Note: This is my very first Shin Megami Tensei & High School DxD crossover fanfiction so bear with me if I made errors in this story, especially with some characterizations.
This crossover story is based on the Bonds route of the game, in case some of you didn't notice at first.
Anyway, the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and High School DxD Light Novels are owned by Atlus and Ichiei Ishibumi, respectively. I just like to write this crossover.
Now, on with the story!
The Expanse.
It is the extra-dimensional place where demons and other supernatural entities originate and reside.
As of now, a certain blue-clad Samurai is wandering around the desolate landscape, looking for someone or something…
"Hmm…" The blue-clad Samurai muttered. "Burroughs, can do you a wide-scan for me?"
[Absolutely, Master Flynn,] Burroughs spoke from his Gauntlet. [Activating Scan Mode…]
Suddenly, Flynn's Gauntlet emitted green scanning lasers to the area around them. After a few seconds, the scanning lasers faded away and his Gauntlet glowed bright green.
[It's no good, Master,] Burroughs said in a worried tone. [I can't analyze this. All I get is an error. It's possible that this entity is something beyond our current search criteria. Be careful…]
"Understood, thank you Burroughs," Flynn remarked. "Now, the entity is around here somewhere..."
Suddenly, something within Flynn begins to pulse, putting him on high alert. He knew this kind of feeling happened twice before, when he faced the Ancient of Days and Sanat. It was then that Flynn got his answer, in a way he was not expecting.
"...I found you," A feminine monotone voice called out to the Samurai.
The feminine voice echoed nearby, calling specifically at him. Flynn felt a sense of dread coming from the monotonous voice making his senses go haywire. Flynn looked around and found the source of the voice was behind him all this time. As Flynn got a closer look, the entity was in a form of a small girl dressed in purple and black, who stared at Flynn with unwavering eyes, which unnerved Flynn a bit because her stare was only focused on him and him alone.
"Hmm…" Flynn muttered, keeping his right hand clenched onto Masakado's Katana. "So, you must be the entity I'm looking for."
To Flynn, that was a blunt way to introduce himself to the entity. Despite his rough introductions, it seemed that the little girl continued to stare at him, even if she completely ignored his gruff words. Instead, she just voiced out what her intention was.
"Flynn..." The small girl spoke his name in a droning voice. "I've come to take you with me."
Her words to him was neither a request nor a suggestion. By the tone of her voice, it was more of a demand. Regardless, Flynn didn't like that one bit. But there was something more important to him at the moment, something that had almost all of his attention.
"What brings you here?" Flynn asked quietly, forcing himself to be on a stare down the entity that was making his senses flaring all over the place.
As if to answer his question, the little girl dressed in purple and black opened her mouth to respond. But, the words that came out from her mouth were not the words Flynn wanted to hear.
"I am Ophis…" The little girl in a purple dress introduced herself. "And I have waited for far too long..."
Flynn's eyes snapped back to the little girl when suddenly, several waves of destructive energy quickly darted towards him, spinning around him to surround him quickly, with the intention of restricting his movements.
"Luster Candy," Flynn muttered the spell. Immediately, the buffing spell took effect, making it easier for him to dodge the destructive energies sent by Ophis to bind him down.
As soon as he escaped from that however, Ophis fired more energy bursts after him, racing to catch him in the air. Thanks to the Luster Candy buff, he barely managed to dodge all of them while landing on the ground with his right hand drawing Masakado's Katana. Meanwhile, Ophis' expressions remained unreadable to the blue-clad Samurai. Despite seeing Flynn dodged all of her attacks that were intended to capture or bind him down, her expressions remained more or less, neutral. It was then that the Samurai spoke to her about his answer to her demand.
"Ophis, whoever or whatever you are, I will not comply with your demands," Flynn declared while pointing Masakado's Katana at her. "I'll drive you away from this world by any means necessary!"
Upon declaring his answer to Ophis' demands, he pressed a few buttons on his Gauntlet and all of a sudden, 3 beings appeared on his side, all of them are had a look of disdain on Ophis. The beings that Flynn summoned were Yamato Takeru, Masakado, and Izanami, three of the National Defense Divinities.
"It seems you would dare not only harm our Master, but I would assume our country as well," Yamato Takeru spoke to Ophis. "Your actions against our Master and our country will not be tolerated."
"Our summoner is part of the country we were sworn to protect," Izanami declared. "We will not allow you to take our summoner away from us, let along our nation!"
"We must not tarry," Masakado said as he gazed both Flynn and Ophis. "Our opponent is of the highest caliber. We must drive her off by any means necessary."
