Once again, thanks to MyriadSilver for helping me out on this chapter. Go check out his stories if you haven't already.
EDIT: Thanks to Shaedy Mo, I forgot to add the part saying why Freed couldn't find/kill the rest of the family. I'm dumb if you guys haven't noticed already lol.
…Freed, Freed, you there?
H-huh, yeah, yeah, I'm here.
Thank goodness, I felt your mind being drawn away in your sleep and I couldn't stop it…It would have been so embarrassing if I lost my host this early on…
I rub my eyes sleepily. Last night was a wild rollercoaster of emotions. Even now, the vision of all-consuming fire surrounding the crimson dragon who was practically escalation personified is entrenched in my mind. That image simultaneously serves as an inspiration for how powerful I could become and a warning for how strong some of the beings out there are. Even though intellectually I knew how strong many of the higher tier beings were in this world alone until now I didn't truly understand the sheer power and aura of somebody capable of devastating entire continents. One day, I'm going to reach that level, a being feared and respected by even gods. Right now, I'm a long way off from that dream though. Speaking of that meeting, Ddraig mentioned something I should probably bring up with the system…
Yeah, I was drawn into Ddraig's mindscape…don't worry we made a deal. He mentioned something about our connection being weak during our talk though.
…Yeah, I fucked up, a lot of my functions are still buggy from Scion smashing them. I'm not powerful enough to fix them right now…. sorry, the powers you gain from Harvest will likely be weakened versions.
I expected this from my conversation with Ddraig, it's still annoying though. Regardless, the System is the one who gave me a second chance at life so I could hardly begrudge him being a bit glitchy. Aside from the System being glitchy, I did learn something else…
Hey System, you seemed to be worried for me?
I have no idea what you are talking about… like I said, it would simply be embarrassing to have a host die this early on.
Sure, keep saying that to yourself. You can just admit that you like me as your host y'know?
You're delusional…and wasting time. Raynare is planning to kill Asia tomorrow, and since you seem to want her to stay alive, I suggest you do something about that.
True, true, I'll find somebody else to kill from Kuoh Academy today. If multiple people from their precious school dying to the Grigori, especially people with supernatural talent, doesn't provoke the devils to move against the Fallen I don't know what will. The Beast Tamer, Kiyome Abe or something sounds like a good target. It'll help me make progress on the quest to reach level 50 as well. I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to seeing what I get from those gacha tickets.
If I'm going to do this though, I should collect Asia from the church. Raynare doesn't care what happens to her as long as she doesn't die and Asia trusts me enough to follow me. Even though I could probably beat a shitty Beast Tamer on my own, it's just smart to have a healer on standby in case I need one. Besides, Asia can make barriers to stop her from getting out a distress message.
You're going to bring along the naïve nun to murder somebody?
Is that scepticism I'm hearing in your voice? Don't worry, I'll have her stay out of the house and unlike canon Freed, she actually trusts me.
Now, back to planning murder, a quick Google search on her name reveals something interesting. And by interesting, I mean ridiculous, the Abe family name literally has a website that directly states that their family business is Beast Taming along with their address and phone number for queries. What the fuck? I know most people would probably disregard it as a prank or a chunnibyou's delusions but still, I'm surprised they broadcast it so obviously considering that the supernatural world is supposed to be a secret. It does make it easier for me though.
As the sun rises over the horizon, turning the sky bright orange with its lustre, I make my way to the church for the third and hopefully last time. If everything goes according to plan, neither I nor Asia will be returning to the church today. Walking into the rundown church, I find Asia on her knees, devoutly praying to God in front of the broken cross. I wait as she finishes her prayer before she turns around excitedly.
"F-Freed, you're here!" she gushes excitedly.
"Yup, I need your help with something. Do you trust me?" I question.
"Of course! I'll do anything to pay you back Freed, what do you need help with?", she replies enthusiastically.
"Just to put up a barrier and heal me if things go wrong… this is serious business though Asia, you don't have to help if you're uncomfortable with it. This is an exorcism task…and there likely will be exterminations of the people involved.", I say seriously.
"W-wait, you're going to k-kill humans?", she asks hesitatingly.
