Disclaimer :
I do not own High School DxD.
High School DxD is owned by Ishibumi Ichiei.
Warning: Bad Grammar
Dialog Tags:
「Spells/ Skills/ Abilities」
thoughts
[long-range communication]
SFX
Chapter 02: Becoming a Devil
Kenji scanned the Evil Piece in Sona's hand intently. Without Sona knowing, he used one of his abilities to analyze the Rook.
Hm. Mutated Piece. I see. Let's see the success rate.
At the bottom left of his vision, appeared some kind of a percentage which was the ratio of success for the reincarnation ritual. As his skill finished the scanning, Kenji held the urge to sigh as the success rate for Sona turning him into her servant was only 31 percent, even with most of his abilities and mana reserves being sealed off. Of course, he left a decent amount of reserves that were being hidden with an ability so no one could sense any magical power from him.
As he closed and rubbed his eyes while shaking his head a few times, he thought,
This is bad. I must do something about this.
Kenji then used his Creation ability to create an ability that would help him to increase the success rate in his mind. As the ability was created, he could feel his mana depleted greatly before he unsealed some so he wouldn't pass out from mana exhaustion.
It was because the ability he just created was just like a means to force something to happen which was categorized as a reality manipulation. It was no wonder that the creation would consume so much mana.
Even then,
Tch. I can only increase the probability by twenty percent even when it will consume so many magic reserves!
That was the weakness of his Creation. If the ability he created was considered too strong by the World's System, then it would force some sort of limitation or drawback to the ability. For example, his newly created ability was called Increase Probability.
Just like its name, the ability would increase the probability of all kinds of things Kenji wanted. For example, he could use it to increase the chance of rain, the chance for his lottery ticket to hit, etcetera.
But increasing the probability could only be up to 20 percent and would consume a lot of his mana. Those were the limitation and drawbacks of Increase Probability.
Kenji even couldn't copy the Power of Destruction because he had no Bael's blood running through his vein. The World protected its system from almost every hacking attempt. Even Ophis in this World wasn't truly infinite.
Another example of that was his attempt to create an ability to instantly elevated his power to God-class permanently has resulted in failure.
Why he attempted to do that? Because he found out that large mana reserves didn't equal the power output of the abilities. Sure, he could buff himself so his magic and physical attack would increase, but the effect was only temporary and nowhere near God-class level. He also couldn't stack the same buff as something prevented him to do so.
Back to the Evil Piece problem, fortunately, Kenji possessed an ability called Greater Luck which could increase his luck moderately for five minutes. He could combine the two abilities to prevent the failure of the reincarnation ritual.
"Mizushima-san, please lay down on the bed. We will begin the ritual."
"Understood."
He lay on the bed just as he was told and immediately used Greater Luck silently.
As the abilities activated, he felt like he wanted to throw up from the nausea caused by using Greater Luck.
Sensing that Kenji suddenly felt uncomfortable, Sona asked,
"Are you okay, Mizushima-san?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," answered Kenji while scratching the right side of his neck.
Sona raised an eyebrow but she didn't ask further.
"Alright. I will start the ritual now."
After Kenji nodded to her, Sona placed the Rook Piece on his chest. Then, a large blue magical circle which formed a symbol of Sitri appeared under the bed.
And as Sona began chanting, he immediately unsealed enough amount of his mana so he could cast Increase Probability.
Sona and Tsubaki immediately felt the pressure for a while before all the mana of Kenji depleted.
"W-What was that?" Tsubaki asked while hoping for an answer from her King.
"I-I don't know, Tsubaki. But tha–"
Whatever Sona wanted to say was cut off by a scream that came out of Kenji's mouth.
The Evil Piece now was trying to go inside his body while producing some kind of visible electricity.
"AHHHH!"
Kenji's upper body went upward while he was laying and still screaming.