And with that, Flynn and his demons began to cast spells in succession. Flynn began to glow white as he casted Concentrate, Masakado buffered everyone with Doping, Izanami casted Luster Candy, and Yamato Takeru began to Charge up his physical energy. However, Ophis just stood there, uncaring if Flynn's team buffed themselves to face her. Instead, orbs of energy began to appear beside her and when she pointed her index finger of her right hand to Flynn, the orbs of energy flew towards them. And as soon as those energy orbs reached Flynn and his demons...
*KABOOM!*
And thus, a huge explosion occurred and the whole Expanse was engulfed in a bright light, leaving the conclusion of the ensuing battle unclear for the time being…
High School Godslayer: IVA DxD
Chapter 1 - Mission in the New World
"Nghh…"
Nanashi slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself in the Monochrome Forest once again. Just like his previous visit to this place, the forest was eerily still. He could not hear the wind, or even hear the rustles of the trees, and even the ground beneath his feet felt strange. Suddenly, he could feel a familiar presence approaching him; it was someone that the 16-year old Hunter knew before.
"S-Stephen?" Nanashi asked.
"Yes, Nanashi…" The red-suited man in the wheelchair confirmed. "I've been waiting for you."
"So, Stephen…" Nanashi inquired. "Can you tell me what was that dream about?"
"The dream that you have experienced was actually a battle that happened in the Expanse not too long ago," Stephen explained. "Thankfully, Flynn managed to drive Ophis off from the Expanse and by extension, your world."
Nanashi let out a small sigh of relief. It was fortunate that Flynn managed to drive off that strange girl, but there were questions in his head that he was to clarify about.
"So, who was she?" Nanashi asked. "Why would she want Flynn with her?"
"I am not sure as to her motives with Flynn," Stephen answered. "I did some observations and managed to get the basic history of her being. Ophis is a being known her title, the Ouroboros Dragon."
Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon? Nanashi could have sworn he hadn't met a being like her before. Previously, he had fought against Lucifer, Merkabah, and the Divine Powers, but never someone like Ophis.
"It seems this would warrant an investigation on the world Ophis originated," Stephen continued. "Nanashi, just like previously, there are two choices. You can remain in your world or go to the world she originated. But this time, you do not have to go there and thus, you can let Flynn handle the situation."
With the choices Stephen offered to him, Nanashi looked down to the ground and closed his eyes as he carefully weigh the pros and cons of the two choices. To be frank, it wasn't really that different from the choices he had offered when confronting YHVH before. But, he still doesn't know what plans Ophis had with Flynn and what kind of world she came from. After considering the choices, Nanashi opened his eyes and looked at Stephen with a renewed resolve and an answer in mind.
"I…" Nanashi spoke, clenching his right hand in his chest. "I choose to investigate the world where she came from."
"It seems that you have made your choice," Stephen looked at Nanashi carefully. "Come to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor. I shall explain the details there. You should bring one of your companions with you as well."
And thus, the Monochrome Forest was engulfed in a bright light and Nanashi's dream has ended…
"Nanashi, wake up!"
Nanashi slowly opened up his eyes, only to see his childhood friend Asahi gently nudging him to consciousness.
"Yeah, yeah…" Nanashi groaned. "I'll be up in a second…"
Asahi noticed that Nanashi's eyes were a bit groggy upon being woken up. In response, the 16-year old boy rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms upon waking up from his slumber.
"Are you okay, Nanashi?" Asahi voiced her concerned on her childhood friend. "I saw you mumbling in your sleep earlier."
"You see, I had a dream earlier," Nanashi replied. "Wanna hear about it?"
"Sure, why not?" Asahi replied. "What was that dream about?"
"Asahi, I met Stephen in my dreams again…" Nanashi explained to her.
Then, Nanashi explained what his dream was to Asahi. The 16-year old girl listened to her childhood friend intently as he recounted the events of that dream to her.
"After that, Flynn summoned three of the National Defense Divinities and I couldn't see the conclusion of that fight," Nanashi finished. "According to Stephen, Flynn barely managed to drive Ophis off for now."
"So, in your dreams, you saw Flynn confronting a strange girl named Ophis?" Asahi spoke. "That Ophis girl seems mighty-powerful to me."
"Yeah, I'm not even sure what she wants with Flynn," Nanashi pondered. "But just like with Krishna and the Divine Powers, I bet her intentions isn't good."
"I agree with you, Nanashi," Asahi nodded. "Anyone who wants someone like Flynn is clearly up to no good."
"We're going to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor," Nanashi said to her. "I saw Stephen in my dreams and he's going to explain to us in detail on what is happening."
"Oh yeah, Stephen has ask for your help, right?" Asahi summarized, then she let out a small smile. "Looks like our adventures isn't exactly over, huh?"
"Our adventures aren't exactly over to begin with," Nanashi replied at her with a small smile. "So Asahi, are you sure you wanna come with me and do this together?"
