Chapter 22: Your Eminence, The Holy Saint.
In the middle of the dark forest stood a foreign girl, a look full of regret fixated on the fresh, slashed corpses lying on the moist grass.
It couldn't be denied. She was a bewitchingly beautiful and attractive girl, who possessed pure and cool characteristics that were a rare sight on the Eastern side of the world. Her blonde hair along her white cloak danced to the rhythm of the breeze that made her clean skin tingle, an appearance that spelled Western Europe.
Her body was hidden by a black, skin-tight, short sleeve unitard, with matching gloves that extend to her elbow, thigh-high boots, and a crucifix around her neck, all of it worn under her white hooded cloak.
She was famous among those who follow the teachings of God, a member of the Vatican itself, and self-chosen to wander the territory of Japan for an important mission.
Everyone knows her as the Holy Saint.
The aura of sorrow that hugged her figure mismatched horribly with her beauty.
It was concerning.
The two holy swords in her grasp disintegrated in a bright, yellowish light as she bowed her head and folded her hands, murmuring a prayer.
Months. It took months to finally reach the Land of the Rising Sun through the assistance of a plane. Her very first flight.
It would have been sooner but trouble just kept coming. Funnily enough, most troubles came from Japan. The fact that months ago, a cruise ship from Japan that carried students to visit Hawaii disappeared magically. The news was global. To the point that all the church facilities were given the highest defense possible, just to make sure the orphan children are safe. They were scared and so was she.
Being fifteen years old, plus known as a famous and important figure through the corners of the Vatican, the poor girl couldn't leave without some bodyguards accompanying her travels. Even so, some powerful figures such as the Cardinal Deacon were against the idea, after knowing her destination. Luckily, the Cardinal Priest was coherent enough to convince the latter. Plus, he knew what she was plotting and he approved it.
The Saint knew there would be trouble by visiting another culture—she expected Youkai or even ninjas with orange jackets screaming 'Believe it' at the top of their lungs.
Stray Magicians were not on the list.
They could be the people behind the kidnap of Ryuukou Academy's students. And to prove her statement right, she captured a few and took the role of good cop while one of her bodyguards took the bad cop without her permission, making the situation difficult for her and fearful for the Ozites.
While her reason for being in Japan wasn't exactly meant to save the students, she couldn't turn a blind eye to this scenario.
Unfortunately, the stray mages freed themselves and she was forced to slay them, much to her dismay.
After finishing her prayer, the Maiden peeked behind the shoulder as two figures approached her. While her welcoming smile was for them, her eyes aimed at the powerful holy sword over that man's hand. A weapon considered to be the sister of Excalibur and Arondight.
"Those were the last ones," said the owner of the holy sword, sheathing it with an exhausted sigh. "These people. Are you sure they're the ones behind the missing students, Saint Jeanne?"
The blonde spared a regretful glance at the corpses. "… I'm not really sure. We are low on clues to make assumptions."
The second figure with silver hair approached the bodies with a disturbing smile. "Hey, hey. Ms. Saint, think they are already swimming with the fishes ~?" He pulled out his gun and took aim. "Or maybe I should make sureeee ~? I think one or two magazines are good enough to—!"
Jeanne instinctively grabbed his forearm. "That's enough, Freed!" She ordered, getting a squeal from him. "We weren't supposed to kill them in the first place—I was going to send them to the Vatican!"
Freed Sellzen forcefully lowered his pistol. "Whoa, whoa! Kidding just kidding! Ms. Saint!"
Jeanne kept her stern gaze. She learned from Vasco Strada to put anyone in a positive light, even to Devils and Fallen Angels, but no matter how much she tried with this one. Her thoughts always reminded her of his flaws rather than his virtues.
And she didn't want that. She knows he has a good side—she just needs to search deeper and know him better.
Lint Sellzen thinks so too.
Her glare softened lightly. "Don't do such things, Freed," she said quietly. "We're not here to cause harm to anyone. We're here to change the future for a better place, don't you want that?"
He fought back on rolling his red eyes, grumbling. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever's whatever…"
She offered a warm smile. "Then let's do our best," she gave a comforting squeeze before letting him go. "David, please, the map."
Before Freed could continue massaging his forearm, a sudden pain reached into his neck. "The hell?!" He glared up at the culprit. "Why would you slap me?!"
David Serro briefly sent a cold look before lending the rolled map to the Maiden. "All yours, Saint Jeanne."
She bit her lip at the epithet but said nothing as she extended the map and laid it across the ground. "According to the map, we're not so far away from Ryuukou Town…"
David crouched beside her. "Isn't that where trouble is occurring right now?" He said, rubbing his chin. "After all, the missing students originated from there…"
"Oui," she nodded, her finger tracing circles on another place. "Our main objective is reaching Kuoh Town, where Touji Shidou currently is living with his daughter."
The Holy Sword user clicked his tongue. "It's so far away." He pointed out. "Walking to Kuoh Town would take us weeks… that is if we don't take rests."
"Japan is well-known for its train stations," Jeanne reminded him. "We'll be using the available ones in Ryuukou Town and while we're there, search for clues."
"And shoot some heretic bastards?" Freed asked with a hopeful grin. "Cuz if that's so, then leave it to me!"
"No we won't," Jeanne shook her head, ignoring his vulgarity. "… We're going to solve things through talking… if everything goes wrong then we'll incapacitate them, but not kill them."
David hummed before standing up, standing beside a disappointed Freed. "Sounds like a plan."
"We can do this. I can count on you two." She smiled in return whilst rolling the map. "Let's get going."
They both saluted. [Yes, Saint Jeanne!]
"Please," Jeanne raised a hand to calm them. "Don't call me 'Saint,' just Jeanne."
[Yes, Saint Jeanne!]
She sighed in defeat.
Danhauser Belial sighed as he took a seat outside Sae Toujou's former house. Over the previous weekend, he had the time to think whenever he was honing his skills, doing some contracts with his new or usual clients, or visiting different places of the Belial Territory.
Speaking of the Belial Territory…
Thanks to the schooling of Gilles de Rais, he learned quite a few things about Ars Goetia in general. The Lords of each clan ruled vassals of land in the 72 Pillars. They manage things from economics, warfare, politics, etc. They are responsible for the people that they rule, aka the citizens within the territory. He wouldn't be surprised if this was similar in the Extra Demon Faction.
Normally, people always pictured the Lord or Lady just sitting in their manor scratching their ass and smelling their finger afterward. In reality, they had their own job to do. They administered their managers, manage accounts, plan ahead for the future of the territory, confer with other lords or ladies on local and regional matters—and most of all, raise money because they have to support the estate, make sure members of the Clan and their servants are making contracts to gain revenue, arm themselves—both personally, the Heir, and those fighters in his estate—said fighters would have done nothing but train and fight if there was trouble.
