her back.

"Uh... Lord Lucifer, if you like her, I can catch plenty for you in the future, but not this one. She's my family."

By the time he realized what he had done, Kino was already holding Venom in his arms. He answered nervously.

Mazikeen looked somewhat surprised. In all these years, Kino was the first person who had dared to snatch something away after learning the identity of her lord.

"I was rude. Then how about some compensation?"

Lucifer snapped his fingers. The ice covering Venom melted, and in an instant, she returned to Kino's body.

Although it made no difference whether Venom was with him now, her fusion gave Kino a genuine sense of security.

"Venom, are you all right?"

[I'm fine. She doesn't seem to have any ill intentions.]

"You can sense Lucifer's emotions?"

[She allowed me to sense them.]

"I understand."

Kino took a deep breath to steady himself, then bowed to Lucifer again. "Thank you for your generosity, Lucifer."

Lucifer rubbed his chin and said, "Do I make you this nervous? That won't help our conversation."

"Lucifer, I..."

Before he could finish, a layer of black mist enveloped Lucifer. When the mist dispersed—

"Would this help you relax?"

Standing before Kino was a woman about 1.8 meters tall, with long, straight black hair, golden eyes, a Giant Cat, and a bewitchingly beautiful appearance.

She wore nothing but a black dress and black high heels. Her eyes glimmered with amusement as she looked at him.

!!!

Seeing Kino's stunned expression, Lucifer lifted her long skirt and spun once. The hem of her dress blossomed like a flower, revealing two long, fair legs like black roses blooming in the night.

"Looks like you really like this appearance."

Kino felt as if he had been bewitched. He couldn't tear his eyes away. This appearance had been designed specifically for his tastes.

[Your tastes, my ass! You evil Kino, don't forget she's a man.]

"A man with this appearance isn't unacceptable."

[...]

Venom couldn't be bothered to speak. She went straight to giving his heart a massage.

Kino finally came to his senses. He had to—Venom was bouncing around wildly against his heart.

"Hahaha, you and your family are really interesting."

Lucifer was thoroughly amused, her laughter ringing like silver bells.

"Lord Lucifer, please don't tease me."

Kino gave a bitter laugh.

Lucifer teased, "You don't think this appearance is fake, do you? I was created by God. I don't inherently have a gender. The only reason I appear in the world as a man is that a woman's appearance attracts too many pests."

Kino nodded in agreement. An appearance like this was practically a recipe for disaster. If she had existed in ancient times, he wouldn't have been surprised if wars had been fought over her.

"So, Lord Lucifer, what do you want?"

Kino got straight to the point. With his intelligence, there was no way he could outplay Lucifer.

"I want you to take me away from this world."

"Sure."

This time, Lucifer was the one left stunned.

"You're not going to ask why? Or demand some kind of payment, like powerful abilities or divine artifacts?"

Kino shook his head. "There's no need. I only survived this time because you saved me. Repaying you is only right. As for power, I have Venom."

Mazikeen's lips twitched. Did this man even realize what he had just turned down?

"You may not understand the extent of my power..."

"I do. You're omniscient and omnipotent. You can create even a universe with a casual wave of your hand. But what does that have to do with my wanting to repay you?

"I don't want to rule the world. That would be too exhausting. My only wish is to find a wife and survive."

He wasn't lying.

Lucifer was somewhat dazed. She could sense that this man wasn't without desires; he simply knew how to control them and understood what he wanted.

How interesting.

If she had previously only wanted to borrow his ability to leave this world and escape her destined fate, now she was genuinely interested in him.

"What if I slept with you?"

"...Please don't tease me, Lucifer."

At those words, Kino's heart gave a violent leap.

"Not this time!"

Lucifer moved closer. A strange, alluring fragrance seeped into Kino's nose, while a broad expanse of snow-white skin appeared before him.

"As long as you nod, I'll give you a perfect night. This is in the name of Lucifer Morningstar."

Mazikeen stared at the human with a deep, unreadable gaze.

Venom didn't interfere this time. She also wanted to know what Kino would choose.

Gulp—

Kino swallowed hard and met Lucifer's golden eyes.

All he had to do was nod, and he could spend a night with God's most perfect creation.

Slowly, he raised his hand.

The corners of Lucifer's lips curved upward as she watched him reach toward her fullness.

Just before he touched her, Kino's hand stopped. He pressed it against Lucifer's forehead and pushed her away.

"Lucifer, I refuse."

"Why? You're obviously tempted."

"Yes! I'm tempted, but that isn't the same as falling for you."

Kino bent down and walked over to Mandarin, removing every ring from his hands.

"Lucifer, can I take him with me?"

"...Do as you please. His Time Stop will end in ten minutes."

"Thank you."

With that, Kino dragged Mandarin away and pushed open the door.

Only after the tavern's bell stopped ringing did Lucifer sit down at the bar and order a drink.

"Mazikeen, has my charm declined? I couldn't even seduce a child."

"My lord, his tent was already pitched. How could he not have been seduced? He just came to his senses at the last moment."