"Of course I'll come with you, Nanashi. After all we did together, I'm stoked for another adventure," Asahi smiled at Nanashi. "But, I gotta inform the Kinshicho bartender about this and we need to eat breakfast too."
"Okay, breakfast comes first," Nanashi nodded. "Let's go, Asahi…"
Soon afterwards, the two Hunters went to the Association bar for some well-deserved breakfast.
The Kinshicho Association Bar.
The establishment was still packed with people coming and going, usually from rebuilding Tokyo. The only difference was that there were some non-hostile demons in the bar as well. A few moments later, Nanashi and Asahi entered the bar and sat down in two of the bar stools near the bartender.
"H-hey, it's you guys…" The bartender said to them.
"We'd like the special one please," Nanashi placed an order while handing 100 macca over to the bartender.
"Alright t-then, two orders of Kinshicho's special inarizushi c-coming right up," The bartender replied. "A-along with some b-bread and drinks from Mikado…"
It wasn't that long when their trays containing their food orders arrived. Without hesitation, the two began to eat their meal. Since the events last year, the trade between Tokyo and Mikado has resulted in better food qualities, among other things. This resulted in normalizing the growth and development among the adolescent humans in Tokyo, which included Nanashi and Asahi. But still, the weight of the new mission still looms on them, especially Nanashi, in which the bartender noticed.
"W-what's with the long faces, you two?" The Kinshicho bartender asked the two of them.
"Listen, Nanashi was asked to do a big assignment from, uh… the Hunter's Association!" Asahi explained. "I'm going to accompany him for this task, so can we put my training on-hold for now?"
"S-sure thing, Asahi." The bartender stuttered. "Do what you need to do, Asahi."
As Asahi and the Kinshicho bartender continue their discussion, Nanashi fiddled with his smartphone and saw a lot of messages from his friends and companions. He quickly opened the inbox and read each of the messages carefully.
Ding~!
Toki: It's been a while
It's been a while since we last fought together, Master. I have travelled between Tokyo and Mikado in order to search for "myself", relatively speaking. I've heard from Stephen that you decided to go onto another mission to a new world. When the time comes, I hope I would accompany you there to test my strength, but I must do my self-searching for the time being…
Hallelujah: Yo, Leader!
Even a year after our adventures, leading the Ashura-Kai is tough. I heard that you're going into some place in a dangerous mission. I'd really wanna come with you, Leader, but Ashura-Kai needs me here. At least I can send you Chiro's demon data to you, Leader. You'll need Chiro's help in this one, I think…
As soon as he fully read Hallelujah's message, Nanashi glanced at the confirmation message after closing the inbox.
[Holy Chironnupu is now unlocked for fusion.]
With the data of Hallelujah's demon transferred to his smartphone, Nanashi resumed reading the messages, starting with Nozomi…
Nozomi: How've you been?
Just this morning, Stephen arrived in the Fairy Forest and informed me of the mission you're gonna do. I sure wish I can accompany you in your next mission, but I still have my duties here as the Fairy Queen. But, I'll also be in the Yamato Reactor with both Danu and Dagda with me. By the way, both of them has something in store for the two of you.
Gaston: Journeying with my Brother
You need not worry. Navarre is with me in our joint effort to connect Mikado and Tokyo in our own way. I had a dream where Stephen explained to me on your intentions. Therefore, I'd wish for you not only luck, but I hope you're going do this mission for the people.
Navarre: Travelling Place to Place
Ha, how have you been, my top pupil? As for me, I have been travelling around Mikado and Tokyo alongside my brother. I heard from this Stephen fellow that you'll be on a new mission on a brand new world! I'd say that's a big honor, considering accomplishments we had together!
Isabeau: Tokyo and Mikado Relations
It's been a while, Nanashi. The relations between Mikado and Tokyo has been doing really well a year since we last defeated YHVH together. I heard about the mission Stephen bestowed on you and I wish you the best of luck. I think Flynn will also be in the Yamato Perpetual Reactor as well.
As soon as he read the last of the messages, Nanashi closed the inbox of his smartphone. He noticed that Asahi just finished her discussions with the bartender and returned to her seat.
"Wow, you've been reading through that," Asahi said. "Can I see those messages?"
"Uh, sure Asahi," Nanashi answered. "I'll forward those messages to your smartphone."
Nanashi fiddled with his smartphone a bit, and soon afterwards, the same messages were sent to Asahi's smartphone for her to read. While Asahi was reading all the inbox messages forwarded to her smartphone by Nanashi, both of them reflected on the whereabouts of their companions that they haven't seen since they defeated the Creator God a year ago.
