Ch. 3: New Life as a Devil

With a bruise on his head and a lot of questions in his mind, Izuku exited the building. He was now a Devil; his life as a normal human was over. What did it mean for his life from now on? Would he never be able to be a Hero? Not helping him was the sunlight sapping his strength.

"My head's a mess…" he groaned. Near the ORC building, he spotted a bench so he decided to sit down and think. "Sacred Gear… apparently, I have one that's powerful enough that a Fallen Angel thought I might be a threat 'cause of it… Wait, could it be as powerful as All Might's Quirk, if not, greater? Then does that mean there are some Heroes who use Sacred Gears instead of Quirks or Support Items? Then if I can master my Sacred Gear, I can be a Hero? Though Kacchan might throw a fit if he found out…"

"I have to agree…"

"Gah!" Izuku looked up and saw Rias standing nearby, a slight look of amusement on her face. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," she replied. "Was that one of your famous mumble sessions?"

"Uh… yeah… Where did you hear-"

"From Yumi." Rias then sat down next to him. "I take it your head's still fuzzy?"

"Yeah," Izuku admitted. "I'm grateful that you saved me, there's no denying that. But… becoming a Devil isn't really something I asked for."

"Yes, I know. Sorry," Rias sighed. "I'm guessing you're worried about your humanity now that you're a Devil?"

"Well, shouldn't I be?" Izuku asked.

"Well, rather than species, I personally think humanity is tied more to one's own morality," Rias stated. "I'm sure you've heard about plenty of evil Villains out there such as Toxic Chainsaw, right? Most of those humans are heinous and evil to the point that even some of the worst Devils would rather stay away from them. My point is, you don't have to stop being who you are just because you're a Devil."

"In other words, I'm not any different from any other human, just the wings on my back and aversion to light," Izuku questioned.

"You'll get used to sunlight eventually. Devils aren't all that different from humans aside from a few things such as cultural differences and that we don't usually have Quirks, along with few others. But that just makes contracts between both races that much simpler. Whether it's sinful or not, both sides have something they want."

Hearing this, Izuku felt somewhat relieved. Then, a question that he had asked himself all throughout his life came to mind. Even though he was afraid of how Rias might respond, he decided to take the gamble. "Rias… Do you think… I can be a Hero… even as a Devil?"

Rias smiled and said, "Yes. I believe that you can be a Hero."

After a moment for the words to sink in, Izuku began tearing up, this time in joy. As he wept, Rias reached over and placed his head into her ample bosom as she gave him a hug.

The next day after school, Rias and Izuku met at a small park to begin his training. Izuku needed to both learn about his Sacred Gear's abilities and bulk up if he was going to be ready for the U.A. Entrance Exam, which was just four and a half months away. Dressed in a mint green tracksuit, Izuku was currently running laps around the park. To make him work harder, not only was there a large tire tied to his waist with rope, but Rias, dressed in the standard U.A. gym uniform, sitting on that same tire. The combined weight caused Izuku to sweat bullets, making a drop-stained path in the dirt as he ran.

"No slacking. It's another ten laps if you slow down!" Rias warned.

"Sorry…" Izuku panted tiredly. "Gonna… try… harder…!"

"Good answer," Rias said. "Strength means a lot in the world of Devils. After all, the strong are the ones who rise quickly in rank. Meaning I can't have my servants going soft on me. That's why I have a daily training regimen. Not to mention, this is to prepare you for the U.A. Entrance Exam, so step on it."

"O-Okay…" Izuku groaned.

After jogging, the next exercise was push-ups. Even with his sore muscles, it wouldn't have been too problematic, but having to do 100, along with Rias sitting on his back really added to the pressure. She wasn't heavy of course, but having someone sit on top of you while you were doing push-ups just made things harder.

"64…! Remind me again… 65…! Why you're… 66…! On my back…?" Izuku asked; his voice wheezing in the midst of his pushups.

"You need to increase your stamina," Rias explained plainly. "If you can't even handle your own power, then it practically means nothing. If your base physical stamina is stronger, you can make your abilities more powerful. Otherwise, magic and demonic power could wear down an unfit body."

"Right… stamina… 69…! Fit body… 70…! Understood… 71!"

"I'm guessing you've improved if you can talk while doing push-ups," Rias said, a sly look appearing on her face. "Maybe we can go another hundred?"

"Please, no!" Izuku quickly shouted.

"Then come on! Go faster!"

"R-right! 75…!" 'She's enjoying this a little too much.'

Izuku's muscles were pulsing and aching by the time he finally reached 100. He could only silently groan, wishing he could crawl back into his bed as he lay face-first on the ground in exhaustion.

"Good job!" Rias congratulated. "You finished within the time limit. Impressive." She took out a water bottle from her bag and handed it to Izuku.

