A/N: A few people asked about the connection between Lilith and Eve in DxD, so I'll clarify it here for any who are curious.
According to DxD lore, Eve betrayed Adam after they ate the fruit and married Lucifer who deceived her. At that time, she was changed into a Devil and renamed as Lilith. She then became the mother of all Devils. It is unclear at what point the original DxD Adam died after that or when Eve left him in the first place, as far as I can tell. As for Lilith's current state? No spoilers, but she could definitely be in better shape. I'll leave it at that.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.
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Everyone in the room turned their heads toward the entrance. What met their eyes was a lady skipping into the room full of youthful energy. Long black twintails of hair bounced around her, and a bright smile lit up her face. A frilly pink top and miniskirt with white fabric layered over the top added to her youthful persona, not to mention the pink and black stockings covering her legs. The lively young lady's large and lively eyes with irises showing a blue to pink gradient quickly scanned over all the people in the room.
Behind the lively girl, a young lady wearing Kuoh Academy's uniform followed while sighing and adjusting the glasses in front of her pale purple eyes. Although she looked mostly similar to the lively girl who ran ahead of her, a couple major differences stuck out, namely her shorter black hair and how little her chest filled out her outfit in comparison to the lively girl.
"Sister, please maintain some decorum. I asked you to come here for a reason, not to mess around."
Raising a hand into a 'V' next to her face, the lively girl said, "Hehe~. It's fine. Don't worry, So-tan! Also, hi Rias-chan! Long time no see."
Smiling and nodding in an attempt to hide her surprise, Rias replied, "Indeed, long time no see, Serafall."
Moving her pink and blue eyes to Adam and Eve, Serafall widened her eyes, skipped closer, and inquired, "Oh, are you the Adam who my So-tan mentioned?"
Then, looking over at the glasses-wearing girl, Rias inquired, "You asked your sister to come, Sona?"
"I did. Sorry for not telling you ahead of time."
"Well, I don't mind, but…" Rias trailed off while moving her gaze back to Adam and Eve.
Chuckling to himself, Adam gave a small wave to show that he didn't mind, either. Rather, he casually stood up to greet Serafall himself. He smiled gently upon meeting another step-child for the first time, extended his hand, and said, "Nice to make your acquaintance, Serafall Leviathan. I am Adam."
Serafall paused briefly and scanned her eyes up and down as though trying to search for ulterior motives, yet she found herself shaking the man's hand subconsciously. Narrowing her eyes into a more serious expression, she temporarily set aside her more playful demeanor and said, "Nice to meet you, then, Adam. I am the Maou, Serafall Leviathan. And who is this with you?"
"I'm Eve! Nice to meet you, young lady!" Eve happily answered while hopping up beside Adam.
"...Eve?" Serafall asked in a quiet tone and narrowed eyes. Then, she turned back to Adam with a brow raised in inquiry.
"It's a long story, but I'm more than happy to tell it if you wish to listen," Adam offered.
"Sure."
"Sister, please wait a moment," Sona said, approaching from behind. She then investigated Adam and Eve with a studious gaze while saying, "Rias said you wish to be a teacher here. For what reason would Adam of all people have to approach a school where Devils are in charge to do so?"
Smiling at the young lady, Adam simply answered, "I am the father of mankind. Being a teacher seems like a suitable position to spend my time in, guiding my children. However, I would prefer not to waste time obtaining a useless diploma if there is an option to make connections to do so on this side of the world instead. Does that answer your question, Young Miss Sona?"
"And you claim that you aren't in opposition to us with your background?"
"Uh… Sona," Rias spoke up with a hint of awkwardness in her tone, though she fell silent again when Adam waved his hand to say it was fine again.
"I only care about my children. That is all."
Adjusting her glasses again, Sona probed further by asking, "As far as I am aware, the original Adam died a long time ago, so how could he stand before me now?"
"It wouldn't be the first time a dead man walked the Earth again."
"...Fair enough. Then, what about this supposed Eve. She shouldn't even exist, right?"
Rather than get angry, Eve instead giggled and muttered, "So cute~."
