Satanic Origins

Arc 1 Chapter 3 - Plotting begins

January 18th, 2000 - Hidden Lucifer Clan Compound, Underworld Wasteland.

POV Rezivan Lucifer

Canon is drawing closer - I think to myself, sitting in the study attached to my quarters as I stare at my self-made Devil-Gregorian calendar conversion chart. I had estimated that canon would start at some point in the 21st century, however, I have no idea as to when exactly that'd be. I can't even remember what kind of cell phone Issei had, but the fact that he had one alone is what made me assume that the show was set in the new millennium.

It will be my 13th birthday soon, at least by the devil's calendar, and Lucifuge had promised me that I'd be allowed to visit the outside world then - thus far, I have spent my whole life in the Lucifer clan compound - and even if it was clearly meant to house far more than 5 people, I couldn't even explore most of it - unused sections were blocked off with powerful seals, supposedly to prevent deterioration.

Looking back at the wide array of notes spread on the table in front of me, I caressed my chin in thought. I may have had great ambitions of fulfilling the goal of the original satans, but such ambitions require planning. Vast amounts of preparation and planning. There are 3 primary issues that need resolving before I can actually even begin doing anything of relevance:

One, I am far too weak. At best, I scratch the upper end of high class. Devils like myself have got to be at least relatively common, if the history books are anything to go by. If I had the time, I'd be happy to spend a century bringing myself up to Rizevim's level, but I don't. Canon is approaching, and that means the peace conference. If the 3 biblical factions make peace with each-other, it would be a disaster for my plans - the current environment of mutual distrust would start changing, and knowing how these sorts of anime shows go, everyone would probably end up happy together and ready to fight the "bad guys".

Two, I lack intelligence. And I do not mean that in the literal sense of being dim witted, but rather, in the sense of not knowing what is occurring in this world. While history books are an adequate source of general information on this world, if I want to make real plans, I need to know the going-ons, the current events of this world.

Three, I lack assets. For all the good that being a scion of the House of Lucifer brings me, there is a surprising lack of resources under the house's command. As far as I know, this compound alone is most of it, with House Lucifuge being our sole remaining vassal - and even then, it is a single-man house, with Lord Lucifuge being it's only surviving member - apparently, because the Anti-Satan faction hunted down the rest.

On the first point, I have some ideas. I could try and steal sacred gears, but none of the books I looked through appear to make any mention on how such a thing could be done - they, at best, mention that the sacred gears are intertwined with the soul, and thus can not be removed. I however know for a fact that this is false, as I can still remember Reynere, that fallen angel from the first season of dxd, using some sort of cross thing to extract twilight healing from Asia. It's getting rather difficult to remember the specifics of what I saw, though. I'd love to write down my knowledge on the DxD anime, but I am afraid of the result should somebody discover such notes - thus far I have managed to avoid being suspected of being a re-born individual, but I suspect that has more to do with the fact that neither Rizevim, Razevan, nor Lucifuge have much experience in dealing with children - I do hope that Vali doesn't render that point moot, as he is behaving much more childishly than I ever did.

Other than Sacred Gears, surely there must be some way to acquire power enhancers - the evil pieces made by the usurpers can confer previously lacking powers unto regular humans, making them able to stand up to devils. Not just by swapping out their species, the pieces can somehow affect the attributes of the individual, from boosting strength, 'agility' to even expanding one's pool of magic. Clearly, items to boost one's abilities must exist, and if I want to get stronger without decades of training, I must take these sorts of shortcuts.

Lastly, artefacts in the form of weapons, armour or other useful novelties. Holy and demonic swords, objects of power, even things like the bible or holy water for the church, all work as force multipliers if used correctly. Issei was able to beat that regenerating Phenex, Raiser I think, because of something as simple as holy water. If I can bring such things into my possession and utilise them properly, I am sure I can defeat foes far exceeding my power level. The issue is, I need to know who I'll be fighting and their weaknesses, which brings me to my next point.

Intelligence, and how to get it. While I am sure that scrying magics exist, I can't rely on myself alone to conduct information gathering. I could hire spies and the like, there's plenty of gold in the coffers of House Lucifer, but there's only so much that one can trust with freelancers, and many such individuals would more than likely defect and run to the Usurper Satans - the rewards placed on information about people like us is enough to make such rogues more than decades of contract work.

Familiars are another option, one that is certain to be loyal only to me. But there is an issue with familiars, and that is numbers. One can't simply have thousands of familiar bonds, the contracts require energy to maintain, and I have no intention to remain bedridden for the rest of my life for such a thing. This naturally leads to the last, and most demanding option - absorbing, or setting up my own spy network or intelligence agency. Such a thing is not easy, and it requires managing a large number of subordinates - and while it is not unheard of for pillar houses and the like to maintain their own, such a thing is usually reserved for large organisations, the likes of whole factions - something that brings me to my next point.

