Escape from Hell 2 (High School DxD SI)

When I came to, I woke up in a forest.

I did not have time to appreciate that fact, because almost comically the second I woke up, I heard roars echoing around me.

I stood up quickly, only to feel pain shoot up through my spin, slamming the memories of what happened before I woke up in this place.

Father. Magic Ritual. Devil. Teleportation spell.

My mind highlighted the important stuff. It only did that because I started to notice that I couldn't see well from my left side. My arm looked cooked, and somehow it seemed that acknowledging that fact is what let my pain to finally register the pain of it all.

I cried out, beginning to cradle my arm, but even moving it felt like knives digging in every muscle as they move under the skin to complete the motion, which in turn would tear at the skin due to my trying to move it.

I stopped, pain freezing me as I tried to do anything to lower it. I slowly started to move my arm again to hug it against my midriff. Wait, my aura, or was it magic? Maybe that could help lessen the pain?

I didn't have time to experiment as a tree bark nearby, as a boar of something that breathed fire from it's nostrils landed in the clearing and roared, sounding like wood grinding against chainsaws.

I ran. My magic, instinctively covering my body and just ran away, not thinking on what's happening, or what type of animal was that.

In no time, I heard and felt its feet stomping on the ground, chasing after me.

I ran, faster than I normally was. Magic aura or adrenaline, I wasn't sure which was making me able to do this.

I jumped of some tree roots that I could have sworn moved, but I didn't look back to check. Then zigzagged through the trees around me, hoping the boar would run into them, or slow down to not hit them.

I hear crashes and wood breaking without a pause behind me.

I couldn't believe it, was that boar seriously going through any obstacle in it's path.

I looked back to see if it really was behind me, and didn't just crash into something hard and was hopefully away from me.

It was one moment that I didn't focus on just running forward. That mistake cost me.

A tree root that I could swear wasn't there before appeared in my periphery vision, and my legs slammed into it, tripping me down.

As I fell but some luck I remembered to take the momentum into a roll, to lessen the damage. So as I leaned into the fall prepared to keep myself moving in someway, and not just arrest my momentum completely, I looked back and saw how close the boar was. I felt its literal fiery breath close to my face, and in that moment I knew I was dead.

Then the boar was slammed from the side by a gorilla. A yellow furred gorilla, with all it's hair standing like it was covered in needles. Needles that had electricity visible running across it. Small bolts of electricity arcing over its arms.

What the hell...?

The electric gorilla closed it's fist in front of it, as arcs of electricity sprung from it's body, and moved to it's hands, making them glow with heat and power, and then it slammed again into the downed boar.

I could smell it's flesh cooking, and it wailed in pain and gave out it's last breath.

For a moment, everything was quiet, and the feeling that I might be safe returned. Then the electric gorilla turned to me, and I know I was not safe.

It roared and jumped, reaching me in one move. I cried out, and curdled up into a ball, trying to make myself as small as possible. That was the only reason its fist missed me the first time.

It roared again next to my face, louder than any speaker in any concert I have ever been to or could imagine.

I only had time to look up to see it raise both fists up.

A large serpentine mouth like that of a scaled snake, as big as the gorilla was tall, swooped in from the side grabbing the ape in it's jaws. A second serpentine head appeared seemed to move in sync with the first, bit on another part of the gorilla, while a third appeared about to join the about to be gruesome feast before it turned and saw me.

I was paralyzed as its eyes locked with mine. The air wouldn't move in my lung.

It opened it's mouth and launched it self at me, it's long neck sure to make it reached me. Oddly at that moment, my mind recognized that all three serpentine heads come from the same giant lizard-like body.

Then the serpentine head curved up and cried out in pain, as I could see sparks of yellow electricity bursting around. The gorilla had lit up itself with it's powers to force the giant snake head--Hydras! My mind now made the connection.

The electric gorilla charged up it's skin, making arcs of electricity be thrown around, as the hydra heads wailed in pain, but still kept fighting to kill the now struggling gorilla. Even the third head rejoined the fight.

