Don't Own DxD or anything else, Only The Oc
'thought'
"Speech"
System Text
"Tvs, Radios, and Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
Congratulations! You have died! You are now set to be reincarnated!
'huh?'
You, unclaimed soul of universe 1842491, have died in your sleep. But don't let this fact get you down, now you shall be able to forge a new life in a new world!
Your new body and new life has been selected for you... now you merely need to survive the situation that they did not!
Your new name is Gaius Decarabia. You are the pure blooded devil heir to both the Malthus and Decarabia devil clans, and, as of about ten minutes ago, the lord of both clans as your parents have been assassinated by the Old Satan faction... and... if they have their way, you will soon follow.
The underworld is currently more dangerous than it has ever been. Demonic beasts, fallen angels, grim reapers, civil war, and devils who like to take advantage of the fact that the entire world is in a war-torn state.
However. It would be too unfair to send a man who has not seen the hardships of war into a life or death scenario with a new body abilities you have no way of understanding... which is why you shall be granted ALL of the memories of your new body.
But. We said that the original body didn't survive, didn't we? So what would the point of all this be unless we gave you something to tilt the scales.
The celestial forge!
If you do not know what that is, that is fine. To simplify it, it is a system that has collected each and every single crafting method from every single media imaginable.
The way this works is quite simple.
5 randomized categories. 100 points each.
Each category will have perks. Some free (Which you are HIGHLY encouraged to pick up) some not so much.
Some perks will be vastly out of your purchasing capacity, however, there is a method to get better perks.
Your points, during this 'character creation scenario' shall carry over to the next randomized selection of perks.
In fact, you do not have to purchase any perks at all and all five hundred of these points shall be saved for you the next time you gain a large enough achievement to gain access to more perks.
So. Without further ado. Let's get on with this!
I carefully read the information before me, letting out a low hum as a wheel appears before me, a small Hud appearing at the top right corner of my vision. All that appears is a little coin counter... the coins having 'CF' on it. Presumably standing for 'Celestial Forge'.
'alright. Whatever. I guess I'm doing this now. Old Satan Faction... Devil? I'm a devil now? That sounds... familiar...
The 'decision wheel' in front of me begins rapidly spinning. Numbers from one to thirty eight appear on its thirty eight sections, looking similar to a pie chart.
25: Magic.
A humongous screen opens before me, listing dozens upon dozens of powers and abilities.
Most... I can't pick.
I do have two options, though.
A seven hundred cost power that is split into seven equal parts... or an ability that sounds really good for me.
The split power seems... almost a little useless when paired up against this other option.
It gives me the potential to turn mental thought into magical energy, allowing the user to create barriers or move objects.
But, as a devil... the memories of my new childhood slowly but surely trickling in even as I ponder between these abilities.
A devil can create fire with just a thought.
Their magic is based on imagination.
That being said, you can't just do something like 'imagine' yourself wielding holy light. It's a little more nuanced than that.
It's basically a shortcut, all things considered.
Say you want to cast a fireball.
A human wizard would need to calculate each and every variable of the spell. The heat it exudes. The size. The amount of magical power put in. Then they'd need to work out how to give it velocity and aim it correctly.
Demonic power on the other hand just looks at our imagination and is all 'oh yeah? Fireball? I can do that. Just give me my allowance of magical power annnnd poof. Fire!'
As a result, devil spells are moderately less efficient than human magic. But seeing as how on average a devil has much more magic power than a human, the overall detriment isn't really that noticeable.
The real downside is when you want to do something complex.
For all intents and purposes, demonic power is like a child.
A child can understand fire.
A child can understand ice.
A child cannot understand the concept of tearing out someone's soul and using it to strangle the life from their friend.
As for the other powers from the seven, Enchantment is some illusion and charm magic. Not really what I am going for and the name is a little misleading.
Elementalism grants minor control over the elements but it requires- and I quote- a 'Trance Like State'.
