AN: hello new and old to this little fic of mine, here is the third chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own HighSchool DxD or any character from other sources that may make their way into this, and neither I own the Waifu catalogue.
[0000]
He could feel his heart pumping as he looked across the improv training ground at his determined knight, her flustered visage looked quite fetching on her, the tired and deep breaths she took did beautiful things to her chest.
Before he could take more than a breath the ground under his opponent cracked slightly as Tarte shot forwards to reengage their sparing match.
In a split second the blond assassin was upon him, the collapsible spear that she usually hides under her uniform delivering a flourish of masterful stabs all across his chest.
His hand moved swiftly meeting each of them in either a redirection to the side or in some cases where her speed was superior to his own a full-on block was the only thing he could use to defend himself from her assault.
On the seventh strike, his control of the ki he was channelling to his arms to increase their resistance against his foe's weapon slipped and his right arm was pierced through mercilessly by the spear's blade.
The pain distracted him but for a second, leaving his cute knight with the perfect opportunity to savagely rip her weapon from his flesh and bat him into the wall with a spin on her feet and a punishing bash from her spear's shaft.
He tried to move away from the wall and continue their fight. Determined to keep on going.
"That's enough both of you." Kiara's sweaty voice was accompanied by the sound of her quick steps as she made her way toward me. Stopping our latest clash.
I could see Tarte walking to my side as well the look on her face showed the guilt she felt for wounding me in our previous exchange, even if I was the one who ordered her not to hold back against me while training.
"Sōten Kisshun, I reject." With a lot more confidence and practice than the first time she used them 4 hours ago at the start of our training, my bishop used her new healing ability.
A golden oval-shaped orb surrounded my wounded arm in response to her hands hovering over it after her incantation. A strangely indescribable sensation spread through the wounded limb.
Slowly but surely, I could see my flesh sawing itself back together as the damage reversed itself out of existence by her rejection of the event. Even after seeing it so many times, the process was a mystifying sight.
"Are you all right Master?'' Tartes asked guilty uncaring of the fact that I would be good as new in less than a minute. Her hand lovingly caressed my face once she kneeled at my side while I was healed.
"I'll be fine Love, Thank you for giving it your all," I told her comfortingly. "We can't grow if we don't try our best during our training."
"That's enough training for today you two even with resting when it's not my turn to fight I don't think I have enough energy left to properly heal any more wounds we get," Kiara said once she was done healing me, exhaustion tinting her voice
Acknowledging our resident doctor's order we stood up and the three of us made our way out of the sweet house's basement that Trate had reinforced and expanded with her new Primordial Runes.
"You know for a first training session I think we did alright'' I said to my companions as we made our way up the stairs.
"I will need some time to improve the training ground's runic arrays but it was serviceable for today." The blond noted out loud before muttering ideas on how to get all the features I had requested for our future endeavours.
"Well it's not a full-on gravity chamber yet but the weighted clothing worked perfectly" I raised my arm bringing the black leather strap on my wrist to my face, 3 replicas of it decorating my ankles and my other wrist.
I was already using a Dragonball template to guide my growth so may as well use the settings training methods too.
Even as a tier 4 template the monstrous versatility of the primordial runes was not to be underestimated. I could only imagine the kind of thing my knight would be able to accomplish in the future.
"It's great for us to practice and spar but there are some things we are not testing on each other period regardless of how much I can patch us up," Kiara warned us, apparently still annoyed at my perceived recklessness.
She had put her foot down at the start of our spar when I insisted that Tarte use her Gae Bolg Alternative instead of her collapsible spear to fight, wanting my pretty maid to get some practice with her new primary weapon.
Even when I tried to explain that as long as Tarte didn't activate the Noble Phantasm I would be fine she refused and angrily explained to me that I was a bloody idiot uncaring for my safety and I couldn't be trusted with training decisions alone as I would get myself killed in my recklessness.
She had used kinder words but that was the main complaint.
I said she was a worrywart but I had purposely not used my power of destruction in our spars for fear of wounding either of them in a way that Kiara's Sōten Kisshun couldn't heal yet.
"Well, regardless we had fun and got the chance to practice with our templates so I call our first training session a resounding success." I happily commented before dropping down on the couch after reaching the living room.
Hearing my companions chatting with each other as they made their way out of the room to do their things I checked over the mission I was intending to take later tonight once I had time to rest and eat.
{Mission: Smaller, More Honest Soul... by Zaralann.
Location: RWBY
Scope: Quick
Would just one more Honest Little Soul be enough? We, at the Company, do not believe it would nor do we desire to see such a thing occuring. So, O' Contractor, you have a Mission from us to prevent such a pointless sacrifice from being made. Listen well...
Conditions:
You enter RWBY[DR6] one hour before 'Volume 1 Episode 1'.
For the duration of the Mission you cannot enter your Pocket Dimension or other Worlds.
No Waifu can enter the World with you.
Ruby Rose is immune to Lures, Binding, and any kind of Mind Control for the duration of the Mission.
You must prevent Ruby Rose from stopping or even encountering the robbery performed by Roman Torchwick.
You must prevent her early entrance into Beacon Academy.
The Mission Ends upon the start of the Beacon's school year if Ruby Rose isn't a student there.
Reward [ Companions ] :Instantly Binding Ruby Rose[T5].
Additional objectives:
Objective 1: Prevent Roman Torchwick's escape from Glynda Goodwich.
Reward [ Credits ] : 20
Objective 2: Prevent Cinder Fall's escape from Glynda Goodwich.
Reward [ Credits ] : 50}
He was familiar with the world the quest would take him to and even the time constraints wouldn't be too much of an issue he hoped.
The objective itself he had a plan for and the bonus rewards relied on him stopping people, The mission itself didn't require those targets to survive the fight for the rewards.
The only thing stopping him from killing them was the extra credits capturing them and selling them would give him.