So on a given day, the Lord or Lady was every bit as busy as their vassals—the field workers, the stable hands, the herdsmen, the household worker, etcetera, etcetera.
And most of all, they were beholden to the Great King Faction—aka Lord Bael—and their vassals (which was a better word than 'peasant') were to him, but it's rare to see Devils nowadays showing gratitude to their vassals, arrogance, and racism above all, after all.
Thankfully there are few Clans that showed respect to their vessels, one of them being the Gremory Clan. They are beings with extraordinary affection among the Devils.
Sure, such Clans as the Astaroth, Belial, Sitri, and Phenex also bathed their vessels in kindness, though less immense compared to the crimson-haired ones.
The role of a Lord or Lady was difficult and exhausting, just like those of a vessel. Unfortunately, Diehauser Belial also has an important role in the Capital of Ars Goetia—Lilith. He was the Head Senator and needed to update or set new rules for the remaining 72 Pillars to keep everything at bay. Luckily, their mother, Calcabrina Belial aka Lady Belial was the one who took care of their estate with the assistance of Gilles and Cleria Belial's mother, Calfa Belial, while Diehauser worked with the other senators.
Interesting enough, the House of Belial was offered the job to be involved in politics, Matanbuchus Belial—his father was the one to accept the employment almost eagerly before the latter left the estate to work in the City of Dis under Regent-Lord Lucifuge. In truth, eons back, the Belial Clan was not involved in politics when the war of the Three Factions and the Civil War of the old government were a thing.
The Heir asked about the background of the Clan, but no one in the family answered.
As he leaned deeper into his seat and closed his eyes, a hand softly squeezed his shoulder to catch his attention. "My, sleeping in the middle of the day?" The girl teased. "Is there not a single day that we don't find you sleeping or training?"
He stretched an eye open. "Lavinia," Danhauser said by way of greeting, shifting properly and pushing the other chair out for her.
Lavinia Reni gave a grateful smile and sat beside him, both enjoying the clouds in a comfortable silence. He noted she had a drink between her hands.
…
…
…
"So…" Danhauser trailed off, looking anywhere but her.
"So...?" She amusingly replied.
"How's Mephisto?" He said after a moment of awkwardness. "I hope he finally has a hold of himself."
Her expression lightened. "He's great now," She said somewhat excitedly. "Especially after watching your Rating Game... and the aftermath of it. Pops had the biggest grin at your conviction. He looked adorable."
Danhauser flushed slightly. "Did that really transmit across the Underworld?"
"Totally," Lavinia nodded, taking a sip. "You challenging the Top Ten did surprise most spectators, including myself."
That's when his eyebrow twitched irritably. "Well, I'm sooo relieved that the Underworld's media hid my identity very well, it's not like I'm fighting terrorists on a daily basis, am I right?"
"You shouldn't worry too much about that now," Lavinia waved off his sarcasm. "As much as it pains me to say so. They already know about us." Her smile became assuring. "But thankfully, we have each other to watch our backs from now on."
He looked away from her sapphire-blue eyes. "I know, I know but still…"
"Where's your Peerage?" Lavinia asked as she searched around.
"Contracts," he responded briefly. "Valerie's sleeping in the house."
Lavinia took another sip. "Ah yes, I've seen Valerie walking around the house, I was just concerned about the members of your Peerage. Glad everything's normal with your group."
The two stayed quiet for a while and enjoyed the birds chirping in the trees.
…
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Danhauser suddenly said.
A warm, approachable smile spread across her lips. Lavinia sets her drink down and gives him her full, undivided attention. "Of course, Danhauser, you can talk to me about anything."
"You were part of the Wizards of Oz?"
Danhauser has to admit, she reacted quickly by breaking stares, but he did notice her troubled gaze right in time. "Judging by your expression, I'll take that as a yes."
Lavinia bit her lip and brushed a lock of blonde hair away from her temple. "How-how did you…?"
"Augusta," he interrupted her. "Before the fight, she did say something about you being a traitor and Walburga seemed to know you very well."
…
…
…
Lavinia exhaled inwardly. "Yes. I was an Ozite." She carefully admitted, tipping her witch's hat to obscure her face. "… I was from the first generation of Ozites. Meanwhile, Walburga is from the second one, when Augusta took charge."
"What's with the face?" Danhauser leaned over, resting his elbows on the table. "If you think that I have a grudge against you from being part of their association, then stop worrying. You're no longer an Ozite, you're a Faustus now, remember?"
She rubbed her arm and shot him a cautious gaze. "… You promise?"
The Heir smiled and wiggled his second, smallest finger. "Best I can do is a pinky promise."
Lavinia visibly sighed with relief, pressing a hand to her chest. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that in Grauzauberer a few suspect that I'm a long time spy. It would hurt if you also…"
His smile fell slightly. "Just ignore them," he sheathed his pinky finger. "They're not worth a thought."
She picked up her glass of water, swirling it. "Doing my best."
"That's why you're here?" Danhauser asked, arms folded. "To clean the name of Wizards of Oz before its downfall?"
"Yes and no," Lavinia cleared her throat and took a swig of water. "Pops chose me specifically because of all the students, I'm the one with the most knowledge about them… Now, I could've just refused and not participate on this, but… I couldn't waste such opportunity to possibly meet her after years…."
"Meet who?"
"My Mater," She trailed off, passing a finger through her hat. "The woman who took me under her wings when I was young. The Witch of the South, Glinda the Good Witch."
"If I'm not wrong, Glinda is the strongest of them?" He said, humming. "While my memory is kind of fuzzy about the book of Oz, that's what I remember about her... and other stuff, such as the main characters."
"Correct," the Faustus nodded. "Unlike the other witches, there isn't a bad bone in her body."
"You have a high view of her," Danhauser pointed out. "Was she really that amazing?"
"Without a doubt," She snapped her finger and pulled out a gallery of images and lets him see a few. "I have some pictures I can show you if you'd like."
The one Danhauser focused on looked like a happy family outing by the streets. The first one was the bewitchingly beautiful woman that has very long, light-blonde hair with a curl hanging down the right side of her face with bright green eyes along with a little girl with sapphire, blue eyes sitting atop her legal guardian, both wearing witches' attire.
The girl looked perhaps eight years old—he thought. Until he noted the picture is dated to over seven years ago, most likely she was still part of the Ozites back then.
"It'd be wonderful if you could meet her. I bet Glinda and you would get along just fine."
He smiled dotingly. "I'm curious, who's the little, beautiful angel?"
"A-Ah!" A blush spreads across her cheeks and she stole the photograph from his hands. "Y-you saw nothing." She stammered whilst magically storing the gallery away.
