Highschool DxD is not mine.
After I told that little brawl to Tamamo, she frowned and crossed her arms. She'd always hated it when I risked my life for whatever cause. Well, steering clear from problem would make me live longer, so I did my best to abide. But sometimes, I just had to fight.
" Geez, to encounter a crusader here…you've got the worst luck ever, eh?"
" It seems I used it all up when I met you…Considering you're the luckiest thing that's happened to me."
She punched my shoulder lightly, making me wince with fake pain.
" Then, I'll have to make it up, won't I? For exhausting your life-time's worth of luck."
" Just stay with me. That's all I need and will ever need."
She looked up and fell to the bed.
" You know, during my time as a Goddess, I've found that one is never enough for a man. It's not strange for Gods and humans alike. You've known how emperors throughout ages married multiple women? Or when queens take multiple husbands?"
" What are you talking about?"
" It's just…nah, never mind. Forget I ever asked that."
" If you think I'll cheat, forget it. You know what my fatal flaw is."
My fatal flaw was loyalty. Once someone gained my trust, I'd do whatever it took to protect and help him/her. I would never betray someone who'd practically seen everything from me. I wouldn't cheat, and that's a fact.
" Well, let's just sleep. We don't want to get scolded again tomorrow, do we?"
" It's my turn, by the way."
" Turn for what?"
I grinned and raised her favorite blanket. Then, I covered her up and tied her with extra thick rope for mountain climbers.
" To tie you up in your blanket for the whole night. Good luck sleeping, dear."
She thrashed around for the whole night, so I went out and slept on the couch. Man, she sure was loud. I could barely sleep that night.
" Yaaawwn~ If only you didn't trash around so much…"
" You tied me up. So that's your fault."
" Okay, okay. I'll make it up later…"
Fellow males, do not ever try to defy your woman. They could be scary as hell if they really wanted to.
And…
Don't ever let anyone's eyes get to her. Women usually felt bad if they were to be the eye candy of those she didn't want to impress. Men's eyes could be very terrifying. It was like being undressed by those eyes.
So, I returned their perverted eyes with a glare and all went well.
School was boring, as usual. Although I could see the excitement the normal kids had. Friends, teachers, and problems…they all contributed to this thing named youth. I managed to get through yet another day inside this living hell, thanks to my arm-pillow.
Now, I felt a rather unpleasant aura coming from the ORC club, so I was going to investigate, but it seemed like Tamamo had gotten there first. I waltzed into the room, getting annoyed looks from two very suspicious people in white robes. They pulled off their hoods and showed us their faces.
One was a pretty athletic girl with blue hair and a streak of green on it. She had a big package lying beside her, which was emitting this stinky aura I sensed earlier. Another was a girl with light brown hair tied in pigtails. Well, I had to admit, she was kind of cute, in innocent and energetic way. If only she didn't emit holy stench from her body.
" I feel I've known you before…where was it?"
The brown haired girl loomed closer and studied my face. She had this cinnamon-like smell…a little too sweet for my tastes. I pushed her back a little.
" Sorry. Not comfortable around women."
" Oh…I see."
She sat back. It was my turn to examine her. Wait, she was right. I did meet her somewhere before. Not many people had purple irises. However, before I could pinpoint that fact, the blue-haired one slammed her fist to the table.
" Enough chit-chat. We'll tell you what we want, Gremory-hime."
This blue-haired one was quite aggressive. She boldly stated her position and pressed on, without any constraint. She was a power idiot type, who settled everything with fists. She fixed her glare on me and scoffed.
" I'm Xenovia, no surname, and this is Irina Shidou. We were sent from Vatican to retrieve… items from your territory."
Akeno came and placed a tray filled with cups of tea on the table. Rias picked one and sipped it elegantly, like any royal should. Xenovia and Irina didn't even cast a glance to this form of politeness, even though Rias had proven its safety.
" Well, what might these items be?"
" That is our business, Gremory-hime. Please stay out of this."
Rias giggled and placed down her cup. Her smile changed to a rather cold and formal one. It was scary how fast she could change expressions, really.
" So, you expect me to let you run rampant in my territory, without even knowing what you're after. As you might not know… trust is the very foundation of cooperation."
Tamamo leaned to me and whispered to my ear.