Once more. Elementalism. Meet Devil Magic and- two clan traits? Ohohoho Enchantment can go fuck itself as well with my Beguiling Voice clan trait!
Plus my other one lets me enchant things far easier than normal.
Awesome!
Anyways, I'll skip over 'potion making', as I doubt that'd really help me much at the moment.
The three slivers of the seven that are MILDLY interesting to me would first be 'Prophesy'. Which basically allows me to tell the future... but once more, it needs to be in a meditative 'trance like' state.
Next, Psychometry. Which lets me read the past of items, but in the text it flat out tells me that the results may be cryptic and the results can be misled with magic.
That's out.
And the final one... Evocation. Which lets you call the spirits of the dead.
That'd piss of possibly every death god in the world, plus it specifies that the spirit can and will kill you if they want.
I can get one of those...
I could get 'Patient Magic.'
"Old Patient Magic (100CF)
You have learned how to cast charms, wards, and protections over places that grow more and more powerful, stable, and harder to damage with age.
A door you reinforced with magic a year ago will be tougher than one you reinforced a day ago, and a scrying mirror you made decades ago will be able to see further than one you made a couple years back.
The growth rate may not be much, and it grows slower over time, but it does add up over decades and centuries."
Yeah. Oooh I wonder just what I should pick... as the near ageless race that lives for thousands upon thousands of years.
'Old Patient Magic selected.'
That one was just too good to pass up.
There were also some REALLY good things in the two hundred range, but alas. No points.
The screen in front of me closes as a warm feeling crosses throughout my body. The wheel once more coming to the center of my vision.
Malthus Clan Trait combined with 'Old Patient Magic' to form a Mutant Clan Trait.
Huh.
Alright.
The wheel spins, landing on another choice.
4: Vehicles.
I skim the list that appears in front of me.
It looks like this time I have a few more options.
After a few minutes of reading I come to a realization.
Huh.
Most of these are sort of useless.
I could get a garage with restocking parts, a hanger, the ability to tune up and repair cars quite well, and all that good stuff.
But there's one issue.
According to my assimilating memories... it is currently like... fifteen hundred.
That's a good two hundred years before the MUSKET was invented.
The only slightly interesting perk, would be the 'Manifold Destiny' one... and that is merely because vehicles I make would CONCEPTUALLY have tougher armor.
But- and this is a BIG but...
I'M A FUCKING SUPERNATURAL CREATURE!
I could physically punch through the hood of a car and tear out someone's engine like I'm motherfucking Doctor Gero!
A little extra durability won't mean DICK!
Also, there's the fact that supernatural fighting is a lot different than standard fighting.
If I was put in like... a normal world... or like, Marvel, sure, that perk would be pretty good. But I'm not. And it isn't.
Not worth one hundred points for me, at least.
Skip.
The screen closes as I watch the number in the corner of my vision tick up to two hundred.
The wheel rolls yet again.
8: Magical Facilities
My eyes skim the list.
Ah.
Things that can be taken away from me... I see.
There's a few useful ones, sure.
Wait a fucking- Netherwart?
Minecraft?
They made a Minecraft Alchemy Lab two hundred points?!
Huh...
Oh? It appears that not everything here is stuff that is steal-able.
There's a perk that's called 'barrier of perspective- annnd it's a touhou power.'
It... doesn't really seem that powerful, honestly. But it is a touhou power, and in that world everyone and their pet cat has conceptual bullshit.
But... this one really does just look like a form of sealing magic to lock away portions of land in pocket dimensions.
Don't devils already have something similar to that?
Damn.
Wh- portable workstation?
That seems... fairly useful, honestly.
But it's two hundred.
FFFFF- no.
The points tick up to three hundred.
22: Clothing
I skim through it.
'uhhhh. This one.'
"Costumer (100CF)
Many objects, especially with regards to armor, place function over form. Now, you don't have to settle for armor that is good but an eyesore.