And with the rainbow bridge, he can go back after the mission to farm for credits while he waits for canon to start in his world.
There were only two targets in that world that he was interested in adding to his peerage and one of them was the mission reward.
So all in all this was looking like an absolute win in his book.
The multicoloured light that surrounded him the moment he confirmed his acceptance of the mission faded away, revealing that he had gone from standing in his brand new apartment with his beautiful ladies to standing on a filthy alleyway with only trash and rats for company.
A monumental downgrade in his humble opinion.
Ignoring the stale smell of the place he channelled his ki around his body before taking off with the flight technique making sure to control his energy output so he could fly without the catachrestical fiery aura.
Moving upwards silently he quickly made it past the buildings surrounding him on each side and took on the sight of the city he found himself in once he made it past them.
The City of Vale shined against the night sky, and the sounds of the city's inhabitants living their lives reached his ears. It was truly a shining beacon of humanity's perseverance against the forces of evil.
As a devil, even if his actions today may help the city and remnant as a whole in the long run, he found a sense of irony in him doing so by stelling one of its future protectors from it.
He was going to go and deal with Roman and Cinder too, something that could potentially alter canon in a way that would save the city from its future misfortunes, but his main objective, both because of the mission and his greed, was to get his hands on the lovely hero that was Ruby Rose.
Oh, he was going to be good to her and even negotiate the terms of her joining him in his world instead of just forcing his way like some brute but at the end of it all he could just distract her and wait for time to run out and only after the binding had taken hold approach with his offer.
He was a Gremory, They may love and care for those close to them like family but the Gremory were devils of greed all the same, and he will get Ruby in the end.
Knowing by the mission conditions that he had only one hour before Roman reached the dust shop he flow around the area to find the place or someone out in the streets below that could help him find the place.
The late hour of the evening made it so that a lot of the shops in the surrounding area outside of the city centre were closed. Only some late-night shoppers and workers returning home occupied the streets below.
Luckily for him, it only took him 5 minutes to find the still-open store. The mission was kind enough to leave him in the same general area as his target. The light from inside the small building illuminated the street outside of it. the stylized sign hanging over the large window confirmed his location.
'From Dust Till Dawn' he read as he dropped down from the air in front of the shop's front door making sure not to be seen either by nearby citizens or by the cameras he could see from above.
Entering the store proper he took in the sight, the wooden panelling and furniture that made the primary construction of the shop contrasts greatly with the multicoloured merchandise that it provided for its customers.
The walls to the left of the door housed multiple long transparent glass tubes, each of them filled to the brim with the magical powder characteristic of the setting, Dust the primordial power of the elements crystallized.
The display cases that served as a countertop let him see the multiple gemstones of diverse sizes and cuts that he felt would be a lot more impressive If he couldn't control the elements with his magic. He was not a craftsman but maybe some alchemist or enchanter could use the new resource to their advantage if he added such an individual to his retinue.
To the right of the door, he saw a bunch of racks and shelves with a variety of odds and ends that he couldn't be bothered to care about. Most of them were some form of metal contraption of some sort but some of them seemed to be weapon parts.
Sending the old man running the shop a nod in greeting from where he stood behind his counter simply going over some papers Millicas made his way to the right side of the store, moving across the aisles to find his target.
She was a pretty little thing.
Standing in front of a magazine rack he could easily tell that she would come up to his shoulders if they were to stand side to side. Her shoulder-length hair swayed lightly as she moved her head at the music she was hearing with her crimson headphones. Ruby's hair was an uncommon sight to him as her raven locks slowly transitioned to a dark crimson red as they extended from the roots to the tips in a natural gradient shift.
From the place he was standing her signature red hood hid the rest of her figure from his eyes.
Taking advantage of her distraction he stood at her side and picked the first magazine he could find that concentrated on weapons before seemingly ignoring his surroundings as he read the thing. He flipped through the thing not paying any mind to the content while deciding on his approach.
Knowing how naïve and kind-hearted Ruby was he could either go with some variation of the truth or full-on bullshit.
As long as he gets her out of the store before the robbery and far away for her not to interfere then he can complete the mission.
I thought, 'may as well go with the kinder approach and see how that works.' I put my magazine down and tapped Ruby on the shoulder to get her attention.
She turned her beautiful and magical silver eyes away from her reading material and looked at me. Pointing one of my fingers to my ears I let her know that I wanted to speak with her.
"Yes?" She asked, apparently shy about speaking to a stranger.
"Good evening, Miss Rose, Sorry to bother you at this time but I have a most profitable business proposition for you." At my answer, I could see her silver eyes narrowing instantly at my greeting.
She twisted lightly on her feet, her shoulders tensing as her left hand slipped behind her skirt not even hiding she was reaching for her weapon, Cresent Rose.
"How do you know my name, Mister?" Her getting suspicious of the stranger that approached her was the right reaction to the situation. Rising both of my hands to show her I was unarmed I gave her the most charming smile I could before trying to placate her.
''I know your name Ruby Rose because I was looking for you. My name is Millicas Gremory and I am The Devil''. I said. They do say honesty is the best policy.
Her eyes widened as she dropped her combat stance by sheer incredulity, her surprise at my claim obvious. her left hand letting go of her weapon she simply stared at me as if I was some mental ward escaped.
Couldn't blame her for that either.
''You expect me to believe that?'' her disbelief palpable in her tone.
''Well, beautiful I can assure you that as much as would love to take you out on a date this is not a weird pickup line, I'm serious.'' Her pretty face lit up with a bright blush at my compliment. She probably wasn't accustomed to having guys flirt with her.
''And I can prove it to you.'' That line seemed to snap her back into the conversation.
''You can prove to me that you are The Devil.'' He could prove that he was a devil but considering he was likely the only devil in Remnant there was no need to correct the intended misconception.