Danhauser chuckled when the Faustus shyly tipped her hat and rapidly gulped half of her glass, attempting to disguise her burning face.
He dubiously patted her back a few times. "There, there." He awkwardly said, adding. "Say, what can you tell me about yourself?" He asked, changing the subject.
Thankful for the new topic, Lavinia placed her empty drink down and smiled, appreciative of his interest. "Well," she started. "I was a nine-year-old orphan that never knew the name or appearance of my parents or even knew if I had a brother or a sister. Later on, Glinda found me and turned me into her disciple for four years, during that time I was learning about magic and my Sacred Gear, my Longinus. Thanks to her I also learned my new favorite hobby, which is painting. At the age of thirteen, I was transferred to Grauzauberer as part of an interchange program, in order to be with magic-users of my age." She finished her statement, content that she covered all the basics.
"We better hope she isn't part of the stray magicians," Danhauser muttered. "I mean, not trying to make her look bad, but… you said she was the first in command of the Ozites. Augusta took her role later on."
"That's why I accepted this mission, to know of her whereabouts," Lavinia said, eyes downcast. "It's been years since I've heard from her, let alone talked to her. Glinda's status is even unknown by Pops, but she wouldn't dare to hurt the innocent, we both know that."
The heir watched the blonde carefully wearing off her hat and hugged it. "This hat belonged to Glinda, this was the last gift I received from her before she left."
"It must mean a lot to you." Danhauser softly said.
"It does," the Magician confirmed. "… Even so, I don't plan on keeping it forever."
Danhauser curved an eyebrow and let her carry on.
"'Give it back when you become a great mage.'" Lavinia quoted. "Those were her last wishes before leaving. I, from the very beginning, valued the hat very dearly and vowed to return it to Glinda so that she can appreciate that I became a strong mage." She adjusted the hat around her head and sighed. "… For that, I need to graduate and establish my Magician Association."
"But to get students you need to be a great Magician," Danhauser stated, getting a weak nod from her. "Don't worry, you'll become one soon. I'm sure you will."
She brightened up at that. "Why thank you, Second Emperor."
After that, a familiar figure with white, mechanical wings descended from the sky in front of the two, surprising them.
"Va!" Lavinia immediately beckoned to move closer. "Perfect timing! Why don't you join us? We may not have another chair, but I can share my seat with you!"
While Vali Lucifer seemed to ignore her invitation, the pink on his cheeks gave a distinct perspective. He pushed aside his embarrassment and pointed at the other Devil. "Stand up, let's fight."
"I'm happy to see you too," Danhauser's reply dripped with sarcasm, not inching from his seat. "Can I at least know why you're so pumped up?"
Vali just took a stance as the plush dragon over his shoulder, opened its mouth. [He watched the Rating Game and your declaration.]
Lavinia gasped slightly on her hand. "Oh no…"
[Eh, sorry, brat. Tried to stop him, but he was quicker. Good luck!] There was a long pause. [Oh, by the way! Nice match!]
After that, Azazel left.
"Get up," Vali said. Actually no, he demanded it. "You want to become the Second Emperor, right? Then prove yourself worthy by fighting the White Dragon Emperor. And I want to fight you, right here, right now."
"…" Danhauser felt his heart-rate pickup. This situation had turned somewhat hostile. "I know you're a battle-maniac, but why we just don't settle this with a game of cards? That way Lavinia can have fun too."
He saw it coming. You didn't have to be a clairvoyant to predict Vali's next move. Lucky him, Danhauser easily blocked his attack, but the force behind the hybrid's punch sent him whipping away along with his seat.
Throughout his awkward propelling in the air, the heir heard the surprised yelp of Lavinia while he invoked his spear and stabbed it into the ground, dirt and pebbles chucked out in places as he clutched on his weapon just to decrease the speed.
"Well then," Danhauser grunted and moved aside just to evade a flying kick coming from the Longinus User, he watched how Vali leaped at him with a glint in his eyes that blared excitement. "Guess we can't sit and enjoy the sunlight like intellectuals. So unfortunate."
His response was when Albion's voice came from the Divine Dividing and stole some of Danhauser's powers, much to his chagrin. He ducked a strong punch coming from Azazel's surrogate son and parried the three upcoming kicks. He was almost surprised of himself. The fact that he could fight toe-to-toe against the actual and strongest Hakuryuukou drowned his chest with some pride. Even so, Vali wasn't using his Scale Mail to fight Danhauser. Strategically speaking, it could mean three things. One: as a Lucifer, his sin is showing off. Two: he hasn't mastered Balance Breaker to keep it for so long and is saving it in case of emergency.
Or option three: Both, previous statements are correct.
Nonetheless, he'll take advantage of this.
[Divide!]
Danhauser winced and dropped his spear, catching the punch of Vali whilst rendering his opponent worthless, enough for Divine Dividing stop working. Pulling him closer, he returned the gesture by smashing his cheek, the results were obvious, the silver-haired was forced to recoil away.
"Let's end this," the heir took aim at the ground and fired a basic spell with enough power to summon a cloud of dirt, blinding his opponent and the quiet spectator.
He wasn't done, though. Shutting his eyes and taking serene, deep breaths, he activated Senjutsu's amplified vision and easily spotted behind the cloud the life-force of Vali and Lavinia. He smiled when the hybrid blindly dashed forward, using the cloud of dirt as a cover.
"Walking into my trap I see," Danhauser snapped his fingers and from the sculped magical circle rushed a limb of resin big enough to encase Vali's body and lift him up.
The gray-haired looked up when someone grunted and growled upwards. He held back a chuckle after spotting the situation Vali was put through.
The White Dragon gritted his teeth and tried to move his body, only his neck replied. He was immobilized by the Malebranche Trait. He tried to use Divine Dividing, but his Sacred Gear never responded back, cursed by the Belial Trait.
"You…" Vali tried to speak, but it was difficult. "… You combined both Clan powers, didn't you?"
Danhauser ignored him. "Give up. The match is over."
Vali just glared.
Danhauser in return calmly closed his hand, his limb of resin copying his movements thus crushing Vali's body in return.
Thanks, Gaara.
The hybrid fought back a scream when his ribs and organs began to feel the pressure. Seeing no progress, Vali cursed. "D-dammit! Balance Breaker!"
[Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!]
"Oh my nipples," Danhauser saw the limb of resin explode and lashed around drops of it, but he stood still. Fun fact, the armor of Vali is strong enough to surpass the power of the Belial Trait, which is something he expected, after all, Scale Mail not only increases the power to divide, it also gives a boost to his defense, speed, and power. Still, this isn't the Vali who could maintain his Balance Breaker for at least one month like the one in DxD does. This Vali is weaker compared to the one in canon. The descendant of Lucifer could only wear that armor for at least minutes.
