Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.

The minimum age to begin Exorcist training is 10 years old. By then, you would already have been through most of the basic studies that are necessary and have trained your body to a sufficient level. Most of our studies consisted of the ordinary school studies but they made sure that Religious Education was our core subject. To be honest, I would have been surprised if they didn't make RE our core subject.

The Sigurd Institute also doubles as a training facility for exorcists in training, meaning that we get a lot of visitors every day. Most of them are exorcists in training or apprentices but we also get fully-fledged exorcists coming in to manage the training sessions. The exorcists that hold the training sessions are usually those who have been pulled out the main force due to injuries, old age, etc. They may not be able to fight anymore but they can still put their skills to use by teaching the next generation of exorcists.

To be honest, the training facilities are starting to feel like school all over again.

Memories of my pubescent years start to pop up again whenever I think of school again, my glorious days of yore where I was naught but a hormonal teenager and drama lurked behind every corner like Yandere-chan.

Ah, school.

Anyways, it's been about eight years since I was "born", for lack of better terms. The last three years have gone by pretty quickly. My routine was pretty much just wake up, have breakfast, study, lunch, study, exercise, study, dinner, sleep, rinse and repeat. The Institute faculty want us to be as ready as we can be for when we're officially inducted into the Exorcist Training Program.

When it comes to Physical Education, i'm at the top. This is mainly thanks to the large amount of stamina I've been building up since I was a baby. I had gotten some weird looks whenever I would just run in circles but I always knew that it would pay off at some point.

But seriously though, that Number 15 always manages to keep up with me. I mean yeah, i'm much faster than him, smarter than him, stronger than him-basically, i'm better than him in every way, but he's slowly bridging the gap between us.

Maybe I should start to work harder? Yeah, I probably should. Overconfidence is never a good trait to have; I guess I was feeling pretty arrogant since my competition is filled with a bunch of kids-

Huh. Is this the start of a rivalry? Damn, i'm getting the full protagonist experience; what next, I have to rescue him from his inner darkness? Or maybe stop him from defecting the hidden village and joining a Paedophile Snake?

Heh.

Anyways, I have nothing to do today as it is a Sunday. They usually give us Sundays off for relaxing and getting to know each other. Of course, it's hard to talk to the other kids when they don't want to talk to me.

I tend to not take part in activities as much as my siblings do, mainly because I'm an adult in mind and would rather read a book. It's one of the only things I can enjoy in the Institute rather than playing tag with the other descendants. You can imagine the wonders it's done for my social skills, and what children don't understand, they single them out. Children are innocent monsters, always following the crowd no matter what.

Anyways, I'm basically the "Geek", "Bookworm", "Weird Kid", you get the idea.

Besides, to be honest I prefer it this way. I can get much more done like this rather than waste time running around like a headless chicken. Unlike the rest of my siblings, I have knowledge of future events; I know just how bad the timeline will become at some point. I'm obviously not going to follow the same path as my canon self, that ended up with him becoming a giant spider-monster and dying in the end, as well as his entire arsenal of swords ditching him like a bad date. I'm also not going to just let the canon plot take place either, not when I can change it.

Which is why I choose to train myself whenever I have the time. If i'm going to change the plot, I'll need to be strong. I'm sure that canon Siegfried didn't just sit about and wait to become strong, he trained himself to reach the level of power he obtained, and i'm going to do the same.

But unlike canon Siegfried, i'm not going to stop at just honing my sword mastery; i'm going to go even further beyond.

"Forty-six! Forty-seven! Forty-eight! Forty-nine!"

I could feel a heavy strain on my body as I pushed myself off the ground again. Sweat was pouring down my body and forming a small pool under me, a token of my dedication to the training regimen I had begun some time ago.

Just as Sairaorg Bael had reached the pinnacle of the Devil body, Crom Cruach had reached the pinnacle of the Dragon's body and Vasco Strada had reached the pinnacle of the Human body, I would strive to reach that same level with my own hard work.

Sairaorg had started off at the bottom of the social ladder, an outcast to his entire race. Yet he was able to overcome all the harsh words sent his way and trained what he had in place of what he didn't have; his body. In the end, his hard work paid off and the failure of the Bael Clan became the Strongest Youth, having paved his way with nothing but his fists.

Crom Cruach ignored his instincts as an Evil Dragon and, rather than cause havoc across the world, chose to spend his time training in his lonesome. Every single day, he would train himself to the absolute limit, rest and start again the next day. As a result, he had broken through his own limits and attained the strength of a Heavenly Dragon.