You can take any item you possess and 'overlay' it on top of a similar item, changing the second item's appearance to match the first, while maintaining all of its functionality, protective qualities, etc."
I can see the benefit of this. Though, regretfully it only applies to incredibly similar pieces.
I can stretch it somewhat, but I can't just like... make a bikini that's more durable than a full suit of armor... though, that'd be FUCKING FUNNY.
God- ow- I hope I get something good with my last roll.
23: Enchanting
Go... on?
A screen opens before me, causing me to cup my chin.
"Eh?"
"Heh... Hehheh... HAHAHAHAH!" I begin cackling as I see a certain little power in my list.
I purchase it immediately, because how could I NOT?!
"Weapon Absorption (200CF)
Your weapons modified with this will adapt the concept of "experience", allowing them to grow as more enemies are defeated with them.
As more enemies are defeated, you can absorb other weapons into the base template - improving the qualities of the original weapon."
My enchanted things grow more powerful with age... and they can also level up and evolve.
Malthus Mutated Clan Trait combined with 'Weapon Absorption' to further empower itself.
Bitchin.
That leaves me with one hundred points left so I picked a final thing that pairs nicely with my earlier costumer ability.
"Inner Linings (100CF)
A customer came to you one day with a strange request for you to make a leather jacket which would be thinner, enough so that it would take multiple jackets to equal the bulk and weight of a normal jacket. As strange as that request was, when you watched him enchant the various jackets it suddenly made sense. Instead of trying to enchant a single jacket multiple times, he would wear multiple jackets enchanted once. But you can improve on that idea. Instead of attempting to craft multiple thinner jackets, you've opened up inner linings in existing pieces of work. As you predicted, while the ease of stacking enchantments has gone up, the overall durability of the item has dropped by a bit. Perhaps with time and better materials, you could rectify the second point. Having so many inner linings also helps quite a bit when it comes to deeper pockets, which is a nice side effect."
I mean, it could be useful. Layering enchantments could be pretty useful.
With this, you have selected your perks. You have fully assimilated Gaius Decarabia's memories... now it is time... to live or die!
My vision darkens as with a flash I appear elsewhere
I am given a brief moment to blink the spots from my vision. A small box appearing on the ground around me.
There's a rustle of leaves as a man leaps from the underbrush-
The square glows brightly as a screen appears in front of me... I lean around it to see a man with a spear in hand, his motion halted... it's as if he had been stopped in time.
Welcome to the Underworld! Your family is dead and you are being hunted by old satan faction collaborators.
Your family was neutral in this war but was struck by the Old Satan faction before they could pick a side.
Hesitating to follow the 'True Rulers of the Underworld' is a crime punishable by death, after all.
Luckily, it appears that the Revolutionary Faction has come to ask your family if you would like to join their campaign against the Old Satan Faction.
Shame that they were a bit late...
However, they might be close enough to save YOUR life if you manage to stall for enough time.
Time is currently frozen. Prepare yourself. Gather your thoughts. Create a plan. The second you step outside of this box, or five minutes pass... time will resume.
I watch a number beneath the final statement begin to rapidly tick downwards
'shit. Think. THINK.'
It said I'm not allowed to leave this area... but what if I don't?
I've got my clan trait, but no weapon...
I close my eyes and hold up a single hand. 'but... who says I need one at this moment.'
Thin line of ice appears above my hand.
It seems to glow... then another layer appears on top of it.
It glows again, then another later appears atop it.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another.
I hold up my other hand as a sword made of ice falls into my waiting hand, the supernatural chill muted by the ice handle which I had enchanted to act as a tremendous insulator, preventing the ice from stealing the heat from my hand, and thus chilling it. a dart of ice launching from my fingertips and shooting forwards at high speed.
It meets the edge of my little box... then stops.
'ah. So that works. Hn?
My eyes slowly skim my surroundings, a frown on my lips.
'Damn. He's the only one I can see...'
My eyes widen as I look up. 'Wait... there's no ceiling on this box... it goes up... endlessly... into the dark purple sky.'