Eyes brightening at the comment, Serafall nodded vigorously, grabbed Eve's hands in her own, and replied, "Right?! You get it! My So-tan is the cutest!"
Cheeks reddening out of sheer embarrassment, Sona grumbled, "Stop it. I'm being serious here, sis."
The next moment, Sona felt a large calloused hand rest itself on her head. At first, her instincts made her magic flare up in response, but then it abated. An inexplicable sense of warmth, comfort, and safety spread through her body from her head and calmed her down.
"I know you wish to make sure I am not a danger to you," Adam spoke freely with a gentle smile, "but if it is any consolation, as a descendant of Lilith, I care about you as well. I will always care for and protect my own."
Sona looked up into Adam's eyes. All she saw there in his bright blue eyes was a pure and innocent gentleness that surpassed her understanding. Even those foolish angels probably couldn't look at somebody like this, right?
Behind him, Eve vigorously nodded in agreement, looking much like Serafall had a few moments ago. In contrast, Serafall now stared dumbfounded with her mouth agape upon seeing Adam touching her little sister's head.
Not minding the glare boring into the back of his head at the moment, Adam said, "Although I already told my story to Rias, Koneko, and Kiba, I'll repeat it for you and your sister so that you can understand where I'm coming from and why I thought to approach you all about being a teacher."
Nodding tactfully while watching the hand leaving her head, Sona simply said, "Okay. I'd like to hear this story of yours."
With that, the new arrivals joined the current group on the sofas. Since Serafall hit it off with Eve and took a liking to her, she took a seat next to her, which also conveniently let her sit directly across from her cute little sister who sat next to Rias.
Once everyone sat, Adam repeated his story, albeit with more details like how the Valkyries turned themselves into weapons that could allow humanity to fight on more equal footing against the gods, how he tore the serpent who molested Eve to shreds before his battle, and the brutality of his fist fight with Zeus' Adamas form.
The girls showed particular disgust upon hearing about the serpent molesting Eve as well as surprise upon finding out that this Eve had not consumed the fruit like the one from their world who became their ancestor, Lilith. Each of them couldn't help looking at the innocent Eve who was fawning over Adam and how cool he looked when he tore the serpent apart.
Like before, Adam finished his story by explaining how he ended up here, though he left out any details he felt they didn't need to know, such as knowing specifics of this world thanks to his third self, or the fact that he was taller than before perhaps due to his second self, or his Divine Reflection ability that his 'Eyes of the Lord' gave him.
Both Serafall and Sona picked up on the fact that Adam did not fully specify his combat abilities, but they perfectly understood omitting such a thing. The others did not quite pick up on that fact as they were otherwise engrossed with the extra details given to them during this second telling of the story.
Either way, Serafall in particular contemplated the implications of Adam fighting Zeus in this supposed parallel world.
'Assuming that Zeus compares in strength to the Zeus I know of, then isn't this Adam at least Ultimate class? Maybe higher? If he wants to be a teacher here and is on our side, that is an extra layer of safety for Sona even when I'm not able to be around.'
Not sharing her thoughts just yet, she decided to discuss it with Adam later.
In the end, Sona turned to Rias and said, "I suppose I'm okay with pulling strings to just make him a teacher if you are on board as well, Rias."
"Definitely," Rias agreed. Then, turning her head back to Adam, she asked, "Is there a specific subject you wish to or would be able to teach?"
"Physical education would likely be the easiest to fit me in. Math and language would be simple as well since Father gave me full knowledge of both."
As usual, the Devils winced at the mention of 'Father', but it was only a slight inconvenience for them.
Meanwhile, Adam looked down into his wife's eyes and gestured with his head for her to ask about teaching as well.
"Can I be a teacher, too?" Eve asked curiously, easily understanding her husband's gesture after living with him for countless years.
"Um… is there a subject you would be able to teach?" Sona asked.
"Gardening or home economics? Everything else is boring."
"Home economics?" Sona muttered while gripping her chin between her forefinger and thumb. "That could be doable. The current home ec teacher has to handle all the classes at the moment, so you could do it for the third years to give her some leeway."