"Only if they don't repent…I would rather not but these humans have formed contracts with Devils and seek to bring down their fellow men as well. Trust me, Asia do I seem like the type of person to engage in senseless slaughter?", I answer her reassuringly.
"Of course not! You're so kind, I would never see you as that kind of person," Asia exclaims, blindly trusting me, "B-but is it really necessary to kill them?"
"Asia you must understand. Unlike you, they are knowingly and willingly consorting with devils. It's our duty to exterminate these devil-worshippers… left alone they could cause huge amounts of human suffering. If we don't exterminate them, they'll trick hundreds of people into committing sins, like that devil did to you. They'll slaughter people by the dozen. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't necessary...Don't you trust me, Asia?"
"I- Of course I do! I'll help you, it's the least I could do… I won't let anyone else be tricked like I was," she says, a determined look in her eyes.
Hook, line and sinker… Asia is way too easy to deceive. All I needed to do was mention the people who suffered from the supposed 'devil-worshippers' and question her trust in me. That's a healer acquired who can also put up a barrier around the house to stop any interventions. The last thing I want is to have somebody spoil my fun after all.
"Thank you for trusting me Asia," I reply while patting her head.
Asia blushes bright red from embarrassment, "S-so w-when do you need my help?"
"Now, I want to go scout out the site before going in," I reply.
Asia follows in my footsteps as I leave the church, thankfully Raynare isn't here. Her attitude of superiority pisses me off.
By the time we reach the Abe Residence, the sun has reached its highest point in the sky. Despite this, it's actually quite chilly. On the way, we were distracted by an ice-cream van…. and yes, I did give in to Asia's puppy eyes, it's a way to get more trust from her at little cost for me. The money is from what I found around Issei's house. Money is not nearly as useful in a world filled with gods and devils anyway.
Looking at the beige shaded house, I honestly expected something more unusual from a family of Beast Tamers. While the house was certainly large and spacious, it feels more like the home of a wealthy business family than people who routinely dealt in the supernatural. The only truly unusual thing about the house is its location. Isolated from the rest of the town, the house is situated near a forest. Behind the house lies a crystal-clear pond, shining as it reflected the glint of the sun.
"Asia, do you notice any magical defences?" I question.
Asia closes her eyes as she concentrates before replying with, "No, I don't feel anything."
"Asia, start forming a barrier around the house and be quick about it… I wan- need to kill these heretics before it's too late."
Looking down, I notice my hands shaking in excitement at the prospect of another killing spree. The feeling of snatching a life away, knowing that I ended somebody's entire future… it's so addicting. Nothing I ever experienced even came close to that rush. Still, I need to calm down, can't seem too eager in front of Asia. Taking a deep breath, I still my hands and resist the urge to smile wildly. Putting on a stoic face, I wait excitedly as Asia forms a barrier around the house. Despite the lack of any physical signs of the barrier forming, even a novice at magic such as myself could feel the arcane energy wrapping around the house, isolating it from the world. While the barrier wouldn't stop anyone from physically leaving or entering, it would block magical communication and teleportation. Asia's eyebrows are furrowed, her hands raised in the air as she focuses on forming the barrier.
"I-it's done Freed.", she says shakily, putting a barrier up clearly took a lot out of her.
"Good job Asia," I reply, "Now stay outside and keep the barrier up while I purge these heretics before they can harm any more innocents."
Asia nods in understanding as I approach the house, not seeing the wide grin on my face. A family of Beast Tamers… time to farm some experience. I walk up the cobblestone path, my right hand gripping the light sword's hilt under my cloak. Looking over the house, there doesn't seem to be any easy way to enter and while I would love to ring the doorbell and gut whoever came to answer… I can hardly do that with Asia outside, the killing would have to happen inside the house unfortunately.
Sighing, I activate my light sword, using its blade to smash the window. Jumping in, I find myself in a large sitting room devoid of people. Entering the next room, a kitchen, yields no results either. Seriously, where the fuck are these people? Going up the stairs, I finally notice the family clearly prepared for me. At the front is a middle-aged man, the muscles on his arms displaying his strength despite his age. In his hand, he holds a steel sword, its blade shining in the light. Despite its clearly well-maintained condition, it didn't look outwardly special in any way, so I doubt it is that dangerous.