''Indeed I can. I just need you to follow me outside and I can show you.'' I said before I turned around and started to leave the store betting that her curiosity won't let me simply walk away. The moment I left the shop I was proven right as before the door could close behind me a twister of crimson rose petals rushed out after me.
The cyclone dissipated after stopping my way leaving behind one unamused young girl. Her semblance was remarkable I could barely track her as she passed me.
''Is this the part where you offer me cookies to get in your white van?'' she asked.
''No white van I'm afraid but we can get cookies later if you like,'' I responded, easily ignoring the insult.
''So here we are Mister Devil, Where is your proof?'' nodding to her I started walking down the street before answering.
''This way it's better if we do this out of sight'' I made my way to a nearby alley. The sound of Ruby's booths behind me let me know she was following me.
''Tell me Miss Rose, what do you know about The Devil? I asked curious about how the people of Remnant saw my race.
''Red guy, big trident, eternal punishment, that kind of thing.'' She responded. I could feel her eyes glaring holes in the back of my head.
Surprised at the not unfamiliar views that this place held of devil-kind I moved on with the conversation as we approached the alleyway.
''so what would be enough proof for you to believe that I'm the devil?'' I asked, looking at her once we were out of sight, taking comfort in the fact that this particular alley didn't smell like the last one.
Seeing her biting her lower lip softly as she pondered my question, I couldn't help but want to pat her head at how cute she looked. Even before her glow-up in the later volumes she was adorable.
''You doing something impossible.'' She finally replied. At some point from the start of our little chat and now she had lowered her guard, whatever because she was honestly starting to believe this possible or the absurdity of the situation as a whole I couldn't care less.
''Like growing wings?'' I asked.
Not giving her time to think on my question I simply extended my devil wings. Her eyes widened in surprise as she had seen my back a second ago and there was no indication of my having wings before.
''Maybe you are a faunus?'' she asked her voice wavering slightly.
''With horns and a tail?'' While I didn't have those appendages it was easy to use my magic to create them with illusions, It was a little difficult not using a magic circle to help my control but it was well within my capabilities.
''Maybe you have an illusion-based semblance'' she tried to explain with her shaking voice. She wasn't wrong in thinking that there were illusions involved.
Instead of answering he closed the distance between them and extended his right wing for her to check. Her small hand softly caressed his leathery wing her eyes full of uncertainty at the confirmation that it was real.
''Some… Some form of solid illusory semblance then.'' She explained.
Closing the distance even further he took pleasure in seeing the widening of her eyes as her back hit the wall. His wings, enlarged to each be bigger than she was with a flex of magical power, encircling them cutting her way out.
Before she could say anything he raised his left hand stopping when it was in front of them both.
In the middle of his palm, a small magic circle bearing the crest of house Gremory appeared, and a moment later a small floating ball of fire followed suit.
''What now Love?'' he whispered enjoying the sound of her increasing heartbeat with his supernatural hearing.
''Dust container under your sleeve.'' She tried next but he could see it in her enchanting silver eyes, she was running out of excuses.
Caring more for the theatrics of the action and to unbalance her further than the practicality of it he channelled a minuscule portion of his Power of Destruction across his shirt and jacket, erasing them from existence a couple of seconds later as if incinerated by an unseen flame.
He moved even closer his right hand pressed against the wall by the side of her head.
He could feel her quick and short breaths against his face.
The light of the fire revealed the fact that she was blushing again.
''No sleeves nor dust, What's your next excuse, Ruby.'' He made sure to whisper lightly in her ear.
''It…'' she started her voice trembling. ''It could still be some solid illusion.''
''Solid enough that you can feel the heat of the fire in your face? That you could touch my wings with your hands?'' I asked teasingly with a smile.
''Yes,'' she whispered her response.
The flame dissipated before my left hand moved to the side of her hip while my right moved behind her head. Pulling her close to my chest I flexed my wing and took off up to the skies before she could resist.
With my ki-based flight technique adding my magical-based racial method, we swiftly roused over Vale's skyline 10 seconds afterwards. It took a moment for Ruby to reorient herself before she looked around realizing what had happened.
Fear. Realization. Wonder.
So many emotions I saw flash behind her lovely silver eyes at that moment.
''Solid illusions strong and complex enough for this beautiful?'' I teased her softly.
She focused her sight on me and I could see her grasping at straws in her mind for any explanation that could deny the undeniable.
''Hypnosis semblance.'' Ruby tried this time. It was her last resort. One final bastion in which she could hide from the truth.
And we both know it would not last.
''If I could just make you believe something like this why would I go to such lengths for you to believe my words?'' I said, hammering the final nail in the coffin of her denial.
''Oh.'' She sighed.
The silence surrounding us for but a moment.
Ruby looked at the city below taking In the sight once more before moving her gaze back to me.
Her eyes focused as if seeing me for the first time.
''You are The Devil'' she accepted, finally surrendering herself to the truth.
''I am and I have a deal for you Ruby Rose, would you care to hear it?''
As they made their way across Vale's night sky Ruby Rose questioned her life choices.
A couple of hours ago she was giving Cresent Rose her daily maintenance when she found that one of the servos parts of the mecha shift engine on her baby's head was damaged. Not enough damage to stop the mechanism from working but enough damage to be a problem if not dealt with promptly.
Knowing that she was running low on dust as well she had simply sent a text to her dad to let him know that she was going out to Vale so she could buy the replacement, stock up on Dust and maybe see if the next issue of Sniper Monthly was out yet.
Halfway to Patch's heliport, she received her dad's usual response whenever she left the house for any amount of time.
Be careful. don't stay out too late. don't accept cookies from strangers. don't do anything Yang would do. Don't do anything Qrow would do. I love you.
You know usual dad stuff.