He felt like his body was being crushed by ten large trucks as the Evil Piece was synchronizing with his body and energy while still trying to enter his body. The room was shaking violently with the barrier Sona put was one touch away from breaking.
"Tsubaki, help me maintain the barrier!"
"Y-Yes!"
The girls leaned their hands to the front with magical circles appeared on their hands.
"What is happening, Kaichou?"
"I have no idea. I never know a phenomenon like this happening in the reincarnation ritual!"
"UOOGHHHH!"
Sona took a glance at Kenji and found he was floating in the air with something like a ball of electrocuted blue energy warping his whole body. The bed he laid on to was already destroyed, no, reduced to dust. Cracks could be found on the floor and the wall as whatever energy that surrounded Kenji was so dense and strong. Even the neon lamp exploded, making the room warp in darkness with the only source of light was the energy itself.
And then, it disappeared.
Kenji fell and hit the floor hard, causing a crack within the crack.
All the tension, the energy, and the pressure were instantly gone leaving only cracks and dust as proof that they were there.
Sona and Tsubaki grunted before they sat on the ground from demonic power exhaustion. Their reserves were almost all depleted for just holding the barrier for merely thirty seconds.
They were panting hard and Sona literally had to crawl to Kenji to check his well-being. Fortunately, she could see in the dark because she was a devil.
Kenji lay on the floor unconscious but thankfully, he was still alive. The Evil Piece had also done entering his body, making him a devil.
Sona sighed in relief before she said to Tsubaki,
"Tsubaki, call Tsubasa immediately. We need her to bring Mizushima-san to the infamy."
She nodded and took her phone. But when she was about to unlock it, something was wrong.
"Kaichou, my phone died. And I don't have any reserve left to contact Tsubasa via magic."
Sona immediately took her phone out but found that it had the same fate as Tsubaki's phone.
"Mine, too. And just like you, I have no reserve left."
Now, they had no chance but to wait for their demonic power to recover a bit.
Sona stared at the unconscious Kenji and wondered,
How strong are you, Mizushima-san?
While she was confused, Sona also had a smile plastered on her face. She guessed that earlier, his body was rejecting the Evil Piece until a miracle happened and let the Piece reincarnate him as a devil.
If that was the case, even when she used a Mutated Piece, then she really hit a jackpot on this one.
She was happy that she managed to recruit someone who most likely was a power-type combatant since her Peerage needed one.
Finally, she had a hope to match Rias' Peerage. For she knew, that in the supernatural world, the brain couldn't emerge victorious without brawn.
Sona now seated on the chair behind her desk, waiting for Tsubaki to come back from sending Kenji to the infamy.
She didn't wait long as her Queen with all members of her Peerage who just came back from patrolling the town entered the room and took their respective seats.
She observed the members of her Peerage who were now taking their lunch in silence. Lunch break was almost over so everyone was eating without making any conversation.
As she saw everyone had finished their lunch, Sona faked a cough to gain their attention. Her servants immediately looked at her.
"Everyone, I believe you know the transfer student, Mizushima Kenji, do you?"
All of them nodded their head simultaneously. They had heard about him since the principal had informed them about the transfer student.
"Is there any problem with him, Kaichou?"
The one who asked was a beautiful girl with long white hair. Her figure was also attractive. She was Sona's Bishop, Hanakai Momo.
Her pair of blue-green eyes stared at Sona with curiosity.
Sona shook her head while smiling before she said,
"There's no problem, Momo. I want to tell all of you that I have turned Mizushima Kenji into a devil and will become a part of our group from now on."
Everyone, except for Tsubaki, was stunned after hearing her words.
It couldn't be helped, though. Today was Kenji's first day in Kuoh and even though he had potential, they thought Sona wouldn't turn him into her servant immediately.
Even Sona studied Tsubaki for a week before she decided to make her Queen.
"Sorry, Kaichou. But what's your reason for reincarnating him on his first day? Does he have a Longinus?"