Vasco Strada is limited by the strength of the human body unlike the rest of the supernatural. Even with that limitation, he continued to train himself until he reached a level where he could fight and defeat a Grigori Cadre. Even the current Satans of the Underworld feared Vasco when he was still in his prime. Hell, even some of the Gods feel cautious when it came to fighting Vasco in his prime. His strength ended up with him being hailed by many as the strongest human.

I want to reach that level, that small space at the top of the mountain where only the strongest can stand. I don't know if that's what I want or if it's just my blood talking, but I also want to stand next to those people and be hailed as one of the Strong.

Which brings us to right now.

"Fifty! Fifty-one! Fifty-two! Fifty-three! Fifty-four!"

If I wanted to reach that level of strength, I would need to work hard for it. That's why I had decided on creating a harsh training regimen at a young age. I don't have long until canon starts, only about ten years or so. By then, I plan on having attained Touki and magic, as well as honing my sword mastery to a level where I can survive most of the opponents I will inevitably face.

To obtain Touki, you would need to learn how to control your own base of life. While most users of Touki learn to do so after learning Senjutsu, it's also possible to obtain it by training my body intensively. At least, that was how Sairaorg managed to obtain it. We don't have any Senjutsu practitioners at the Institute so this is all I can do at the moment. If i'm lucky, i'll end up finding someone in the Church who is also a Senjutsu practitioner, though the chances are slim; not many races outside of the Youkai use Senjutsu due to the danger of losing your mind to the malice of the world.

"Fifty-five! Fifty-six! Fifty-seven! Fifty-eight! Fifty-nine!"

Until then, all I can do is just train my body. It'll also give me an advantage for when I'm inducted into the Exorcist Training Program.

"Sixty!"

I sucked in a deep breath as I collapsed onto the floor of my bedroom. With my morning training regimen finally complete, everyone else should start to wake up in a bit. Until then, I should have some time to read the magic tomes I borrowed from the Library.

I mentioned this before but the Institute also doubles as a training facility for exorcists. We get a lot of exorcists coming in and training themselves whenever they have the time. Back when the Institute was first set up, a couple of exorcist mages decided to put up a library for anyone who wanted to become a practitioner of magic. It's not as effective as being taught directly but it serves to build up a good base.

And of all the magic tomes I could find, I ended up choosing "The Basic Guide to Rune Magic". While it may not have the most firepower compared to the other types of magic, it is one of the most versatile magic systems in the world. There is practically no limit to the different combinations that you can create with each rune. In the hands of an expert, they could cause some serious damage alone.

And the best part is that it doesn't require as many calculations compared to the other human magic schools. Unlike the other magic systems in the world, human magic is dependent on calculations and algorithms. To begin with, magic itself is an art that alters the world using Mana, and is split into two components: Mana, which is used to supply the alteration of the world, and magic circles, which is used to direct that Mana. Most races use easier methods for the latter component like the Devils who just need their imagination, which is a total hax ability, or the Angels who use belief. We humans are just that, humans. We need to find another method to compensate for our imperfect qualities, thus we use calculations and algorithms to direct our Mana.

However, Rune magic is able to skip most of the calculations and go directly onto creating the spell. This is thanks to the runes themselves doing most of the calculations on their own, with me just having to chain them together to use said spell.

It's times like these that I wonder just what was my canon self thinking. He had access to all kinds of magic but solely relied on his swords? Say what you want but in the end, that's a stupid move. Why anyone wouldn't use the resources given to them is something I will never understand.

Anyways, it's been a while since I delved into the magic arts. I want to say that I've been getting the hand of it but to be honest, I'm not. It's a hassle having to remember every single Rune from heart, not to mention the time it takes to create the more unique formulae.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. If this much was enough to stop me, I wouldn't have bothered with the training regimen. Once I reach the level of an expert, it will surely become a valuable tool in the future.

And I may have been influenced by Cu Chulainn from Fate Grand Order.

Okay, I was definitely influenced by Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn is best doggo, change my mind.

I focused on my inner self, reaching towards my Magic Core and allowing it to open up. All living creatures contain a Magic Core that is stored inside their body. It is a conceptual container where your magic is generated and stored, and travels through your body using the Magic Channels that act as a conduit.

Anyone is capable of magic as long as they awaken their Magic Core. There are three methods to awakening your Magic Core: you would need to have someone with an awakened Core to kick start your own Core, kick start your own Core by drinking a special fluid or being born with it, though the latter is generally reserved for prodigies. I had awakened my Core using the second method; there weren't any mages around on the day I awakened my Core, leaving me to my own devices.