I finally felt like I could move again, so I did the only thing I could do. Turn around and ran away, managing to succeed this time.

The night sky is wrong.

Once I calmed down, and the adrenaline was gone, the pain became visible in my head again. I kept moving, kept hiding, unsure of what to do, or how to get out of here.

My Sacred Gear came to me, once I managed to at least think about it. It was thankfully easy to use.

"Twice!"

My magic aura surrounded me near constantly, I think it was the only thing keeping me from passing out. My Sacred Gear, a Twice Critical because why would it be anything strong, would charge up everything about me, allowing me to move and walk, and even lower my fatigue somewhat. My magic aura once boost-Nope, wrong word. Once charged, would...not remove the pain, but it felt less somewhat.

I don't know how long the Twice Critical charge lasted. I only knew it didn't last long enough, and took too long to be used again. I didn't dismiss the gauntlet in all this time. Even if it covered my wounded hand, it made the skin and muscle under it hurt a bit less.

Thus when I could finally think somewhat clearly that was the first thing I noticed.

The night sky was wrong somehow. The moon was up, and bright enough that I could see the forest around me, even if there were still darker places now. There were no stars, even if there were no city light nearby. I remember light pollution was the reason why we couldn't see the stars at night in any city. The florescent light making some sort of cover over the city.

But there weren't any cities around, so where were the stars?

I heard a rustle nearby, and quickly and quietly, dashed away. From what I saw, even the smallest animals here were near demonic and terrifying.

Got to keep on the move, got to keep on the move.

How long can a person stay alive without eating?

What about drinking or sleep?

I remember somewhat that, the human body can survive one week without food, and three days without water. Or was it one week without sleep, three days without water, and longer for food?

I wasn't sure, and I couldn't trust that trivia from a past life, as I might be remembering wrong.

Also that information applies, I expect, to an adult body. So what about the body of a ten year old?

All I know is that the sun rose and fell three times, and I have yet to eat, drink or sleep?

I didn't even stop to rest, as I kept flinching, and sneaking away the second I heard or felt anything.

I was in a forest somewhere I don't know, in a place I don't want to even contemplate where it might be, and the moment I stop I will die.

I couldn't stop, I had to keep moving. I couldn't stop and get some fruits, as they were all on high branches. I didn't think to climb the tree. I learned quickly the trees where alive, and would try to trap and crash me with their branches (and I presume later eat me), if I tried to climb them. I don't know if all the trees and plant were alive, malicious and carnivorous. I didn't dare check.

My stomach gurgled, and the pain of hunger returned again. So was the pain from everything else.

The only good side I think, is that I felt pain from so many different angles, that I couldn't focus on all of it. It all seemed less now.

Was that bad? I felt like that was bad.

My magic aura ran out a while ago. I tried to call on it again, reach down into my soul and pull my magic energy back. The momentarily pain from that, made me forget all the other hurt in my body, and jolted me awake.

I saw the carcass of a dead boar in front of me. I looked around, and noticed I was back in that clearing, from when I first woke up here. I could see the scorch, claw, and... I think acid marks on the trees and ground.

The dead boar was there. I was hungry.

I didn't even think about starting a fire. I just wanted something, anything to eat.

With my clawed hand, still wearing Twice Critical, I tried to dig into the small bits of meat in the boar's shoulder. My claws couldn't pierce its hide. I kept trying again, and again. Wasn't the Twice Critical a dragon Sacred Gear? Isn't this the hand of a dragon?

Why couldn't it cut into some stupid. Boar's. Skin!?

I swung and back handed the carcass. It didn't barely move and my hand hurt instead.

I looked to the open stomach. There was still some meat near the rib cage.

I dug my claws in, and even that I had to struggle to pull away from the bone.

With a wrenching sound, I finally had some meat in front of me.

Raw meat.

Raw meat from an animal I wasn't sure was suitable for a human to eat. It was still warm and had blood on it.