" She's a fast learner."
" This is going to be fun."
We went back to observing with renewed interest. I was a little intrigued by these items. Holy swords had become quite a problem to them, as most of their most powerful collection was left in the depth of hell.
" We can just kill you and be done with it. We were instructed to slay anything that stands against us."
" So, you're saying you tell us out of kindness? Is that how you ask for someone's help?"
I smirked at her retorts. She really was improving in terms of political abilities. These girls didn't stand a chance. They might as well draw their blades and try using force.
" Fine…Not long ago, several Excalibur pieces were stolen. Right now, about 4 of them are missing. We were tasked to retrieve them and return them safely."
" By who? I thought Excalibur pieces are safely hidden inside several churches."
" We believe they were stolen by Kokabiel and his henchmen. Out intel said that he's here in this town, so we marched here. After all, Excaliburs can only be fought with Excaliburs."
I wanted to laugh. They were sending two brats that were still wet behind their ears to retrieve such important items? And against Kokabiel on top of that?
" Not to sound rude, but do you all have a death wish?"
They all looked at me as if I'd grown a second head, especially the devils except Kiba. He'd been staring from the corner for a while in silence. I decided to ignore him and focus on these two suicidal idiots in front of me. They scoffed at me and patted their concealed blades. A huge package wrapped in bandages and a thin ribbon tied to Irina's arm.
" Excalibur can only be matched by another. God bless, we'll get them back for sure."
The devils cringed at the mention of a holy name laced with faith. I was affected too, but nothing more than tingle on my head. This holy system God made was really powerful. To think it could affect anyone in the world…He wasn't called 'Almighty' for nothing. However, I thought the church would value their warriors more. These girls had little to no experience at all, if I judged from how they carried themselves.
" Do you have some sort of secret weapon? Like, another holy artifact?"
It was high chance that those girls acted on blind faith. The church's belief was quite extreme, after all. If the high priest told them to fall on their swords, I wonder if they'd do that. However, I had no time to evaluate how they acted, since the blonde knight behind me was already oozing with bloodlust. As I wanted to conclude my talk, Xenovia turned her attention to Asia. The blonde nun gasped at her glare.
" You….you're Asia Argento, correct? I feel I've seen your face before…"
I got ignored. Damn you, blue haired idiot exorcist!
" Y-Yes, I am…" She stuttered.
" Hmph…I heard that the saint had fallen to a witch…and now a devil? Fitting for someone who abandoned God's grace."
" I…I…"
" Tell me, do you still believe in Him?"
She looked down, suddenly interested with the wooden floor.
" Come on, Xenovia. She's a devil now, if you haven't noticed."
" I-I've believed in God for my whole life…I can't just throw Him away…"
Xenovia's eyes sharpened. She walked to the sofa and brandished the holy sword. It was a double-handed broadsword with three points instead of one. The guard was shaped like an axe, and the pommel had a cross on its base. She raised it overhead, preparing to strike Asia down.
" Then, let me cut you down. Even if you've sinned, I believe God will still forgive you. Let this holy sword cleanse all your sins!"
I was irritated by now. I'd seen how those church people do things they thought was right. Sending people on death missions, throwing rocks at sinners, exiling, experiments…I was sick of them. Add my own hatred to the mix, and boom.
I lunged at the blue girl and grabbed her wrist. She struggled, but I kicked her back of knees, forcing her to kneel. Then, I twisted her wrist, snatching the sword off her. It all happened so fast, the others except Tamamo couldn't even react.
" XENOVIA!"
Irina jumped forward, transforming her ribbon to a katana. I raised my feet to block her slash nimbly. Luckily, I always wore shoes with titanium soles. Handy for breaking a jaw or two. Then, I released Xenovia and walked in front of Asia. I spun her sword around and stabbed it on the floor. Its aura was making my hand itch.
" Tell me, are you living?"
" Of course I do. What are you getting at?"
" Just wondering how you can kill a maiden who lives to heal others for most of her life. If you can do it so easily, you're pretty much dead here, aren't you?"
I pointed at my chest.
" It's not killing, it's divine mercy."
" Same old story. You know, it's the same if you say you're putting her out of misery, or divine mercy, or whatever, she's gonna be dead anyway, right?"