The one who asked was a blue shoulder-length-haired girl. She was the Rook, Yura Tsubasa.
"No. He doesn't possess Sacred Gear. But, he managed to convince me and Tsubaki by demonstrating his strength and speed."
Gasps of surprise and awe could be heard from the members of Sona's Peerage. What they didn't know was Sona didn't tell about the strange phenomena when she performed the reincarnation ritual.
She looked at Tsubaki and had a silent conversation with her. Understanding what her King wanted, Tsubaki smiled and nodded her head to Sona.
"Wow. To convince Kaichou in the first meeting. He must be really strong!" Tsubasa exclaimed to no one.
Still, Sona spoke to confirm her words,
"Indeed. He is strong and has a little background in supernatural since he met a magician when he lived in London."
That caught the attention of Sona's other Bishop. A girl with long brown hair named Kusaka Reya then asked,
"If he has a history with magicians, then did he show his magic power to convince you, Kaichou?"
Sona smiled as she reminisced about the event before she turned Kenji into a devil.
"No. He showed me his physical power. In fact, I can't feel any magic power from him before the reincarnation ritual. That's why I was convinced to use the Rook Piece. And Tsubasa, I must warn you that he may be physically stronger than you right now. And for information, my remaining Rook is a Mutation Piece."
"R-Really?"
"What?! A Mutation Piece?!"
Tsubasa and the others couldn't believe their ears. Well, it couldn't be helped. After all, Kenji was a former human. They never heard that a human needed to be reincarnated into a devil using a Mutation Piece.
For example, Gasper Vladi, who was in Rias' Peerage and had a Mutation Piece inside his body, was a dhampir with strong Sacred Gear.
Before anyone could speak again, the school bell rang indicating that the lunch break was over.
"Alright. I know you are curious about him, but we must go back to class now. He will be here after the school is over."
The members of her Peerage nodded and packed their stuff before they went to their classes.
Sona and Tsubaki walked together while the former still had a slight smile on her face.
Tsubaki understood why she was happy. Her King managed to get a strong member even when he didn't possess Sacred Gear.
"Tsubaki, we must tell Mizushima-san to hide his power later. I intend to make him a secret weapon for Rating Game."
Tsubaki tilted her head slightly. Seeing this, Sona explained,
"Well, you know my sister accidentally said that the Satans and council will make the young devils go against each other in Rating Game after the Young Devils Gathering. We must use our time wisely. How's Saji doing in his training?"
She gave an affirmative nod to her King before she replied,
"Saji is doing well. Tsubasa managed to teach him some hand-to-hand combat technique, his demonic power reserves and magic ability has increased thanks to Momo, but sadly he's not talented in handling the weapon. Still, he now can fight using his Sacred Gear more effectively."
"Good. Tell other members to increase their training, too."
"Of course, Kaichou."
Sona nodded in satisfaction. She really needed to win the Rating Game for the sake of fulfilling her dream.
Having woken up from his slumber, Kenji now found himself sitting in the class looking at the board when the teacher was busy explaining things to the students. However, Kenji didn't focus on the lecture in his class and was busy musing about the time he would meet the girl he was after and the event before Sona agreed to turn him into a devil.
It might sound foolish to give up his humanity just for a girl he didn't know he had a chance with, but he didn't regret it even a bit.
Sure, he would be forever tied to serve Sona Sitri. However, this was not the first time he stood under someone's wings even though he was stronger than the leader.
In his previous life, he was the strongest person on BBC and even in the town. The other gangs respected and feared him for his toughness. But he was a person who didn't have a talent for managing people, so he gave the leadership to his best friend so he became some sort of a guardian for the leader and vice-leader as well as the gang's ace.
Besides, becoming a devil wasn't bad at all. He thought that working for the Heiress of Sitri would help him make some money so he wouldn't need to rely on the parents he hated. That was a plus in his mind.
