Life.0
Kuoh town, in the dead of night.
Two silhouettes were chasing one another, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
One was slim and made precise movements, while the other was burly and made huge impressions on the roofs from jumping haphazardly.
HYU—!
With the sound of metal flying through the air, the large figure leapt up in time to avoid a volley of throwing knives from the smaller one.
The clouds parted and the moon illuminated the two.
The smaller silhouette was a boy with dark brown hair, wearing a long coat with plating on his chest, arms, and legs.
On his left hand was a sheathed sword, on his back was an eccentric piece of metal.
The larger silhouette resembled a giant ape, with bulging muscles and thick fur, it was surprisingly agile.
It could've easily been mistaken for a normal gorilla, if not for the large horns on its head, large fangs, its long tail and its blood red eyes.
Taking one glance at the boy, it took a chunk of one of the rooftops with its bare hands and threw it back towards him.
To its surprise, the portion of the rooftop was shattered instantly, the shape of a fist piercing straight through.
The boy's gauntlets gave off an aura for a few seconds before disappearing as he landed safely on a rooftop.
Upon realizing that the beast had put quite the distance between them, he threw his right hand towards his back and pulled from it a peculiar piece of engraved steel.
Cocking it forward, the rifle's barrels that were stacked on top of each other unfolded into full length as he rested it onto his left arm, propping it up with his sword as he took aim.
He breathed in and out, readying his upper body to receive the recoil.
Pulling the trigger, the muzzle spat fire as a loud sound cried out. The bullet made of light flew through the air like a falling star in the moonlit night.
The great ape's instincts warned it too late of the projectile, and it turning caused the bullet to miss its target—its nape—and hit its shoulder instead.
Blood burst from the wound along with smoke, the slug digging in deep. The impact of getting hit caused it to stumble off of the rooftop it was going to land in and fall into a wide street.
The light which was poison to it took effect almost immediately, causing it to writhe in pain and claw at the wound, causing even more blood to come out.
Upon seeing it fall, the boy used it as a chance to finally catch up and holstered the rifle on his back, leaping from roof to roof.
CLINK!
When he arrived at where the beast fell, his eyes were drawn to the glass-like object that was dropped onto the street.
BREAK!
With one of its fists, the giant horned ape crushed the bullet along with most of the ground it was on before glaring daggers at him.
On its shoulder was the wound, most of its fur being covered in its own blood with claw marks showing its desperation in the removal of the bullet.
However, it showed a slight surprise as the smoke from its wound didn't cease as the insides kept burning slightly, no matter how hard it clenched its muscles.
"So it's no good, huh?"
The boy showed a wry smile.
Upon hearing his words, it slammed both of its fists on the ground and roared again.
PA—
From its back, extended two black bat-like wings. An enormous amount of aura exploded from it as all of its fur stood on end.
The boy put both of his arms in front of him and braced himself, but after opening his eyes again he found the giant silhouette to be missing.
Almost immediately, his instincts told him to look up to find it high up in the air, both of its arms being thrown over its head.
He put strength into his legs and dashed forward, managing to avoid the initial slam that destroyed even more of the street but getting blown away by the shockwave that followed after.
However, before he could hit the ground at a painful angle, two black appendages shot out from his back as well.
PA!
Moving them quickly to make himself upright, he barely managed to regain his foothold and put on a face of relief.
"Good grief… No longer running away, are we?"
The beast turned to face him and simply glared.
Well, if you're gonna leave yourself open—He thought, as he took his stance with his blade held to his waist; applying pressure on the guard with his thumb and unlocking the sword from its sheath.
He leaned forward, concentrating his strength into his arms, gripping the handle tightly.
Seeing this, the beast took off from its initial position, rushing forward with intent to smash its entire weight onto him.
Concentrating hard, his perception of reality slowed down for a moment.
The boy could only hear the monster's movements as well as his own heartbeat and breathing.
He readied to draw his sword, but at that moment—
HYU—
His instincts warned him to get out of the way and from behind him a large concrete pillar flew through the air towards the beast.
What the–?
The gorilla-esque Stray Devil was hit dead in the center of its chest, his momentum causing the pillar to nearly crumble to dust instantly despite having managed to halt him.
Hearing the wind behind him, the boy turned around to find the figure of a girl with white hair.
With his back straightened, they were about the same height. She was wearing the uniform of a certain academic institute that recently went co-ed, as well as a poker face.
If not for the cat ears sticking out from her hair and two tails from under her skirt, she would seem like a completely normal girl in her teens.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"
Tilting her head, she furrowed her eyebrows slightly.
The boy scratched the back of his head.
"Er… No, I'm just surprised that you're here now, Koneko."
His attention returns to the beast that roars once again, blowing away the dust that was scattered from the pillar.
He tries to take a stance, glancing back at the girl.
"I wouldn't recommend punching your way through this one, Ko—Ah, why do I bother…"
Before he could even finish his sentence, a white blur went past him and the girl reappeared right in front of the beast.