" Her fault for straying off God's path. It's my job as His servant to pass judgment."
My eyes constricted, and my left arm's tattoo ached. It was hidden by my sleeve, but still, it felt like burning. I swore I saw red a bit.
" You're a human, killing another human? Has God ever told you to kill her? Or just those shitty fat priests from your holy HQ? "
I pointed at her and scowled.
" You've got no rights."
My words reverberated with power, shaking the room's atmosphere. I didn't know what happened, but my voice was deeper and calmer, despite my anger.
She staggered, but held her ground.
" She's a witch who healed filthy devils. Betrayer like her must be cleansed to give her a place in Heaven!"
Even Tamamo snorted at that nonsense she was spouting. I turned to Asia and used Alduin's power to see her worst nightmares. I gritted my teeth when I saw a little girl no older than ten being chased out and called witch, nearly executed if it weren't for her valuable gear. She was no more than a little naïve child with heart more humane than the holiest saints.
"….you, you said you're some executor to heretics, didn't you?"
" Yes, I did."
" Kill yourself, then."
The tone in my voice sent shivers to their spine. I guess I put a little too much bloodlust inside. I'd had enough of the church taking lives just for fun. It had been the same. Divine judgement, mercy, blah blah yada yada.
" If the God you're talking about is as loving as the Bible stated, and as merciful as those priests from church say, it means you're the heretic here for trying to kill one of His most devoted follower, despite being a witch, devil, whatever you call her."
" WHA-! How dare you call me that, you-"
Irina stopped her from saying more.
" Careful, exorcist. Watch where you're standing, or you might get 'divine punishment'."
The devils smirked.
" Well, despite being a devil, she still heals people without asking anything. You're a servant of God, wielder of holy sword, yet you want to kill a holy maiden. How does that sound?"
She was silenced, knowing her defeat. She turned tails and went for the door, but swords erupted from the ground, blocking her path. Kiba smiled and pointed his sword at her.
" Wait, I haven't offered you a senpai's hospitality, have I?"
" Back off, knight."
" Not until I can shatter that cursed sword of yours and cut you down. I've been waiting years for this day to come…I'm not losing it."
He let out an insane cackle while dragging his blade, now clad in black aura.
" Uh oh."
" Well…Xenovia, Irina, do you accept his challenge?"
Rias rubbed her temples. It seemed she was a little troubled with the problems if this escalated to more than just a small battle. But, Xenovia pointed at me.
" Alright, but I want him to join as well."
I sighed when Kiba gave me a hopeful and threatening glare. Well, it wouldn't hurt to see the capabilities of church's warriors. Plus, I wanted a little workout. I ate a little too much of Tamamo's onigiri at lunch.
" Fine. Have it your way."
I really shouldn't have underestimated a devil's influence. We were brought to a personal training ground in the middle of the forest. This school was already fancy by itself, but that kind of space inside a forest was just…
" No killing, no fatal strikes. Just immobilize the enemy."
" Aye. I don't feel like declaring war with the church now."
Kiba stayed silent. He brandished his blade and put it on his shoulder. I shrugged and cracked my knuckles. How many bones should I break? She kinda broke the only heart an innocent girl had, so I guess I'd break half of all their bones. It should be fine, humans got 206 of them, anyway. Losing half wouldn't be much problem.
I decided to keep myself to fists and feet to minimize giving away my powers to enemies. I just hoped they wouldn't agitate me too much, or I might end up using more strength than I'd need to beat them.
" I'll erect a barrier around here."
Akeno raised her hand to create an invisible barrier strong enough to hold high class devils' power. Well, that meant I couldn't go overboard. I bet Tamamo told them that. She and I had one track mind, after all.
" Ready when you are."
I said, gesturing 'come get me!' with my hand. Xenovia and Irina both cast aside their white cloaks, revealing a very…tight black combat suit. It became totally clear that those designing them were helpless perverts. It didn't reveal anything, but their figures were hugged so tightly, I started to think it was a little too uncomfortable for battle.
" At last…my comrades..you shall be avenged…"
Both exorcists split up and circled around. Kiba raised his blade and stopped Xenovia on her tracks. His Felo'melorn enhanced with his thirst for revenge successfully held up against the Excalibur Destruction. However, in terms of strength, he fell behind Xenovia little bit. He had to utilize both his speed and technique if he wanted to win.