Sure, he could rob banks or even create an ability to literally make money, but he wished to do things correctly since his moral code prevented him from committing any crimes. Besides, he didn't want to disappoint his friends from his previous life by cheating on life.
Just then, Kenji felt someone looking at him. No. It wasn't the teacher.
He took a glance to his left where the blue short-haired girl sat.
As expected of a former exorcist. She's able to feel my devil aura.
Yes. Xenovia was staring at him with narrowed eyes, with different stares than when he was still a human before she averted her gaze as she felt Kenji noticed her staring.
I'm sure she will report this to Rias Gremory. But I think that red hair won't have a problem with me joining Sona's Peerage. Until the Rating Game, that is.
He smirked thinking about the event of the Rating Game between young devils. If nothing had changed, then Rias would face Sona in the first match. He couldn't wait to show the Gremory of his power and most importantly, to destroy the Sekiryuutei. Making sure he wouldn't gain fame as the Oppai Dragon.
To be honest with himself, Kenji had no problem with Issei. The main character had the quality of a real man as he fought many obstacles for his family which was his Peerage comrades.
He was just jealous of Issei. Still, he had no problem with Issei gaining a harem though. After all, he saved Asia and Rias. He also would save Koneko, Akeno, and Rossweisse in the future. He also was a childhood friend of Shidou Irina.
But other than those girls, he didn't see what makes other girls would come for his dick. Xenovia and Kuroka just wanted a baby from a part-dragon being. For Ravel, he didn't know her reason. There was no way a girl would be interested in you just because she saw your manly side for once, right?
Le Fay was also a weird case since she became Issei's fan just because he was Oppai Dragon. Basically, he attracted everyone's attention, looking at him and accepting him for who he truly was.
Even that Ophis was interested in him for fuck sake!
He let out a heavy breath to control his temper. It would do no good for him to upset at Issei who did nothing wrong to his life.
Even so, Kenji would make sure to show his power to gain fame in supernatural society and overshadow Hyoudou Issei.
Sounded childish? He didn't care. After all, it was his way to gain the girl's attention to him.
Another reason was just as selfish as the first reason though. He wanted to fight Sairaorg Bael using only his physical power. He missed fighting someone using only their body as a weapon. The thing that made his young blood boil in excitement.
The last time he fought someone equal in terms of physical power was in his previous life. His opponent was the leader of a certain gang in Kyushu.
Because of that, he needed to gain Sairaorg's attention and raised his desire to fight him one-on-one.
He didn't care about changing the canon events. He didn't care about everything as long as he could fulfill his desires in this World.
Yes. This is my story, after all.
The school was finally over. Kenji quickly packed his things and left the classroom before the female students gathered around him for their useless questioning section.
His destination was, of course, Student Council Office. He walked as fast as he could while his heart beat faster with every step he took.
Besides feeling happy and excited, he also felt extremely nervous even though he hid it, leaving his face with only a bright smile that made the female students he passed by sigh and squeal in admiration.
After a while, he finally reached the front door of the Student Council Office. But he didn't immediately knock on the door as he felt his heart beating like the train's machine.
Kenji gulped. He stood there to gather his courage.
Behind the door, there was a chance that the girl he liked was already there. He started thinking about what he should say or how to carry himself in their first meeting.
He never felt this scared before. Not even when he was surrounded by 50 members of an enemy gang.
Ah, Fuck! Grow a cock, muppet!
He tried to knock on the door. Well, tried was still a strong word as he couldn't even lift his hand.
Then,
"Hey!"
"The fuck?!"
Kenji jumped and spun to look at his behind where the voice came from.
It turned out that a short female student with brown hair in a long twin-tail and green eyes. Kenji knew about her from his previous life's memory.
She was Nimura Ruruko. The first-year student at Kuoh Academy as well as the Pawn of Sona Sitri.
Ruruko let out a laugh of amusement while Kenji was groaning. They both couldn't believe that a little girl could manage to scare a big guy like him.
