Disclaimer: I own nothing of the properties within this story. All rights go to the creators and companies of said properties.
Beta by Slothful, Old man of the mountain
Chapter 1: A Violent Welcome
I flew back, landing on my back as searing pain spread throughout. My mouth filled with the copper taste of blood. A loud ringing in my ear blocks out all sound. My vision is blurry. I can't even see through one of my eyes.
What just happened? I don't remember anything.
Was I caught up in some explosion? Was this a terrorist attack? Why can't I remember anything?
"-EN!" a voice breaks through the high-pitched buzz.
I remember reading about how people would develop memory loss after going through a traumatic event. Could this be the reason? But why can I remember that and not who I am?
"REN!" the voice yells again.
Ren. The name sounds familiar but, at the same time, completely alien. Maybe Ren is someone I know. That could explain how I feel about that name.
I feel a hand reach under my head, pulling something off my face as a liquid forced into my mouth. I couldn't taste the fluid due to all the blood in my mouth, but I was more concerned about the magma-hot pain coursing through my mouth.
I pushed away whoever was next to me, rolled over, and vomited. The horrible taste of blood and bile overwhelms my mouth as the pain from my ribs almost causes me to collapse. As I cough, my vision begins to clear for one of my eyes. I rubbed away the tears from my eyes as I looked into a puddle of blood, vomit, and teeth with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that somehow survived the explosion.
I grab my jaw, falling on top of the puddle, screaming in pain as something forces itself through my now toothless mouth. As the pain from my jaw starts to subside, my head starts to pound as my non-functioning eye burns. Once the pain from my eye fades, I roll onto my back and breathe. I looked around the room but couldn't make anything out because my vision was too blurry.
"Here." the voice said, handing me the same glasses I saw in the puddle, but noticeably cleaner. I weakly raise my hand, take the glasses from the man's hand, and put the glasses on my face, clearing my vision.
I look up at the man standing above me. His appearance is a ghoulish interpretation of characters such as Jinpachi Ego or Akira Midousuzi. He has super long limbs, a thin frame, a bowl haircut, thick-rimmed glasses, pale skin, sunken cheeks, and extremely long fingers.
"Can you stand?" the man asks, offering me his hand which I take. I stumbled once I got on my feet, but the man caught me before I could fall. "Easy. You lost quite a bit of blood, somewhere between 500 to 1000 cc." The man guided me to a chair and gently lowered me down. The man walked over to a fridge and pulled out a Coke, opening the can and putting in a straw before handing it to me. "Here. Wash out your mouth with this."
"Thanks." I hoarsely said. I sip the Coke, rinsing my mouth the taste of bile and blood with the bitter, sweet taste of Coke.
"Well, today was another failure. And probably the biggest one yet." the man sighs as he walks to one of the several computers. Am I in a lab? "Wonder what went wrong. Could it be that we boiled the mixture for too long? Did we mess up with the ratios? Or was there some unknown impurity in the salts?" the man sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. "It doesn't matter. We're calling it quits for right now. You need to rest, and I need to get ready. Potion brewing has to wait another day."
Potions? I look around the room again. Computers, vials filled with unknown liquids, and countless flasks and beakers litter the room. This room is the farthest you can get to an alchemy lab.
My head begins to hurt. My brain feels like it's swelling, trying to burst from my head.
"My mission will last for a week. I transferred some money into your account in case you need anything. I don't want you to try advanced potion recipes while I'm away. You can do beginner-level health, mana, and stamina potions, so your skills won't get rusty, but none today. Just feed your pets or water your plants and order some takeout." the man, no, my uncle said.
My uncle, Naoya Takahashi. He took me in after my parents had to move for my dad's work when I was ten. And he's the one who has been teaching me about the way of the supernatural since I was eleven.
"And remember, don't draw attention to yourself at school. Later, Ren." My uncle closes the door, leaving me alone as I collect my thoughts.
I am Ren Takahashi. But that doesn't feel right. Why do I feel this way?
Connection complete.
A light-blue LDS screen appears in front of me. What in the world is this?
I tap on the screen, opening three sets of screens. One screen has a picture with my face, name, and age, while another image shows me in a full-body view. The full-body image shows me wearing jeans and a green shirt covered in soot, bile, and blood.
Okay. Let's take this shirt off.
I balled up my ruined shirt, throwing it into the nearest trashcan once I regained strength. As I explore the house, I study the other two screens. One says Inventory, which is self-explanatory, but the other screen is titled Skills. I tap on the skill called Bug Tamer.