"Intrud- an Exorcist!? Why have you come to our house? We take no sides in your conflict with the Fallen and Devils.", his eyes determined and focused despite his clear confusion.
Takagi Abe
LV36
Race-Human
SP- 220
MP- 220
STR- 21
END- 22
DEX- 24
INT- 22
WIS- 20
CHA- 76
His level is decently high but he focused on CHA so I should be able to take him easily. My strength was more than double his after all. Ignoring his question, I dart towards him swinging my blade at his head, intent on cleaving it off in one blow. The man barely ducks under the blade, before desperately stabbing forward with his sword. Laughing, I easily deflect his blow away. He's quite strong for a regular human, but nowhere near my might. My counterattack catches him by surprise and severs his hand off. The man clutches his arm in pain, his sword clanging on the floor as it falls.
"Argh!" the man screams in pain as he grabs his bloody stump.
I stand over him, my sword raised, ready to end this battle. Only to dive to the right, just in time to avoid the fist of a Yeti. Thank god for [Combat Precognition],otherwise the Yeti's massive white paws-with its three sharp black claws unsheathed on each paw-would've eviscerated me. How the fuck did this colossal beast sneak up on me, I have no idea. The Yeti towers over me, more than double my size, its eyes alight with rage. I jump backwards, avoiding a powerful paw swipe. Despite the creature's powerful strength, it's clearly clumsy. Its awkward and slow movement made it easy to dodge its blows.
The Yeti roars at me, an icy mist leaving his mouth that chills me to the bone. Under the effect of the freezing breath, I feel unusually slow. Still even with this, I'm far faster than this stupid lumbering beast.
Managing to sidestep the Yeti as he attempts to charge me, I swing my sword leaving a long bloody gash on his side. Spinning around, I parry a blow from Takagi Abe who had evidently picked up his fallen sword in his other hand. Only to be sent flying into a wall by a punch that felt heavier than a sledgehammer. Fucking hell, that hurt! I groan as I get onto my feet.
The beast tamer takes out an ornate handcrafted cherry wood whistle. He blows into it, emanating a large screech. Fuck, that was probably to call more animals, wasn't it? I need to kill him and the Yeti before I get overwhelmed. I move forward to attack the Yeti a second time, once again the beast tamer moves to interfere. This time though, I am ready for it. Calling on my recently acquired power, I focus my [Boost] on my strength. The effect is instantaneous, a rush of power flows through my veins. To an outsider, the scene would've been identical to our last clash. He moves to attack while I focus on parrying it. This time, however, is different. Instead of merely parrying the blow, swinging my light sword with my augmented strength, I slice right through it. My blade continues its arc, slitting his stomach open. The man falls to the ground, his mouth open in surprise. The Yeti roars in a desperate mix of anger and grief as it charges right at me.
Yes! This is what I love, that feeling of having power over somebody's life and death. It's too bad I can't savour this moment. Turning around, I face the charging Yeti. In its rage, all it does is blindly charge at me. Dodging the charge, I take advantage of the last second of [Boost] to swing with all my might at his head, finally killing him.
[You have gained 25,100 EXP]
[You have levelled up!]
[You have gained 3 class levels!]
Nice I'm level 47 now! Now, where do I put my six stat points? I did choose mage class so WIS or INT would be smart except that I don't have many magic spells right now. STR, DEX and END give the most immediate power while CHA would be useful for manipulating people. Still, focusing too much on WIS and INT would leave me in the glass cannon wizard trope. Which is fine in a game but in real life, the last thing I want to do is be a glass cannon. A more balanced stat spread would probably let me survive longer compared to an optimised build. With that in mind, I put two points into STR and a point into everything else except DEX since it's already at 75. Once I get everything to a decent level, around 50, I can start focusing on a stat or two.
