NO CHILL! (High School DxD - Human SI Chapter 6)
How should I interact with my puberty?
That was the reigning question in my mind as I travelled from city to city, sometimes flying, sometimes running and jumping from building to building (superhero traversing was always fun), and sometimes just walking normally.
Let's think logically.
Hmm? There's an abandoned construction site nearby, with a barrier to keep mundane people out. That's a good place to think in a calm environment. There was sounds of fighting around, so I took my 'Adam' form.
Now, should I do nothing? Just keep my enhancements as is, and just let nature run its course?
If one thinks of this analogy as a modern man meeting a lion in the woods, while they have their modern tools, such as either a car or a gun, then the modern man's actions are clear. They could either try and shoot down the beast, killing it before it kills them. Or, said modern man can take his car and escape, the vehicle's speed easy outpacing that of the lion.
However, is such an act normally, well, natural? Isn't the car or the gun, man imposing his will on nature, creating an artificial addition for him to use?
"What the? Who are you? What are you doing here?" Said some guy in a modernized shinto priest outfit.
"Just a guy taking a walk." I replied, giving him a nod, and stayed away, continuing my pondering.
"Who ever you are, leave at once! This is a matter involving the Doumon Clan." Said the Doumon guy.
He immediately ignored me as he went back to attacking someone with a... Is that a Independent Sacred Gear? Nah, looked like something that functions the same, but isn't a Sacred Gear. Hmm, that feels familiar.
Back to my inner dilemma. So let's think on a totally natural scenario.
A prehistoric man meets a lion in the woods. Someone with nothing but their natural abilities.
What's the result?
Well, if they have a spear-
No, wait, that's a tool. That's artificial.
Hmm...? Use the terrain to their advantage in order to survive. Either escape or lead the lion into a trap for it to kill itself?
I mean, that is a way to survive, but in that analogy, that would mean, I would quit all magic and abilities to enhance myself till my puberty is done.
No, that's stupid.
That's like fighting the prehistoric man fighting the lion with nothing but his own strength. That would just lead to death 99% of the time. 1% to account of unpredictability.
But wait!
Hmm? It seems like The Doumon guy is winning and saying something about trash, Clan rejects, and worthless effort.
After destroying the magic puppet thing imitating Avatar Sacred Gear-I swear I know that from something-the mindless guy using the magic puppet collapsed on the ground.
Doumon dude stood over him, saying how pitiful and prepared a water spear to kill him.
I teleported the body away, and began to heal the guy that's likely never touched the supernatural till recent, but it still went out and touch him. ...Wait.
"You! You're still here? I told you, you're interfering something related to the Five Clans. I was willing to over look your presence before, but if you don't let go of that Utsusemi puppet, and prostate yourself, I will not spare your punishment." Said the stereotypical Young Master-ish Doumon guy. Or is it just arrogant magic guys in this world?
"He's someone that was experimented on." I noted, as I healed his body and mind. He stopped looking malnourished, and the bags under his eyes vanished. Pieces of his body and magical energy was used to make and link him to that Utsusemi. "He was just someone caught up in all of this. You slayed the symbiotic-parasite thing, so now he can be healed."
Ah, Utsusemi. The fake Avatar Sacred Gears. Slash Dog. Now I remember. I wasn't paying attention to it before.
Now, that I think about it, isn't Magic and Ki something produced naturally by the body? Meaning they are intended to be there from the start?
Also using them affects the body, so they would positively interact with my growth and development as I keep using them, especially in such a crucial growth period as puberty.
In that analogy, the prehistoric man's wits and tool making are essentially a part of what makes him a possible opponent to the lion.
Alright, I'll keep the enhancements.
So what to do about the lion-I mean the puberty itself.
"Again, you put your nose in issues that don't belong to you, Interloper. His life was forfeit the moment he stood against the Five Principle Clans!" Doumon Dude pointed at me with a talisman. "State your name, you who would be so arrogant as to interfere with our Clan's business! I, Doumon Kaimen, will carry down your judgement."
"Adam." I said plainly.
Kaimen stiffened and paled, then activated a talisman behind his back. A beckon calling for reinforcement? ...A lot of reinforcement. Meh, sure why not. Let's see Shinto Magic is like.
"That's not a name to throw around freely, Interloper. I will give you one chance to tell me your real-" Doumon Dude tried to be intimidating.
"Nope. I'm Adam. Chance gone. So as I was saying, you're going to kill the people that are uninvolved, just because they were used by the Utsusemi Agency?" I asked, still focusing on the guy used for the Utsusemi.
Kaimen sneered and fired some water spells at me, that I paid a tenth of my attention to. I used a mana energy shield to block the attacks.
Huh, neat. Doumon Dude's spells uses prayer to the Shinto Gods, that are written in the talisman, to add to the function and strength the spell. It's not quite having divine power added to their magic, but more like the world and territory under the Shinto Gods (meaning all of Japan) sorta give an approval for the spell, thus giving it an extra oomph. Thus the spell would be stronger than a water spell of equal strength and measure. Neat.
Hmm, some fucked up magic residue in the unconscious experimented-on-guy's system from whatever experiment he was in, some in his mind. Hmm, no, it's more like his own magical energy was changed. Gonna have to reverse that. Fix that. Heal that. Regenerate this. And...
Huh. Is that blood and chemicals made from his parents, running in him? ...I hope this guy's parents are okay.
Either way, he should be okay now. Just need recovery to wake up. Psychologically he's gonna be a mess remembering the past two and a half months.