I opened my mouth and just downed the piece of food whole.

I didn't taste it and that's probably for the better.

I couldn't eat this. I didn't want to eat this, but I needed to take my fill, it I was going to live.

I dug into the boar, digging whatever pieces of it I could pull out, and eat. I stayed away from it's internal organ, whatever little there was left.

The moment I began to feel full, I stood up to leave.

One problem down, I needed to find a river now, somewhere in this--

I cried out and fell. I barely walked a few feet away, when I doubled over, as pain burst from my stomach.

I knew it, I shouldn't have eaten that boar meat, and tried for the fruits again.

I held my stomach as the pain kept biting at me. It went from my stomach to my heart and lungs. It hurt, everything in me hurt. I understood that my body can't digest this food.

I felt pain shoot through my muscles, like molted iron ran through my veins. Every nerve ending was signaling what I already know.

My vision started to darken. The pain felt muted. I really was going to die.

And there was nothing I could do.

I felt a tingle of my magic being present, and looked at my Sacred Gear. It wouldn't change anything, if I doubled it. A drop with another drop made two drops. They couldn't put out a fire.

Even if I had all my magic, what good would it do? I couldn't even heal myself.

My vision grew murky, tears stung as they fell out of my eyes.

I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. For what, I don't care. I just want to live, I didn't want to die like this.

My eyes fell again to the Sacred Gear.

"Hey," I knew no one would hear me, but I wanted to hear my voice. "Your...a ...miracle made by God... so help me." My armored hand just laid there. "Aren't you...made from a dragon...please help me!" there was nothing but silence answering me.

And even if it was silly, I grew angry at the Sacred Gear. "You're suppose to be...something special...what the fuck good are you for? Help me!" I hated how weak I sounded. No, how weak I was. "Heal me dammit! What fucking good is doubling my power, when its complete shit. I can't do anything, cause I don't know the first thing about magic, or power or whatever. So help me live, god damn you!"

The Sacred Gear was naturally unresponsive. It could only work to double my power, and I wanted it to heal me. That wasn't its function, so it did nothing as I laid there dying from food poisoning.

"Fuck you!" The drop of magic increased. A small ember. I pulled at it, and put it into my arms. The pain from them returned and that was good, because I could move them again. I pulled from one arm to my leg, and forced myself to pull it under me. I kept moving the small increasing bits of magic through my body, so I could move. Using up the already small amount.

It was useless and worthless effort.

But I didn't want to die. As long as I was moving, as long as I was awake, I was alive.

I growled with whatever power I had, and stood up. Even if I will die, I won't do it lying down.

The pain was overwhelming. Hitting my body as though in one last ditch effort to make me quit, and then disappeared.

I couldn't see, I only had a vague sense of falling.

Everything turned black, and my sensing were dulling. The pain was finally gone, and everything felt peaceful.

...

..

.

.

.

.

No.

My eyes snapped open.

"EVOLUTION!"

Burning energy erupted from the gauntlet, covering and reforging it.

"SACRED GEAR: CRITICAL HEAL!"

The gauntlet was remade, before it was a dark bluish black color. Now it was light grey with the yellow-orange colored gem on the back of my hand.

"Heal!"

I felt alive again. All the pain return a hundred fold, but I pushed through it. Turning over and forcing myself to stand again.

"Heal!"

My body burned up, I saw smoke rising from it, but I could feel it.

"Heal!"

I could feel the energy from the Sacred Gear drinking in my magic, and in turn flood my body, my stomach, burns, muscles and limb into getting better, into combating the pain back and beating it.

"HEAL!"

With one last pull that drained my refilled magic tank, I felt the Sacred Gear's power engulf my whole body. The pain was grabbed into a ball and crash into paste, as I felt it fade away like water off my skin.

I was whole again, hale and hearty.

I felt good for the first time in forever. I cried being so glad that the pain in all its forms was finally gone. I had a chance to survive.

Now I just needed to get out of this forest.