He hadn't said she couldn't get a tiny little bit sidetracked after shopping only to end up in the arms of an extremely sexy half-naked boy as they flew across the sky to Oum knows where so he could properly explain whatever deal he was offering.
But she reckons it was certainly implied in his text!
The older boy was apparently, also the Devil.
So her not doing whatever this was must have been implied with the don't do anything Yang would do part.
Or maybe the one about Uncle Qrow, She loves him to bits but he did silly things when he wasn't at least tipsy.
So it could go either way.
Anyway, here she was, Ruby Rose huntress in training and Signal's most forgettable wallflower being princess carried away from Vale in the muscular arms of The Devil.
Who would have thought? Certainly not her.
Also, does The Devil go to the Gym regularly or is he naturally this ripped?
Anyway, not the point.
After what felt like no time at all they left the city of Vale and descended into the dark forest outside the city walls.
With a gentleness that you wouldn't expect from the big guy down below He lower her to the ground feet first before finally letting her go.
Had it been this chilly outside before?
''Let's try this again, shall we? My name is Millicas Gremory It's a pleasure to meet you.'' He smiles at her brightly.
''My name is Ruby Rose, but you already know that,'' Ruby replied. What kind of weird name was Millicas?
''Ah yes I need to explain that but I wanted to get the biggest shock out of the way before going over the details'' He said with an amicable laugh.
''And you telling me you were The Devil from the get-go was your best course of action?'' She couldn't help but ask.
''Well my story and why I'm here it's very unbelievable so I thought it would be best to be honest from the start.'' He explained.
''Okay, so what does the devil want from me? I'm just a normal girl?''
''I already told you I have a deal for you.'' She could hear the amusement in his voice.
''I may not go to church but I believe that when the devil himself appears before you offering a deal you are supposed to say no,'' Ruby argued. ''I kind of need my soul that's where Aura comes from. Also, eternal damnation in the Grimm-infested pits of hell bits is suddenly more concerning.''
Was she breaking some kind of rule by speaking with the devil? Did she need to find a Priest?
''Ruby I don't want your soul I only need you to hear the deal I'm offering you then whatever you feel like it is a fair deal and take my offer or not you have my word that I will accept your answer. I can even drop you back on Patch afterwards.'' He explained.
The Devil knew where she lived, not as surprising as it should have been. Was she on some kind of hellish naughty list that she wasn't aware of like with Dust-mas? She was the good sister, Yang should be the one on the list, not her!
''Okay, seeing as I kind of let you drag me out of Vale to hear you out I guess I will listen to your deal at least.'' She replied.
The only reason she let him fly her here was because she could easily run away with Cresent Rose and her semblance, not because of how he made her feel back in the city with all his compliments and whispers and all the attention that no boy had ever given her before.
"Ruby Rose you are a beautiful young woman with a lot of untapped potential, I want to make use of that and help you reach heights that you would never reach otherwise". Millicas told her earnestly.
He was doing it again, giving her compliments as if it were the most common thing on Remnant. Smiling at her tenderly like in those movies she didn't enjoy being dragged into by her friends.
"You want to use me?'' She asked for confirmation.
"I want you to join me, as a friend and trusted ally that I can rely on to be at my side and watch my back." He replied.
"And in exchange I get training."
"Training and Power are only some of the many additional benefits to joining me. But not the main thing I'm offering." Came his confident correction. The amused grin on his face was something Ruby had seen before.
It was the same grin Uncle Qrow gave her when they spared, the grin that told her he wasn't just confident he would win their match but that he had already won before it began.
Millicas looked as if regardless of her answer or question he had already achieved his objective.
"So what do I gain in exchange for joining you?" She finally asked.
"Anything your heart desires." He said with that victorious grin on his face.
It took a couple of seconds for Ruby to register the incredulous look that Millicas was giving her and realized that she had burst into amused giggles at his offer.
He looked cute like that, like Zwei when she faked throwing the ball when they played together.
Her giggles upgraded to full-out laughter as she made that comparison in her mind.
"You know Yang did warn me that cute boys would offer me anything to get in my pants but I don't think she meant it like this." She explained to him after calming down slightly.
Or maybe she did mean like this. Ruby knew the kind of trashy romance novels her blond sister hid behind her dresser. Those were more about sexy vampire ladies seducing the huntresses sent to kill them but similarly enough.
Now that she thought about it maybe the reason Yang couldn't keep a steady boyfriend was not what she thought it was.
"I can assure you Ruby this goes further than me just wanting to ravish you." And he was now giving her that half-closed-eyes look that he gave her back at the alley.
The one that made her feel fluttering in her chest.
The little comment at the end didn't help her attempts at not blushing like a strawberry.
"So you can give me anything and then what? You bit my neck, drank my blood, and turned me into a Devil?" She said while trying not to blush as some of the scenes in Yang's novels appeared in her mind, only with Millicas and Herself in the primary roles.
"Drinking Blood is for Vampires and I won't bite you unless you ask me to." He said with a soft voice, taking hold of her chin and lifting her head so she could look him in the eyes. A girl could lose herself in those crimson eyes.
When had he gotten so close?
Ruby knew that this was the time when she was supposed to run away from him.
The devil himself was offering her anything she desired in exchange for her joining him. And even if she wasn't the most confident girl in regards to her looks it was obvious that he found her attractive.
So if the church and Yang's novels were to be believed he was not only looking after her servitude but he also wanted to do unspeakable things to her nubile body.
Even knowing that there was something else other than what she was feeling right now that stopped her from running.
"You will give me anything?" she asked softly. She needed to run away.
"There are some things beyond my reach at this time but yes love, anything you want you only need to ask" Millicas whispered in her ear.
He was so confident about it.
Even when correcting that it wasn't anything, that there were things he couldn't give her, he was confident in her answer.
Confident in his victory.
But what did she want? The things she could think about were her dreams for the future. Thinks she can achieve with hard work and time.