"Hmm, it seems everyone else is busy," Asahi muttered as she checked her smartphone. "Hallelujah is busy leading the Ashura-Kai, Gaston around Mikado and Tokyo with Navarre, and Toki is on a self-searching journey to who-knows-where..."
"Yeah, seems our friends are busy nowadays," Nanashi remarked. "Although, Stephen asked me to bring one of you along. I guess, you're the only one available right now, Asahi."
"Well, I'll gladly follow you anywhere," Asahi replied while smiling at Nanashi. "Even if you'll go to a whole new world, I'll be there with you, no matter what."
"Thank you Asahi," Nanashi let out a small smile. "I'm glad I could count on you."
Asahi let out her smile in return and the two of them resumed their meals. After finishing their breakfast, the two Hunters stood up and made their way out of the Association bar. Just before they left the establishment, the bartender said these words to them.
"I h-hope I see you two alive again."
A few minutes later, after arriving in Roppongi region through Shibuya Underground District, Nanashi and Asahi resumed their journey to Camp Ichigaya. They were walking towards their destination when they heard an unearthly laughter echoing around them.
"Mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…"
Suddenly, Nanashi and Asahi were on high alert. The voice instigating the laughter was clearly feminine, but it had the same distortion similar to the voices of most demons, making Nanashi and Asahi feel uneasy.
"Something doesn't feel right," Nanashi muttered. "Do you feel it too, Asahi?"
"Yeah, and it's making me nervous," Asahi replied. "I've got a bad feeling we're being watched…"
The laughter continued to echo around them for a few more seconds before it ceased. Just before the two Hunters let out a sigh of relief, a monstrous female demon revealed itself to them. The female demon was completely naked from the waist up, but her lower part of her body was that of a grotesque beast, supported by four fat, clawed legs and a snake-like tail. All in all, she resembles a mishmash of human and beast in a centaur body plan. She was also holding a spear in both of her hands while looking at the two Hunters with eyes that expressed her desire to eat them.
"I've never seen that demon before…" Asahi grimaced. "W-what should we do, Nanashi?"
"You are cunning for a bunch of c-cute little h-humans!" The monstrous female declared. "I am Viser the Stray Devil. I will rip your bodies apart, and f-f-feast on them down to the bone!"
"Whoever this one is, she sure is dangerous," Nanashi muttered cautiously as he pressed a few buttons on his smartphone. "Asahi, stay close to me."
Nanashi considered summoning his strongest demons to deal with this unknown threat he and Asahi are facing, but he ultimately chose to summon three demons he thinks that are strong enough to defeat the threat before them.
"Summon!" Nanashi declared.
Nanashi's smartphone glowed in a blue light. Suddenly, three magic circles appeared near Nanashi. Within those magic circles, demons that Nanashi called to battle revealed themselves.
"I am Raptor Moh Shuvuu," The female demon introduced. "Nice to meet you. Now, let's deal with this creepy woman!"
"And I'm Fairy Jack Frost, ho!" The blue-capped snow demon saluted Nanashi. "Let's show hee-her we mean business, ho!"
"My name is Megami Ishtar," The female demon dressed scantily in white spoke. "Let us deal with this monstrous threat!"
"You are cunning for a little bunch of b-b-brats!" Viser roared. "I will rip your bodies, and devour a-a-all of them up!"
Upon declaring her intentions, Viser caressed her breasts and not long afterwards, she fired acid globs from her breasts directly at them. Nanashi and his demons only had seconds to react to this assault.
"Luster Candy!" Nanashi spoke the incantation. Immediately, the buffing spell took effect for Nanashi and his demons, allowing most of them to dodge the acidic globs except for Moh Shuvuu. Some of the acidic globs has managed to splash on her coat. The acidic glob began to eat away on the Raptor demon's coat, producing a hissing sound.
"Eww, some of her icky stuff are in my coat!" Moh Shuvuu shrieked. "I hope you'd allow me to pay her back, Mister!"
"Yeah, we will," Nanashi affirmed. "But, we gotta wear her out first. Asahi, heal up Moh Shuvuu!"
"You got it, Nanashi!" Asahi affirmed as she approached Moh Shuvuu. "Diarama."
A green aura emanated from Asahi's smartphone and enveloped Moh Shuvuu, healing her wounds and stitching up the holes in her coat. The Raptor demon nodded to Asahi in gratitude and resumed to face Viser.
Enraged that one her prey recovered from her acid attack, Viser continued her acid attacks at them. Unfortunately for her, Nanashi and his demons proved to be too fast for her to hit due to the buffing spell.
"Damn y-you all!" Viser voiced her anger as she continued attacking them. "S-stand still and d-die!"
Viser tried to stomp and slash on Moh Shuvuu with her oversized fore claws, but Moh Shuvuu managed to evade the monster's attempts of crushing her underfoot while a sphere of wind formed in her right hand.