[Bug Tamer] - Insects are more willing to follow your command. Non-supernatural insects are easier to tame as opposed to their supernatural counterparts.
Did I just become Taylor from Worm? I hope not because I know next to nothing about Worm. I heard that she shot a child. I don't want to shoot a child.
You know what? Screw this. I got caught in an explosion not ten minutes ago and felt that I was about to die. I'm just going to ignore everything and order some food. The me of tomorrow can deal with this mess. I don't know much about him, but I'm positive that he deserves it.
I walk downstairs and enter the living/kitchen area. On the kitchen bar, several takeout menus litter about. I pick up one of the menus.
"Ogata Udon." I read the cover. For some reason, the name sounds familiar. And I don't think it's because I eat there often. I rack my brain, trying to find an answer, before giving up and tossing the takeout menu back on the bar.
I wasn't in the mood for Udon anyway.
I put in an order for some pizzas. I know pizza in Japan is a ripoff, but I'm technically not paying for it. My uncle is.
After placing the order, my ears detect a heavy thudding from upstairs. And it's quickly becoming louder.
If I didn't have the original Ren's memories, I would have pissed my pants as a massive spider barreled toward me. I fall to the ground, the spider looming on top of me. I reach up, scratching its cheek, or what would be considered a cheek for a spider, drawing out a mixture between a purr and a growl.
"Sorry, buddy. I must have scared you when you heard our mishap." I said. Most kids have dogs. I have a spider the size of a Giant Alaskan Malamute.
"Of course, he would be scared!" A little red-haired, blue leotard-wearing fairy yells. She put her hands on her hips, glaring at me. The glare is more cute than scary. It probably doesn't help that she is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
"Nice to see you too, Pixie," I said, gently shoving Rex off of me. And yes, Rex is the name of my spider. I have shit naming skills. But so does any twelve-year-old.
"So, what happened? And don't lie and say it was nothing. Rex covered your room in webbing from fright." Pixie gives me a dry stare that one would usually receive from their older sister. Though I suppose she is probably the closest thing to an older sister that I have as she is the first demon my uncle gave me when I became a demon summoner.
My uncle always tells me that Demons are just tools for us to use until we get stronger demons, and under normal circumstances, I would agree. I have sacrificed countless demons over the years, but when it comes to Pixie. I, or rather the original Ren, couldn't do it. Perhaps it's due to her being Ren's moral support. Eleven-year-olds tend not to do so well when surrounded by hungry demons.
I don't have such attachments, and I know better than to trust a creature of the fey, but the original has been pumping so much demon essence into Pixie that it would be a waste to fuse her into a random demon.
"A potion exploded, and I was injured. I think I even lost an eye when my gas mask broke from the force of the explosion." I casually said, grabbing three party bags of peanut butter M&M's.
"What?!" Pixie screams, flying like a bat out of hell, grabbing my face with her tiny hands as she inspects my eyes, trying to find anything wrong.
"Don't worry. My uncle poured a healing potion down my throat. I lost a lot of blood, so he told me to rest for the day." I said, opening one bag of the M&M's, holding the bag over Rex's head, giving him a silent signal. Rex opens his mouth, revealing his massive fanged mouth. When I first found Rex, I questioned why his mouth is more similar to mammals than other spiders, but normal spiders never grow as big as Rex or grow leaves on their abdomen. I pour the M&M's into Rex's waiting mouth, who joyfully accepts the sweet candy gift, munching happily as the room fills with his purring growls.
I chuckle, rubbing Rex's head. He's just like me. He has one hell of a sweet tooth.
"You are going to rest, right?" Pixie gave me a deadpan stare.
"Yeah. After almost losing an eye, my motivation for anything other games tanked." I said, drawing a relieved sigh from Pixie. The original Ren had a problem with taking breaks. He reasons that demons could break into the human world at a motion notice and wants to be ready for whenever that happens, not realizing that his mindset resulted in the potions he made being far lower quality.
I slip past Pixie and Rex, going upstairs to my room. As I enter my room, I can't help but be amazed by the bizarre plant and insect life that flourish in my room and the sheer size of the room. It's like having a second house. I even have my workstation, kitchen, bathroom, and lab.
It's bizarre, but it's my home.
I step past the countless tanks housing insects of many shapes and sizes, past the large crystallized plants, and past the shelves that house several potions of my own making. I open the door to my room, greeted by the mess of webs Pixie told me about earlier. Usually, cleaning up Rex's webbing would take ages, but thanks to the power of inventory, I finished in seconds. Maybe I can use the webbing to craft something. I heard spider silk was pretty tough.