I smirk evilly, then turn and shoot a large bolt of fire in the direction I was running. It makes contact with the wall and stops, inches from the earth.
With enough luck, that will distract my pursuers for at least a short time.
I unfurl my wings, being forced to bend them slightly uncomfortably as to make the tips remain fully within my little square.
I float off the ground... then float higher and higher into the sky.
My eyes flick back to the timer sat on the screen floating beside me.
0:42
I ascend higher and higher. Continuing into the sky.
With any luck. They will be confused about the explosion and not look several hundred feet into the air. Allowing me to get a little distance before they notice me.
0:10
'shit. Shit. Alright, I guess this is it. Do or die. My memories tell me I was running in this direction. It is towards the territory of the closest devil house which is in the Anti-Satan faction.'
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
My wings extend and with a flap I shoot forwards, hearing a quiet boom in the distance as I hold my sword at my side.
I streak through the sky at high speeds, putting as much magic as possible into my speed, but after making my creation and creating an explosion, my demonic power is getting rather low.
I take a deep breath, keeping my ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary, continuing my rapid pace forwards.
I glance back over my shoulder, in the far distance seeing about seven little specks rise into the air and begin to fly towards me.
'shit shit shit shit.'
Uhhh. What resources do I have.
I can try to enchant another weapon, but that'll make me a sitting duck as I'm not good enough to do it while moving yet.
Decarabian voice?
Mother- or rather, this body's mother- was always so vague about what it did.
She said that with merely her voice she could boost or break morale with a rousing- or intimidating speech.
It... it could technically be used to further tip the scales in my favor. But, what do I say. How do I act?
I could just copy a speech. Editing portions of it to suit my needs.
Fuck it.
I place a hand to my throat, casting a minor spell.
I let out a low breath, then... I speak, spiraling through the air as I avoid a long ranged spear of ice shot from one of the devils.
"My Home. My Family. All gone. With me soon to follow. Your leaders... They know nothing but hunger... millions of souls have been extinguished and yet they remain unsatiated... as do you."
I turn, flying backwards through the air, glaring pointedly at the men who are steadily gaining.
It appears that they are mildly stronger than me... or, at least, the front three are as they are the ones catching up the fastest. "You took everything from me, filth. And now all that remains... is perfect. Hatred."
My voice comes out in nothing but a furious hiss as I stop flying, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself. 'Hang on... what is this- this... feeling?'
"Devils. I will Cut. You. Down. Break you apart. Splay the profane gore of your filthy corpse across the stars!"
My voice begins to rise as I swing my free hand out over the purplish midnight black sky. My blood loudly pumping through my ears as they draw closer and closer. They appear to be moving a bit slower than normal. Possibly the adrenaline coursing through my body. I will grind you down until the very viscera cries for mercy! MY HANDS SHALL RELISH ENDING YOU HERE. AND. NOW!"
With that, the enchantments on my sword abruptly activate. With a single flap of my wings I lunge forwards at speeds I wasn't able to earlier. Zig-zagging around the blade of wind the first of the devils had shot at me.
I swing my weapon upwards as I slip into his guard, he seems genuinely caught off guard, but he doesn't have a lot of time to regret his decision as he is bisected from hip to shoulder in one clean motion. The sword glowing brightly as I turn.
"DIE!" I roar as with a single swing, a tremendous gale shoots forwards.
A blade that absorbs wind and the air around it as it swings.
It has zero air resistance due to this fact.
The outermost enchantment functions more like a 'chain' than any sort of power enhancement.
Cold makes the sharpened edge of the blast of wind denser, heat explodes from the back half, expanding it and causing it to rocket forwards even faster.
A second man raises his spear to guard, but the wind slashes right through it and carves into his chest, clipping one of his wings and causing him to spiral from the air.
I swing my other arm to the side as my blade brightly glow, a large gasp appearing in my forearm as I narrowly deflect the side of a stabbing spear.