The fluid tastes absolutely disgusting in case you were wondering. 0/10, would not recommend at all.

I could feel a slight buzzing in my chest, signalling that my Magic Core was fully awake. I raised my arm into the air and focused my Mana into my index finger, watching as it glowed a soft blue, and with practised movements, I began to trace Runes in midair.

ᛚᛁ

Laguz and Isa, the rune of flows, water, the sea and acquisition, and the rune of ice and rune reinforcement respectively.

The two runes floated in the air aimlessly, waiting for the unspoken command to be given. With a simple thought, the runes collected together until the air began to grow colder. Water droplets were formed in the air before grouping together, forming a lance while simultaneously freezing. In less than five seconds, a spear of ice had been formed and landed in the palm of my hand.

See what I mean? With Rune magic, you can basically use all kinds of magics depending on the combinations you create. Each rune has a number of different meanings but if you know which meaning you're using, you can end up with a different result each time you combine them. For example, if I used Isa to reinforce Laguz, rather than use the ice meaning, I could increase the strength of the Laguz rune and end up with a large amount of water.

Rune magic for the win.

Though right now I can only trace runes using a single finger. It gets harder as you go along but I want to be able to use multiple fingers simultaneously when tracing runes.

I immediately began to trace a new set of runes while holding the ice spear in my left hand.

ᛊᚦ

The runes glowed for a moment before fire began to collect together, forming a small fireball that floated harmlessly above my index finger. I shoved the ice spear into it and watched as it began to melt almost instantly, forming water vapour that collected together on the ceiling and forming a puddle below me.

A simple Fire Burst spell that creates a small orb of fire. With the amount of Mana I poured into it, it was the same size as the palm of my hand, but if I were to use it in combat situations with a higher input of Mana, well...

Guess who's going to be spamming Cruel Suns?

A grin began to creep onto my face as the floating ball of fire began to dissipate, losing its connection to my Mana. I can't help but feel giddy whenever I use Rune magic. Just thinking of all the possible combinations I could create is enough to leave me on cloud-nine for the whole day.

For the next fifteen minutes, I continued to trace runes and create my own rune-chains while making sure to note down ideas that would require testing in the future. Any rune-chains that I found useful, I had inscribed them into a formula on my Magic Circle. That way, I would be able to access the spell much faster just by pulling out said Magic Circle, rather than having to create the entire rune-chain from the beginning over and over again.

So far, I only have five formulae on hand. The reason the number is so low is because there isn't enough space anywhere in the Institute where I can test out my more... bigger ideas. The training rooms are off limits until I become an Exorcist Apprentice so until then, i'm stuck on the small stuff. But once I get clearance into the training rooms...

Heh heh, I can't wait...

By the time I was done, the rest of the test subjects had begun to wake up; some of them had already left their rooms and went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I went to the bathroom to wash up and get ready for the day. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I left my room and closed the door behind me, on my way to the cafeteria for the start of another day.

Breakfast was just as loud as I expected.

Most, if not all, of the test subjects had already formed their small cliques. By that point in time, there were a few stragglers left who had no place anywhere and would just mind their own business.

Of course, I fall in the latter group. Years of acting alone rather than trying to get along with my siblings have resulted in me being alienated by the rest of the children. Not that i'm complaining, I can just get more training done without being distracted.

After we all had our breakfast, we went to the classrooms for our daily lessons. Most of the classrooms are on the second floor with the first floor consisting of training rooms for Exorcists and Exorcist Apprentices. After climbing the first flight of stairs and reaching my classroom, I moved to the back of the class and took my seat in the centre row. Each classroom is able to fit about twenty-five students with the classroom layout being quite large; each desk stretches out and is able to fit about five students, with three rows of desks split into two sections.

The rest of the students began to enter the classroom one by one while the teacher hadn't arrived yet, giving them time to relax. They shuffled around the classroom, sitting down on their seats and chatting with their friends until the lesson started. I decided to use this time by pulling out my notebook on Elder Futhark runes. This notebook is solely reserved for writing down any possible rune-chains I could create without being able to test them just yet.

Any time spent on runes is good time management.

I had gone through the notebook for five minutes, having created a single rune-chain, when I felt the air shift behind me. I didn't react, already knowing who was standing behind me, and instead greeted my visitor.

"Good morning, Freed."

"Morning." Freed Sellzen smiled as he sat down on my right, returning the greeting back.