I sit at my desk, booting up my computer, just as Pixie and Rex come in. Pixie gasped in surprise to see my room was free of Rex's webs but didn't question it as she flew to my bed, turned on the TV with the remote, and began to watch something on Netflix. Rex settles next to me, much like a dog, and goes to sleep.
I give Rex's head a light scratch, watching the opening of Skyrim play out for me for the hundredth time.
I don't know how I ended up here, but perhaps that might not be so bad. After all, I can study magic now. Maybe I will even start to like living here.
{The next day}
Past me was an idiot.
How can he spend an entire night in a world full of supernatural beings and play Skyrim? He didn't even bother researching what world he ended up in. If he did, he would have realized what kind of hellhole I'm in!
I look up at my high school, feeling a pit of dread in my stomach.
Kuoh Academy. The school and setting for High School DxD. A shounen anime disguised as soft-core porn where canon and fanon mixed so terribly that you would have an easier time separating grains of sand.
A part of me is hoping that I'm past the events of the canon series set in 2009, and it's now 2019, but for some reason, I doubt that's the case.
Another thing that annoyed me was my appearance: black, curly hair, glasses, and gray eyes. These features have nothing wrong with them, but when you throw SMT demons into the mix. I realize something.
I look like a bootleg version of Joker. I even have one of his canon names, Ren.
All I'm missing to complete the image is an unjust criminal record and a band of troubled youths with hearts of gold.
Speaking of SMT demons, they might be why the year is 2019 instead of 2009, as SMT IV and IV Apocalypse use smartphones to control demons through the Demon Summoning Program. The theory is only speculation, but it's the best conclusion I can make about why there is a massive time gap from the original series.
But in the end, none of this matters, as I have zero intentions of getting myself tangled with the main cast. My knowledge of DxD's canon is questionable at best. That isn't even considering the possibility of this being an alternative version of DxD. For all I know, Devils here act like actual devils and demand souls as payment for their contracts.
I'm doubtful it would be that extreme, but the possibility isn't zero, and that's enough reason for me to avoid the main cast as if they were the plague. Thankfully for me, the original Ren wanted to avoid unwanted attention. I have to admit that Original Ren took it a bit too far, as I can drop out of school, and I doubt that even the teachers would notice, but it's better than having Rias or Sona's attention on me.
Ren Takahashi is the type of student who's well-liked enough by his classmates not to be bullied but isn't close enough to form any real bonds.
Some may say that is a sad existence, but for me, it's perfect. Issei can have his fun and harem. I will stay in the shadows and work on my magic.
I slip past the other students, an easy task for me, and arrive at the back of the school. I open my school bag, pull out three dessert breads (Melon bread, cream bread, and chocolate bread), open their packaging, and place the sweet bread in front of the school's air vent. As soon as I moved away from the bread, hundreds of cockroaches swarmed out and began to devour the bread.
These are Original Ren's plan B if his plan to blend in failed. I chuckle to myself. I can't believe I'm happy to see my school infested with roaches. Though, these are normal roaches. Their carapace is far darker, almost obsidian in color. There are some tints of blue around where the wings would be. And a slight reddish glow in their eyes, but it's so faint it's easy to miss.
Underworld Cockroaches
These species of cockroaches have massive jaw strength, and their strong stomach acid allows them to eat through most materials.
[Hive Mind] - By channeling your mana into one of your insects, you can share your senses and take control over your insects.
These little guys are my eyes and ears. There isn't a thing that happens in this school that I don't know about. I even know how a second-year student is about to drop out because he knocked up a first-year student. The only places my roaches aren't hiding are the Occult Research Club building and the Student Council room.
Why don't I have my roaches hiding where I can keep a constant eye on the devils? Simple, because I need to feed them daily, or else they would leave their hiding spot to search for food. If a human spotted one of my roaches, it isn't an issue, but if one of the devils spots my roaches and knows what it does, it would be an issue. And I can't walk to the ORC building daily without people questioning my actions. People would assume that I'm stalking one of the ORC members. And that would be the best result. I'm also not sure how sensitive devils are to reading the flow of mana. That's why I don't have any roaches station near the Student Council room.
I watch my roaches reenter the air duct before leaving, but before I head to my homeroom, I move my hair to cover my eyes and hunch my back, making myself appear smaller. Another thing Ren did to avoid drawing attention, and if it works, why mess with it?
As I enter my homeroom, I can't help but notice a large number of female students crowding around a male student who has blonde hair, gray eyes, and a mole under one eye. Of course, Kiba would be in my homeroom. It's still better than classmates with Issei.