So why was the devil so sure she would agree?
What was he offering her? That when knowing so much about her He was assured that she would say yes.
Ruby felt her eyes widen at a realization.
No.
He couldn't be offering that, could he?
"You only need to ask little Rose," he said as if reading her mind. Ruby's anger flared for a second before settling down.
The evil manipulating son of a bitch may as well be reading her mind for all she knew, calling her that nickname at that precise moment.
But it was already too late to get angry at his manipulations, he had never hidden them from her, his soft airy whispers and gentle touches, whether they were honest or not didn't matter.
Because if he could grant her wish, they both knew her answer.
"Can…" she choked at her words, unable to say them. "Can you bring Mom back?"
"I can but not in the way that you may be thinking." He conceded to her. "Let me explain things to you."
She didn't understand what he meant by that but she couldn't care less about the explanation.
She would hear it and try to consider it but she knew in her heart that she would accept his offer eventually.
Because if it meant seeing her mom again it didn't matter if he said he didn't want it as payment or whatever his intentions for her were in the future.
She was willing to do anything, even sell her soul, for the chance to have her mother back.
And He knew it.
Giving Ruby a second to take it all in I checked the time on my device.
I only had 20 minutes before the dust robbery that initiated the series took place. I don't need to be there as I already completed the main objective.
As of right now I only need to wait until the day after tomorrow for Bacon's initiation to take place and I will have completed the mission. but the bonus rewards were still up for grabs.
70 credits will help me in the future and even with all the credits I will make in the long run just by having access to Remnant every credit counts.
Also, I'm greedy as hell.
''So let me get this straight'' My Cute companion began. ''You are a Devil from another world that works with an interdimensional Company by doing missions for them.''
''Yes''
''And one of those missions is to come into my world and stop me from stopping a robbery which if you don't leads me to join Beacon 2 years early which sends me on some kind of hero journey that ends up with me and my future friends facing the forces of evil, the Grimm and Salem, the queen of the Grimm.''
''Eyup,'' I said with a nod as I extended my hand across the table I had summoned from my pocket space to pick up one of the cookies I broth with me from home. I should thank Tarte for the sugary treat once I was back home.
''And in exchange for just distracting me from my apparent fate, you are rewarded with me being bound to you as some kind of eternally loyal companion and/or sex slave.'' She asked, while still blushing cutely at the sex slave part.
''That's about it,'' I said trying not to laugh at the annoyed expression on her face. She proceeds to bend over on her chair and plant her face on the table before letting out a loud groan.
''Then why did you try so hard to convince…'' she began before stopping herself, I could practically see the proverbial light bud flashing over her head. She quickly sat straight on her chair before slamming her hands on the surface furiously.
''Was THAT the reason you have been so insufferably smug all this damn time?'' She snarled at me.
''To be fair, I could have done a lot worse than giving you an offer you couldn't deny this way at least you get something you want out of this before the binding makes you part of my retinue,'' I explained.
''Also just because you are made loyal by the brand, it does not mean you will be happy with the situation, Love.'' She let out a sigh at my response.
''I guess that makes sense, if this thing lasts as long as you said me being willing is the better outcome for you.'' She relented before eating another cookie.
''So about Mom.'' She said after a minute of silence. ''You said that you couldn't revive Mom but you could buy an alternate version of Mom that was previously owned by one of your fellow contractors.''
''that's the idea, I could buy you a clone of her but in both cases, it wouldn't be your Summer Rose but A Summer Rose. And one of those options kind of could use a new home as they most likely lost their version of you and your family when they were captured.'' He explained.
Finally, after I explained the situation Ruby took a deep breath before looking at me with determination shining in her silver eyes.
''Okay Millicas, I accept your deal. Bring my Mother back and I'm yours.'' She said.
Nodding at her decision I opened the catalogue function of my device and chose the option to buy a used Summer Rose (T6) companion. An additional window opened revealing the three used options I could choose from, normally Only the prices would be available as a distinction of those 3 but thanks to open rolls I got extra information.
[Summer Rose (T6) Trauma Level 1. A version of Summer captured by an Arthur Watts contractor. Trauma originated from the death of her team at the hands of the contractor after graduating from Beacon.] [Buy for 20]
[Summer Rose (T5) Trauma Level 0. A version of Summer captured by a Jaune Arc contractor. No Trauma. Tier reduction originating from years of retirement after a career-ending injury.] [Buy for 20]
[Summer Rose (T4) Trauma Level 1. A version of Summer captured by an Extra contractor. Trauma and Tier reduction originating from years of imprisonment at the hands of Salem before the contractor captured and sold her.] [Buy for 5]
Luckily for me, the cheapest option was also the one with the more chances to be as close to this world's original as I could get.
Choosing the T4 version and for her to be delivered at my current location I was grated with a second additional window I wasn't expecting.
''Ruby?'' I asked her softly.
''What happened something wrong?'' she asked me anxiously. I stood up from one of the chairs I had brought out with the table and walked to her side so she could read the message on the screen.
[It seems that the companion you are trying to purchase and have delivered to your location has a local version available for capture. Would you like to buy the Native Merger perk for an additional 10 credits and have the merged version delivered to your location? Please remember that this option invalidates any capture credits you would get from the native version if you buy this perk at this time.]
''My Mom is alive?'' She said as tears gathered in her eyes, hundreds of questions flashed behind them.
''And, unable to return home on her own,'' I answered as I put a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort the younger girl.
The possibility of summer being alive in this version of Remnant had never crossed my mind so of course I hadn't mentioned it to Ruby.
If I had to guess her situation must be similar to the slightly used version of her I had just been attempting to purchase, most likely captured by Salem or one of her minions in whatever her last mission for the wizard was.
''What does 'merged' mean Millicas?'' She asked me after a second of silence.
I didn't answer her immediately still considering the situation.