Just as I move forward to [Harvest] the bodies, I hear a loud screech before a trio of harpies crashes through the window. They screech in rage upon seeing the corpse of their tamer, their beautiful faces twisted in despair and anger. Spotting me they let out a screech before darting toward me, their sharp talons ready to gut me. I roll out of the way before trying to counterattack. These fucking birds are a pain to hit though. They dart in tearing into me with their talons, before staying tantalisingly out of the reach of my blade. Checking my HP, I'm already at 400/750, am I really going to die to fucking birds of all things? I grunt as a talon rips into my shoulder, taking another 50 HP with it. The harpies weave in and out of my blade, as I swing wildly. Looking at my SP bar, I still need another minute before I can use [Boost] again. Using my unoccupied hand, I take out my light gun, releasing three shots at the harpies. Caught by surprise, one of the harpies gets hit in the wing causing her to spiral to the ground. The other two begin to attack even more viciously, clearly incensed by the loss of one of their own. I desperately evade another dive, before trying to return fire with my gun. This time they're ready for it, and both of the remaining harpies easily evade the shots. I duck out of the way of an incoming harpy, only to be gored in the back by the other. Checking my HP bar which is rapidly dropping due to bleeding, it's already at 108/750. I need to end this now and luckily for me, I regenerated enough SP to use [Boost] again. This time I funnel the power into my DEX stat. My vision sharpens akin to those of a hawk's while my body feels incomparably light. The remaining two harpies begin their coordinated attack once again. One attacking from the front and one from the back. My sword moves like a flash of light as I easily bisect the one at the front before spinning around and attacking the second which gets away with only a scratched wing.
Five seconds, that's how much time I have left to end this. I shoot thrice, the first bullet misses and punches a hole in a nearby door. The second one finally ends it, puncturing a hole in her chest.
[You have gained 34,175 EXP]
[You have levelled up!]
[You have gained two class levels!]
[You may choose a new spell to learn]
Looking around, I smile as I take in the glorious sight of the massacre. The beast tamer lies on the ground, the blood from his split stomach drenching the floor, a surprised look still etched on his face. Near him is the Yeti, its head almost as large as a human's chest split from its body. The amount of blood that poured from its neck would be enough to stain the whole floor. The harpies, my most troublesome opponents, sit eviscerated on the floor. Their faces, still twisted in rage even in death. Laughing, I move forward to the corpses. One day, I will make even gods fear being slaughtered like these beasts. I touch each corpse, casting [Harvest] each time.
[Traits and Skills successfully harvested]
[Beast Tamer]
You are renowned for your ability to tame mythical creatures, both large and small. Effect of CHA increased by 50% when dealing with supernatural creatures with low INT.
[Icy Constitution]
You have more than adapted to cold, you have absorbed it. Your body is naturally cold and you gain the skill [Freezing Breath]. You are resistant to cold and vulnerable to heat.
[Flight (Harpy) (Adept) Lv65]
You are capable of flight through the use of wings. Greatly increased movement speed while flying.
[Light-boned]
Your bones are naturally light granting you +20% DEX but causing you to take a -20% Penalty in STR and END.
[Supernatural Beauty]
You are considered beautiful, almost inhumanely so. Effect of CHA increased by 20% when dealing with creatures attracted to you.
WARNING: You have more than three Harvested skills, please choose three to equip. You may change the equipped skills once every 24 hours.
Hmmm, [Red Dragon Emperor] was my first and easiest choice. Its ridiculous strength was evident in how I relied on it to end both of my battles. For my second choice, I went with [Flight (Harpy)]. More movement is always welcome and without flight, I'm basically useless against those who do have it. For my last choice, I went with [Supernatural Beauty]. It would do some work trying to mitigate the CHA penalty from my [Psychopath] trait and would help me manipulate Asia even more.
Now, I have a new spell to learn… I know I said I would go for Necromancer spells and I do still plan to do that… but I need a defensive option. This battle taught me that much at least. In terms of defence, aside from just dodging or parrying the blow, I don't really have much. With that thought in mind, I pick up the [Steelskin] spell under Alteration.
[Steelskin]
Consumes 75MP per minute. While active, your skin becomes as durable as steel.
Now time to allocate my six Stat Points. Following my previous plan, I put two in WIS and one in everything else except DEX. I'm already level 48, I'm pretty close to finishing the quest to reach lv50. Woo! Go me! Murder is truly profitable.