"Okay!"
Rias nodded, then crossed her legs slowly, which blatantly revealed her crotch area for a few seconds. Even during this action, she calmly said, "Now that we have figured that out, we can take care of some paperwork and other details today, but there is one more thing that we should also handle now, especially since Serafall is here."
"What is that?" Sona asked, raising a brow.
"The fallen angel that Adam handed over to me last night. I'm not really sure what to do with her, to be honest, and I don't feel comfortable just tossing her back out on the streets after she attacked a human in my territory last night."
"Such a thing happened?" Serafall asked with wide eyes. Then, she sighed and added, "We are supposed to be in a peace period at the moment, but I guess it's still impossible to stop every single person causing problems."
Nodding at Serafall's statement, Rias stated, "Since Adam is the one who stopped her, and you often handle foreign relations, Serafall, I would like to ask you both for advice on handling it."
Pressing her forefinger against her cheek, Serafall thought for a moment before saying, "Well, I could contact Azazel, I guess. He might want to know about this and would likely try to make amends and give you something as compensation."
"I agree," Adam said. He contemplated handling her co-conspirators himself tonight as well, but upon thinking about it again, he figured it would be an opportunity for his little step-children to learn some things, so he added, "She didn't seem to be acting alone, so you might want to investigate further."
"Hm… In that case, could I ask you to handle an interrogation, Adam?" Rias requested in slight embarrassment that she tried to hide behind a veil of elegance. "She won't cooperate with Akeno at all."
"I don't mind. Where is she?"
"Upstairs. Locked inside of an imprisonment barrier spell."
"I see," Adam replied with an understanding nod. He then rose to his feet, helped Eve to rise as well, then said, "Go ahead and lead the way. I'll take care of it."
Smiling at Adam's calm confidence, Rias also stood and led the way upstairs. Adam followed directly behind her alongside Eve. Behind him, Serafall and Sona followed next with Koneko and Kiba behind them.
As soon as they entered through the door at the end of the balcony, a sultry voice greeted them.
"Ara~ You're done talking already?"
Seated an a chair in the middle of the room, Akeno casually sipped on a cup of tea, wholly casual about the fact that several whips and other various torture devices sat on a table next to her.
Off in the far corner of the room, a cube-shaped red barrier covered in red magic circles and magical chains stood floor to ceiling. Within, Raynare turned over from a casual and defiant position of laying on her side and arrogantly glared at the newcomers… until she spotted Adam. Immediately, she flipped up onto her knees and displayed a quiet and obedient demeanor.
Adam only briefly acknowledged the imprisoned fallen angel with a subtle nod. Upon spotting the tools, though, he raised a brow. He then turned to Eve and suggested, "Do you want to wait downstairs and eat some more snacks? This shouldn't take long."
Eve's gaze flickered between her husband and the weird tools on the table. Although her first self would have had no idea what those were, her second self… The mild recognition of the tools made her cheeks redden, so she nodded in understanding.
Smiling subtly, Adam then looked at Koneko and requested, "Do you mind keeping my wife company for a bit, Koneko?"
Tilting her head, Koneko moved her eyes to Rias who in turn nodded.
"Okay."
Smiling widely, Eve skipped over, leaned down slightly to grab Koneko's small hand within her own, and happily said, "Wonderful! Come on, Koneko-chan, let's eat some sweets!"
"Mhm. Okay."
After Eve and Koneko left the room, Adam ignored some amused smirks and appreciative smiles and meandered over to the magic barrier.
In response to Adam's approach, Raynare's lips quivered through a forced innocent smile. She then waved awkwardly and pleaded, "Haha. Haha. Mister Adam. I haven't done anything bad. I even stayed in here when I could have attempted to escape!"
Adam maintained a neutral expression and calmly replied, "I see."
A few steps away from the barrier, Adam undid his belt and slid it off. Then, he snapped it together.
"Hm. Good material," He mumbled to himself.
Everyone else in the room heard the quiet sentence thanks to their supernatural senses.