That was still a lot of time.
But Danhauser knows him from reading the Light Novels. Vali and Hyoudou Issei have something in common, they're Power-Type. All of their strength comes from their clutch-use of their Sacred Gears, once you take it out of the picture, they're defenseless. Nothing against them, they're good people, but that's how he saw it.
He also never read of Vali using demonic powers. Sure, it's immense as it favored him when he entered Juggernaut Drive and saved his life from the poison of Samael later on, but using it in combat? He poured his skills into his Longinus. Danhauser believes that while he doesn't have massive demonic power like the silver-haired boy does, he at least has a better grasp of it.
And soon, he'll also have immense demonic energy AND Touki—he made a vow after all.
After undergoing Scale Mail Mode, Vali charged straight towards Danhauser, and the aftermath of that caused the air to distort and bump into Lavinia, thankfully nothing happened to her. He thrust his demonic-coated fists across. Danhauser simply jumped back and escaped from the attack but Vali's fist which had pierced through nothing but the empty air caused the place where the heir stood to crack.
Danhauser's eyes widened when Hakuryuukou appeared right in front of him. he just braced himself and caught it with his forearm the physical force sent him skating away.
[Divide!] [Divide!]
Danhauser kept his feet nailed on the ground and continue to slide as if he was in an ice rink, ignoring the creak on his arm. Quickly regaining his composure, Vali locked distance and threw punches and kicks at him at close range whilst moving at a jaw-dropping speed that Danhauser could match decently, much to his shock. The hybrid didn't hear any grunts or hisses from his opponent, but unlike before, his foe no longer had any breathing room to spare. His attire was badly torn up during his attempts to evade, and even his spear became deformed. Sure, Danhauser also successfully countered and returned them, but Vali's armor did a great job in terms of protection. Both knew that Danhauser wasn't winning in this exchange.
The heir clicked his tongue and built some distance whilst invoking four magic circles and from them stretched limbs hunted toward the Longinus User who tried to give a chase.
[Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!]
Danhauser grimaced but smirked a little. Vali dividing his powers were part of his plans. "There has to be a limit," he stubbornly continued firing limbs of resin to either pin a kick or a punch his foe's body. Bullets of demonic power materialized from different directions. Vali was too fast, especially when he was in his Balance Breaker, it was difficult to change the course of his resin and follow the Hakuryuukou properly, but at least they gave Danhauser time to stay far away from Vali's reach. Of course, they'd disappeared by the powers of the [Divide] whenever Vali grew annoyed.
Luckily, he would capture him with his resin, freezing him for a brief second before he used his Sacred Gear's abilities.
It weakened Danhauser's storage of demonic energy, but it was the only solution.
As Vali practically teleported in front of him, he had on his hands a sphere of demonic energy ready to slam it in his face, Danhauser obviously dodged it. He instinctively countered with a fist of resin, but the Malebranche Trait melted when Vali divided Danhauser's powers two times.
"Yeah, you keep doing that," Danhauser took a deep breath as he intercepted a kick with the base of his spear, promptly stabbing Vali. The White Dragon darted aside, and it just misses.
Again, Danhauser hastily jumped away and used different techniques with his Malebranche Trait to irk Vali, succeeding after grabbing him by the legs and harshly yanking him down, his descent shaped cracks beneath him.
Vali reached to tear the viscous liquid out, but more resin sprouted beside him and wrapped themselves around his wrists, slamming his hands on the floor, binding him.
He forcefully looked up when demonic circles were conjured above him and immediately bullets of demonic energy rained down at him. He gritted his teeth and felt his armor bending so slightly.
[Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!]
Danhauser saw his creation disappear from reality, quickly fixating his focus over Vali who unsteadily stood up. Ten seconds passed and his progress bore fruits when Vali fell on a knee and his helmet vanished just to cough a mouthful of blood.
"There it is!" Danhauser cringed at the sight. "He reached his limits." He knew that would happen. It's like the Boosted Gear—continuous use of the Divide Dividing will drain the wielder's stamina to a significant degree. Sure, unlike the gauntlet, the excess energy is expelled out through the wings, but it takes time to release the leftovers from the energy feathers, that's why Danhauser mercilessly attacked Vali, just to oblige the latter to repeatedly use divide.
"Now!" Danhauser took aim with his spear and fired whilst rushing at his immobile foe with an attack wrapped in Senjutsu.
The White Dragon immediately rose up and slapped the weapon away, and used his own fist to defend against the swing and, regardless of his weakened state, Vali still proved to be a tough opponent, when he successfully resisted the pain passing through his veins. Despite the pain, the hybrid gave Danhauser a confident smirk, but it soon disappeared when his clenched fingers singed beneath Danhauser's Senjutsu.
Vali recoiled and fought a cry of pain, he grabbed his wrist. "What?" He glared daggers at Danhauser. "What did you…?"
"… Senjutsu." Vali heard Lavinia whisper from the background. "Amazing. Since when did he have it?"
"Is that so…" he ogled the bluish-white flames licking Danhauser's hands, grinning slightly. "That explains the weird flames. What do they do?"
The Heir never responded, his knuckles found Vali's face and he was dropped to the floor. Just for that, Vali understood it was impossible to make him talk and gave up. He merely rushed back at Danhauser and tried to land another jab, just for the Devil to parry it with his knuckles engulfed with Senjutsu. Again, a bolt of pain passed through Vali's system.
It hurt. A lot. It was like getting electrified and burned at the same time.
Danhauser knew why he was prevailing. He wasn't dealing damage to his body, Sage Arts doesn't do that. He was severing the life-force of Vali—the armor could only save him from physical damage and magic, not spiritual energy that goes after his spirit and not his skin. There are very few ways to defend against ki attacks. Danhauser read it multiple times before he meditated. The only way to not get hurt is by defensive spells or by another proficient Senjutsu User.
It was similar to a Grim Reapers' scythe, yet so different. The scythes don't inflict any external wounds, but instead, they slash the souls and shorten the lives with a unique curse. Something akin to Senjutsu, without the shortening lives and curses stuff.
When two opponents wielding Senjutsu clash, the one with the stronger Senjutsu is more likely to be victorious. This can make it difficult to overcome an opponent's ki in a brute force battle.
If Vali learned Sage Arts and was better than Danhauser, he'd be the one crushing him.
There was blood on his knuckles, a bruise above his right eye and his attire was ruined, but Danhauser's adrenaline made sure to patch that up. He just continued attacking Vali, starting with a fist that slammed into Vali's armored stomach while he slumped by the impact. Danhauser retrieved his fist and saw the dent he had made when he had jabbed him.