"Hey, hey, are you that big guy sophomore everyone talks about?" Asked Ruruko after she finished laughing.
Kenji was still scowling. He cursed himself for letting his guard down. Still, he answered her,
"Yeah. My name's Mizushima Kenji, by the way. What's your name, Shorty?"
Ruruko instantly pout and kicked Kenji in his left leg. Sadly for Ruruko, Kenji's body was hard as steel making her the one who got hurt instead.
"Ow! Ow! It hurts!"
She was jumping repeatedly while holding her leg and having tears in her eyes.
Kenji was grinning mockingly as he looked at Ruruko funny.
"Hehehe. That's what you got for hitting me, Shorty."
Having recovered from the pain, Ruruko stomped her feet to the floor while pouting cutely as she glared at Kenji.
"Don't call me Shorty, Giant-senpai! I am Nimura Ruruko! The most badass girl in Kuoh Academy!"
"Hahaha! A badass doesn't jump like a rabbit, you know?"
Kenji couldn't help it as he ruffled Ruruko's hair in amusement while Ruruko was still pouting at him.
In his mind, he thanked Ruruko for calming himself down. The tension and nervous feeling he felt were all but gone.
Just then, the door of the Student Council Office opened revealing Tsubaki.
Sensing that someone was there, Kenji stopped petting Ruruko's head and turned around while Ruruko popped out her head from his back.
"Ah. Mizushima-san. You are here already. And it seems you have met Ruruko. She's the Pawn of Kaichou's Peerage."
Kenji stepped aside letting Ruruko fully visible to Tsubaki. He then ruffled Ruruko's hair again which make her growled at him.
"Yes, Shinra-san. I just met Shorty right here. I like her already. She's amusing."
"I'm not Shorty and not amusing!"
"Sure, Shorty, sure."
Ruruko was growling louder than before. She really wanted to hit Kenji with all her might. But after that little revelation, she refrained from doing so unless she wanted to get hurt.
Tsubaki blinked a few times before she gave him a slow nod.
"I see. Glad you can befriend her this quickly. Please enter, then. Although there are still members who have not arrived yet, Kaichou and a few others had been inside for a while."
"Alright. Let's go, Shorty."
"Whatever, Giant-senpai!"
Tsubaki could only sweatdrop looking at the two before she followed them inside. In the room, Sona was sitting in her usual place. Before the rectangle table with many chairs were Saji Genshirou, Yura Tsubasa, and Kusaka Reya.
Kenji could see they were staring at him with a calculative look. It seemed they tried to determine his worth as their new comrade.
While Ruruko was sitting in her seat, Kenji walked to the front of Sona's desk, standing slightly to the left so he didn't block Sona and Tsubaki who positioned herself behind Sona.
Kenji stared at Sona before he received a nod from her. He then turned around to look at the young devils. Sona rose from her seat then stood at Kenji's left side before putting her hand on Kenji's shoulder and said,
"Even though everyone isn't here yet, let us proceed with the introduction. This is Mizushima Kenji, the new Rook of our group. You four, please introduce yourself."
As the four devils rose from their seats, Kenji suddenly said,
"Ah, Sitri-san. I already know about Shorty there and had befriended her. No need to reintroduce herself."
"I will beat you up in the future as my revenge, Giant-senpai! You just wait! I'll show you that I'm a real badass!" Ruruko yelled and everyone but Kenji and Tsubaki stared at her with confusion.
Kenji lazily waved his hand to the left and right while saying,
"Yeah, yeah. Good luck with that. You know what, Shorty? The blue-haired girl right there is more badass than you. I can see that she used to fight using a hand-to-hand combat technique."
Ruruko choked while everyone else was surprised at his words. Tsubasa then showed an interest in him for guessing her combat ability correctly just by looking at her.
"Oh? You can tell, Mizushima-san? How so?"
"Slender, yet muscular legs. Fluid movement when you rose from your seat. Hard knuckles."