"Have a taste of wind," Moh Shuvuu held a sphere of wind in her hand. "Zandyne!"
The Raptor demon released the wind sphere and turned it into a high pressure air blast directly aimed at Viser. Viser let out a high-pitched scream, as the high-pressure air blast managed to inflict many cuts and wounds on her. Enraged that Moh Shuvuu managed to injure her badly, Viser grabbed her spear and threw it at her, but Ishtar managed to intercept the attack. She caught the spear that was intended for Moh Shuvuu and shattered it in half.
"You will not get us so easily," Ishtar declared as a surge of electricity formed in her right hand. "Ziodyne!"
Ishtar released the electric charge from her right hand, and a lightning bolt electrocutes Viser. The female monstrosity let out a wail of agony as she gets electrified violently. As her monstrous body was seething with burns and smoke, she had barely have enough time to see the snow demon jumped in front of her.
"It's my turn to hit the monster woman, hee-ho!" Jack Frost declared. "Bufudyne, ho!"
As Jack Frost spoke the incantation, chunks of ice began to form around Viser's lower legs, and then promptly shattered, making her roar in pain.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
As Viser roared in pain from the ice shards lacerating her body from the inside, she gets electrified again by Ishtar's Ziodyne. Upon receiving the second Ziodyne from Ishtar, Viser slumped down into the ground, mortally wounded and dying. The smell of electrified and burning demon flesh was in the air around them.
"So, this is how it ends for me," Viser rasped as she weakly stared at Nanashi. "Kill me… End my suffering…"
"As you wish..." Nanashi muttered at her, contemplating her request. A few moments later, he muttered an incantation that represented his answer. "Hamaon."
Upon reciting the spell, a bright orb appeared in Nanashi's right hand and flew into the monster's body. The orb of light engulfed Viser's dying body, disintegrating it rapidly until nothing remained of her but dust.
With Viser's demise, the battle came into an end. Asahi let out a small sigh of relief while Nanashi dismissed his demons into his smartphone. They both resumed their trek to Camp Ichigaya, hopefully without any more random encounters with demons.
A few minutes later, Nanashi and Asahi entered Camp Ichigaya. As they were walking towards the hallway leading to the lower floors, both of them were contemplating on the encounter they had with Viser earlier.
"That was close," Asahi sighed as they entered Camp Ichigaya. "Nanashi, what was that strange demon, Viser, right? She called herself a 'Stray Devil', whatever that is."
"I'm not sure myself," Nanashi replied as he glanced on his smartphone. "Even the Demon Compendium doesn't have any data on her."
"Not even in the Demon Fusion app?" Asahi inquired.
"According to Mido, Viser's data didn't show up there either," Nanashi confirmed. "Otherwise, I would've been able to fuse her."
Seeing there was no further point in discussing who or what Viser was, Nanashi and Asahi walked through the stairs and into the lower floors. As with the last time they visited here, Camp Ichigaya remained desolate. Even the relics they find there was still 1-Star Foods. But, as they walked towards the lower floors, the two of them noticed that there was an absence of demons in the building.
"Strange, aren't supposed to be random demons nearby?" Asahi asked curiously.
"Yeah, I guess Flynn cleared out those demons?" Nanashi guessed. "Either way, we need to keep going."
It wasn't that long before the two of them made it to the door leading to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor. As Nanashi opened the metal door, they were greeted by several familiar faces, including the enigmatic man who called them here in the first place.
"Welcome," Stephen greeted them. "We awaited your arrival."
"You guys," Asahi exclaimed. "What are you all doing here?"
"Stephen calls us here," Flynn replied. "He'll explain something important to us soon."
"We figured that you two will be wrapped up in another adventure," Nozomi added. "We'd like to give you two some parting gifts here."
"The possibility of humans coexisting with gods, demons, and angels became possible because of you," Danu explained. "Because of that, we would like to repay you for your efforts."
"If I was my old self, I wouldn't be concerned about this at all," Dagda remarked. "But I take that back, you did a good job as my Godslayer, kid."
"I would encourage the two of you not only to do what is needed, but also to help its people in whatever way you can," Danu expressed her opinion, then turned her attention to Nanashi. "As our token of gratitude of destroying the Cosmic Egg and defeating YHVH, I want you to have these items."
Danu clanged her staff into the floor and all of a sudden, two items materialized in front of Nanashi and Asahi. The first item was a Cauldron engraved in Celtic runes while a second item appeared to be a Four-Leaved Clover encrusted in pure gold.
"A golden four-leaved clover and a cauldron?" Asahi examined the items. "What are they?"