Even after feeling his organs threatening to evacuate from his throat, Vali laughed it off and excitedly charged on—Danhauser dodged and blocked his punches and via magic circle, a fist of resin came out.
For a brief instant, Vali's hazel eyes widened before the fist connected with his face. Stars burst into his vision but he shook it off, blindly throwing a sloppy kick.
Danhauser stepped back, easily evading the kick. He threw his body weight behind the fist engulfed with ki that edged closer to Vali's nose, changing direction at the last minute to swing his jaw with such force blood and drool threatened to spill from his mouth. He made sure to hold him down with his resin and continued the battering until the hybrid fell to the floor. His chest gently rose and sank with each shallow breath he drew in.
"…" Danhauser watched how the armor disappeared along with the wings. He slid his arm across his forehead, cleaning it from the accumulated sweat and blood.
The Heir heard footsteps quickly nearing, looking past his broad shoulder he saw Lavinia rushing at Vali with a troubled look. It didn't suit her.
The Faustus dropped to her knees and beside the defeated hybrid. She, however, never had the chance to speak as Vali rose unsteadily to his feet. "We-we're not done yet!" He throated out, limping like a zombie at his foe.
"Sure we are," Danhauser shot back, concerned. "You can't even walk, just take a rest."
Vali ignored both Lavinia and him as he shakily moved after him.
Danhauser acted quickly and stepped forward. "Come on…" softly pushing him into the ground, the mage laid her hands on Vali's shoulders, carefully pinning him. "Don't be stupid, Vali. It's over."
The silver-haired boy became silent, hair obscuring his orbs—they only listened to his low breathing. "So, I lost, huh?"
Danhauser bit his tongue at the lack emotion. "It was a great fight." He said after a tensed silence. "I enjoyed it."
"You did great, Va." Lavinia squeezed his shoulders in comfort. "Both of you."
…
Vali's shoulders furiously trembled before laughing to the skies. "This is amusing!" He said between snickers, ignoring his swelled muscles. "I can't believe it. I couldn't even defeat you in my Scale Mail."
Both Danhauser and Lavinia shared odd looks. "…Right." He carefully said. "How are you feeling?"
Soon as his chuckles died down, he looked up at him with a fearless and bloodied smirk. "Great." He then frowned. "If you know Senjutsu, why you didn't use it first rather than spamming your abilities when we were in close-quarters?"
Danhauser sighed and sat beside him, Lavinia following suit. "Two reasons actually," he raised a finger. "One: The element of surprise." He raised the second one. "Two: A user of Senjutsu can succumb to exhaustion if used for long periods of time as ki is proportional to the amount of spiritual life force an individual possesses. After the threshold is reached, the user will be unable to use it for a certain amount of time or fall unconscious or worse, fall into a coma."
Throughout the explanation, Vali had shifted on a cross-legged position and paid complete attention to the older Devil. He folded his arms, finally nodding. "Interesting."
"All in all, the more ki is used, the faster it will deplete," the blonde got a nod from Danhauser. "How do you know all this?"
Danhauser stood up, dusting his pants. "I read it in a book," he briefly explained, offering two hands with Lavinia gladly accepting the gesture.
After helping her up, he turned to Vali, hand outstretched. "Ready to go, Vali? Valerie's in the house, she can heal your—!"
"What's your dream, Danhauser Belial?" The question caught the gray-haired off-guard. "Let me hear it once again."
The heir hesitated, but in the end, he took a deep breath. "I'll become the Second Champion," he answered confidently. "I'll fight Ars Goetia if I have to."
The White Dragon smirked and grabbed Danhauser's hand, standing up. "I no longer...think that you're below my level."
…
"I…" Words left him. Danhauser could only stare into those bright hazel eyes burning with thrill. "…What?"
"I want to become the True White Dragon God Emperor…that is my final goal as the Hakuryuukou," Vali declared. "To do so, I have to defeat the Dragon of Dragons and my direct rival, the Sekiryuutei. When I accomplish my goal, would you be capable of defeating me again, Danhauser Belial?"
It took a while, but he pulled out of his shock. "That's a long ass nickname," he joked and regained his smile. "… but yes, I'll make sure you kiss my shoes when I'm done with you, Shota Dragon."
Vali excitedly laughed. "You are indeed amusing." He said. "From here on, let's fight for our dreams and fight eternally, Danhauser Belial."
"So, that's how everything happened?" Throughout the explanation, Valerie Tepes said nothing and her dark, red eyes glued to the Devil. She walked side-by-side with him on the streets at nightfall, just how the rest of the Peerage, Lavinia Reni and Vali Lucifer did so, but in different places but at the same time.
"Yep," the gray-haired one said, "Vali watched my Rating Game and the aftermath with Azazel, I tried to speak some sense to him, but he's a battle-maniac so..."
"Fair enough," Valerie replied, rather bluntly as she gazed at the stars in the dark sky. She knew how to mask her expression perfectly, but when she saw a ravished White Dragon Emperor, she couldn't help but at least stretch her eyes slightly. Her eyes had turned into dishes when she found out that Danhauser was the one behind this.
"Well, you have my congratulations on your victorious duel."
"Uh? Yeah, thanks."
…
…
The travel became quiet now. Danhauser struggled, fishing an interesting topic for her but failed. She didn't mind the silence, her interest wasn't the small chit-chats or the endless dark sky, or its billions of stars spread everywhere or even the building surrounding them, none of that captivated her. But the awkward, training-maniac heir of Belial did.
She zipped her mouth, merely fixating her eyes on the side of his head, at the knife-shaped ears that somehow matched his facial structure, attempting to see deeper into his soul and find her answer.
"Is something wrong, Valerie?"
She chuckled dryly. "Mr. Belial," she spoke without looking away. Time to put him in a test. "May I know your progress?"
Danhauser lifted his eyebrow, turning quiet for a while before clashing gazes. "About Gasper?"
A faint, sardonic smirk spread across her face. "Well, would you look at that? You do remember."
"Of course I remember," Danhauser huffed lightly. "Why would I forget it?"
She shrugged. "Never heard of you speaking about it, for a second I thought you gave up, I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case."
"I wanted to make it look like a surprise."
"Oh really?" Her smirk became a full-blown grin. "Oh my, now I'm practically purring like a cat in anticipation."
"You still don't believe I'll find him, right?" Danhauser sighed.
"What makes you believe that, Mr. Belial?"
Danhauser never replied but smiled slightly.
"Did I miss a joke? What's so funny?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't mind me. Just picturing your face when the day comes."
"If you speculate that I'll shed some tears then forget it." She dismissed his illusions. "I don't cry. My tear ducts have been unused since the day I was born."
"We both know that's a lie." Danhauser countered.