Freed Sellzen, known by his subject name as Number 15, was one of the only people I knew that held a place in my list of favourite people. He doesn't show any of the qualities his canon self had shown and, contrary to popular belief, is actually a nice person. I don't know what might have happened to him to turn him into whatever canon Freed is, but right now he's a pretty good guy.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. Freed Sellzen is the maniac who cuts people up for shits and giggles. Should I have been afraid? Maybe. Should I distance myself from him? I probably won't. Will I find out what happens in the next episode of Doctor Who? Not anymore I won't. What I do know is that this isn't canon Freed, meaning that he isn't, well, a maniac that cuts people up for shits and giggles. Besides, I can't really call him a maniac if he hasn't even gone Kill Bill yet.

"Again with the Rune dictionary?" he asked, "Don't you have any other books? I only ever see you holding a book on runes."

"You just don't understand how amazing runes are." I chided with a wag of my finger, "The number of different possible outcomes you could reach with runes is unlimited, they're just far too versatile when applied correctly. I bet that if you were to-"

"Sieg, you're rambling again."

"Bah, I don't need to explain myself to you." I waved my hand as I stored my dictionary away into my bag. Freed shook his head with a sigh and laid his arm on the desk, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

Just as I put away my dictionary, another presence made itself known as it sat on my left. I looked up and smiled towards my neighbour.

"Morning Lint."

"G-good morning!" she greeted back, a small blush painting her cheeks pink. I replied with another smile and raised my arm, marvelling in how soft her hair was to the touch.

"A-ah, I t-told you to s-stop doing that..." Lint complained, her blush steadily increasing in intensity. Oh ho~ If you don't want it, then why is your head gently leaning into the palm of my hand? I had no doubt that if she had a tail, it would have created a small dust storm by now.

Once again, I was treated to the sight of Lint Sellzen before she became the cheerful, confident girl she was in canon. This Lint was far too shy, opting to hide between Freed and myself most of the time rather than put the attention on herself.

I swear by all that is unholy, if any of you so much as think of lewding Lint, I'm going to castrate the lot of you. Whether He is deceased or not, not even God himself will be able to help you.

At least she was able to greet me. The first time I met her, she refused to even look at me without Freed being there to coax her out her hiding spot behind him.

-Flashback-

And now I remember why I didn't want to go and "get to know" my siblings.

The Recreational room was an absolute mess. My siblings were running around the room, screaming and whooping as they went while causing all sorts of damage; the white, pristine walls had drawings all over them done with a crayon; pillows were flying all around the room; empty shoes laid on the ground.

How the hell did Number 13 force half his body into the ceiling?

I felt a deep sense of pity for the caretaker whose face had reached a new level of white.

I guess it was expected for kids to be loud, maybe i'm the weird one for always being so quiet and alone?

Looking around, I can see a couple of my siblings trying to actually get to know each other, though it's not working out as well as they thought it would. They tried to stick to the corners of the room but that clearly isn't working.

The rest of them have already formed their own cliques as they huddled together in various parts of the room. Whenever a new child would try and talk to them, the conversation would be ended as soon as possible and they were sent their way.

'Mission failed, we'll get em next time.' I thought to myself as I watched another child get shooed away. I'm glad I still have my meme's backed up inside my archives. Nice going brain.

'Why thank you. I do appreciate being complimented for my hard work from time to time.'

I looked to my right and saw another one of my siblings, Number 15, trying to hide his presence as much as he could. If I were being honest, I think Number 15 is my favourite sibling so far. Honestly, just look at him and then compare him to these animals-I mean, the rest of my siblings. He's practically a godsend.

And now he's looking at me with narrowed eyes-no wait, they've widened; he recognises me. Yep, it's time to release some of my protagonist aura and get to know him. I would much rather prefer to talk with him rather than the wild animals causing havoc in the room.

"Hey." I waved when I got close enough. Great going brain, the best you could come up with is "Hey"? Nice, real nice.

'Shut up, you moved forward to talk to him before I could think of what I was going to say.'

No excuses Brain. You had one job, the same job you've had for the last eight years, and you chose now to mess up.

'Unless you've forgotten, you ARE me. The body is just a pile of flesh that we're currently piloting.'

Hmm. Good point, I concede.

'You can't "concede" against yourself idiot-haah... Just...just stop trying to argue with yourself and talk to Number 15.'

Don't you get sassy with me, I don't like the tone of your voice.

'I don't have a voice, this conversation is happening in your thoughts.'