In the long term, this revelation didn't affect my plans but the sudden disappearance of Summer from wherever she was being kept was something that could be problematic if not dealt with.
"It means that instead of a summer from a different timeline, we get the original summer with extra memories. As a bonus, we save her from wherever she is been kept without having to run around Remnant for who knows how long before we save her.'' I explained to her.
Before I registered her response, I had already accepted the extra purchase. A bright light illuminated the dark forest clearing I had chosen as the place for our little rendezvous. Once the light faded, I took stock of our new addition.
It wasn't a pretty sight.
"MOM!" Ruby shot out of her chair and made her way to the slumped form of her mother as she lay against one of the nearby trees.
Her Hair, the same colour as her daughter's, was covered in dirt and dry blood. The dirty rags she was wearing barely hid her malnourished state.
They neither hid the fact that whoever had been holding her captive had also removed her left arm and both of her legs. The clean cuts, made at the elbow and both knees, make it obvious that the damage was done after she was captured.
The multitude of scars that littered her body spoke of the long and methodical torture she must have endured over the years. And the most telling fact about the ones behind her imprisonment was that both her eyes had been removed.
Her deep breaths let him know that she was alive but sleeping for the moment.
Ruby was nearly rendered catatonic as she held her wounded mother in her arms kneeling by the tree as he made his way to their side.
"Ruby…"I said.
"How did this?" she cut me off there was a barely restrained anger under her dead voice. I realised that it wasn't just despairing at the sight of her mother that made her shoulders tremble but the rage that she was feeling at the situation as well.
"Considering her silver eyes are missing it was most likely Salem and her minions," I answered honestly.
"I'm gonna kill them. I don't care who they are or how powerful, I am going to kill each and every one of them." Hearing Ruby Rose of all people say something like that was disconcerting but not surprising considering her mother's state.
Once more my hand found its way to her shoulder as I gave Ruby a half hug trying to comfort her.
"Okay I was gonna go after them sooner or later for the credits but if it would make it better we can do that and just kill them after the capture instead of selling them or maybe once you have time to calm down we can do something different," I said.
"But we will make them pay for this, I give you my word on that," I promise her. I'm a devil of my word and the extra motivation her vendetta will give Ruby would help her grow even stronger. Even if I have to let her kill them instead of selling them for extra credits it was a good trade in my book.
"Okay." Was her quiet response.
"Now we need to get back to the City," I said after a moment, Checking the device for how much time I had left and ignoring the notification asking me if I wanted to activate the one-time full heal from Body Tune-Up on Summer now or at a later date. That will have to wait for now.
I Had only 10 minutes left before Episode One was supposed to start.
One teleportation circle later I materialized back at the alleyway I had used to chat with Ruby before I dragged her away into the forest.
It took 3 minutes at my new top speed to make it back to the city, the combination of my devil wing's magical flight speed and the maximum output of my ki-based flight technique swiftly breaking the sound barrier.
Afterwards, we spent the remainder of the time acquiring a cheap hotel room to serve as a temporary safe house, me hypnotizing the staff to not pay attention to us and finally trying to explain the situation to a newly awakened Summer before I had to leave.
I could trust Ruby to take care of Summer for the moment as I had other things to deal with and was running against the clock at this point. Also, I was feeling guilty about not immediately healing Summer but that would complicate things further.
Exiting the alleyway, I was greeted with the sight of a white-jacketed hat-wearing gentleman thief followed by 5 suit-wearing thugs making their way inside the Dust shop I had found Ruby nearly an hour ago.
I took one minute to slowly make my way to the store.
Opening the door without a care I saw three of the black-dressed gangsters on the left wall, filling metal containers with dust, while the other two made their way around the right side of the store looking at the shelves.
Roman Torchwick, Vale's most notorious thief, turned around from where he was threatening the owner of the establishment at the sound of the bell over the door. He watched me with an incredulous look in his eyes for a second.
"Seriously? Did none of you second-rate thugs close the door after we entered the place?" Roman complained with a sigh before he turned to see me properly, his hands both taking hold of the cane he was leaning his weight on.
"Sorry Kid but the store is closed you will have to come back tomorrow." He attempted with a friendly smile, I could tell he didn't expect me to believe him.
I raised my hand with an apologetic smile as I showed him my newly bought Psychic Papers.
"I have other things to do right now but I'm kind of legally required to intervene. Roman Torchwick, You are under arrest." I said back knowing that to him I was showing my freelance huntsman licence.
"Brother's damm it, how could we run into a fucking freelancer not even 10 seconds after we start the robbery?" Roman said with a groan. While the man was complaining about his luck his associates pulled out their red-edged matchets as they approached me with less-than-kind intentions.
Seeing where the wind was blowing, the old shopkeeper quietly made his way to the back of the shop not wanting to get in the way of a huntsman fight. Noticing the movement behind him Roman started to turn around, his cane rising to aim at the hostage to gain an advantage.
He shouldn't have done that.
The moment his eyes shifted to the side I spun around and delivered a spinning kick in front of me realising a Kiai at the group. The invincible shockwave of ki slammed against all 6 of my enemies sending them crashing back.
The 3 to the left slammed against the reinforced tubes of now-empty dust containment units that decorated the wall while the other 2 henchmen crashed into the multiple shelves on the right, ending up buried under them.
To my surprise the multiple sounds of glass breaking and the flashing of five different colours around me let me know that just one hit had been enough to break their auras. Talk about cheap minions.
Roman on the other hand had slammed into the countertop that previously separated him from the shopkeeper, the air having been knocked out of his lungs even if his aura had softened the blow.
Disregarding the others I shot forward Roman slumped form in a second.
Catching his retaliatory swipe with my right forearm, the strong strike from his weapon not enough to stop me I simply held his head with my left hand in a claw grip and threw him outside through the window. the last thing I needed was for him to shoot some of the dust inside the store and blow up the building into the next kingdom.