She finally averted her gaze. "I'll let you off the hook... for now. You should be grateful, Ehehehehe…"
"Changing the subject, eh?" He decided to humor her. "Thank Maou—I can finally rest easy tonight."
She giggled again.
After spending time with him, she learned a few things about the Devil. He's terrible at socializing. The fact that his mouth opened to begin a talk, just to shake his head and look away was a nod to her statement. It didn't matter—it was amusing seeing him strive for words. Sure, he was getting slightly better when it was about talking. His interaction with new faces was brief and professional, limited only to tactical input and vital information about missions if they were allies. He wasn't fond of small talks.
Her train of thoughts halted when a strong and warm grasp reached her shoulder, almost giving her a heart attack.
When her heartbeat finished hammering her ears, she glared at the Devil, and to her surprise, Danhauser has his eyes closed with a faint, bluish-white aura surrounding them. She knew it was Senjutsu after his previous explanation, those weren't good news.
"Where are they?" Her eyes suspiciously wandered around. "I'm afraid I don't see anyone."
He finally opened his eyes and the glow dispersed from them. "I do," he said, pulling out his spear and invoking multiple demonic circles, all aiming at an alleyway. "You three should've spent more points in stealth. Show yourself."
After blasting a deadpan stare at his direction, Valerie followed his gaze and lo and behold, three white-hooded figures walked out of their hiding spot, hands raised in the air. One of them cursed with his vulgar tongue.
"Exorcists," she whispered after recognizing the crosses on their necks. "What are they doing here?"
…
…
…
She furrowed her brows and turned to her partner. "Mr. Belial?" Seeing no reaction from him, she shook his arm. "Not the time to display your awkwardness…!"
"U-uh?" He blinked away his worries and faced the beauty. "Sorry, sorry. What did you say?"
Her frown morphed into a suspicious scowl. "Any ideas for their unexpected visit?"
"L-Let's find out," he whispered back to her before harrumphing. "What's your business in Ryuukou Town? I doubt Exorcists are here to learn about eastern culture."
The one in the middle took a bold step forward. "Please, we're not here to fight, there's no need for bloodshed." It was a girl with a French accent. "We're just taking this route to cut corners and investigate the strange anomalies that happen in this town, we promise we're not here to cause any harm."
"As long as you're not the one behind this, that is," the tallest of the group murmured.
"Is she talking about the Agency and Stray Magicians?" muttered the Dhampir.
"Definitely," Danhauser hushed, addressing the exorcists. "Cut corners you say, where if I must ask?"
He had an idea.
"Confidential," the taller exorcist professionally replied.
"Oh?" The Dhamphir chuckled darkly. "I doubt you're in a position to neglect our questions…"
Yet, that alone answered Danhauser's question.
Danhauser's eyes discretely scanned over the weapon sheathed on his back, it was wrapped in a cloth, but the shape and aura was a nod to his theory.
A holy sword.
He tensely massaged his nose but made sure to wear his stoic mask all the time. "We're leaving." He announced at Valerie, sheathing his weapon and disabling his demonic circles.
"Pardon…?" She stopped when Danhauser pulled out his wings and leave, forcing her to follow suit.
Thankfully, where they had landed wasn't so far away, it was atop of a small building. She noted how he fumed with the cell phone in his hand.
After typing the last digit, he brought the dispositive close to his ear.
[What's up, boss?] The voice of his mutated Knight responded. [Something you need?]
"Finally," Danhauser ran a hand through his hair, relief washing over him. "I'll cut to the chase. There are three exorcists, in town. Do not engage. Warn the rest with your phone and get back to the house. Understood?"
[… Okay.] Tobio Ikuse trailed off. [Can I at least know how they look just to make sure?]
"I don't have the names, but one French girl and the rest two males," Danhauser responded. "The taller one has a holy sword on his back and one of them has a nasty tongue…"
"Why would an Exorcist curse like a damn sailor?" Danhauser scowled before his heart malfunctioned for a second. "Oh no… Not him, please…"
He briefly clashed stares with the Dhamphir and ran a hand over his hair. "Don't tell me its Freed Fucking Sellzen? Please, not him…"
He honestly never cared of Freed Sellzen, he saw him as an anime character. That was it. Just a character that shouldn't be taken seriously, why would he get angry over someone who didn't exist?
But now, that the psychopath is going to be in Kuoh Town where his cousin is…
[You still there, boss?] Slash Dog called out. [I need to know if—!]
Danhauser finished the call and searched for his contacts—his fingers shacked as he clicked on the screen and pulled the dispositive on his ear.
Come on…!" He desperately tapped his shoe on the floor whenever it ringed. "Please…! Just answer the damn—!"
[Moshi~! Moshi~!] Cleria Belial chirped happily. [How is my little Danny doing~?]
"Thank God…" He ignored the drill-like headache. "Cleria, you need to know this. Three exorcists are on their way to Kuoh Town."
"That explains your attitude," Valerie muttered quietly from behind.
[W-WHAT?!] She almost turned Danhauser deaf. [How-how do you know that?!]
"I found them and demanded answers," he responded, sighing. "Of course they didn't tell me their last stop, but Kuoh is filled with them chances are that Touji called for backup."
[B-but why…?] He heard his cousin gulp. [Y-You think they're…!]
"I'll go to Kuoh right after we finish talking." Danhauser stopped her. "Once I'm there, I'll call Diehauser."
[Yeah, I could use some company…] she quietly said. […Hey Danny, you… you promise you and Diehauser make it right before them, right?]
"I will," the heir said. "Stay awake until I get in there. Take care."
He finally ended the call and stared at his phone's screen. He smiled fondly at the picture—it was Bova Tannin on his miniature Dragon form sleeping with Jin.
He doesn't even know why he took it.
He pocketed it and watched the light, blonde-girl approach him. "I wonder how you'll reach the town before them." She said. "Because while they're here they'll use a train to catch up to Kuoh… and it's unlikely you'll be sharing the same transport as them."
"I'll ask Lavinia to teleport me there."
"Do you have to, though?" she asked. "You told me that they can't touch your cousin and she can't touch them or else a war would break out."
"Yes, I told you that… but I've got a bad feeling about them." He pinched his nose. "I can't just look the other way when someone who has a holy sword is approaching Kuoh. I need to watch over my cousin."
But mostly, Freed was the one fucking with his mind. That bastard has the chance to start a damn war if someone wasn't constantly pulling his collar.
"Do you really love your family that much?"
"Of course I love those damn idiots!" A hand clasped over his mouth. "Shit, sorry. Don't tell mom I called her an idiot."
Valerie seemed to discount his plea as she stared at him wide-eyed as if a tail sprouted out from his ass.
He carefully took a step forward. "… Are you alright, Valerie?"