Tsubasa grinned widely at Kenji as she walked to him and showed her fist towards him.
"Hahaha. Nice observation skill you got there, Mizushima-san. My name's Yura Tsubasa. Your fellow Rook. I can't wait to spar with you."
Kenji also let out a grin as he bumped his fist with hers.
"Yeah. I'm interested in how you fight. You can call me by my given name, Yura."
"Great! You can call me Tsubasa, then! Nice to meet you, Ken!"
"The same."
After that, they separated their fist and Yura walked back to her seat.
Then, the brown-haired girl gave him a curtsy as she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Mizushima-san. My name is Kusaka Reya. One of the Bishops of Kaichou's Peerage. Hope we can get along quickly."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too, Kusaka-san. Oh! Since I'm not used to formality, you all can call me by my given name."
"Of course, Kenji-san."
Saji Genshirou was the next to introduce himself.
"I'm Saji Genshirou. The Pawn."
Kenji raised an eyebrow when he noticed that Genshirou glared at him for no reason. It annoyed him a little since his glare wasn't as cute as Ruruko's.
"Saji!"
Sona shouted at Genshirou seeing that her Pawn was rude to the new member of her Peerage. But before she could reprimand him, Kenji spoke,
"It is okay, Sitri-san. This is our first time meeting so a little hostility is expected. I'm sure we will be friends in no time!"
Sona nodded at him with a smile. But then, Genshirou mockingly said,
"Pfft! I hope you can keep up with us."
Kenji's eyebrow twitched a little. He wanted to shout at him and kicked him right now. But for publicity's sake, he had to be patient.
Ah! Damn it! I won't steal your Sona, you fucking fuck! Stop antagonizing me!
Saji was about to say something again before he was cut off by Sona.
"That is enough, Saji Genshirou!"
The atmosphere seemed to get heavier as Sona released her aura. Everyone but Kenji and Tsubaki sweated profusely and they could hear Genshirou was gulping in fear.
Genshirou could only slump his shoulders while his body shivered. He even couldn't let out a single word.
Before anything could turn worse, Tsubaki stepped up.
"I think that's enough, Kaichou. Saji has understood your message well."
Sona turned down her aura which made everyone who got affected by it sigh in relief. Sona still stared at Genshirou while she spoke again,
"Don't do that again, Saji. I thought I told you that we are all friends, so please treat Kenji-san nicely like you do to the others."
Genshirou bowed deeply to Sona. Everyone could see that he was still shivering from the fear.
"U-Understood, Kaichou."
"Good. Now–"
Before Sona could finish, Kenji stepped in and said,
"There's no need for Saji-san to apologize. I have forgiven him."
Sona and Genshirou nodded at him as a way to say their thanks.
Just then, Meguri Tomoe came in and introduced herself to Kenji. He was quite happy seeing her lively attitude.
And finally,
"I apologize for being late, Kaichou. Hm? Are you by any chance Mizushima Kenji-san? Nice to meet you. My name is Hanakai Momo. Like Reya, I'm a Bishop. Hope we can get along."
A white-haired beautiful girl entered the room. After bowing slightly to him, she stared at Kenji with her beautiful blue-green eyes and a smile that seemed to come from a goddess.
Looking at the girl, the girl he liked before she became a part of reality, made Kenji freeze like a statue. No movement could be made, no sound could be heard.
Kenji just stared at the beautiful girl with a blank expression and a slightly open mouth.
Everyone took notice of this. Sona and Tsubaki looked at him with their stoic expression, though inwardly they were amused by this kind of development.
Ruruko and Genshirou had their eyes opened wide, clearly not expecting this at all. Meanwhile, Reya, Tomoe, and Tsubasa had smirk on their face realizing that something interesting was happening.
"Hello?"
Momo tilted her head cutely as she was confused by Kenji's behavior. And then,
With blood dripping from his nose, Kenji lost consciousness for the second time today.
To be Continued