"Those are mediums required in calling us through the Demon Summoning Program," Dagda answered. "We can't accompany you this time since my mother and I still have duties in this world. This is the next best thing, kid."
"The four-leaved clover is one of the traditional symbols of luck," Danu answered. "Each of the leaves represent a concept: The first leaf represents hope, the second stands for faith, the third is for love and the fourth leaf brings luck."
"And that cauldron belongs to me, and it's not just a medium for you to summon a part of me," Dagda explained. "If you ever need to eat, just reach inside my cauldron and think of the food you want to eat and it'll appear in your hand free of charge, kid."
"As the deities of the Tuatha De, you two will have our blessing," Danu said her final words to Nanashi and Asahi. "I hope the hands of fate would sway in your favor."
Not long after, the two gods of the Tuatha De disappeared from view, with Dagda returning to the Fairies' Forest and Danu returning to Nozomi. As soon as the artifacts were storied digitally in Nanashi's smartphone, a message appeared in the screen.
[Deity Dagda and Lady Danu are now available for fusion.]
"If you will, I would like to lend me the old Gauntlet and both of your smartphones," Stephen spoke out. "Nanashi and Asahi, if you two please…"
Asahi glanced at Nanashi for confirmation and he nodded in response, thus the two Hunters gave their smartphones and Akira's old Gauntlet to Stephen.
"Now, this would take a few moments…" Stephen muttered as he snapped the fingers of his right hand and the three devices began to float in mid-air.
Nanashi, Asahi, and the rest looked in awe as Akira's old Gauntlet began to dissolve into particles. Those particles began to merge with the two Hunter's smartphones, enveloping the whole area is a bright light, forcing everyone else to close their eyes. As the bright light faded, Nanashi and Asahi slowly opened their eyes and were shocked at what had become of their smartphones. Their devices were transformed from smartphones into what looked like a gray version of standard Samurai Gauntlets. The newly created Gauntlets gently floated to them, which they picked up.
"Oh… my… gosh, you turned our smartphones into bona fide Gauntlets…" Asahi said aloud while holding her Gauntlet, then she turned her attention to her childhood friend. "Nanashi, please tell me that isn't a dream…"
Nanashi was about to replay to her question, but Stephen managed to answer her question first.
"I assure you that this is real, Asahi." Stephen answered calmly. "Using Akira's Gauntlet as a base, I have transformed your smartphones into Gauntlets."
"This is incredible," Nanashi muttered in awe as he and Asahi strapped their new Gauntlets on their left arms. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. This feat is quite easy for me to achieve at my current state," Stephen let out a small smile at them. "You two will need the new Gauntlets for the upcoming task I have in store for you two."
As their briefing continued, panels moved aside to reveal a black screen in their new Gauntlets, which went green with a loading icon. Neither of them pay any attention as they were listening to what Stephen had to say to them.
"Furthermore, I have added Burroughs into your Gauntlets," Stephen explained to Nanashi and Asahi. "She has aided Flynn several times in the past. She would explain the features of your Gauntlets if you two would like."
[Hello humans,] The AI spoke through their Gauntlets. [I am Burroughs, a navigational AI.]
"Wow, that's how Burroughs looks like?" Asahi stared at her Gauntlet in wonder. "This is so cool!"
"Indeed it is," Nozomi smiled. "You two have earned those Gauntlets."
"Yes, that would be helpful," Nanashi nodded. "But, please let's get to the mission you have on us."
"Alright, let us talk about the matters on hand," Stephen solemnly nodded. "As you all know, defeating YHVH secured humanity's future in this world. But, a new threat independent of YHVH has begun to encroach in the Expanse."
"A new threat?" Nanashi repeated.
"Allow me to elaborate," Stephen continued. "I do suspect that Ophis' appearance in the Expanse was only the start of this. It was fortunate that Flynn managed to drive her off for the time being…"
"Yes, it was a hard battle, but I've driven her off," Flynn affirmed. "But, even I am not sure when she would do such an attempt to me again."
"Furthermore, I did more observations and found the some information regarding the new world," Stephen elaborated. "The new world is similar to the fact that the supernatural coexists with humanity. The place that I will send you two is a town in Japan called Kuoh. More or less, Kuoh is a special place where the Three Factions make their ground."
"Three Factions?" Nanashi and Asahi said in unison.
"The Three Factions are comprised of supernatural beings from the Bible. They are divided into Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils," Stephen explained. "The three groups have been on a fragile ceasefire since the conclusion of the Great War thousands of years ago."
"Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils?" Nanashi inquired. "Are they the same thing as the gods, demons and angels here?"
"The supernatural races of that world differs greatly from the gods, demons, and angels of this world," Stephen answered. "Gods, demons and angels of your world are born from the observations of humans. Many of the supernatural factions of the new world were born 'naturally' into existence. Therefore, they can use the power of observation in a similar way to that of humans."