Using my momentum, I whirl around, swinging my still glowing ice sword upwards.
"AAAHHHH!" The man screams as his arm is cleaved from his body, the spear wielding limb flipping through the air as I fly past him and behead him a moment later.
With that, I turn and rapidly begin gaining distance. Sword held in front of me as I do so, using its wind absorbing properties to make myself just fast enough to escape the four remaining men who had nearly caught up.
There's a small reason I'm running now.
First, this is the largest injury I have ever gotten in either lives and... ow ow ow fuck.
The second thing is that I can feel whatever I did with my voice slipping... and if it's losing its effect on me... surely it must be weakening on my pursuers.
A tremendous force crashes into my body, my shoulder dislocates. I think I even lose consciousness for a moment as one second I was flying as fast as I can, the next, I am laying in the dirt, facing the sky.
A weak groan leaves my mouth as I squirm slightly, a brown haired woman slowly floating down from the sky and landing close by, carried to the ground by twelve large, black bat wings. She slowly stalks forwards, looking down upon me with a small frown.
"Decarabia... your last speech invoked emotion in even me... three high class... dead... and a fourth with grievous bodily harm... it is impressive for a child of your age to defeat soldiers who had survived the Great War. Let these facts soothe you into the after life."
"This war... is pointless." I growl. "You've won. No more angels are being made. More are falling by the day, all you needed to do is just fucking wait. But no. You and your four fools want to weaken the devil race further by driving us into a civil war. How long until other pantheons take a look at the biblical faction and decide to clean up? The only thing. That is saving us is the fear that our factions would set aside their differences long enough to utterly raze their entire pantheon to the ground."
The woman stares down at me mutely as I continue. "Why have you chosen to doom the devil race instead of just simply waiting. Entering a temporary time of peace while you. Our great leaders solve the greatest issues standing in the way of our race's prosperity. Fertility. Holy Light. And his name and scripture."
"I ask you. Leviathan. Will history look back upon you as valiant heroes for the devil race? Or will they see you and your ilk as war mongering fools who have killed more devil life than HE and the fallen have... combined?"
I close my eyes letting out a small sigh. "You're clearly not thinking of winning the next great war if you so easily slaughter the underworld's greatest weapon smith and political speaker."
"So do it. Kill me." I growl as I crack my eyes open yet again. "End the devil race like the short-sighted fool you are."
Her fist clenches slightly at that last jab, then she exhales, closing her eyes as she takes a calming breath. "You... do make points. However, as of this moment, we have gone to far. Lines have been drawn. Our authority questioned. Your family was far too dangerous to remain neutral, so we removed it."
"And what about all the other neutral families?" I question. "By eradicating mine... removing two more pillar clans from the world... you have driven each and every neutral family into picking a side... the opposing side. After all, why follow people who clearly do not value their lives?"
The woman lets out a low hum. "Hm... I wonder what my path would have been had someone said these things to me ten years ago... I, Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan, will give you a death befitting a noble devil like yourself... my clan trait... the sea serpent of the end-"
She cuts off with a gurgle as a new figure inserts themselves into this confrontation. A woman with long black hair tied in a pony tail... she right hooks the Satan descendant in the jaw, snapping her head to the side and quickly sends her shooting into the distance with a kick.
With one swift movement, she turns, picking me up, my teeth gritting as the sudden movements cause lances of agony to spike through my body.
"Don't worry. I'll get you out of here." The woman whispers as she lifts a hand up to my face. "Now sleep."
My mind grows hazy, my eyelids heavy. A quiet breath escapes my lips as I find my consciousness slowly drifting away. 'Ah... I stalled for long enough... that's good.'
Here. Have snippet. This was originally going to be just a simple 'blacksmith' system, but it worked so much better as a Celestial Forge fic.
Gaius is back... no, this doesn't mean I'm re-writing D&Devil. I'll get back to it eventually.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy Gaius AU