Hmm, at least I now know where Utsusemi Agency's HQ was from his memories. They didn't care to talk or walk the 'experiments' around.
Doumon Dude was panicking running around and dodging attacks. Wait, where are those attacks coming from-Oh me. I finished analyzing his spells and began reflecting them back. Huh, didn't even notice. Guess Shinto Magic isn't that complicated.
"Their existence soils the honor of the Five Clans, thus the stain of their being much be washed away." Doumon Dude declared. He was now wary of me, as his spell had no effect, but smirked as his reinforcement returned via Shinto-style teleportation. Shoji doors appeared via magic circle, and now multiple Onmyoji came to aid.
They even had different flavors. Two like Kaimen were water. Three were fire, three were wood, three were metal, and three were earth.
Woah. Are the Five Clans really fruitful or were all these guys just free with nothing better to do? They were really fast coming here. It's only been 8 minutes.
"So he really is him, huh, Kaimen. The Infamous 'Adam'." One of the fire-flavored guys sneered. "Your panic shames the Doumon Clan. You should have handled such problem, even if you had to use your own life."
"You dare, Himejima Tanaka!?" Kaimen said back.
Speaking of fast, should I speed up my puberty to be done right away?
But wouldn't that have adverse effects? Like poisoning the lion, and thus its diseased carcass spread a plague to the land?
Or, should I just calculate how long it would take to run its course?-1 Year, 6 months, 9 Days, 4 Hour, and 2 minutes-Thank you, brain.
So treat is as an exercise in self-control, and not acting out regardless of my brain chemicals are telling me?
"Enough you two!" Said an earth-flavored guy. "Are opponent dares to be distracted before all of us. That is a disrespect that must be addressed first." He said, and the two actually stopped arguing, but were now glaring at me, looking offended. "I, Nakiri Arata, asked you, 'Adam', why do you stand before us, the Five Principle Clans?"
Hmm, I would have to intensely focus on mindfulness meditation 24/7 for the duration of this period?
Huh, not a bad idea. In fact, why didn't I think of this before? It should help also as a defense mechanism to spot any foreign mind influence.
Alright, now with that done, I should go back and tell the girls the good news that I found a solution to my dilemma.
No, wait there's this whole thing first.
A quick look down at the unconscious guy-Wait. A quick look through his memories show his name is Hinata Shogi. Right, I need to get Hinata to a safe place, then deal with the Utsusemi stuff.
I send a quick message to the girls back at the inn.
"Hey, girls. I found a guy that was experimented on. I healed him, but there are others that I need to find. For now, just look after this one I'm sending over. He won't be awake for a few hours, so just keep him safe till I get bacl."
A wind spell should arrived at the inn carrying my words, and after that I'll teleport the kid away.
Kaimen Doumon was terrified. He of course did not show it, as it would besmirch the honor of the Doumon Clan.
This was meant to be a simple mission. Find the experiments of the discarded rejects, that now call themselves the Utsusemi Agency, and remove all evidence of their existence, so they don't become a further stain on the Five Principle Clans' names.
All throughout his battle with this Adam-and it really does seem he is the infamous one who invaded hell-his opponent barely looked at him.
His single shield spell stopped all of Kaimen's attack, and then once it took enough hit, it started reflecting them back.
Worst of all, Adam didn't even seem to need to look toward Kaimen or focus on him, for the reflected spells to home in and target him.
Spells that had a history of thousands of year, to when the Kami freely walked the earth. Yet in that time, now only had Adam managed to completely analyze them but figure out their exact details that he could reflect them.
Was he prehaps on of their Clans' rejects? It was the only thing that could explain his in-depth knowledge of the Onmyodo Arts.
"Why you ask?" Adam replied to Arata Nakiri. "I do no profess to be a champion of justice or the like, but if I find an innocent before me that needs help, I'll help."
The Five Clans Onmyoji Enforcers stood in shock. Not because of Adam's words, but because there was an odd, nearly mythic serenity in his voice, denoting that he was speaking the full truth. Not out of virtue, but because there was no point in lying in his eyes.
Suddenly a light enveloped the body of the Utsusemi Puppet and it vanished, teleported away.
"You are delusional." Arata stated, looking on with wide-eyes. "This is not a situation where the foolish and weak were preyed on by the Devils, but a conflict between humans. More than that, you sent that puppet away. Whoever your allies are, they will now face the Clans' judgement too." He said.
"Above all," Tanaka Himejima continued. "For daring to interfere in an issue involving us, the very people tasks by the Shinto Gods to protect Japan, how foolish are you?! That you would oppose us... for such pitiful sentimentality? No! What is your true goal, Adam? How did you even find out about this conflict?"
In response, Adam shrugged.
"I have no goal, I was just simply on a walk to clear my head and happened upon this situation." He said plainly.
That has to be a lie... right? Kaimen thought.
"So I acted. Because I could." Adam raised a hand, and gestured for them to come at him.
"That arrogance will be your undoing." Kaimen spoke up, gritting his teeth at the sheer naiveté and idiocy for why Adam interfered in their task of protecting their Clans' honor. "This isn't a fight against the Biblical Devil that favored you. In this land, you are but a guest before the Shinto Gods, and we are their will. You will soon learned the folly of crossing the Five Principle Clans!"
"I'm sure I will." Adam rolled his eyes. Rolled his eyes. He dared!? "Now, are you done with the pre-battle banter and the self-justifications to fight me? Yes? Good. Let's get down to it. I can feel some kids fighting those Utsusemi across the city and an adult should really go handle the situation."