I sit at my assigned school desk at the back end corner, next to the door leading to the hallway. I pull out all the needed supplies for the upcoming lectures. I just need to keep my head down for a year and a half, and then I don't have to worry about getting dragged into DxD's mess. I probably don't need to wait until I finish school, maybe a few months before I'm in the clear.
I just need to act like a plain high school boy, and everything will be fine.
{Mittelt's P.O.V.}
Why is everyone using Mews?! Don't they have better options for a Mewtwo Tera raid?!
"Brat! Stop playing your stupid game and listen!" Raynare yells. Aw, I ran out of time. However, it's more due to that Koraidon player who keeps killing his Pokemon. Reasons like these are why I hate teaming up with random players.
I put down my Switch, giving Raynare a blank stare.
"I don't see why you enjoy those games when they're for kids and made by humans." Raynare glares at me. But her grimace turns into a smirk. "But considering how you look, it isn't that shocking~" Raynare teasingly said.
My eyelid twitched in annoyance. This bitch and her superior complex. I don't even know how she developed that complex when she is nothing more than cannon fodder. She is just one of the thousands of low-class Fallen Angels, yet she acts like she is better than anyone else here.
It's more sad, if anything. Raynare wants to be strong, but rather than train in her over three hundred years of life, she surrounds herself with people who are weaker than her, giving her no reason to improve herself. She wants to be the target of people's lust, so she gathers people whom she thinks are unattractive. Her sense of pride and self-confidence is egg-shell fragile.
Raynare is just a frog in a small well. And she doesn't do anything to change it.
Also, she doesn't know how deep competitive Pokemon is. Chess is a far simpler game.
"Why did you call us here?" I ask uncaringly.
Raynare's cynical glee turns into annoyance at my lack of a reaction. "I called you all here to discuss our target," Raynare said through gritted teeth.
Oh yeah, that mission. I still don't understand why Lord Azazel, someone who wants to gather people with Sacred Gears, would order an assassination mission on one. When looking over details about the target, Issei Hyoudou, I can't help but think it would be easier just to recruit him. He has no ties to the supernatural outside of a childhood friend whose parents are part of the church, and even then, that friend moved away years ago. Also, Issei Hyoudou doesn't try to hide his inner desires. The guy wants a harem and loves breasts, almost to a cult-like degree. If we tell Hyoudou that he can get his harem if he joins Grigori, he will accept the order in a heartbeat.
And it would be true, depending on what his Sacred Gear is. Countless people in Grigori are attracted to power.
But instead of a recruit order, we are ordered to kill him. And they wanted us to kill him in a devil-controlled area. Also, those devils are the younger siblings of Lucifer and Leviathan. One wrong move and this three-sided cold war will turn very uncold.
"What is the plan?" Dohnaseek asks. I don't see why he cares. The only reason he even joined this mission is so he can get out and fight. Or to make some quick money, like Kalawarner and me.
Raynare's lips twist into a sadistic smile. "I'm going to ask the human for a date tomorrow. I should give the poor boy one good memory before his death~." Raynare singingly said.
So you're going to potentially expose yourself to the devils because I don't see this guy keeping the fact he got a girlfriend a secret, wasting your and everybody's time playing couple so you can have some amusement when you stab him.
"And the body?" I ask.
"Leave it for the devils to clean up~. It will be fun seeing them cleaning up our deed~."
At that point, you should send an email asking them not to revive him into one of their peerages. I have no doubt they know that Hyoudou has a Sacred Gear. The devils haven't recruited him yet either because they are fighting who gets him or they don't know what kind of gear he has, as not all Sacred Gears are combative or provide any utility. If the devil heiresses catch wind of our plans, they will gain a powerful servant who will be incredibly loyal to them. All because Raynare wants to play girlfriend!
A much better plan would be to separate Hyouodu from his two friends. His parents are ashamed of his behavior, and everyone in his school, besides his two perverted friends, dislikes him to varying degrees. Girls outright hate him, and boys don't want to get near him for fear his terrible reputation would affect theirs. If we remove his friends, we can make people believe Hyoudou committed suicide.
Of course, the plan is far from perfect. It would take months, maybe a year, before we kill Hyoudou, depending on how fast he falls into depression. But this plan would cover our tracks better. The body would be cremated to ashes, making it impossible for the devils to revive him as one of their own, and it would hide the threat his gear posed to us.
But if I voice disapproval to Raynare's stupid plan, she would tell me she is the leader solely because she is the strongest of us four. Not that she is much stronger than me, and I'm fifteen compared to her age of three hundred. So I just sighed and kept to myself.