"Do you need information?! I'll talk, just please stop!" Raynare pleaded.
Upon seeing the instant submission of the fallen angel that vehemently defied her for hours, Akeno frowned and commented, "I feel like I just lost some sort of competition or something. It makes no sense. How is he so much scarier to her with just a belt?"
Rias shrugged. Sona raised a brow. Kiba averted his gaze to pretend he hadn't heard anything.
"Maybe it's just one of his supernatural skills. He's a dad, so he must be good at spanking, right?" Serafall whispered to the others, unaware that Adam could still hear her anyway.
"Sis…" Sona whispered back with a disappointed gaze, though it only drew an amused snicker from Serafall in response.
Ignoring the comments behind him, Adam grabbed a nearby chair and dragged it over to the edge of the barrier. He calmly sat down, leaned forward, and slapped his belt against his open palm a few times. Three loud cracks reverberated in everyone's ears, making them wonder if leather was supposed to sound like a gun.
"So, Raynare," Adam began, staring directly into her eyes.
"Y- yes?"
Adam pointed a thumb at Rias and the others and said, "Tell those kids where your co-conspirators have been hiding out and what you've been up to."
Dark lines spread across Raynare's face as her forehead wrinkled. She nibbled on her lip and warily raised her gaze to look at Adam. Upon seeing his unamused expression, she grit her teeth and remained silent.
"I see," Adam mumbled to himself. Then, he looked back at Rias and Akeno and asked, "Do you mind opening the barrier for a moment?"
"Alright," Rias responded with a nod. She then raised her hand toward the barrier. A small red magic circle formed in front of her palm.
"Won't she try to escape?" Sona retorted in a quizzical manner.
"Even if she tried, she wouldn't make it far," Serafall confidently answered.
Meanwhile, Adam simply returned his gaze to Raynare. Her face paled in response as an opening appeared in the barrier between them.
"W- wait! I'll say it!"
Getting up from his seat, Adam shook his head. He looked down at his belt, snapped it once, and said, "One thing I've learned as a father is to follow through on discipline once it has been decided upon, otherwise the lesson becomes meaningless and instead encourages foolishness."
"Wa- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Raynare exclaimed while crab walking as far back into the corner of her magical cage as she could go. Her face contorted in a pained expression since her but still stung from the previous night.
"It's like escape wasn't even a thought for her… crazy," Sona mumbled to herself.
The next moment, Raynare found herself in a familiar position.
Countless consecutive cracking noises echoed out alongside pained whimpers. The cracks made the room sound like a shootout in the suburbs.
Behind them, the Devil girls watched with various expressions.
Akeno showed the most exaggerated response of blushing and rubbing her thighs together.
Rias watched calmly and occasionally looked at the clock to check the passing time.
Kiba averted his gaze to the point of turning around. His face burned red with secondhand embarrassment due to how the spanking looked combined with Raynare's raunchy attire.
"Would that even hurt a fallen angel in the first place?" Sona wondered aloud.
"Hm? Probably not," Serafall answered while still watching with a curious expression due to not seeing such an entertaining thing very often. "Adam might be strong enough to make it sting a bit, but I think it's more of a blow to her pride than anything, which is huge for a fallen angel like her, I would think."
Nodding once in acknowledgement, Sona crossed her arms under her chest and said, "I see. That makes sense."
Eventually, Adam hooked the mostly frayed belt through the belt loops of his pants and returned to his seat. When he did, Rias closed the imprisoning barrier magic again.
After a few silent moments, Raynare dragged herself up from the floor to her knees. Tears of frustration dripped from her eyes.
Thanks to his sense of smell, Adam looked up into the rafters and spotted a bat hiding in a barely noticeable corner. He controlled his cells to copy the traits of its vocal chords to some extent and sent a directional call directly into Raynare's ear that made her head throb with sharp pain.
"Tell them where Dohnaseek is hiding."
Eyes shooting wide open, Raynare whipped her head up and stared directly at Adam. A shiver shot down her spine. The unwavering blue eyes looking back at her remained calm and collected. She could see it. This man already knew where her companions were and was just asking her to say it anyway for some unknown reason.