"Let me get this straight…" Asahi contemplated. "Does that mean it's easier to convince them if they're wrong about something?"
"Considering that demon negotiations are unpredictable, maybe," Nanashi mused. "Even if they aren't humans, at the very least, they're people that we can convince more easily."
"After the conclusion of the Great War, there were many losses among the Three Factions," Stephen continued. "As such, one of the Devils devised the Evil Piece System to replenish their numbers. The Evil Pieces were designed to allow high-ranking Devils change other species into devils themselves, and have them as their servants. This is called the Peerage System."
"Evil Pieces?" Nanashi interrupted. "That doesn't sound good, right?"
"On the contrary, the 'Evil' word in 'Evil Piece' is mostly a misnomer," Stephen confirmed. "However, Devils inherently desire power. So, you two will be tempted to join someone's Peerage at some point in that world. Do your best to uphold your humanity at all times."
"Understood," Nanashi replied. "We'll do our best not to be swayed into joining any Peerage."
"Yeah, considering you just regained your humanity a year ago, Nanashi…" Asahi added. "We won't be tempted by them, that's for sure!"
"Therefore, the mission for you two is to travel to that world and find any leads that connect to Ophis," Stephen said at two Hunters. "While at the same time, helping its inhabitants in a way you two would do best. I have also provided housing and legal papers for you two in that new world."
At this point, Burroughs chimed in with her saying these words.
[I'll register that as a new quest on the list.]
[Main Quest: "Investigate the New World" has been accepted]
[Your mission in the new world is to find any leads involving the Ophis and help its inhabitants to resolve their conflicts in the most meaningful way possible. You two must strive to go above the temptations of Devils in that world, who will most likely convince either of you to join their Peerages.]
"Alright, got it," Nanashi reviewed the mission log on his new Gauntlet, and then turned his attention to Flynn. "So Flynn, are you gonna stay here?"
"Yes, I have to keep an eye on Ophis in case she tries to enter the Expanse again," Flynn affirmed. "Hmm… Nanashi, I have something to give to you for this task."
Flynn approached Nanashi and gave him a black and brown card. Upon being given the card, Nanashi recognized what kind of card it was.
"A DDS card?" Nanashi muttered as he held the black card in his right hand.
"That card contains most of the Special Fusion data I've gathered in my journey so far," Flynn explained. "I had a feeling that you'll be able to fuse those demons and use them better than I would."
"Does that include the data for the National Defense Divinities?" Nanashi inquired.
"Sadly, no. They are closely tied to their summoning mediums," Flynn shook his head. "Nanashi, at least you have Tenkai's medium with you, the Myoko Disk. I'd guess Tenkai himself entrusted you with his medium?"
"Yes, Tenkai entrusted his medium to me a year ago," Nanashi confirmed. "Either way, thanks a lot, Flynn."
Without further ado, Nanashi pointed his Gauntlet's camera into the card. His Gauntlet emitted green scanning lasers all over the DDS card.
[Scanning…]
[Multiple demons are now unlocked for fusion…]
"One last thing for you two," Stephen addressed them. "We will send you to a specific location in the new world, an apartment in Kuoh, where you two will be staying for the duration of the mission. Inside the apartment, you two will find some legal papers affirming your existences in that world, as well as the transfer papers to a school called Kuoh Academy."
"Transfer papers?" Asahi mumbled. "Does that mean Nanashi and I will have to attend high school?"
High school… those were the words that Nanashi and Asahi did not expect to hear. After all, throughout their lives, school wasn't exactly a concern for them due to the fact they lived in a post-apocalyptic world. Fortunately, both of them managed to find school books during their relic hunting and have kept some of those books to read in their spare time.
"Yes, you two will have to attend classes as part of your mission," Stephen confirmed. "I am sure you two have read some school books in your spare time, yes?"
"Yes, we did," Nanashi affirmed while glancing at Asahi. "Well, it was her idea to read those school books in our spare time. I just didn't expect that would come in handy now."
"Nanashi, you're so mean..." Asahi pouted.
"Well, it's because it is true," Nanashi shrugged.
"Ahem, I hope that you two are ready," Stephen addressed them. "In a short while, Flynn will activate a portal through the Yamato Perpetual Reactor."
"Yeah, I guess it's time for us to go to the new world," Nanashi said. "Thanks guys, for everything."
"Just take care of yourselves," Nozomi said to them. "It's a new adventure for you two. Hope you two can make some friends there!"
"Yeah, we'll make sure we put your gifts to good use!" Asahi declared. "I hope we'll see each other after this is over…"
"Flynn, would you kindly do the honors," Stephen asked the Samurai calmly, which Flynn complied by activating the switch to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor.
