The living room was a war zone. Not from demons this time—but from Ragna, Sakura, and Lily sprawled on the couch, covered in bandages, ointment patches, and exhaustion.
Ragna's upper body was wrapped in fire-resistant gauze. The burn scars across his back still glowed faintly, a side effect of going full Demon King. Sakura had her foot propped on a stack of magical ice packs, twisted ankle wrapped in a glittery bandage Lily insisted on using. Meanwhile, Lily herself sat cross-legged on the coffee table, flipping through a magical grimoire half the size of her torso, looking determined.
"Okay," she said, brows furrowed. "Healing magic is technically forbidden for kids in the Hero's Path Handbook, but that's probably just a suggestion, right?"
Ragna squinted at her over the rim of his ramen bowl. "Do not experiment with eldritch recovery spells near your injured father."
Sakura sighed. "Or your barely-holding-it-together mom."
Lily pouted. "You guys are no fun."
Ragna smirked. "We almost died last night. Let us enjoy being boring for a moment."
Outside, the sun was too bright. The streets of Tokyo too normal. Just twelve hours ago, a war general from the Nine Rings tried to obliterate them all in a battle that lit up the sky like fireworks from hell.
Now the world carried on like nothing happened.
Lily waved her tiny hands. A soft pink glow enveloped Sakura and Ragna, followed by a poof of sparkles. For a moment, the air was still.
And then—
Ragna sprouted fluffy wolf ears.
Sakura got sparkly cat ears.
They blinked.
Lily gasped. "IT WORKED!"
Sakura groaned. "Lily."
Ragna leaned forward, looking at Sakura with mock curiosity. "You actually pull off cat-girl vibes. Should we start calling you Meowou?"
"Don't."
Lily rolled on the floor laughing, clutching her stomach. "I'm a genius!"
Ragna flicked her forehead lightly. "You're something. Now undo it."
After a slightly botched reversal spell and some magical hiccups (Ragna's tail refused to vanish for a full hour), the Maou family decided to do the only reasonable thing after a near-death multiversal encounter.
Ice cream.
At a tiny, garishly colored parfait cafe in Shibuya, the three of them sat by the window, nursing wounds and sweet tooths.
Sakura's sundae was meticulously layered with gold-leaf flakes. Ragna chose a triple-black sesame soft serve with hot fudge (which he lit on fire). Lily had the "Magical Rainbow Love Explosion Supreme." It came with sparklers.
"I still don't get why Kael'Rith came alone," Sakura muttered. Her Hero Blade leaned against her chair, wrapped in cloth and sealed.
"Maybe the Nine Rings wanted to test us," Ragna said, licking molten fudge off his spoon. "Or scare us."
"They succeeded," she replied.
Lily stuck a spoon in her mouth. "What if it's not just them? What if there are worse ones waiting?"
Ragna and Sakura paused.
The ice cream suddenly didn't taste as sweet.
Ragna reached across the table, patting Lily's head. "That's tomorrow's battle. Today, we eat parfaits."
Sakura nodded. "And maybe do something nice. Like... sleep."
Back at home, the mood turned slower. Calmer. Ragna sat in the bath longer than usual, his steam-scarred muscles finally unwinding. Sakura lay in bed, her foot elevated, eyes staring at the ceiling, drifting between memories of the fight and what could have happened.
Lily sat at the balcony, watching the stars. A soft wind blew past her face. She closed her eyes.
Then she felt it.
A chill.
A flicker in the air.
Across the rooftops stood a figure cloaked in shimmering gray, holding a curved staff made of bone and starlight. Their face was hidden by a veil, but their gaze pierced the veil of worlds.
Lily gasped.
The figure raised a hand slowly. Not threatening. Not hostile. Observing.
Then—vanished.
She didn't scream. She didn't call her parents.
Instead, Lily whispered to herself.
"I have to be ready."
Later that night, Lily crawled into her parents' bed. It wasn't unusual, not after hard days.
Sakura, half-asleep, opened one eye. "What's wrong, baby?"
Lily hesitated, curling up between them.
"Nothing. Just… Can we stay like this for a while?"
Ragna, already snoring, rolled over and accidentally smushed Lily's hair.
Sakura smiled. "Always."
The stars outside twinkled. The world was safe—for now.
But in a different realm, deep within the folds of time and ash, a new circle of fire lit beneath a dark throne.
Nine voices murmured.
"She is awakening."
"Too soon."
"Perfect."
And the war drums began to beat again.