The others failed to hear Adam's voice this time due to the directional sound waves he used. As someone stronger and more perceptive, Serafall was the only one who noticed the subtle rippling in Adam's neck right before his lips moved.
Eyes transfixed on Adam's frayed belt now, Raynare gumbled, "I- ugh. They're hiding in the old abandoned church."
"Doing what?" Adam knowingly asked, still using his adjusted vocal chords.
"You already know, so why should I bother saying it?" Raynare tiredly retorted.
"Maybe your friends will survive against the young ones if you say it. Otherwise, I might handle myself, and though I might be Father's creation, I already fell once. My mercy hardly ever extends as far as His."
Raynare groaned and winced at the sentence. She remained silent for a few seconds, then clicked her tongue and said, "We were collecting Sacred Gears while hiding in the abandoned church. Is that enough?"
"Yes. Good girl," Adam said, now showing a calm smile and returning his vocal chords to normal.
A shiver shot down Raynare's spine when he called her that. Averting her gaze, she dropped on the floor and sighed.
Adam then turned to the young Devils and said, "You heard her, Rias. Since this is your territory, you are free to handle it."
Rias nodded solemnly. The confession changed the severity of the situation. It was no longer just Fallen Angels being chaotic for the sake of it.
"Akeno, Kiba, come with me," Rias commanded, to which both of her Peerage members turned serious and nodded their heads. Then, Rias looked at Sona and asked, "Do you want to come as well?"
"Sure. Since it seems more serious, I will gather some of my Peerage," Sona replied in a straight-laced tone. She also turned to Serafall and asked, "What about you, sis?"
Serafall tilted her head and thought for a moment, then looked at Adam whose voice entered her ears while she was thinking.
"Let the youngsters handle it for now. We can step in if they really need help. They need to grow quickly, or their future hurdles might break them."
Serafall furrowed her brows and turned back to her little sister. Strangely, her sister, Rias, Akeno, and Kiba showed no reaction to Adam's statement.
'He did that voice thing again. It isn't magic, so what did he do?'
Despite her curiosity, she set it aside for the time being and answered her sister's question.
"Go ahead and take care of it, but go ahead and let me know if it gets dangerous. Me stepping in might escalate the situation too much otherwise."
"Understandable," Sona replied with a nod.
"What about you, Adam?" Rias asked.
"I'll stay here until you finish. I believe you can handle it. Just make sure to take it seriously and don't let your guard down."
"Very well."
Rias turned, her red hair swinging out elegantly behind her, and she exited the room.
Sona, Akeno, and Kiba also followed Rias out of the room, leaving only Serafall, Adam, and Raynare behind.
"So.. are you going to kill me now that you got what you wanted?" Raynare asked in a defeated tone.
"Not unless you give me a reason to do so. You're smart enough to not give me a reason," Adam answered.
"...Got it."
"And you, Serafall?" Adam spoke up while turning to face the young-looking Maou wearing a magical girl outfit that really didn't fit the serious tone of the last few minutes. "You've been staring at me with interest quite a bit since earlier. Do you need something?"
"Oh, hehe~. You noticed? Sorry about that, but," Serafall paused, set aside her more bubbly antics for a moment, and seriously asked, "Would you like to spar with me for a bit?"
"You wish to know how strong I am."
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll indulge my little step-daughter for a while," Adam replied with an almost playful smirk.
"S- Step? Daughter?" Serafall stammered, cheeks reddening slightly. "I'm way too old to be your daughter, y'know! Ah, wait…"
Adam simply smiled at her expression of realization. The first man was definitely older than her.
"F- fine. Let's just spar," Serafall spoke quickly to change the subject.
"Where do you want to do it?"
"Is the underworld okay? It shouldn't take too long."
"Hm. That's fine," Adam said, but then he pointed a thumb at Raynare and added, "but we should probably bring her with us. Just hand her over to Azazel on the way."
"Alright! Let's go."
"I need to inform my wife first."
"Ah, right."