"Are... Are you okay?" I was brought out of my argument with myself when Number 15 decided to voice his concerns. Aww, you're worried for me? You shouldn't be, but i'll accept it nonetheless because I'm a sucker for anything that's free.

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you suddenly blanked out as soon as you greeted me."

'It's true. As soon as you decided to argue with me, hence yourself, you ignored his greeting.'

Not now Brain.

"No, i'm okay. I was just thinking of something, it's nothing to worry about." Number 15 merely raised an eyebrow at the reply before shrugging, having accepted the answer he received.

"So." I continued, "i'm Number 3, though I guess you already knew that."

"Yes, I know who you are." Number 15 replied as he raised his arm, waiting for a handshake. I accepted the gesture and shook his hand, eliciting a small smile from the red-eyed boy. "Your personal name is Siegfried, right? From the Fafnir series?"

He snorted when I raised my eyebrows in surprise, "Don't be surprised. You're the only one of us to have been named after our ancestor, everyone knows about you-" he paused for a moment, furrowing his brows before finishing his sentence, "Well, everyone who isn't a part of...whatever this is." he gestured to the storm in the middle of the room with his head.

Huh. I guess you learn something new every day.

"Anyways, I'm number 15. My personal name is Freed Sellzen of the Sellzen series, and this," he shifted his body, revealing a black haired girl hiding behind him, "is Number 16; Sieglinde Sellzen of the Sellzen series, though I call her Lint. She's a little shy, and tends to hide behind me most of the time, but she's a good girl."

Freed and Lint? I've heard those names before, I just can't seem to recall who they were. It's been a while since I watched the show, I can't remember much-oh, i'm keeping her waiting aren't I?

"Hello!" I greeted with a smile, only to falter when she began to scramble away from me and cling onto Number 15 harder.

"Lint, try and say hello."

"No! I don't wanna!"

Ugh! Two hit wombo-combo right in the heart! It's okay though, I can still keep fighting!

"Hi there, my name is Siegfried. Its nice to meet you." I greeted again, this time with a gentle smile.

"No!"

And that's a KO.

'Holy shit dude, are you okay?'

I'm fine Brain. I'm just bleeding from my heart, it'll pass.

'Internal bleeding is actually a serious problem. You should probably go and get some help soon before you-'

Brain, seriously. If I wanted your smart ass comments, I would have asked for them.

'You are me. If i made a smart ass comment, that's because you wanted a smart ass comment.'

...Dammit I concede once again.

'You can't-you know what? Forget it. More importantly, think back on their personal names.'

Lint and Freed, right? I don't see how that's a problem.

'Think harder.'

Listen here Brain, this isn't my job. It's your job to keep this kind of information up to date, you can't get angry at me when I don't-

...Oh.

'Yeah. Oh.'

"I'm still working on her confidence." Number 15-no, Freed Sellzen before he goes crazy-helpfully added, trying to coax Lint Sellzen out of her hiding spot behind him. "Come on Lint, you're being rude to Siegfried."

Well damn, Freed Sellzen in the flesh. I honestly don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, he's a deranged psychopath who gets off on raping, killing and even eating innocent people, but on the other hand, this is the Freed before he became a Stray; Vanilla Freed if I may.

I was so caught up in my inner thoughts that I didn't notice the little lady who had built up her courage and stepped forward.

"Um!" I looked down at Lint, who looked ready to bolt behind Freed again but held herself back. "M-my name... My name is Lint! It's nice to meet you!" she all but shouted before sprinting back to her hiding spot, stealing small glances at me.

'Precious' was the first word that came to mind after witnessing her greeting. 'Must protect' was the second. Judging my the look on Freed's face, I could tell he was wondering what the hell was wrong with me.

'Oh my god, she's absolutely adorable.'

She is, isn't she? We have to protect her.

'For once, we're in agreement.'

But we're the same person?

'I knew you were faking it!'

Somewhere in the Underworld, two certain sis-con Satans sneezed at the same time before turning their heads towards the window. Unknown to the other, they had the exact same thought as they stared out into the sky.

'A new comrade has been born.'

And that was how I met Freed and Lint Sellzen of the Sellzen Series.

Freed and Lint were created using the same genetic code, making them almost the same person. I think it was because of this that they've decided to stick together as much as they could, treating the other as a sibling of sorts. They still sleep in separate rooms but since their numbers are right next to each other, so are their bedrooms. Meanwhile, I sleep a couple of rooms down the same hallway.