Assets, or more accurately, my lack of them. Right now, as far as I am aware, House Lucifer has all of 5 or so people aligned with it. This is simply unacceptable. While I know that my father is the definition of sloth, surely he wouldn't be opposed to being able to view the world sometimes? I am sure that Lord Lucifuge has some arrangements that I am not aware of, he frequently leaves the compound afterall, but I have never seen Rizevim be busy with anything. It's honestly more likely that Razevan would be doing something than Rizevim, but if what I know and have heard of my brother is anything to go by, it's most likely finding the next village to pillage, feast to feast, or woman to wow, not doing anything productive.

Nevertheless, I do remember from the show that there was still a remnant of the Old Satan faction - that Katrina Leviathan had to come from somewhere. I need to find these remnants, as I quite distinctly remember Rias Gremory, the heroine of the show, mentioning that they "value blood over merit" or something like that. While such a system may have its downsides, I am sure they wouldn't blindly follow a decrepit ignoramus simply because he has the blood of Asmodeus inside of him, and following individuals of bloodlines sculpted to lead by the very creator of one's race, not to mention the bloodline of that creator himself, has to be better than the system of raw "Might makes right" that the usurpers seem to adhere to. I am sure that, as a Lucifer, I'd be able to subjugate them for my own needs - they may even have the remnants of the royal army which fled after the fall of Lucifaad.

Likewise, there were also the forces of the Six Houses of Lucifer. These were our most loyal vassals, but it seems that very few of them survived. Their houses were ruthlessly hunted down by the usurpers, with Lucifuge being the only one which remained able to continue serving, and even then, with only one member. House Satanachia perished in the war including Elias Satanachia, the only wife of Rizevim Lucifer, and the mother of my brother, dying in battle against Serafall Sitri. Members of House Sargatanas likewise died in battle or were later hunted down like dogs once the war was over, dying to hidden blades and poison alike. The last member of House Nebiros fled Lucifaad during it's fall, and hasn't been heard from since. I should probably ask Lucifuge about him, I'll add that to the notes.

Despite all these losses, there is a chance to gain, or perhaps, reclaim, additional assets here. The Lords of both House Agaliarept and House Fluerty were taken alive and imprisoned in Cocytus after their failed attack on the usurper headquarters near the start of the war - and while it seems that the usurpers have forgotten about them and consider the affair done away with, perhaps rightfully so given the near-inescapable nature of cocytus, it still provides an opportunity to gain powerful, experienced and no doubt loyal subordinates, should I manage to recover them.

Lastly, there are the remaining Extra Demons. The houses of Abaddon, Belphegor and Mammon all maintain their own sovereign lands within the underworld, having declared neutrality at the start of the uprising and ending up cutting ties with the government of Ars Goetia after the fall of Lucifaad. Supposedly these Extra Demons share many ideals with the original satans, but refused to side with the government during the uprising due to disagreements, petty disputes and the like. While I could call them traitors, they are our best hope at finding bulk numbers to fill our ranks, not having been utterly decimated by the uprising like the other loyalists, so I feel that may be… unwise.

On the topic of the 72 pillars themselves, or more accurately, the remaining 32 pillars, there's little to redeem them. The most loyal of them ended up becoming extinct through the great war, with the vast majority of those who remained ending up supporting the usurpers. By now, most of them are a lost cause, having completely abandoned the old ways established by their very own creators. The houses of Bael and Agares could arguably bear as much if not more responsibility than the four usurpers themselves in creating the Anti-Satan faction - it is quite ironic that the house most favoured by Lucifer, Bael, would end up being the one to betray him first. No, the pillars can not be trusted. They were created as a bulwark to hold up devil society, the link between the royalty and the common masses, bestowed with unique powers by their creator, only to use those same powers to destroy the very houses they were sworn to serve. The pillars can at best be used as tools, and always kept at an arm's length.

If Devil society is to be restored to the old ways, if Lucifer's goal is to be accomplished, I, no, we, will need a new nobility. The common masses will be swayed by those who are the strongest, and right now, those would be the usurpers. I lack the powers of creation that Lord Lucifer seemingly had access to, but I can take inspiration from Human history - perhaps those who achieve great feats on the battlefield could be rewarded with noble ranks, taken from what remains of the tattered Royal Army, as surely the descendants of such devils would be worthy of ruling. That is, assuming any of them survived. As far as I know, the Old Satan faction could be exclusively made up of just the Old Satan descendants, but I doubt that is the case, given they are named a faction.

While I scratch all this down into my notebook with my magical quill, I have to admit - I really do need to start consulting Lucifuge on these matters as there are too many things that I do not know, things that the books in the library do not cover. It is a shame that he's been so busy lately - I wonder what it is that is keeping him so preoccupied these days.

One day later

POV Rezivan Lucifer

Right, left, up, down, stab, burst, deflect, evade, slash, fly up

Moving on muscle memory accumulated over years of training, faster than the human eye could perceive, let alone the unenhanced human mind could process, I pressed my aerial assault on the Lucifuge. High speed combat is a necessary skill for any of the upper level combatants to learn, especially if one intends to engage in melee combat. At these speeds, one had to rely far more on their training than simply one's wit, as even the mind of a devil struggled to react fast enough without it. Not that the aforementioned Lucifuge had any issues with it.