"Th-thank you," Izuku greedily took the bottle and began to chug the liquid.

"Now then, let's uncover some facts about your Sacred Gear," Rias suggested as Izuku finished half the bottle.

"Yeah," Izuku agreed as he put away the half-finished bottle. "How do I use it?"

"First things first, let's find out what it is," Rias said, grabbing his left hand, which caused the younger boy to blush. "I believe it is hidden in your left hand. Try concentrating power there."

"Sure," Izuku closed his eyes to do as Rias told. Suddenly, an armored bracer emerged from his hand. It was red with yellow accents and a green jewel on top of the palm area. "Holy whoa! I did it! …But what is it?"

Rias took a moment to really study Izuku's Sacred Gear. "Hmm… It might be dormant right now, I can't really specify it." Then, it disappeared without warning.

"Wha-What happened?!"

Rias sighed. "It's okay, you're still learning," she then smirked. "But if you can keep training, I'm sure you'll be able to get it up and keep it up for a long time."

This caused Izuku's face to once again turn lava red. "Wh-Why d-did y-y-you s-say it l-like t-that?!"

"Because you make it too easy."

Soon, a week passed by ever since Izuku became a Devil, and he had learned a lot about what Devils do and was surprised that it was actually quite simple and straightforward. The previous night, he had been sent to deliver pamphlets that could be used to summon a Devil.

He learned from Rias that rising in rank and gaining recognition was an important part of Devil society, and there were three ways to achieve that. The fastest was through military achievements, but with the dangers and the ceasefire between the Three Factions, it was also a difficult path. The most common route, but also the longest and most tedious, was making contracts with humans. Lastly, there was also the Rating Games, but he didn't get much info, with Rias stating that it wasn't important right now.

He spent the daytime delivering fliers to people, and the time to respond to clients came at night. The go-to method of reaching their clients quickly was teleporting through magic circles which correspond to the fliers.

Unfortunately for Izuku, he was not able to teleport to his clients due to low Demonic Power, so he was forced to ride a bike to them. Izuku wasn't able to get many jobs due to scheduling issues with schoolwork and training.

His first client was Mr. Morisawa, one of Koneko's regulars, and despite the not-so-impressive first impression due to not coming from the flier like she did, they ended up getting along when it was revealed that he was also a Hero otaku like Izuku, and they ended up talking hours about Heroes and Izuku actually ended up getting a pact along with a limited edition All Might merchandise he missed out as payment. There was another client who was quite memorable but for the wrong reasons. The image of Mil-tan in a magical girl cosplay would've been cute if Mil-tan wasn't a giant of a muscle man.

He could at least summon his Sacred Gear more easily by now, but they still couldn't figure out what it was. So for now, he focused on training, hoping that they'll be able to learn more about it soon.

As he jogged through a park, he heard a girl screaming.

"Ooof!"

"Hmm?" Izuku looked toward the source and saw a girl lying face-down on the ground with her butt raised in the air. Her hair was long and blonde, flowing down to her back, with a cowlick on top. Her attire consisted of a dark teal nun dress and white veil with light blue accents, and a brown satchel hanging from her left shoulder. Lastly, instead of legs, her lower body below the waist consisted of a long, yellow snake tail.

In front of her was an opened suitcase, bits of clothes spewed about, along with a silver cross necklace. "Oh no, it looks like I fell down again," she groaned. "I'm such a klutz."

Izuku, without hesitation, ran over to her, offering his hand. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, really," she said as she took Izuku's hand. Then, a sudden gust of wind blew her veil away, but Izuku quickly got it back for her.

"That was very sweet of you," the girl said as she put her veil back on.

"D-Don't worry, i-it was n-nothing," Izuku said.

"Umm… I'm sorry but… I'm a little bit lost, do you think you can help me out?" the girl asked with a smile.

"So, are you a tourist?" Izuku asked.

"Oh no, not at all…" the girl replied. "As a matter of fact, I was just assigned to serve the church in this city."

"Right, you're a nun. That explains the uniform." 'Is the church she's referring to the abandoned one near the Korusanto ward?' "I think I know where it is. Would you like me to lead you?"

The girl's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled. "Really? I'm so glad I ran into someone kind like you! It must be an act of God's divine grace!" She said, making a sign of the cross with her hand.

A sharp pain rocketed through Izuku's head, causing him to gag.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" Izuku said; the pain was now gone. "Just a little migraine! I'm fine now! Let's go!"

With that, Izuku led the way, with the confused girl not far behind. As she slithered beside him, Izuku couldn't help but notice the silver cross necklace around her neck and got chills.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah. It's all good."

Before they could get far, the sound of a young boy crying caught their attention. Without hesitating, the girl slithered over to him. "Hey, wait a minute!"

The boy kept crying as his mother tried to get her son to stop. A cut on his knee was the cause of the boy's distress.

