DxD : Mad Inventor

The dim laboratory was a symphony of eerie, bubbling liquids and the soft hum of machinery.

Pipes twisted and turned, connecting to glass pods where strange crystals floated, immersed in bubbling liquids that cast an otherworldly glow.

The man, seemingly in his thirties, hunched over a workbench cluttered with tools and shards of crystals.

His hands moved with precision, tweaking the crystalline structures with a focus that suggested a deeper purpose than mere tinkering.

His face, marked by a scar on the right cheek and a conspicuous hole in the forehead, reflected the dim light.

Gray, unkempt hair fell over his eyes as he muttered to himself, his attire equally disheveled, smeared with grease and dust.

---

The scene shifted to a barren land where a dozen men stood vigilant, guarding a desolate expanse.

The landscape was stark and unforgiving, with rocky outcrops and a pervasive sense of desolation.

Suddenly, a bright light pierced the air, forming a teleportation circle.

The guards tensed momentarily but relaxed upon seeing the crest, recognizing it instantly.

From the circle stepped a white-haired woman of striking beauty.

Her presence commanded immediate respect. The guards bowed slightly and chorused, "We greet Lady Grayfia."

Grayfia nodded, her cold demeanor unwavering as she approached what appeared to be a solid mountain.

However, as she walked through, the illusion dissipated, revealing a grotesque building—a fusion of crumbling masonry and haphazard mechanical additions, held together by steel beams and pipes.

Inside, the labyrinthine hallways led her to the man's laboratory. She called out, her voice slicing through the ambient noise.

"Our faction needs more weapons. You'll have to shift your focus. Your creations have been invaluable to the Old Satan Faction."

The man grumbled, his back still turned to her. "Fools, all of them. They can't see the worth of true research. All they want are toys."

Grayfia, normally composed, felt a pang of nervousness.

Her fingers twitched as she approached him from behind, her hand inching forward but stopping as he turned, a strange expression on his face.

"You look Strange little girl. Have some toffee," he said, summoning a chocolate toffee seemingly out of nowhere and handing it to her before resuming his search for blueprints.

Grayfia, the heir of the Lucifuge clan, had known this man since her childhood.

He had served the Old Satan Faction and even the real Lucifer, though she never knew his name.

He had been a constant, if eccentric, presence in her life, she first met him at a party in Lucifaad where he had given her a bitter herb-infused chocolate.

Eccentric barely described him. His hair was a tangled mess of gray, his clothes perpetually dirty, yet his eyes shone with a manic intelligence.

Today, after a meeting with the Crimson Devil, Sirzechs Gremory, Grayfia was contemplating defection.

Killing the man before her could cripple the Old Satan Faction, but the courage to strike eluded her.

Grayfia's thoughts churned with uncertainty.

The man was a good friend of her father , she had known him for so long, an important figure in her life, as he frequented their house before the civil war began.

As she debated her next move, he turned towards her, holding a small blueprint.

"Give this to that brat Rizevim," he said, his voice gruff but not unkind.

She reached out to take the blueprint, but before she could turn away, he called out, using her name for the first time. "Grayfia."

Startled, she paused, turning back to face him.

His expression had softened slightly, and his eyes bore into hers with a rare intensity.

"Life is too short to consider loyalty in this ideological shitstorm , little girl. If you want some change, don't hesitate to do what your heart says."

He paused, " No one, not even your family will compensate for what you lose in your hesitance"

His words said the man turned back to cpntinue his tinkering.

His words struck a chord deep within her.

She had always seen him as a figure of eccentric brilliance, detached from the world's political turmoil.

Yet here he was, offering her advice that seemed almost fatherly.

The weight of her earlier decision pressed down on her once more, but now it felt different—lighter, more manageable.

Grayfia nodded, a small, almost imperceptible gesture, and turned to leave the laboratory.

The blueprint felt heavier in her hand now, not because of its physical weight, but because of the significance it held.

As she stepped out of the grotesque building and back through the illusionary mountain, the barren landscape stretched out before her, reflecting the desolation she felt inside.

---

Months later, the Old Satan Faction was in an uproar.

In a grand meeting of the four heads of the factions, accusations flew like daggers.

Outraged voices clamored for retribution.

"This is an act of treason!" one of the leaders shouted. "He betrayed us, giving our secrets to the rebel factions!"

Grayfia stood silently, her expression stoic, as the room descended into chaos.

The three heads, excluding Lucifer, demanded the inventor's execution.

"He must be made an example of," another declared, pounding a fist on the table.

Rizevim Lucifer, remained silent, his eyes thoughtful but distant.

---

It was a rare sight the man, outside, under the open sky, a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

He took a swig and laughed heartily, the sound echoing into the emptiness around him.

"Oh well, it seems my dues are done here. Goodbye, my old dead friend," he said, lifting his bottle as if in a toast to the long-gone Lucifer.

---

Grayfia felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, but the consequences were severe.

The man who had been a constant in her life, the eccentric inventor who had given her bitter chocolates and sage advice, was now marked for death because of her actions.

As she stood among the furious leaders, her resolve hardened.

She had made her choice, and she would see it through.

But it didn't make the weight of her actions any lighter.

The execution order was set, and Grayfia knew the time was near.

The man who had always been there for her, even in his strange and cryptic way, was now facing the end because of the secrets she had shared.

She would carry that burden with her but she won't hesitate to take the step forward.

Just like he told her to.