Once again, her brain formulated thoughts properly. "Yes, yes… I'm fine." She drawled and slightly hung her head down. "It's just… I find myself a little envious of the relationship you have with your Clan."
"…" He grasped her shoulders softly, making her jump slightly by the touch. "… I'll do my best to find him. I promise."
She glanced at his hands before trailing off into his intense, gray eyes.
Valerie released a shaky sigh, softly pushing him away. "It… It matters not. Let us move."
Euclid Lucifuge turned off the television as calmly as he could, laying the controller to the side. He shaped his fingers in a pyramid and distantly gazed in thought. Many times he'd seen the recording of the match between the heir of Belial and the Phenex boy. While it was an entertaining video, he wasn't focused on the fight per se.
"The girl," Euclid muffled out. "Why isn't the grail in the video?"
A weak grunt was his answer as another figure slumped on the couch beside him, almost squishing the remote controller.
The second Devil passed a hand across his black-white hair in doubt. "… I don't know."
"To begin with, are you sure the Sephiroth Graal is in the hands of the Belial Clan, Lord Nebiros?" Euclid threw a suspicious glare.
Lord Nebiros just massaged his forehead's muscles. "… She has to be!" He persisted. "Malacoda only has connections between Ars Goetia because of his sister, Calcabrina Malebranche, who is now a member of the Belial Clan!"
"Then why is the girl not with the boy?" Euclid gestured at the shut-off TV. "There's no way Emperor Belial has her on his Peerage. He already has his board complete."
"Maybe they're hiding her?" A voice in the background timidly quipped enough for the two old Devils look behind their seat. "… Valerie has the Holy Grail, after all."
"It could be…" Lord Nebiros agreed. "Perhaps they're trying to keep her existence as hush as possible, especially from the Elders."
Euclid's calm composure shook slightly at the mention of such dangerous figures. The Elders. People that are very admired or despised by Devils not only coming from Ars Goetia but Extra Demons as well, even he was frightened of them. It's a fool's gambit trying to at least kill one of them. The Underworld would tremble.
Zekram Bael, the most well-known Elder in the world, could have trouble keeping the leash tight around the 72 Pillars elders.
"They're like a horde of hungry pigs, their stomachs are almost void-like," remarked Euclid. "I rather prefer the Holy Chalice to be on the grasp of the Belial Clan rather than them…"
"That makes two of us." Lord Nebiros muttered before standing up, cracking his neck.
"Also," Euclid spared a side-glance at the retreating Devil. "Where did you get this video? It takes months for the City of Dis to have DVDs on sale across their districts…"
"House of Naberius," Lord Nebiros easily responded. "Just like Malacoda has a connection with the Clan Belial, I do have one with the Naberius Clan… and to an extent the Zagan, too."
Euclid's eyebrow curved. "I'm baffled that Clan Zagan is in your grasp." He admitted. "Isn't the Lord of that Clan working as a senator under The Emperor himself?"
The black-white-haired Devil chuckled humorlessly. "Of course he is. Hence the reason I had a copy of that fight." He responded. "For your information, Lord Zagan is a Zagan in name only. The House of Zagan was near extinction and they needed to make sure the Clan didn't fall extinct so…"
"They took someone from the Clan Naberius to fill the role as a Lord." Euclid finished, humming. "Impressive."
"In the end, it went well for you…" Marius Tepes muttered.
"Who are you, again?" Lord Nebiros glared at his direction.
Marius winced at the coldness of his eyes. "M-Marius Tepes…"
"…" Lord Nebiros kept gazing at him before turning to Euclid. "A slave of yours?"
"Something along those lines," Euclid nonchalantly responded. "Either way, why build a bridge with a House coming from Ars Goetia?" He suddenly smiled in amusement. "Afraid of losing clients in the Nebiros District?"
Lord Nebiros folded his arms. "To continue my experiment." He replied, seeing the silent stares of Euclid and Marius, he continued. "… Long ago I started to work in the dark on an experiment that I didn't want Regent-Lord Lucifuge to find out about."
Just by mentioning the bluffer Lord of Lucifuge expanded Euclid's curiosity. "What experiment?"
"Super Devils," Nebiros said, pleased at their expressions. "How to become a Super Devil." He spun around and walked away; knowing Euclid and Marius would follow. "… I had this project in secret, even from my Clan. I've hired a human scientist, who was also curious about the research, and his mate to work for me."
"Mate?" Marius asked as they stepped out of the room and walking the hallway.
"A Nekomata of the Nekoshou Clan." He specified, taking a left. "Her name was Fujimai. She birthed two kitties named Shirone and Kuroka."
"I'm surprised you know her daughter's names," Euclid commented, smirking slyly. "Maybe your relationship with her was deeper than I thought…"
"That's because I named them," Lord Nebiros dismissed his teasing. "Their mother and father didn't even care about them. Fujimai only loved her mate… which was one-sided as he was too focused on his research and only felt lust for her body, regardless she still attempted to gain his attention but to no avail."
"What a beautiful family!" Euclid brought a hand to his chest, sighing contently.
"In the end, I took care of the girls while they progressed on the project." Lord Nebiros suddenly scowled. "… But their parents died due to the experiment going wrong."
"… Oh?"
"It was a chemical explosion that alarmed the whole City of Dis." Lord Nebiros continued. "The chances of the idiots having sex on the table and accidentally throwing a few explosive chemicals to the floor during his thrusts are quite high…" He growled, shaking his anger away. "I heard from my contacts that Regent-Lord Lucifuge was approaching my district and during that time I was with Shirone, Kuroka and… Lord Naberius."
"The soon to be Lord Zagan," Euclid dramatically commented, stopping with the rest in front of a door. Hysterical laughter came from the other room.
"Correct," Lord Nebiros clenched and unclenched his fist. "… I acted on instinct that day. I had the information about the steps to become a Super Devil, but it was halfway done. I quickly gave the data to Shirone and told both cats to follow Lord Naberius as the latter resumed the research where the human left it."
Euclid stayed silent for a while and laid his hand on the knob, he fixated his red eyes over Nebiros. "When that research of yours is done, please don't hesitate to share it. We need all the power we can get."
Satisfied with seeing the Devil nodding, he twisted the knob and went inside with Lord Nebiros and Marius following behind.
Catching sight of what could be the ideal Devil in his eyes, Euclid and Lord Nebiros immediately dropped to their knees in respect. "Your Majesty," he breathed out, eyes locked on the floor.
Marius in the meantime shot an odd look at the eccentric Super Devil that sat in his chair in a crouching position, sometimes spinning around with a comic book in his hands.
This guy is not a joke.