We chatted with each other for about fifteen minutes, just talking about how our day went so far or helping Lint with her homework before the teacher entered the classroom.

I don't care what anyone says, finishing your homework before the teacher begins collecting them in is an extreme sport and nobody can change my mind.

We managed to help her finish her homework just as Father Francesco entered the classroom. With every student being accounted for, and the homework having been collected in, he finally began the lesson.

We were only ten minutes in and I already felt myself zoning out. It was just mathematics, something that I had no desire to revisit after years of school. Looking to my right, I could see Freed paying attention to Father Francesco's rambling while writing down on his notebook. Seriously, he was so dedicated to his work, what the hell happened to all of that in canon?

I began to pull out my rune dictionary again when I saw that Lint had already been distracted by a butterfly that decided to make itself known, flying around her fingers. Lint was smiling as she stretched her index finger, giving the butterfly a ledge to rest on. I slowly put the dictionary back into my bag, not wanting to alert her while making sure to burn the image of a giggling Lint into my mind forever.

"Eheh~ Good morning, Mr Butterfly~"

Ah, so precious.

So smol, must protec.

"Ahh!" I stretched my arms above my head as our last class had just finished. There were a couple of students still in class, either writing down some last-minute notes or just talking with their friends, while the rest had already left to wander around the Institute. It's times like these that it really feels like school all over again.

"Well then." I began, getting Lint and Freed's attention, "What do you guys want to do now?"

Freed gained a contemplative look on his face before shrugging his shoulders. I turned my attention towards Lint, who also didn't seem to know what to do.

"I could teach you about runes?" I tried to help, only to receive a denial from both of them simultaneously. Whatever, I don't have to teach these heathens anything.

"We have an hour and a half left until dinner." Freed stated, staring at the clock, "Do you think we can get permission to leave the Institute grounds?"

The Sigurd Institute is located in Vatican City, near the outskirts. It's not that far from the main area, meaning that we can go and visit the city so long as we have permission and come back at the designated time. The longest we're allowed to stay out is an hour at max, and the journey there takes about ten minutes by foot, leaving us with a good forty minutes to explore before having to come back.

We all agreed to Freed's proposal and got up, having already packed away all of our books and equipment and made to leave the classroom when we found our path blocked by a group of students.

"What do you want now, Kriemhild?" I sighed, an annoyed look plastered on my face.

Kriemhild, known as Number 2 and a part of my own Völsung Series, folded her arms in front of her as she stood strong, refusing to back down. Like me, she also had pitch black hair that reached her waist, and blood-red eyes; it felt like I was staring at a female version of myself.

"Don't you think that this has gone on for too long, Siegfried?" Kriemhild asked, "You shouldn't hang about with the two of them, you should be with those that would treat you properly-"

"Like you?" I interjected, quirking an eyebrow. She looked a bit annoyed at being cut off but agreed anyway.

Kriemhild is fixated on her status as the second descendant of Sigurd to have been born. Of the first five descendants, only four of us are left: Kriemhild: Sigmund: Svanhilde and myself. The first descendent had died right after he was born due to multiple defects, marking him as the first failure. There were many more failures after that, not everyone made it. That's why there are so many gaps in numbers between each test subject.

Kriemhild is like a spoiled princess, thinking that because she's the oldest descendant she is automatically greater than the rest of us. While it wasn't a problem say, three years ago, it will become a problem if she continues to use that kind of mindset. Arrogance is never a good trait, just look at Riser and Diodora. The less said about those two, the better.

"Kriemhild." I began, "I can be friends with whoever I want. We aren't doing anything to bother you, so don't come over here and bother us."

Kriemhild actually looked offended and was about to start again when she turned her attention to Freed and Lint, narrowing her eyes at the pair.

"This is your fault, isn't it?" she hissed at the two of them. Freed seemed to stiffen for a moment and Lint hid behind Freed, a couple of tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyelids, "The both of you are always clinging onto him, taking advantage of Siegfried's kindness."

"Kriemhild." I interrupted again, only this time I was done with masking my anger. Something ugly reared its head inside of me, wanting nothing more than to get rid of the annoyance standing in my way. "Shut up."

"We're leaving. Now." I was done with this conversation. I began to walk forward, holding onto Freed and Lint's arms and guiding them away from the classroom. I don't think we were going to visit Vatican City anymore.

Lint, Freed." I began, "No matter what they say, I won't leave the two of you."

Freed stared at the ground, his eyes shadowed by his hair, while Lint could be heard sniffling, trying to stop herself from crying. I have no doubt that Kriemhild's last words brought up unpleasant memories that we would all prefer to have been left alone.

