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How many years has it been since I last remembered my home world?
For me, it felt as if a millennia has passed, the memories inside my head mere fragments that seem to disappear as the years passed me by. To be born in a world where everything is different is an entirely new experience for me, one in which I struggled hard to adapt and survive in a strange land that was entirely new to me.
Why you ask? Simple, I am not of this world nor am I a supernatural being that was the result of some genetic experiment or biological cloning. I am but a man, a man who was once a warrior fighting for his homeland. A warrior who sacrificed everything in service to his world and his fellow man.
Unexpectedly, I landed not through inter-dimensional interference and travel but rather by being born anew which, along with it, came a new identity...and new powers. Born into a high-class devil family, it was a strange environment for me to live in since I was a person born without parents in my past life, and forced me to mature at a rapid pace compared to other kids my age. Thanks to my parents, I adapted easily and learned everything I needed to know about becoming a high-class devil which was, in a word, an entirely new environment for me to live in.
My past isn't something that can be shared with easily nor can it be an easy ticket to becoming my friend. Remembering the past is like trying to recall the bad things that you hate during your entire lifetime, a task that did more harm than good. I am but a man with a troubled past, a man who has much to regret yet so little to reminisce. I am a man who was once called the God of War, a title I received after defeating the strongest monsters in my quest to become the strongest human the world has ever seen. I am a man who once led a prestigious guild to innumerable victories, earning both fear and respect among my friends, allies, as well as my enemies. I am a man who once denied the existence of the word called 'love,' and was hereby called the Eternal Bachelor by my old guild mates and closest friends.
Many poems and tales have been recited and sung about my exploits yet those have no meaning in the present. What remains in the past should remain in the past yet they always come back like fireflies attracted to light, a bright light that refuses to disappear no matter how hard I tried or how many times I attempted to do so.
Even today, as a man who has adopted to modern society's acceptable standards and norms, as a normal man just earning a living to provide for himself, I still feel as if there was still something missing, something to complete my entire being.
Focusing in the present, the windows let in a bit of sunlight that told me of the fact that I woke up late instead of the usual four o'clock schedule that I used to follow.
"My lord, it seems that we have guests," a female voice called out to me from downstairs, jerking me out of my thoughts.
"I see, are they enemies?" I ask her without turning my head in the voice's direction.
"Yes my lord. Judging by the power they are emitting, it looks like they're devils. The violent kind," the voice answers back.
"In that case, shall we bid them a warm welcome?"
"Of course my lord. It is rude to let our guests wait, is it not?"
"True. Very True."
Sighing, I sluggishly stand up, still dressed in my plain sleeveless t-shirt, brown shorts, and slippers, and stretched for a bit before opening the door to the outside which led to the second floor hallway.
Ambling along the narrow corridors, I take a deep breath to prepare myself for the inevitable encounter with these so-called 'devils,' creatures that are stronger than any human, gifted with eyes that allow them to see easily at night and also share a weakness to light, the bane of every devil in existence.
This important detail feels similar to the times, in my past life, when I would hunt down dark-aligned monsters who also had an aversion to anything light-based although a select few of those monsters also possessed the ability to resist and even become immune to light-based attacks and spells.
"It seems that she's gone on ahead of me," I thought to myself, stifling a yawn as I neared the staircase, a wide thing with twelve steps and sturdy handrails that didn't break no matter how much pressure I applied to it.
Something tells me that she doesn't need my help at all but it can't hurt to be sure, right?
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Making my way downwards, I saw one of the devils impaled on a spear, their lifeless eyes staring down in shock at the long wooden shaft sticking out from his chest, rivers of blood staining the walls, and drops of blood coating the clean wooden floors in a crimson hue, as if unable to comprehend the fact that a mere human was able to harm and even kill a devil like him.
"A stain like that will take a while to clean. I just hope that she's willing to clean this mess up." I sigh in response, ignoring the dead corpse a few meters away from me and sauntered towards the main lobby, where I saw two devils alight in flames, the sound of their screams muffled by the intense heat that devoured them until they turned into ash, their struggling a useless attempt at ensuring their own survival.
"You had to call me when you had things under control Theo."
"I'm sorry my lord, I thought that they brought a high-class devil along so I exercised caution and called for you in case I need help."
"Help? You're already strong on your own so you don't need my help at all. Besides, nobody can match up against you in a battle of swords and spears."
"Except for you my lord. You were the one who taught me how to fight and gave me another chance at life."
"Everybody deserves a second chance Theo. Your father most certainly deserved another chance to prove his loyalty despite the negative things his detractors and enemies gave him. In fact, I would've given him another chance to serve faithfully under my command if I were in his lord's shoes."
"My…father, milord?" She asked me.
"I apologize. Not your father but rather you yourself deserved a second chance to serve. A chance that you have used well. Besides, who would've thought that one of the greatest if not the greatest general of the Byzantine Empire would be reincarnated as a beautiful teenage girl? Certainly not the others, and even I was caught off-guard by this revelation."
Indeed, she was beautiful, with long blond hair with bangs that split downwards near her temples, a slim body borne from centuries of training and exercise, fair white skin, deep green eyes that shone like emeralds, and exuded an aura of authority that was felt by everybody around her. A natural born leader blessed with a sharp intellect and a gift for tactics and strategy, she was also the personification of a loyal soldier, one whose unwavering loyalty can never be questioned and a person whom I can trust fully.