While I did have hosts whose levelling speed eclipsed yours… I will say your speed is adequate...
Do I have a goddamn tsundere System?
When you have had dozens of hosts, rarely does anything seem spectacular for you… most of them die before achieving Champion level… hopefully you'll be different.
….way to ruin the mood, don't worry I won't get cocky. I understand I'm still at the bottom of the totem pole.
Walking around the house, I look for more beasts to kill. A peak in the garden reveals a mermaid relaxing in the pond. A quick shot leaves her dead. Her blood saturates the pool, turning it blood-red. Unfortunately, she's evidently low level, giving me only 1000 EXP. A look at her traits using [Harvest] reveals nothing of real interest though I do pick up [Water Breathing] regardless. I quickly scan the house for any valuables, I end up finding a couple of thousand Yen lying around and the cherry wood whistle that the beast tamer used to call the harpies. Other than that? Not much, though there were a lot of different kinds of animal feed around. As I walk around, I drop the remaining feathers of Raynare I found in the church. Strangely enough, I didn't find any other humans while scouring the house. I know for a fact the beast tamer had a daughter...
You idiot! You do realise that it's noon right now so she's probably at school right?
Oh...school, ok I'll accept that insult. How the fuck did I forget about school. Ah well, I doubt a teenager would be worth much experience anyway.
Now time to get out before somebody notices something wrong. Leaving the house, I meet up with Asia, still standing outside the gate diligently holding up the barrier.
"Asia, I'm back. Don't worry I stopped the heretics before they could hurt anyone. You can drop the barrier now", I call out to her.
"Freed, you're back! I- I was so worried", she wraps me in a hug.
I stand there, enjoying the warmth of a cute girl hugging me, for a few seconds, before slowly untangling myself.
"Good job on the barrier, Asia," I say while rubbing her head.
She replies to me determinedly, "I'll help you any way I can!"
Honestly, she's so adorable when she gets like this. As I look at her, I catch her staring. She blushes and looks away… I see the [Supernatural Beauty] trait is already coming in handy. I beckon her to come closer.
"Asia, I have something very important to tell you," I say gravely, "Raynare is intending to kill you to steal your Sacred Gear."
"W-what? W-why does everyone want me to suffer?" Her green eyes are watering. "A-all I ever wanted to do was help people. So why!? Why does everyone want me to suffer?"
"No matter what, I'll be there at your side Asia," I lie. "I'll protect you!"
Asia's face breaks into a large smile, she rubs the tears from her eyes before enveloping me in a hug. Her face, still wet from crying, dampens the cloak I'm wearing.
"Thank you, thank you for being there for me," she sobs "No one has ever helped me like this before, it was always me doing the helping."
"Don't worry about it, how could I just let someone as innocent as you die to a wretched angel like Raynare?" I respond, "If you want to stay alive, we'll have to run away Asia. I don't fancy my chances against three Fallen Angels, do you trust me enough to follow me?"
"Yes! I trust you with my life Freed. Out of everyone I ever met, you've done the most for me. You trusted me to help you on your mission and even now are trying to protect me," she replies.
"Good, let's make our way out of the town then and try to get a head start before Raynare notices us gone," I say while making my way to the train station.
The best part is that I'm mostly telling the truth here. Asia does need to leave town if she wants to stay alive and I do lack the ability to kill the Fallen. The only part I lied about was promising I'll protect her, no matter what. While I would do my best to keep her alive, she is useful and naïve after all, but I wouldn't fight a hopeless battle for her, and I certainly wouldn't do anything for her. Hopefully, the devils deal with Raynare and her allies before they can chase us down. That's one fight I'm not in a hurry to get into. With the money I found lying around, I have enough for a few days at least and it's not exactly hard to steal with supernatural speed and strength.
(Issei)
From the insides of the school building, the sound of wood clanging on wood could be heard. In the wide expanse of the gym. In the darkness, two shrouded figures continue to fight unhampered. The two continue to clash at inhuman speed until one of them is smacked in the face by the other's kendo stick.