"Impressive, Rezivan. At this rate, you might even land a hit within a few years"

In the current society of Ars Goetia, most of the high-class population relies heavily on ranged combat, as very few people are willing to invest in the training time needed to not only adapt their body to High speed combat, but also maintain it, and even fewer have actual experience in the Great War, where such combat was supposedly common. Not to mention, they already feel comfortable with their 'solution' to this problem. They simply infuse their knight peerage pieces with the enhancements needed to engage in this sort of fighting, little to no training needed.

"Remember to use all your wings. You are a Lucifer - you have 14 appendages, use them!"

Deflecting a series of strikes consisting of various elemental magics and raw demonic energy by sweeping them aside with three of my lower left wings, I dive at the still standing devil and use the rest of my pitch black, pointed appendages to launch a series of stabs and slashes, one flowing into another in a flurry of strikes, blending together like the spinning blades of a helicopter to the human eye - not that it mattered. Lucifuge wasn't a human, and in this sort of combat, one has to rely on their magical senses more than their visual ones anyway - they're more accurate at this range, after all. Lucifuge blocked all strikes with seemingly effortless ease, using a steel training staff glowing with magical reinforcement, no doubt the sole reason it wasn't looking like it had gone through a woodchipper. The inertia of the blows caused shockwaves to ripple up my own body as their movement was blocked, but magical reinforcement ensured that my bones remained unbroken and encased in flesh - this sort of fighting was very demanding on one's body, however, it only lasted a few seconds before I was thrown back into the wall of the open air training grounds with a powerful explosion of wind and fire, effectively ending the match.

"Your progress never ceases to amaze me - last time I saw someone so young yet so dedicated to their training was during the Great War - when we had a war of annihilation to wage."

Lucifuge said, sticking the training stick into the ground as the sigil of House Lucifuge dissipated in the air behind him, engraved on a magical circle - the evidence of a powerful spell clear from its size.

"I will need it if I wish to restore House Lucifer to its rightful position, Lucifuge."

I replied, still on the ground, looking up at the sky - a canvas of dark purple with occasional blotches of red strewn across, creating a beautiful mosaic. While it may not have cast practically any light, this was of no concern to the residents of the underworld - every species native to it had some kind of innate night vision, they were never bothered by the dark. The fact that the usurpers erected an illusion of the overworld's sky over their territory spoke volumes to how much the new devils pandered to their reincarnated population. One may think that I'd be in the same boat as them, being reincarnated in my own way, but it seems like whatever the entity that brought me here truly spoke the truth when it said it would remove old attachments. I felt no connection to my old life, and while I remembered some facts, it was closer to reading a mental encyclopaedia rather than remembering something I participated in. I could not remember my old name, my old family, I felt no connection to humanity. I truly did feel like I belonged here, a Lucifer.

"It truly is a worthy goal, and I support you with all my heart in this - 'twas my own goal as well, but until now, neither of the other two Lucifers have shown any interest in pursuing it."

I had finally spilled my plans for the future to Lucifuge earlier today, before training. Despite my apprehensions about doing so, he was far more receptive than I could have hoped. He was positively giddy with the idea when I started explaining it, something quite out-of-character for the usually calm and collected Euclid. Still, having an ally like him will make my plans much easier to execute.

"Two Lucifers? What about Vali?"

I asked, mostly rhetorically as I already knew the answer.

Lucifuge laughed, before answering.

"Vali? Hah, that whining half-blood is not worth the name of Lucifer. Had I not been explicitly instructed otherwise, I would have disposed of him already. The influence of his human half is far too obvious, with how immature he acts. Temper tantrums, mood swings, crying, if I hadn't seen his birth myself, I would have never believed that child was of Lucifer blood."

I snickered at Lucifuge's comments.

As expected, my 'childhood' may have given the residents of the compound the wrong idea about children, but I am not going to complain. It is only to my benefit to be favoured like this, and I don't particularly enjoy the half-blood either. I can't seem to place it, but I feel like his name was mentioned in the DxD show. I really wish I was more interested in it in my past life, but I'll have to live with it for now. At least it seems that he won't be much of a threat to me - his Demonic power is far weaker than mine, and thus far, he has been progressing much slower. It is no wonder. I truly do hope that he doesn't pull some ridiculous power out of nowhere, being a named character and all.

AN: Thank you all for your reviews, and all your compliments towards the writing - I consider myself an amateur best, as I have 0 knowledge on writing theory or any of that. I also currently lack a beta or an editor of any kind, so there may be mistakes that slip through.

On another note, I have decided to create a discord server so that I can better talk to the readers and get feedback on the story. This does not mean that I won't read reviews, in fact, I enjoy them greatly and I am fairly certain they also increase the likelihood of people clicking on the fic to begin with, so please keep making them.

I am glad to see that there is interest in the concept behind this fic, so I will continue writing.

Discord link: spkUUDex3D