She was also dressed in a white apron that covered her white dress that looked as if she just finished cooking our meal for the day. Oddly enough, there were no bloodstains on her apron and she didn't have an ounce of sweat on her face.
"Surely his highness speaks only the truth. I live only to serve and obey. To follow where your hand directs and to serve you with everything that I have."
Well, that last line feels awkward. I've lived for centuries and I'm still surprised by the way she displayed her loyalty towards me. Simply put, a relationship between an adult man and a teenage girl is seen as strange in today's modern society and it is something in which I prefer to maintain the status quo.
"I guess complements aren't your cup of tea, right Theo?"
"No, my lord. For me, complements are tools used to weaken others and to make them more susceptible to deceit."
"You have a point there Theo, speaking of which, how would you like to attend school?"
"Attend school, my lord? I have already learned everything that I need to know so why should I dedicate time to school?"
"School opens you to a world of friendship, a world where you can form bonds with other people your age. You can also benefit from the fact that the current knowledge you possess will eventually be deemed insufficient since new discoveries are being made every day that improve, add, and even replace the things that we thought were true. In other words, you never stop learning and there are so many things to be learned that it requires several lifetimes just to learn them."
"I see, but I can gain this knowledge by self-studying too, right my lord? There's the internet, newspapers, books, as well as the television where I can learn many things, so there's no need for me to attend school at all."
"I won't deny the fact that you could gain that knowledge on your own but there is something wholly different when you're a student compared to being a normal teenage girl. Besides, if not for the knowledge then do it for the sake of friendship. Of forming bonds with other people."
She hesitates for a few seconds before accepting my reasoning which didn't take her long to decide. As long as your arguments made sense then she will give you a proper answer.
Seeing that the situation has been resolved without my help, I trudge back towards the stairs, with Theo cleaning the mess that she made in welcoming our guests.
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A few minutes later, she calls me down for our breakfast, which is a bit late seeing that it is nearly twelve o'clock in the afternoon. During our meal, we discussed about plans for the future seeing that the devil side has decided to search and persuade me to return to devil society that I've left behind due to my insistence of traveling the world after the Great War.
"I just hope that Mother, Father, and my younger siblings are alright. I have many amends to make if I am to return to the Underworld."
Banishing that thought from my mind I focus on the task at hand, which was how to live our lives normally. People call me a man but that's because I can disguise myself as a man. To my parents, I was just a young adult who has started to mature. I look to be in my fifties but actually I am currently in my twenties which meant that I was an eligible bachelor for those of the opposite sex.
It also made me a target for other devil houses, especially those who sought to increase their power and prestige by marrying into my own family, a practice that I abhorred regardless of the reason they had for doing so.
"My lord, are you going to attend school as well?"
"Yes Theo, I'm going to go to school with you not as a student but as a teacher, so you can be sure that we will always remain in close proximity with each other."
"But it will make you an easier target for your enemies to follow. Are you sure you're okay with your decision my lord?" She had a worried tone as she asked me this question and, judging by the look on her face, she didn't want me to get injured since I've made many enemies throughout the centuries, with most of them now six feet under.
"I am okay with my decision Theo and don't worry, I will make sure that my enemies will think twice before attempting to attack me," I tell her. She just accepts my reasoning without question, knowing that I can defend myself just fine and that I created a spell that will immediately teleport her to my side if necessary.
The next few days were spent preparing and falsifying our papers so that I can be employed as a teacher while Theo will be enrolled as a first year student.
The school? Kuoh Academy, an all-girls school that recently turned co-ed and is now accepting male students into its ranks.
A shame that some of my companions are currently preoccupied with their own problems and issues. I hope to see them again soon because something tells me that things are going to change, really change, and not for the better.
I'll need all the help that I can get if I am to wither the upcoming storm.
Peerage List:
King: The main character of this fic (Former Rune Knight, reborn as a high-class devil)
Queen: -
Bishop 1: -
Bishop 2: -
Knight 1: Theodora Belisarius (Reincarnated as a teenage girl, reborn as a devil)
Knight 2: -
Rook 1: -
Rook 2: -
Pawns 1-8: -
Author's Note:
Just a little something that I was urged to write. I'm not sure whether or not to continue since my purpose was to merely lighten a burden that I've wanted to drop for a few months now.
As you may have noticed from the title alone, this is a fic where the main character is overpowered so for those of you who dislike overpowered original characters, read another fic instead of this one.
There will also be references to his past life as a Rune Knight since this is a RO and Highschool DxD crossover after all, as well as certain weapons that will elicit questions and answers as to how he acquired them in the first place.
Also, I just noticed that writing in the first person feels more natural for me, although I fear that the rest of the characters won't be given focus, but that's to be expected when writing in the first person point of view, right? Third person or first person, it's going to be a challenge either way.
Aside from that, I'm deciding on whether or not to create my own characters for to fill the main character's peerage, or to just pluck a couple of people from different universes and put them in his peerage.
A message to all the new reader's: This is not a harem story so if you don't like it then read some other stories since I'd rather much prefer a normal pairing that a family of concubines.
What do you think?