"A big boy like you shouldn't cry over a scrape. Don't worry, you're gonna be fine," The girl reassured as she placed her hands over the boy's knee, and two small, silver rings with a light green gem appeared on her middle fingers. Then, a light green glow appeared over the boy's knee. Izuku's arm suddenly began to ache.

Izuku, the boy, and the mother's eyes widened as the cut disappeared along with the glow.

"Ya see… There's no reason for you to cry at all. You're just fine." said the girl. Indeed, the boy's knee was completely healed.

"Oh, wow. Thanks, Miss!" The boy said as he got back up.

"Yes, thank you. That's an amazing Quirk you've got, young lady," the boy's mother said.

"All done now, sorry!" The girl said to Izuku.

Then, the boy and his mother left, waving goodbye and thanking her while doing so.

"So that's your Quirk?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, no. That wasn't a Quirk," she replied. "It's actually a miraculous power to heal granted to me by God. Truly, it's wonderful."

Izuku realized the only thing that light could've been: a Sacred Gear. 'She has a Sacred Gear, too? Is that why my hand ached like that?' He looked at his left hand, which held his own Sacred Gear. 'She's able to both freely summon it and use its power. Right now, I can only summon mine for about ten minutes, and even then I still don't know what it can do.' Then he noticed that she seemed a little down when she said the last part.

Clenching his fist, Izuku and the girl continued on their way to the church.

After about twenty minutes, the two reached the edge of the Korusanto ward, the church in plain view atop a hill. "Hey! There it is!" the girl exclaimed. "Thank goodness I found it. That's a relief."

Izuku, however, felt a harsh chill throughout his body. 'My body won't stop shaking…' "Well, I should be going now…"

"No, wait!" She grabbed hold of Izuku's arm. "Let me thank you properly. Would it be a problem for you to come inside with me?"

"I can't," Izuku did his best to stop his body from shaking. "Thing is, I need to get home soon."

"Oh, that's okay…" the girl said. "Guess I should go too. It was sweet of you to help me find my way. My name is Asia Argento."

"And my name is Izuku Midoriya." Izuku introduced himself. "You're welcome."

"Izuku, huh? Well uh, so… Meeting you here was a blessing, and I know for sure it's one I won't forget. I hope we see each other again…" Asia said.

"Yeah, me too."

"If you're ever bored or in the neighborhood, come by and visit me at the church. That's where I'll be."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon… have a good one," Izuku said as he turned to leave.

"Thanks, you have a good one, too!" Asia said as she waved goodbye.

"You must never go near the church again, Izuku," Rias warned.

"Why?" Izuku asked.

"For Devils like us, the church is enemy territory. Simply setting foot inside would create major problems for both Angels and Devils. Surely you could sense that something was telling you to be careful?"

"Oh. That's what it was…" Izuku said. "When I went near the church, I thought I felt a chill, and my left hand tensed up."

"That was your Devil instinct telling you danger was near," Rias elaborated. "Being in close proximity to someone from the church is a very risky proposition. Also… what's even more dangerous is that some of the exorcists affiliated with the church use Sacred Gears. They could really hurt you. Izuku…"

"Yeah, I'm listening."

"Just know that if a Devil receives a Devil-purge, it's utterly annihilated. Nil… The end of the line. They can feel nothing… They're gone forever. You can never come back from that. Do you understand?"

"I got it," Izuku responded.

"I'm sorry. I've gotten too worked up. I want you to be more careful, that's all."

"Of course," Izuku said as he watched her walk out. "I guess I made her worry." He then thought back to Asia. 'Sorry, Argento. Looks like I'm not gonna be able to keep my promise…'

The next day, Izuku continued his training, doing some more jogging around the city. And then he tripped.

'Oh, great…'

Izuku closed his eyes as he took a nosedive, bracing himself for the impact with the hard ground that never came. Opening his eyes, Izuku saw that his fall had been broken by a giant hand, which belonged to a girl with orange hair.

"You okay?" The girl asked as she helped Izuku steady himself before shrinking her hand to normal size.

She was about the same height as him with teal eyes and her hair tied into a left-side ponytail. She was wearing a light yellow shirt and white shorts.

"T-T-Thanks F-For that." Izuku stuttered.

"What happened to make you suddenly trip like that?" the girl asked.

"Oh, you know. J-Just my luck, I g-guess…" Izuku said. "So uh, what are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking…?"

"Training for the U.A. Entrance Exam," the girl replied.

"You too?!" Izuku said. "I never expected to randomly meet someone applying for U.A. on my jog."

"Well, neither did I. Oh, I'm Itsuka Kendo."

"I-I-Izuku M-Midoriya," Izuku introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Midoriya. Maybe we'll see each other again at the Exams, you never know. Anyway, I'm heading off now, see ya!" Kendo said before heading off in the distance.