But…
His head was a little too hot to use his moves well.
I dodged a swing from Irina, and ducked right before the sharp-edged ribbon could cut off my head. She transformed her weapon to a katana again and lunged forward. I raised my foot and blocked her swing mid-way and swiped her leg. Once she fell, I purposely stepped on the ground beside her head.
Being a hardhead she was, she rolled and stood up without knowing I purposely missed. She picked up a stance again, this time focusing energy on her blade. She dashed forward with more speed than before and slashed widely. She was too close to me, hindering my ways to dodge. What's more, if I punched her, things would happen. So, I raised my knee and hardened my blood vessels by feeding them energy. The sword bounced harmlessly on my leg, then I clenched my fist and punched her on the guts, gently.
" Guaaahh!"
Okay, not so gently.
She flew back and hit the limit of the barrier. I winced as she fell down, unable to stand up. But, I had to respect her tenacity. She stabbed her sword to the ground and used it as a crutch to support herself. I sighed and walked to her.
" Just stay down already. Laying low to keep your life isn't as shameful as others speak… because they still live to tell the tale."
" No… I remember now. You're that gloomy guy people kick around just for fun in the orphanage, aren't you? Despite that…you still had the heart to save me from a car crash with your own body…"
My eyes widened. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I just thought that more people would cry if she died instead of me. She still had parents, and I had no motivation to live, so I never thought of it as a noble act. More like a win-win situation.
" Uuhh… it sounds noble if you talk about it like that. I was just trying to kill myself back then."
" But still…It pains me to see a man like you becoming a devil."
I laughed at her.
" Seriously? You think I'm a devil?"
" Well, what are you, then?"
" That's for me to know and for you to find out, exorcist."
I threw a bottle of red liquid to her.
" Drink it. That potion will heal you before you know it."
She obliged and her wounds closed up like they never happened, including the acne marks she had because of puberty. Potions were my specialty, even though I once got an F for chemistry. I just learned things from my clan's lost books. Their knowledge was out of this world.
But, before I could return to Tamamo, the barrier shattered to pieces. I looked at the descending light, which those believers would call miracle. But, he was a man in priest clothing I fought against last night. He somehow reattached his arm and wore a deep scowl on his face.
" Stay back, Sister Irina. This man is dangerous and must be killed ASAP."
" You again? Man, I should've brought your arm home with me yesterday. At least you wouldn't have had to reattach it."
" Father Carlo? Why are you here? We thought we were the only ones on this mission!"
He gave her a sickening smile socialists would use to sweet talk their next victims.
" Do you think I'll let two of my star students go off to face death alone?"
" Cue the crap, Crusader, or you'll lose both arm this time."
He laughed at me. I guessed he had several cards up his sleeve now. He pulled out something from his pocket to reveal a chain with a cross hanging from its end.
" Well…"
He also brandished a metal gun that had concentrated holy power in its bullets. It could also be used as blunt weapon since it was also blessed.
" Let's see how you do that again, demon."
My eyes twitched and I summoned the zweihander I'd been using recently. It was a nice blade, being able to fight against Excalibur pieces.
" Father, stop!"
Irina shielded me from the priest. Kiba and Xenovia stopped fighting, and placed their attention on the newcomer.
He lashed out at me so quickly that I had to rely on my senses instead of my eyes. The chain's movements were anything but predictable, and I had to admit. Getting hit by that much holy power would leave a permanent mark. It seemed he stopped holding back and came at me with full force. Plus that annoying gun would prevent me from getting near him at all costs. I noticed that the cross had sharp edge, and the chain itself was thin and smooth, almost like a rope made of steel.
However, I grabbed Irina's shoulder and jumped away before we both get skewered.
" Seriously? Even your own subordinate?"
" Sister Irina, why are you shielding this mongrel?"
She stood up and raised her arm to shield me from his sight. Pathetic, I don't need or want a girl to protect me from anything. Except for Tamamo, since she was practically a Goddess.
" Father, this man had protected me before, and still continued to do so. You can't kill someone who's such heart!"
Uh oh. I felt some killing intent directed at the crusader from a certain silver-haired observer. I could feel the heat on my back. She must be practically on fire right now. The crusader seemed unfazed, and pointed at me.