As I stepped outside the store through the broken window I could see the gentleman thief rising to his feet a couple of meters into the street outside.
"Handy little trick you got there, Kid." he angrily shouted across the street. his eyes narrowed in anger, his feet shifted as he moved into a defensive stance his weapon, Melodic Cudgel taking the place of a rapier in the fairly common fencing stance.
"The offer to stand down and let me arrest you is still on the table old man" I replied obnoxiously knowing the proud man wouldn't let himself be caught without a fight.
"Old?! I will have you know I'm barely in my thirties Brat.'' He shouted back.
Before I could reply, the tip of his cane was pointed at me and I could see it pop open to reveal the gun barrel hidden inside.
With a press of the trigger, a bright red flare was shot at me.
Dashing forward I shot a ki blast from my left hand onto the oncoming projectile the crash of the two detonating them loudly.
Using the cover of the explosion I shortened the distance between us and reached the other man quickly his surprised expression only lasting a moment before he was forced to defend against my fist.
He used his strength to force me back slightly and allowed himself the space to redirect my following the right hook aimed at his face.
Credit where credit was due Roman was a good fighter. each one of my follow-up strikes was masterfully blocked and redirected by the hat-wearing criminal.
My right kick was forced to the side and the next frontal kick from my left leg he was able to full-on block.
Using his block as leverage I jumped backwards to reposition myself.
It was obvious just by that short exchange to me that the man may not be better than me physically but he was more experienced in close-quarters combat.
Considering that before the substitution I was mainly a mage it wasn't much of a compliment.
Attempting to gain the initiative this time Roman was the one that attacked first.
Wielding Melodic Cudgel like a short sword more than a cane he moved up to me and delivered a flurry of strikes.
The same tactic I practised back home of empowering my arms with ki reduced the strength of the already weak strikes even further letting me defend myself safely from his assault.
The first strike bounced off my risen right forearm and the follow-up was easily redirected downwards with my left hand.
His next move, an upward cut aimed at my chin, I backstepped slightly and my counterattack of a gut punch forced the thief off me.
He barely managed to block the strike with his cane but the force of the hit pushed him backwards, sliding on his feet about a meter away from me.
For all his experience we both know that I was the stronger fighter and it would only take a couple of hits for me to knock him out of the fight.
The small imprint my fist left on his weapon further proved the notion.
''I couldn't interest you into giving you a couple of lien and you looking the other way could you? I know you freelancers don't make as much as regular huntsmen.'' He said grinning confidently, most likely buying for time than actually making an offer.
''Sorry old man but I'm not doing this for the money,'' I replied, focusing my senses on the surrounding area.
''well that's too bad kid we will have to do this the hard way.'' he swiftly pointed his cane downward aiming the hidden barrel at the street between us.
With a pull of his trigger, the space in front of him exploded in a flash of red and a cloud of smoke and debris.
Having expected his eventual retreat thanks to the canonical timeline of the show my supernatural senses easily follow him as he runs for the fire escape ladder connected to a building to our right.
Waiting for a couple of seconds as the cloud dissipated, I gave Roman time to reach the top of the building before flaring my ki and flying after him. By the time I made it to the rooftop, he had already reached the other side.
As I touched down and started running lightly after him the sound of rushing wind reached my ears.
Roman turned around to look at me, clearly expecting me to have followed him and gave a cheery little wave as he hopped back over the lip of the roof and into the open side door of the ascending bullhead that I knew would be there waiting for him.
''Sorry Kid end of the line.'' He shouted over the sound of the raising bullhead as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a red dust crystal the size of an apple from inside.
Before he could throw the explosive rock at me I jumped off the rooftop and flew at the bullhead at full speed managing to get into the aircraft and knock the dust crystal of his hand with a disregarding swat of my hand.
From his point of view, I may as well have teleported.
No longer needing to hold back for Cinder to show up I punched Roman into the bullhead's opposite wall behind him, his body indenting itself into the metal structure of the ship, restraining him for the moment.
Turning around I finally faced my next target as she angrily stood up from the airship's pilot chair.
A fair-skinned young woman with long ashen black hair that covered her left eye. She wore a dark red, off-the-shoulders v-neck mini dress with yellow designs that showcased her hourglass figure and served as her primary weapon thanks to its dust weaving.
If nothing else Cinder Fall was a beautiful woman on the outside. It was almost a shame that I had no interest in the woman nor did I have the patience to deal with her.
As she slowly made her way to me I could see her hands moving slightly at her sides, the soft glow of her drees letting me know that the femme fatale was preparing to create her dual blades, it seemed she didn't want to talk either.
"Whoa, Cindy you are looking great, love the dress it suits you way better than the hotel uniform ever did," I said to her with a fake smile.
The previously enraged look she had on her pretty face froze as she registered my comment, was it an asshole move to use the knowledge of her horrible life to unbalance and manipulate her so I could easily end the fight?
Most likely yes but I am a devil and if I wasn't above manipulating sweet Ruby Rose then I certainly wasn't going to lose any sleep by manipulating the bitch that killed one of my favourite characters in the show and attempted to kill my second favourite one.
Also, she was an evil piece of shit that was going to sell humanity itself to the queen of the Grimm, so doing this was just good karma.
Taking advantage of the fact that my opponent was distracted for a second, I extended my left hand to the wall and softly tapped the metal with my index finger.
From the spot I tapped a compressed crimson wave of demonic energy rippled outwards as the restrained application of my power of destruction travelled across the airship.
"What are you…" Before she could question him further Millicas blasted Cinder out of the bullhead with a ki blast. The windshield behind her offered no resistance as the airship crumbled into nothingness around the three of them.
It was a shame to destroy the bullhead but I didn't have the time or ability to land it and letting the airship fall out of control in the middle of a residential area was plain irresponsible.