Suddenly, Lint moved forward, latching onto me with a hug and refusing to let go. I accepted the gesture with open arms and returned the hug, rubbing her back softly and trying to console her. In the end, they're still children. They aren't like me, an adult in the body of a child. Their physiques are frail and can break at any moment, especially after what had happened to the two of them.

I don't know how long we stood there but by the time we were finished, we decided to forget about visiting Vatican City and just went to eat our dinner. It was a quiet affair, there wasn't much talking going on. Freed just ate slowly, his face downcast for the entire duration of the meal. Lint wasn't faring any better but she was showing signs of recovering, albeit slowly.

After we finished our meals, we decided to go straight to our rooms rather than walking around the Institute. I stayed with them for as long as I could and when it was time to go to sleep, I brought my things over to Lint's room and got Freed to do the same.

The rest of the night was silent, Freed and Lint having finally fallen asleep after two hours. I slept on the floor, having brought my pillows and cover over, while Freed shared his bed with Lint. The beds are far too small to fit all three of us having been designed to fit a single person, but Lint's small figure makes it easy to fit two people.

There were multiple thoughts swimming around inside my head, but the most dominant one was thinking of how to ensure that they never feel this way again. After spending so long with the two of them, the only two people I would consider to be family, I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't suffer anymore.

Freed will not turn out like he did in canon, I will make sure of that, nor will Lint be left all alone in the Sigurd Institute after canon Siegfried and Freed's defection. I refuse to walk down the same path my canon counterpart did, otherwise I would be leaving things to break down.

I have known from the start that something was wrong with Freed. You don't start off as a normal person before turning into his canon self, you would need to have been that way from the beginning. While he doesn't show it, I can see the small signs from time to time, and i'm sure that Lint see's them as well.

I will fix Freed and Lint won't be alone, that is the only acceptable outcome.

DxD: Völsunga - Freed Sellzen]

I have always known that there was something wrong with me.

For as long as I can remember, I have only been able to find happiness in the pain and misery of others.

The cause was not related to my birth, as I had been praised as a perfect success, nor was it a psychological problem. The fault lies with myself as a person.

From the moment I was born, I had never found what could make me happy. Some felt happy in the presence of their friends, while others enjoyed being by their own. A handful found joy in the world of literature while a small sample felt happiness in the arms of some of the faculty.

I've always been envious of them. Why couldn't I find happiness like they did? I tried everything I could find but in the end, nothing made me happy. While it's true that my being with Lint and Sieg makes me feel something, I can say with full confidence that it isn't true happiness but just a temporary solution.

It was only when Number 31 passed away due to multiple defects, and everyone was crying at the funeral when I realised what was wrong with me.

Having been surrounded by my siblings crying their eyes out, expressing all of their misery and sadness to the world, all I could feel was happiness. All I could do was smile.

Why am I like this? What kind of reason would be enough to explain why someone-something-like me exists?

God, who is known for his infinite wisdom and kindness, would never create such a distorted human being, right? All the stories we are told of God, all the religious texts He is mentioned in, never mention God to be this cruel.

A kind god would never create such a twisted being, therefore God must not exist. I refuse to believe in a god that would even think of creating the human that is known as Freed Sellzen.

"This is your fault, isn't it?"

Ah, those eyes. Those goddamned eyes. Don't look at me with those eyes, the eyes you would reserve for a criminal, a monster. I'm not a monster, it's not my fault i'm like this.

"The both of you are always clinging onto him, taking advantage of Siegfried's kindness."

I should have felt something in response to her words, at least, anyone else would have, right? Anger? Sadness, perhaps? I would even settle for mere annoyance but no, I didn't feel anything. Not towards Kriemhild, not towards myself and not towards anybody else.

'It would be so easy to shut her up, you know?' The voice spoke again, the same voice that's been plaguing my thoughts for as long as I can remember, 'Just wrap your hands around her frail little neck and don't let go, she'll be down before you know it.'

I wonder what kind of face she would make, what it would look like to see her face in agony-

I tightened my grip on my shirt and bit down hard on my lower lip, banishing those dark thoughts to the depths of my mind.

"We're leaving. Now" Sieg cut in, forcing Kriemhild and her group to make a path for us. He grabbed both Lint and my arm, moving us forward and out of the classroom. I just want to go back to my room, i'm not even in the mood for dinner anymore.

"Even now, you still cling onto him!"