She had her fist pulled back, covered in a large amount of aura.
However, her opponent reacted quicker, Koneko picking up on the sudden attack only due to her reflexes.
She quickly switched from rearing her fist to a cross guard, covering her body in aura just before its large palm could slam against her.
In an instant, her body goes straight into a wall.
The boy ran his palm over his face, resuming his previous quickdraw stance.
At that moment, his eyes widened as a very fast object passed by his side.
SHATTER!
A sword breaking.
When he blinked, a new figure appeared in front of the beast, slashing at its arm.
Having only heard the sound, his eyes found the pieces of the shattered blade that the figure held.
The beast blocked it with its arm, tensing its muscles.
He grit his teeth.
That's...Kiba! If her demonic sword broke just like that, the same could've happened to my holy sword. I'll have to—
Then, his mind returned to the fact that the beast's other palm was already being thrust towards the blonde-haired girl that suddenly appeared.
However, the figure of the girl that the palm hit bent and warped before vanishing.
Her afterimage?! ...I guess I should've expected that much.
Yumi Kiba reappeared by him, using a newly created sword to prop himself up as he caught his breath.
Going that fast already pushed her this much..! I knew it, this thing is—
Fastening the sword to his belt, he set it aside and turned towards Yumi.
"Kiba, help me find a soft spot."
The blonde's eyes snapped towards him with a glare, smiling wryly.
"Please don't talk to me so casually. And—"
An eerie sound flew through the air above them, causing them both to freeze.
Even in the night sky, the pitch black aura accented by a blood-red crimson color could be seen clearly.
It quickly leapt back to avoid it, leaving the ground that it previously stood in to be devoured by the aura of erasure.
The beast made a toothy grin, audibly chuckling.
Yumi and the boy followed its gaze to find a crimson-haired young woman that floated a few feet off the ground.
"Buchou…"
"Rias-senpai…"
Her glare laxed when it landed upon them, her wings folding into her back as her feet touch the ground.
She walked towards them and crossed her arms under her ample bust, putting on a smile and turning her head towards the boy with Yumi.
"Good evening, Kazuhiro."
"Come on, if you keep calling me by my first name, people are gonna talk."
They both chuckle, Rias clears her throat and Kazuhiro sighs.
They both turn towards the beast, now more wary than ever.
"Why are you guys here? I thought it was my turn today."
"According to Koneko, you've been chasing it for almost an hour."
Kazuhiro raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
"When you're the one hunting, it usually ends in a minute."
He sighed, turning both feet towards the enemy.
"Its muscles are incredibly thick."
"It's bleeding."
"I shot it before. I don't know whether that's because I used a light bullet or because I hit a soft spot."
Rias glances at the long rifle on his back, rubbing her chin.
"It clawed the bullet out… My sword will probably work, but as Kiba gracefully demonstrated before—no offense, I need to find an opening."
"Very well. But first, Akeno—"
"Wait, Akeno?!—"
DOOOOOOOOOOOON!
With a flash of light, a large amount of thunder suddenly came down from the sky and slammed down upon it like a hammer.
The beast fell instantly, nearly being buried in the crater that was created.
With the ground in the immediate area shaking violently, Kazuhiro nearly lost his balance.
In the next moment, the barrage of thunder stopped and a young woman with raven-colored hair tied up behind her head descended down in front of him.
"Ara, if it isn't Kazu-kun~"
Kazuhiro looked over her shoulder, towards the badly burnt crater and the downed monstrosity of a Stray Devil.
With one attack?! Seriously?!
Rias sighs and begins walking towards it past Kazuhiro and Akeno.
"Now, we should begin teleportation as soon as possible."
However, at that moment, a chill ran down Kazuhiro's spine.
Mustering all his strength, he pulled both of his seniors back in a split second before being caught in a large explosion of thunder and golden lightning.
When they realized it, they were a few feet away from where they were initially, Kazuhiro's silhouette being thrown in the same area shortly after.
The crater left in the wake of Akeno's attack almost doubled in size from the explosion.
Now standing at the center of it, rather than lying down, was the great ape Stray Devil.
Only now, its fur shone a bright gold along with its blood red eyes, shining even brighter as its demonic power flared up.
"It...absorbed my lightning?"
Akeno spoke, wide-eyed.
Upon hearing coughing, she quickly found and helped up Kazuhiro who was on the ground.
"I think that's putting it lightly. That explosion was only the start, it's become a lot stronger now."
Sparks of electricity intensify around its horns as the beast opens its mouth towards them, lightning starting to build up inside its jaws.
Kazuhiro instinctively held his sheathed sword up in front of him to block it, Rias and Akeno stepping in front of him and holding their hands forward.
In a split second, layers upon layers of defensive magic circles of alternating red and yellow colors appeared in a formation in front of them.