" Do you even know what he is, sister?"
" A human, last time I checked."
He chuckled. I hated that laugh. People only laughed like that when they wanted to destroy other's life, especially when the subject of that laugh was me.
" Sister, you know that devils are the remnants from the Archangel Lucifer that was cast out from Heaven million years ago. Now, who is the definition of evil BEFORE they entered the Underworld?"
Crap. This man…
" Demons, the archenemy of God, bane of everything holy. Devils' unholy traits came from the remnants of power the demons possessed before being sealed to the abyss of Underworld. You do know that God sealed His enemy inside an abyss from the Bible, correct?"
Before I could move and rip his insides open, a column of fire erupted from the spot he was standing. I looked behind, and saw a very angered Tamamo clad in fox-fire. Surprisingly, the man came out only with tattered robes and burn marks.
" And the man in front of you, is the one carrying royal blood of their warlord. The last prince of demons, Hiiro Bloodreaver."
…
It's out. This insane man had just blurted the top secret the church had been protecting for years, just to get me angry.
" It is our job to cleanse this filth off the world and send him to his kind's place. Evil being like him has no place in God's mercy."
Irina was hesitant, but my girlfriend was not. She launched a barrage of fireballs straight at the warrior and set him on blue flames. He screamed in shock as fox-fire wasn't just simple flames. It couldn't be put out so easily, and ate magic power to stay alive.
I raised my zweihander and aimed its tip with shotgun on him. Two shots, and he fell like a bird shot down.
" Shut up, dolt. I'm tired of your shits already."
Welp, I forgot he had a shield.
" The Crusaders were made to battle vermins like you, demon! Don't think it's going to end so easily!"
" Like I said…"
I channeled my power to my left eye, feeling its very structure change. I never tried it before, but apparently it could increase perception.
A little too effective.
His movements seemed so sluggish it was almost funny. He looked like those comedians who tried to imitate slow motion moves. However, I could move at normal speed. I walked beside him and kicked his leg. His expression could change, but he was still moving at super slow motion. Then, I punched him in the face and disabled the power.
When I turned the power off, he was suddenly smashed away to the ground with a bruise on his face and unable to stand.
"…shut up."
I acted all cool, but I was scared the hell out of my mind. Who knew I could do such an OP thing if I used blood magic to my eye. I wanted to ask myself what the hell just happened, but, well, cleaning up this mess should go first.
" Next, my right eye…"
I decided to turn this guy to my personal guinea pig. I channeled blood magic to my right eye, and suddenly saw a chain lashed out at me. I instinctively raised my blade to block, letting the chain bounce harmlessly on its flat side.
I looked at him, and another vision came.
" Right punch… The chain is just a feint…"
I ducked and somersault-kicked his right shoulder, effectively breaking his shoulder blade. This eye… could see several moments to the future! I easily shot down all his strikes, mostly because I knew where and how he'd attack next.
If anything, I'd say he was persistent.
He kept trying to attack me with different styles. This time, he tried the Roman way. After equipping a holy spear and a tower shield, he marched to me. Well, Roman's style of fighting would only be effective if he had a disciplined army with impeccable synchronization.
One side step was more than enough to dodge, but he swung his spear. I simply jumped and kicked his head hard. He crumpled to the floor. I was flabbergasted. This power… was far beyond anything I'd ever seen! What-What if I tried activating both with my demonic power and blood magic combined?
Left eye 'accelerated' all my stats dramatically, while the right eye predicted what my enemies would do next. If both were activated…I'd be practically unstoppable. However, this kind of power wouldn't work against someone with higher stats than me. Even if I knew how he'd attack, too much power would still break my defense eventually. And…
" Ughh…"
My head felt like they'd split open any second. I wobbled, but my experience in battle didn't allow me to crumble in front of enemies. My regenerative traits took over quickly and the pain subsided, but it was obviously more than a normal injury. That power needed a lot of price to be used. Tamamo rushed to my side and supported me.
" You okay?"
" No problem, Tama-chan…Just give me a minute and I'll be fine."
I slapped myself out of my dizziness and sat on the grass-covered ground. The Crusader was out cold already. Force equaled speed multiplied with mass. So, with my accelerated fist smashing his face and a kick on the same spot, I doubted he'd wake up soon.