'Why fight who you are? It will feel so much better if you just accept it.'

I refuse. I refuse to accept it, I refuse to believe you and I refuse to believe that I can't find salvation. I'm-

'Not a monster?' The voice scoffed, "Who are you trying to fool? You're nothing but a monster, the most evil kind at that.'

I'm not a monster.

'Deny it all you want but both you and I know that you're the worst kind of creature there is.'

"Kriemhild." Siegfried's tone dropped instantly, a vicious glare adorning his features as he stared down Kriemhild. The air was thick with malice, malice that was pouring out of Sieg in waves that only seemed to increase as each second passed. The effect was instant; Kriemhild shut her mouth and widened her eyes, her entire frame trembling as she took a step back. Her entourage weren't spared from Sieg's anger either as they all moved away from the source of their fear.

I could feel the corners of my mouth curving ever so slightly, unmistakably forming a crooked smile.

"Shut up."

And just like that, Sieg dragged us out the classroom, leaving behind a group of terrified children. The entire journey to the cafeteria was quiet, the only sounds being that of our footsteps.

I didn't talk much during dinner; I just wanted to go to sleep, to get away from all of this.

'How do you think your friends will react? How will they feel, knowing that their best friend is a monster in human skin?'

They won't find out because I will find my purpose; I will prove that i'm not a monster.

'Do you really believe that?'

I know it.

'We will see just how long can you hold out until you reach your inevitable conclusion.' The voice finally left after that sentence, a mocking laugh following its departure.

I won't. I won't ever harm Sieg or Lint. I'll find the answer to my existence, I know I will.

There can be no other outcome.

And that's the end of chapter 2.

So what do you think of Freed and Lint's characters? They never really gave us any proper details on Freed and Lint's lives at the Sigurd Institute. The most we got was that Freed was deemed a genius at the age of 13, never believed in God and ended up being excommunicated. He couldn't have been a psychopath from the beginning and this is me showing how he's currently struggling to come to terms with himself. In a way, he's similar to Kirei Kotomine from Fate Zero, except Freed still has a chance to be saved.

As for Lint, she gains her personality from copying Freed's personality without the vulgar tone. That means that she should have had a different personality before, right? Just think of them as Vanilla Lint and Vanilla Freed, before their future updates.

And let me just say this now. Siegfried is not going to have a Sacred Gear. This Siegfried will solely rely on his swords and magic. I've seen too many SI-OC's that are all given Sacred Gears. It always ends with them being reliant on their SG's and the fights getting a bit boring since they never do anything new. That's another reason as to why I gave Siegfried Rune magic, which has almost no limit to the amount of rune-chains you can create.

Anyways, let's move onto the more important matters, namely his abilities. Rune magic has always been a favourite of mine due to the versatility it grants the user. I think that it's pretty cool how there is no limit to the amount of spells you can create when placed in the hands of an expert. Then I remembered that Sigurd from Fate Grand Order was taught runes by Brynhildr so I thought to myself, "Hey, you know what would be a really good idea? If I gave Siegfried Rune magic like his ancestor!"

As for any future abilities, well, you're going to have to wait and see, aren't you?

And in regards to his Harem, I've decided to not steal any of the Devils from Issei's harem. That means Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Ravel, etc. This is something else that I've seen in too many Fanfictions. The Church girls are currently a maybe, though Lint won't be in his harem since they're like siblings, and as for Asia, I have a special surprise in store for her.

Now to answer any questions:

[Morius] Answering your questions in that order:

1. As stated above, Lint will not be in the harem. They're going to have a sibling relationship. It'll be hard for Lint to see Siegfried that way after years of seeing him as a brother figure.

2. There probably won't be any gender bends. It's not that I hate them, I just don't want to

3. Again, I don't really hate the Gremory peerage. I mean yeah, Rias is a spoilt and greedy girl, but that's to be expected from a Devil, right?

4. I'm actually debating on whether or not I should. I don't even know how i would introduce them into the story in the first place. Ill need more time before coming to a decision but if everyone wants it, I'll probably do it.

[Desropter] Just as you said, i'm planning on buffing the Demon Swords. I think the Holy Swords are fine since they are already pretty strong (True Excalibur, Caliburn, etc.). We don't get to see much of the Demon Swords showcasing their power thanks to canon Siegfried's death.

[Br9k3n] I'm not sure as to how regularly I can update. To begin with, i'm juggling college, work and writing all at the same time, and that's excluding my personal life, so you'll probably have to wait a while between each chapter for an update.