Despite those childish antics from someone of his age, the bastard was releasing a powerful, limitless amount of creepy aura off his body, enough to prove his strength over Demonic Power.
Nonetheless, he followed Euclid and Nebiros' steps after the two Devils shot him threatening glares.
That's when the silver-haired Devil froze up and noticed them. "Ooooh~! Euclid, you're back~!" Rizevim Livan Lucifer cheered as he hopped off from his chair. "Welcome, welcome back to my dungeon!"
"I'll always be back, your Majesty," Euclid assured him as he stood up. "Ah, I've seen that you're reading the book I've gotten for you. It brings joy to my heart."
"I LOVE 'EM~!" Rizevim wildly shook the comic, not caring if a few pages disjoined from his harsh movements. He pushed the magazine inches away from Euclid's smiling face. "Finally a book where the bad guys and no the cringy heroes are taking the spotlight! I was getting tired of the same boring shit! Hmm~! It gives me an orgasm simply by reading the good stuff~!"
Marius's nose wrinkled in disgust.
Euclid, who was unfazed by the display, kept his proud smile intact. "I'm overjoyed. I shall fill this room of yours with the same genre of literature from now on."
Rizevim pulled back his comic and pouted. "Damn, break a leg then, Euclid! Cuz all of them are always the same! The good guys always winning and sucking their own dicks! Everyone knows that evil should always triumph because 'good' sucks balls! Uhyahyahyahyahya~!"
Marius awkwardly watched how Euclid and Lord Nebiros soon joined Rizevim in the laughter. "It wasn't even funny, at all." He hesitantly rose from the floor, expecting punishment for not laughing.
Thankfully, none came.
As soon as Lucifer's son finished his hyena's moans, he turned to his right man with a shit-eating grin. "Hey, hey! Are you done watching the same match over and over again of Danny-boy and his shitty companions?"
"For now, your Majesty," Euclid responded, swiftly snapping his fingers in as he recalled something. He turned back to the black-white-haired Devil whose gaze met his. "Ah, Lord Nebiros?"
"What now?"
"From what you've told me, you have secret Intel about Ars Goetia, correct?"
"Correct." Lord Nebiros affirmed, frowning.
Euclid just smiled satisfactorily. "Well, I would love if you could share it with us a memory that hasn't left my mind this whole weekend."
"What?"
Euclid opened his mouth but stopped when a magic circle appeared close to his ear. "Hello?" His eyes widened slightly. "Oh? Is that so? That sounds magnificent."
"Hey, hey~! Euclid!" Rizevim jumped on the table and sat leg-crossed, grinning at his right-hand man. "Is this guy the one you were talking about? Our new lil' partner in crime?"
"I hope so," Euclid muttered as he concluded the call. "It was one of my Magicians of Nilrem. They found Hexennacht and accepted our request, we'll negotiate apparently."
"Awesome! Now things are starting to get fun!" Rizevim cheered as he hopped off the table. "I was starting to get bored sitting all day, sleeping, watching TV and jerking off! I need the goodies, y'know?!"
"And you shall have them, your Majesty." Euclid ad Lord Nebiros bowed in respect. "All you have to do is ask and it shall be done."
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's make some new friends and then get that shitty Grail back!" Rizevim froze midway. "Wait a second! Where the hell are we going? Where's the meeting?! Oh! Oh! I hope on a strip club~!"
Euclid moved forward. "That's right, I almost forgot, my apologies your Majesty." He bowed. "It will be carried out on the Dimensional Gap."
"Ooooh~!" Rizevim squeezed his cheeks. "That's even better! Think we'll meet the Washboard Dragon?"
"We'll see, your Majesty."
Yes, that's Kuroka and Shirone's background, comfirmed by Ishibumi, yes I spoiled you Volume 24, yes we'll see more about Senjutsu.
I'll cut the chase. When we reach the end of this fanfic, I'll put this fanfic in status: Complete and make another one where we are on the DxD! Canon.
Now, you can read my whiny rant where I explain everything. If not, then I wish you a good day or night and hope you enjoyed the three chapters.
I did something that I never wanted to do. Read my fanfic, for an unknown reason I hate reading my own stuff, even so, I did it.
To my surprise, I liked how's it's going so far, this is the first time I like something I've done. I know my opinion here doesn't matter at all. I read it because for another reason. A single thing that I never liked.
The numbers of words for each chapter are around 10k or more. I fucking hated that, how long I made the chapters. All this time I was like: how long until I get into the next chapter?! It took me a lot of time to reach chapter 22. And chances of you guys getting bored is so high that you'll leave the fanfic unfinished, which I finally understand.
Now, there's nothing wrong writing 10K words. I've seen people writing even 20k and doing great on their fics. This isn't the case here, my fanfic is as serious as cancer, there are no funny moments and my updates are slow as hell. On this fic I'm trying to develop the DxD world, starting with the Devil Faction and later on, aim for the other Factions.
To make it easier to understand, what would you prefer? Anomaly: Each chapter 10k with everything filled with serious moments, politics, and world building to the point that you fall asleep or any other fanfic that'll make you laugh and have a great time?
Another problem is the main protagonist. He's boring. Dan doesn't pick up girls like a pro, he's not charismatic as hell, he's not funny that will make your gut explode, he's not banging girls, nor a Deceiving Master that will find a way to screw up the plans of Zekram himself. He's just there, surviving and doing his best to stay alive. Normally, you don't need to put those characteristics on your characters, but the charismatic one is a most. In my opinion.
This is a Self-Insert, this is literally me in real life and I like how I'm portraying Danhauser, dunno why to be honest. Maybe because I love the way I am or I'm just blinded by arrogance or I'm a complete narcissistic. But I can understand why you guys don't like him, and its all cool.
There are some people that talked about Danhauser being weak, I'll keep it brief, I refuse to believe that. If you think that way, good for you. I won't waste my time changing your mind.
All in all, if you guys are expecting Danhauser throughout the Slash/Dog plot to out of nowhere knock on Kokabiel's door, kick the living shit out of him without breaking a sweat, bang his harem. Then just unfav and unfollow already and find something else to read on.
What I can promise you is a different route from DxD! Canon, how the society works in different Factions, Danhauser evolving as a character and those people around him, become the next Champion, become strong by following the same route as Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Diehauser, simply on training without wielding any SGs or power from foreign entities. Just the sweat from his brow to become a Super Devil. Plus romance. If you don't like any of those, then you can leave.
That's why I'll make another fanfic that starts in DxD! Canon or maybe I'll just write on this fanfic the DxD! Canon too, but obviously around 5k or 6k words so we can save ourselves time and not bore you to death. Chances of future chapters facing the same consequences are high, too.
Well, there goes my beta male drama rant. Sorry for wasting your time. Take care.
Next Chapter: A Box