Seeing her smash against a light post across the street before falling to the ground I twisted around in the air searching for my second opponent, any leftover from the bullhead disappearing from existence.
Roman had fallen into the alleyway below after the destruction of the bullhead released him from his restrained position of being previously stuck into a metal wall.
Not wanting to deal with him any longer but not willing to outright kill him at this time I channelled my power of destruction into my right arm and slashed at the man below. No having tested this move before I hoped I didn't overdo it.
From my hand, a crimson-black crescent slash of energy flew through the air and reached the rising form of the thief ignoring his aura entirely and cutting both his legs from his body at the knees.
Ignoring Roman and his screams of pain after experiencing my knock-off Getsuga Tensou I twisted in the air and blasted the arrow that was coming my way with a ki blast. Good thing I didn't lower my guard.
Cinder, already on her feet, kept shooting more arrows at me as I flew at her while dodging them from side to side my speed quickly shortening the distance between us.
"Who are you?" she growled at me as she twisted her weapon, Midnight, in her hands shifting it from a bow to a set of dual blades and slashed at me once I touched down in front of her.
"Oh, you don't remember me, Cindy? I'm hurt did all those electric shocks mess with your memory." I said sadly still using her traumatic childhood to attack the villain mentally while blocking her attacks with my hands.
"You!" she roared at me, more out of anger than recognition as my hand took hold of her blades after a couple of strikes and pulled her close.
Her blades started shining with heat as she attempted to use her semblance to force me to release my hold on the weapons.
Through considerable the temperature of the metal was not something I couldn't ignore easily thanks to my devilish constitution.
"But joining Salem of all people," I whispered in her ear as I moved even closer to her. "What would Rhodes think of you I he could see you now?." Her eyes widened, and for a second she stopped cold at the mention of the dead huntsman.
Whatever she had to say that particular titbit I didn't get the chance to hear.
Using our position and my hold on her weapons as leverage I delivered a brutal knee strike to her stomach.
A shock wave exploded from the impact as for the first time in my little mission to Remnant I used every bit of strength I had in one strike.
Between my considerable natural strength as a devil, both my magic and my ki strengthening me further and a powerful kiai delivered from my knee into her at the exact moment of impact it was no surprise when her aura crashed into pieces around her.
The moment I lowered my leg for its position Cinder's body collapsed on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Not taking any chances I kneeled at her side and struck the pressure point at the base of her neck with two of my fingers making sure to render her truly unconscious in case she was faking it. Not the first time she would do something like that.
Sure that I wasn't getting shanked by the woman anytime soon I took out the stamp and pressed it into her throat making it seem as if I was checking her pulse.
Three seconds afterwards I moved my hand away making sure the seal appeared on her skin.
I stood up and started walking to where I had left Roman to stamp him when my body stopped in its tracks.
A violet glow surrounded me as the voice of a woman reached my ears.
"Stop right there young man." The woman said curtly, her strict voice instinctive reminding me of my mother. The soft clicking of her heels echoed in the empty street as she entered my line of sight.
Light blonde hair tied into a bun and her pretty green eyes hidden only by a pair of glasses. With her long-sleeved, pleated blouse that has a wide keyhole opening showing off her bust and her black high-waisted pencil skirt that tightly hugged her waist and hips, Glynda Goodwitch looked like the textbook definition of a sexy librarian.
Her little purple cape may divert from that particular look but her weapon of choice only reinforced the strict sexy teacher look further. Her weapon has an extending ridding crop called The Disciplinarian.
The Huntress looked like she had walked right out of some high-end porn film instead of a real academy.
"In my defence, Miss Goodwitch," I said apologetically. "I'm legally required to intervene in an active robbery even if I'm only a freelance huntsman."
This was going to be a long night.
[0000]
Build as of Chapter 3
Starting World: High School DxD [Standard]
Starting budget 365
Difficulty [6.25]
Legacy Difficulty 0
Intensity
Me and My Girlfriend(s)(PvE) +0 [365]
You as Millicas Gremory (Substitute) of T6 -20 [345]
Bindings
Company Stamp free [345]
Lures
Sticky Fingers -5 [340]
Faerie Feast -10 [330]
Zenryoku Zenkai -20 [310]
Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [305]
Pocket Apartment x2 -20 [285]
Sweet Home -20 [265]
Home Securityᵈˡᶜ free [265]
All Roads Lead to Home -10 [255]
Rainbow Bridge -30 [225]
Talents
Body Tune-Up -5 [220]
Soul -10 [210]
Martial -10 [200]
Communication -10 [190]
Template Stacking I [Sesshouin Kiara (Saint) has Inoue Orihime (Bleach), Tarte has Scáthach (Nasuverse), You as Millicas Gremory has Beerus (Dragonball)] -60 [130]
Talent Sharing x2 [Soul Talent, Martial Talent] -20 [110]
Covert -10 [100]
Defenses
Body -5 [95]
Information -25 [70]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +22 [92]
Misc Perks
Universal Calibration -10 [82]
Exit Stage Left -5 [77]
We Will Meet Again -15 [62]
Psychic Paper -5 [57]
Generic Waifu Perks
Open Rollsᵈˡᶜ -5 [52]
Paper Trail [Sesshouin Kiara (Saint), Tarte, You as Millicas Gremory] -3 [49]
Native Mergerᵈˡᶜ[Summer Rose] -10 [39]
Companions bought -35 [4]
Sesshouin Kiara (Saint)(T5)[buy] from Nasuverse
Tarte(T6)[buy] from The World's Finest Assassin
Summer Rose(T4)[used]{Familiar} from RWBY
Companions captured +12; sold +0 [16]
Ruby Rose(T5) from RWBY
Mission Rewards +70 [86]:
Smaller, More Honest Soul... in RWBY
Other [Ruby Rose]; Credits [20]; Credits [50];