Within seconds, the Reactor hummed and swirling energies began to engulf Nanashi and Asahi, drawing them into the center of the Reactor. And thus, the two Hunters have left their home world for their new mission.
A few moments later, both Nanashi and Asahi opened their eyes, only to be greeted by a vast, white space spreads as far as they can see. Nanashi and Asahi could not see anyone else among them.
"Where are we, Nanashi?" Asahi asked him. "I don't think this is the place that we're supposed to go."
"Yeah, Asahi…" Nanashi muttered. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"
Suddenly, the duo could feel an ominous presence near them. Nanashi and Asahi turned around to see four shapeless, monochrome entities appearing before them. The entities gradually took the forms of the people that they knew back in their own world.
"This can't be," Asahi looked at the three figures before them. "Manabu, Nikkari, Toki, Hallelujah?"
"I don't think that's them, Asahi," Nanashi warned her. "They're using the people we know to talk to us."
Each of the monochrome entities looked at them with utter contempt. Nanashi and Asahi felt a lot of otherworldly pressure emanating from them.
"The gate has opened once again," The monochrome version of Toki spoke. "The two Vagrants from the world that chose neutrality… You two may call us the White…"
"Upon receiving knowledge and wisdom," White Manabu said. "The atoms that learned desire has opened the gate once more."
"We ask the mitochondria within you two…" White Nikkari asked them. "Have you ever given thought to why you humans are born? Why the world exists?"
"Yes, we have," Nanashi answered. "Ever since we defeated YHVH, the future of our world has been ever hopeful."
"We endured, suffered, and even died in our journey," Asahi added. "But, we persevered and succeeded in making our world a better place for everyone."
Unfortunately, the reasoning fell to deaf ears to the White. The Archaic entities' expressions remained unchanged, even at the convictions of the two humans before them.
"Those are your own insights…" White Hallelujah surmounted. "But, such answers are utterly meaningless to us…"
"A single atom's revolt will damage no more than a single cell…" White Toki droned in. "The damaged cell will quickly be healed by the other cells..."
"Your efforts in your own world matters little in the grand scheme of things…" White Hallelujah added. "You two are no different from the other humans. Your kind has always been pawns in God's schemes."
"Humans are but prisoners of God's machinations. But we know a way... A way to escape God's control," White Manabu spoke. "Yes... We will simply collaborate with certain inhabitants of the new world to reduce everything to nothing."
"We won't let you," Nanashi drew his blade and pointed it to the White. "We will stop you!"
"We've worked hard for our future," Asahi agreed. "I'm with Nanashi. We'll stop your plans, whatever those plans are!"
"No... You two and your messianic tendencies… Little wonder you two are similar to the Fifth Son, Flynn…" White Nikkari rebuked. "What do you think you two can do? Both of you have saved your world, yet you two would do the same to the new world...? Cowardly humans!"
"No matter what choices you two make, the world will always drown in self-destruction," White Hallelujah added. "Yet, you two are blinded by such false hope that our words became meaningless to you two…"
"Why do you disagree with us? Are you two certain to place your hopes in the possibility of a future, even for the new world?" White Manabu's voice seethed with contempt at them. "Even after we have shown to the Fifth Son that there is no future for you, humans?"
"Even if we have to face despair again, we won't lose hope, not even to you, White..." Nanashi stated. "We'll investigate the world Ophis came from and help its people. If you try to stop us from doing so, then we'll defeat you!"
"It seems you two are intent on opposing us, so be it…" White Toki concluded. "May your mission in the new world be riddled with disappointment and despair."
Suddenly, the scenery around them shone in a brilliant white, and thus a new possibility has opened for both worlds. But, the direction for that new possibility remains to be seen…
To Be Continued…
Well, here it is. The first chapter of this crossover has been written! I hope I didn't make everyone here OOC, especially the DxD characters. Constructive Criticism is appreciated. And I also read suggestions from readers as well. Feel free to make suggestions. Who knows what direction this story would go?
Yes, Nanashi's Ishtar has Null Phys fused into her, which is why Ishtar was able to catch that spear intended for Moh Shuvuu earlier.
In the original Light Novels, Viser was depicted holding a spear in her hands. And the reason why a Stray Devil like Viser appeared in a MegaTen world? It's an important plot point, so I can't spoil that for now.
And lastly, I hope I can find a good Beta Reader for this story. Someone who has enough knowledge with DxD. I can handle the characterizations of SMT IV characters well. I just hope the Beta Reader I'm looking for is out there.
On the next chapter:
High School Godslayer: IVA DxD
Chapter 2: Enter the Hunter Duo!
I'll make sure to bring more chapters next time!