Issei sits up, dazed from the hit, sweat drenches his clothes. His muscles are sore from exertion, his body noticeably bruised. Despite this, he immediately gets up and calls out, his eyes blazing with determination.
"Again!"
"Are you sure? It's getting late and we still have school tomorrow. You've only been a devil for a day, it might be best to take it easy," Kiba replies gently.
"Yes! I- I need to get stronger. I can't rest with him out there," Issei says determinedly.
"I understand. Let's keep going then." Kiba's eyes are filled with sympathy and understanding.
With the conversation over, Kiba indicates for Issei to attack. Deflecting the blow, Kiba takes advantage of the moment to press his shinai against Issei's throat.
"I know it's hard, but don't let your anger control your actions," Kiba advised.
"It's just so hard. Whenever I think of him, all I can feel is rage. My entire family… gone, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Maybe I'm too useless after all..." Issei sobs.
Kiba pats Issei on the shoulder. "You're not useless Issei, all of us faced the same problem. I'm not asking you to let go of your anger, just to channel it to better uses. I- I went through a similar situation… I'm not the best talker but if you ever need somebody to listen to, I'm here."
"Thanks, I appreciate that." Issei wipes his tears before picking up his fallen shinai. "Thanks for helping me practice."
"No worries, we all know the feeling of being powerless," Kiba replies while batting away Issei's attack.
And so, echoes of wood on wood could be heard from the gym until the golden sun peaks over the horizon, brightening the sky with its warm glow. A parry here, a dodge there, slowly but surely throughout the course of the night, Issei improved. He's still an inexperienced rookie, but now one that has begun to understand the basic fundamentals of fighting. As he's knocked down again, Issei grits his teeth, gets up and continues to spar. This is his determination to avenge his family, his resolve to kill the white-haired monster who slaughtered all those he loved.
(Rias)
Meanwhile, in another corner of the school, two girls sat in the well organised student council room.
"Rias, the Abe patriarch was found dead in his home, many of his beasts slaughtered at his side." Sona's eyes were cold and analytical. "A cursory search revealed multiple Fallen feathers at the scene."
"Those Fallen are really outreaching this time. We can't let this slide Sona; we should've exterminated those Fallen when we first found them in our territory. If we let them get away with slaughtering neutral bystanders in our territory, our positions as overseers will be a joke. And if that happens…. we'll probably be dragged back to the Underworld. I won't let that happen!" Rias says furiously.
"I agree, we cannot let this slide. Still, what did the Grigori hope to gain from this conflict?" Sona muses introspectively.
"Does it matter? They stepped over the line. If you want, I can go gather my peerage and deal with them. If I'm lucky, my beloved Pawn will be able to get his vengeance today.", Rias offers.
Sona seems to consider it for a second before dismissing the idea, "No, for a matter as serious as this, we must present a united front."
She rubs her head in frustration. "We're going to have to fill out so much paperwork for this. Even in the best case, there's going to be increased tensions between us and the Fallen after this. You're right however, it needs to be done. If it's fine by you, we can both gather our peerages and head to the church. The faster we deal with this, the better."
"Agreed. It's a shame that I'll have to intrude on Issei and Yuuto's sparring session but I'm sure Issei will be more than pleased by the reason," Rias replies.
"You're bringing your recently reincarnated Pawn into the fight?" Sona questions sceptically.
"I can hardly deny my precious Pawn his vengeance. And with both of our Peerages there, there's no way he'll be in danger," Rias answers confidently.
Sona sighs at Rias' nonchalance before getting up, realising she could hardly stop Rias from bringing her Pawn along. Ever since they were children, Rias had always been stubborn and Sona knew that trying to change her mind was futile. The most she could do is go along and try to mitigate the effects of Rias' impulsive decisions. Where Sona is a creature of logic and reason, Rias is spontaneous, often relying on emotion and gut feelings. That's not to say Sona couldn't be emotional-her interactions with her sister proved otherwise after all, but she didn't rely on her emotions, unlike Rias.
"It's decided then," she says while leaving the room to go gather her Peerage. Rias leaves too soon after.
Hopefully my fight scene wasn't too bad lol. Thanks to everyone who faved/followed/reviewed, they encouraged me to actually write (along with Myriad lol).