"Oh! Lady Raynare, can I hunt down some sinners while we are here~?" Freed, the crazy priest, asks gleefully.
"I don't see why not." Raynare uncaringly approves the mad dog's request. "Just make sure you don't do anything to heiresses or their pets until we complete the other half of our mission." Raynare's lips turn into a vicious grin. "I'm looking forward to seeing their despair when they see me." Raynare laughs, talking about how she will become the ultimate Fallen Angel.
Twilight Healing won't make you the ultimate Fallen, you stupid bitch. All it would do is make you a mook that can be a heal slut.
I got up from the rotting pew I was sitting on, dusting off the rotting wood from my skirt. "If that's all, I'm exploring the town a bit." I've been in this rotting church since we have gotten here. It's disgusting, and I'm starting to get bored.
Raynare gives me an annoyed glare. "Fine. Be back before nightfall." Raynare orders. So for Freed, the raping sadistic priest, he can do whatever he wants, but for me, I have a curfew.
Breath Mittlet. Remember, just a few more days, you and Kalawarne will get paid, and you will never have to deal with Raynare's bullshit again.
I leave the church, not responding to Raynare when she demands me to answer her, summon my wings, and fly to the town. Hopefully, there will be something interesting in this town.
{Bonus Scene}
How many times have I done this song and dance at this point? A thousand times? A million? I stopped counting ages ago, but that happens when you live for thousands of years.
I lost count of how many gamers would follow the plot to a T or live an ordinary life away from the main cast. You have been given a second chance at life with the most powerful ability in the omniverse, and you decide to work a nine-to-five job? If you're not going to take advantage of the opportunity, then you don't deserve it.
Then there are the gamers who act like heroes destined to right the wrongs. Those gamers wanted to kill me because I played my game the way I wanted. I did have some enjoyment in their dread-filled expressions when they realized how pathetically weak they were. And I would be lying if I said adding their harems to my collection wasn't fun.
The evil gamers are not much better. We had some fun for a while, but eventually, they would have the genius idea of stealing my girls. They didn't live long after that.
Why am I going to such lengths? Because I want a friend. I'm not saying that I don't like spending time with my harem or there aren't characters I want to hang out with, but there is always the barrier of me being a gamer and them being characters. I feel surrounded by NPCs, people I know inside and out. It's no fun.
So, I decided to find another gamer who could be my player two (I'm always player one). However, it always ended with disappointment. But things will be different this time.
The protagonist is a person who responds to change; the antagonist is the one who causes the change.
If you want something done, you need to do it yourself.
And if all fails, at least I can have some fun in this world.
I summon several tears, and several demonic shadows of all shapes and sizes stare out toward the town with their glowing red eyes before rashing out. But not all the shadows run toward the Kuoh. Three figures stay behind. The first is a golden figure with a flowing blue cape, holding a massive spear in one hand, and the other is a raven with four eyes, and in place of his left eye is a glowing blue rose. The second figure's appearance differs from left to right. His right side looks like marble, with blue fingers and a large, blue lightning bolt blade fused to his wrist. The right side of his face houses a handsome face, but his left side is far more demonic. The left side is colored black, and his fingers and toes are more akin to a beast than a man. A large black scythe blade is attached to his wrist. And at the top of his head houses a mighty horn. The last figure is the most demonic-looking and the only woman. Her petite breasts are free for all to see, but I doubt anyone would pay them any attention as her arms, legs, and half of her face look like a mixture between parts of insects and birds.
Odin, Zeus, and Lilith.
Odin and Zeus fly away to parts unknown. Lilith looks at the town, her lips twisting into a sinister smile, and her appearance changes into a beautiful Asian woman dressed in a business suit before walking towards Kuoh.
Now, while I have other things I need to attend to, I should make a few more quick changes to Kuoh before leaving. Oh~ the fun of messing with other people's games.
Author's Note
Yes, this is a reboot of Harem Stealer. I have grown to hate the title and summary of it. I have been debating rebooting for a while now, and when I was writing chapter six (or attempting to write), I realized I couldn't.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter despite its short length. I hope to get the next chapter out soon, but I might be busy in October as my family is dealing with the fallout of my grandfather and family dog's passing. September is a cursed month for my family.
Side note, I'm going to start posting on QQ now.
threads/devils-and-demons-ch-1.24024/#post-7416456
I'm also part of the SGO (Shiro's Gaming Omniverse) discord server, so if you want to join and chat, here is a link
/wd3tUYWVCd
I also started my server for anyone who wants to ask me about my fics or to hang out.
/DYqC3uNfbt