Then, it fired—
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
Along with a roar, the great ape let loose a stream of thunderous lightning from its mouth.
It clashed violently with the barrier of the High Class Devil and her Queen, pushing them back ever so slightly.
The young women grit their teeth, receiving the full reciprocated brunt of Akeno's demonic power lightning.
Eventually, the blast of demonic power relented and the beast closed its maw, the sparks on its horns persisting for a few seconds before disappearing.
Seeing this, an idea began to form in Kazuhiro's mind.
Taking a stance, he frees the hilt of his sword from its sheath by pushing it with his thumb.
"That makes one element we can't attack with. So how about we try another one?"
Kicking the ground so hard that it breaks where his foot previously was, Kazuhiro closes the distance with the beast.
Unlike before, it wasn't able to respond right away.
Kazuhiro didn't know whether it was because it was tired from the previous attacks, or specifically because it fired off a large amount of the lightning it absorbed before.
But he had no time to hesitate nor worry about those things.
He tightened his grip upon the sheath, as well as on the blade itself.
Concentrating hard, he pulled it out and swung.
[First Form: Draw of Fortune]!
Angling himself properly, his gauntlets gave off an intense aura for a single second as he swung his blade right out of its sheath.
His aim—one of its horns.
At the moment of contact, in the third of a second, the pitch black holy sword let out flames that roared intensely and quickly wreathed the sword in intense flame.
An arc of flame was traced across the air from a single sword swing.
In that single sword swing, the golden-furred beast's horn was cut off.
Using its shoulder as a platform, Kazuhiro kicked off of the beast and barely managed to make a proper landing back to where Akeno and Rias were.
Upon regaining his balance, he sheathed his blade.
After a single second passed, the cut off horn landed on the ground audibly. Sparks began to appear and intensify quickly from where it was cut off while the beast's body shook intensely, as if it was losing control of the power inside it.
A large amount of energy exploded from the broken horn with a flash of blinding light enveloping the area.
Everyone shielded their eyes. However, when the light disappeared after the sound of the wind, the Stray Devil was nowhere to be found.
Fastening his sword to his belt, Kazuhiro relaxed with an exhale.
"Damn, useless."
He muttered under his breath while looking at his still shaking hand with a pained expression.
The only one who was close enough to hear was Akeno, who gasped slightly upon seeing his face.
Closing his eyes, he shook his head and turned around to face the others.
"I guess that's that, then."
A wide toothy smile while raising a peace sign with his left hand.
"Or not."
Frowning slightly, everyone had the same thought.
They all felt it leave.
It didn't die.
Feeling several presences appear along with the sensation of a barrier being lifted, Kazuhiro found the source with his eyes and found the group of the Student Council—Sona Sitri's peerage rushing towards them in the street.
"Rias, Shidou-kun… What happened?"
"It got away."
The one that spoke while hanging his head was Kazuhiro.
"The Stray had abilities that the Agares didn't tell you guys about…"
He further elaborated, walking over to and picking up the piece of its horn that got cut off.
"There's the possibility that they simply didn't know about it, though. It didn't exactly leave much evidence when it wiped out its master along with its peerage."
Eyeing it closely, he then let it rest against his shoulder for a bit.
"I guess we should start repairs. There's less than an hour before sunrise."
"We should send our familiars out to track it down...again."
Rias and Sona exchanged words and silently nodded to their peerages that began working on the street right away.
Akeno approached Kazuhiro who was spacing out while staring at the horn, tapping him on the shoulder with her usual smile.
Upon realizing what happened, he chuckled slightly before scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry about that. I'll keep an eye out for that big monkey. You guys can go for the next Stray Hunt. This one's mine. I'm gonna go get some sleep first."
"..?"
Not having been given the chance to speak, Akeno furrowed her eyebrows.
Waving with one hand, he turned around to leave.
His now tattered coat fluttered slightly against the cold wind of the night as he walked off.
She could only watch his back before shaking her head, shifting her focus on repairing the damages across town with everyone.
Another night has passed in the town of Kuoh.
Kazuhiro Shidou
A reliable mercenary with several jobs from the pantheons in Eurasia under his belt.
After being adopted by Touji Shidou at the behest of Masaomi Yaegaki's parents, he became the step-brother of Irina Shidou.
Fate led him away from the arms of the Shidou family as it did him before from his father's parents and returned him to Kuoh—to repay a debt with the former Governor General of the Fallen Angels.
He is completely unaware of the town's significance as his place of birth, and the root of the conspiracy that surrounds his parents' deaths like a cloud of impenetrable mist.
"If it's within my power, I'll do anything you want. The only limit is the depth of your pockets."
Welcome to my first story. Some of you may know me to be the Highschool DxD Fanon Discord server's physical incarnation of toxicity.
Though if this is your first time meeting me, that's also fine. I hope you had a good read of this debut chapter.
If you did not like what you saw, feel free to drop the story and read High School DxD: Alternate and Azure instead.