" At least he's silent now. Well, what will you do, heir of Gremory? Tell your brother?"
The red-haired princess looked down.
" I'll keep quiet. You did free me from Riser, after all."
" You have my thanks. Now, if you don't mind…"
I stood up and went for the gate.
" We're going home."
" What was that, Hiiro? Some new powers?"
We arrived home and Tamamo just bombarded me with questions. I laughed nervously and sat on my bed, while she sat on my desk.
I focused my blood magic to my left eye and felt everything slow down once again. But, this time I could make things speed up, slow up, and even go reverse. I focused on a fly coming from the window, and made it disappear by accelerating it beyond limits.
" It's obviously not perception…But, what is it, really?" I muttered.
Tamamo looked at me and offered me a mirror. I took it from her hand and tried to see what could make her so astounded. My eye was red with pattern of three long tomoes separating three beads from each other. The pattern spun, and my world changed. My surrounding's color was tinted red, furniture, wall, and pretty much everything I saw. But, I was still able to know their original color, since the red color wasn't that thick.
I blinked, and I was back to the real world.
" What in the world?"
" Looks like your left eye allows you to access a world conflicting with this world. You can bring another person's real body there, but you can also injure a person's real body from there by hurting his own version of body in that realm. These two worlds are so close that if you manipulate yours, the real world will also be affected."
" I can manipulate all kinds of vectors there…That means…"
" Correct. My guess is flawed, but I suspect this is the physical projection of your royal bloodline power, along with your right eye. Still, that's some OP power you've got."
" My…royal demon's bloodline, huh? I never thought it would be like this…"
The tension was high, until the Fox Goddess decided to break it.
"What will you call it? Name it like some ninja anime that calls black flames 'Amaterasu'?"
" Naruto is cool, you know. But, no, I'm giving it a name some other time."
" Gotcha. Wanna see how your right eye looks like?"
I pondered for a moment, then fell to bed immediately. She closed on to me, suspecting if maybe, some side effects had taken its toll on my body. But, I was just tired, so I pulled her down as well and laid there unmoving. She squirmed around in my arms, flustered. Even if she was a goddess, deep down she was still a girl, huh? I was glad to reaffirm that.
" Hi-Hiiro! Put me down! Come on!"
" Ssshhh… Trying to sleep here…"
I buried my head on her chest, basking in her warmth. Her body was soft, yet firm. And I just couldn't help feeling safe near her. She was my only place to return, my sole respite in this cold and chilly world. If I lost her…
I might not last for long.
She sighed and stroked my head a little, running her fingers across my hair. She gently kissed my forehead as I drifted off to deep sleep. Perhaps using those eyes did take a lot out of me.
Tamamo POV
His face looked calm and innocent, I didn't have the heart to wake him up. He usually had a scowl or nothing at all on his face. Well, I couldn't blame him for that, since I knew he'd had so much hardship before and after I knew him. But, still, I always wanted to see him smile and happy, no matter what.
" He looks so cute, almost like a child…"
All he'd ever asked was a peaceful life… yet people kept popping up and trying to snatch it from him. It wasn't like he always killed people for fun in his hitman job…It's just things get a lot easier if you have connections. I almost hated this world for making him like this. But, if I also fell to hatred, who'd pull him out of there?
For now, I was happy to be with him.
And I wouldn't exchange this moment for anything in this world.
Kuoh was silent at night, only to be disturbed by the sound of flapping wings. Black wings descended from the sky, revealing a figure with dark coat on his body. He landed on the ground and marched forward, followed by a fat man in priest clothing, a lean man with white hair carrying four glowing items inside his coat, and a dark-skinned man, also in priest clothing.
" It's a bit hard to believe that a devoted servant of God would join my cause… Well, your enemy's enemy is your friend, eh?"
" You are correct, Kokabiel…This stalemate is starting to get sickening. If the fall of one city can erase the wicked presence of that abomination…it would be worth the risk. Those two sisters of Maou are just a mere bonus."
" The newly incited war shall be interesting… I can't wait to prove the superiority of the fallen angels!"
An insane laugh echoed through the skies of the city.
Tadaaa~ I made this chapter right after finishing the previous one. Thanks for reading, please tell me how you think!