Izuku watched her go before resuming his own workout.

Not long after, Izuku returned to the ORC building where Rias was present.

"I'm back," Izuku said.

"Good. It looks like your training is coming along smoothly. Keep it up and you'll ace the Entrance Exam, no problem," Rias said.

"Thank you…" Izuku said.

Then, Akeno came into the room.

"You're still here… I thought you had gone home for the day," Rias said.

"We just received a message from the archduke," Akeno explained.

"The archduke?"

"It was urgent… A Stray Devil has been causing trouble nearby," Akeno reported, causing Rias's face to become serious.

"A Stray Devil? You mean like the one that nearly killed me?!" Izuku asked, frightened.

Hearing this, Rias turned to her newest servant in concern. "While it is something you'll have to do eventually, I'll let you sit this one out, Izuku. I'm sure you must still have some trauma from the first encounter."

Izuku was actually relieved that Rias wasn't forcing him to go, but a part of him still felt obligated to go, even if it was just to observe. The Stray Devils were like serial killers, and in a sense, Villains. As an aspiring Hero, he would have to face murderous Villains like that, even though the ones he would be fighting were likely to be humans. "Thanks for the offer, but I decline. If I'm gonna be a Hero, I'll have to face dangers and scary situations, I can't let fear get the better of me."

Rias was surprised that Izuku was actually willing to face his fears, and became impressed by the boy. "Alright. You can come along. But since you're still new to this, I only want you to observe, see how your seniors handle it."

"That's fine by me," Izuku responded.

On the outskirts of the city, the red light of the Gremory magic circle flashed as the whole peerage arrived on the scene, right in front of an abandoned manor that was visibly worn down. The walls were wrapped in mold, the windows were broken, and the paint was peeling off.

"According to the reports, this Stray has been tricking people into that abandoned house and eating them…" Akeno gave some context.

Izuku flinched at the mention of the Stray eating people and recalled his own near-death experience as Stray Devil chow.

"Tonight's job shouldn't be too hard; just find the beast and kill it," Akeno finished.

Then, the group entered the mansion, looking all over for the Stray.

"Izuku…" Rias said. "Are you familiar with the game of chess?"

"Yeah, sort of…" Izuku replied. He never played chess before, but he knew all the pieces at least, though for their roles, only the part that the King was the most important piece, and when it was taken, that was the end.

"As the master, I'm the King… My empress is the Queen… My cavalier, the Knight… My tank, the Rook… My clergymen, the Bishop… And my foot soldier, the Pawn." Rias started explaining. "Devils with titles of nobility grant the characteristics of these pieces to each of their servants."

"That sounds pretty cool," Izuku said.

"We have a special name for them… We call them our 'Evil Pieces,'" Rias finished.

"'Evil Pieces?!' Why does it have the word 'Evil' in the name?" Izuku asked.

"Don't worry, the 'Evil' is just in-name-only, I assure you," Rias clarified.

"Oh, that's good…" Izuku sighed in relief.

"Anyway, pay close attention to my Devils as they do battle here tonight."

"Right."

"It's here," Koneko said.

A soft, yet deranged voice then spoke up. "Now what could that foul, fecal smell be? Mmmm, and something smells quite delicious as well…! I wonder if it tastes sweet? Or bitter!" The owner of the voice then stepped out into the light, and it could clearly be seen that she was a naked woman.

"WHY IS SHE NAKED?!" Izuku cried out as he covered his eyes, trying not to stare too much, his face a deep crimson.

"Viser, you wretch… You betrayed your master and ran away to fulfill the lustful wants and desires that have consumed you," Rias declared. "Your sins are worthy of a thousand hells. In the name of the great Duke of Gremory… Be gone! Or meet your death!"

"Oh, just give it a rest, you little slut! You always have had it in for me! You're just jealous 'cause your breasts will never be as luscious as these!" Viser said as she began fondling her own breasts.

"This is your final warning: Go back to your master now!" Rias warned.

"This one's quite different from the one I ran into," Izuku said, finally having mustered the willpower to look.

"Let me show you what I'm made of then!" Viser then revealed the rest of her body, but it was nowhere near as beautiful. Her lower body was like a centaur's, except her front legs instead had the appearance of human arms with red claws, and at her rear, she had a snake for a tail. Her upper beautiful and lustful body was obviously bait to hide the hideous monster that she really was.

"I take it back! That is very much like the Stray I ran into!" Izuku said, horrified.

"That's the way with Stray Devils," Yumi said, sword in hand. "Their bodies and minds become twisted and ugly."

Then, magic circles appeared on Viser's nipples, and without warning, beams shot out from the nipples.

Everyone ran for cover to avoid being hit by the beams, and it was a good thing they did, too, because the parts of the wall that the beams hit started melting as if they were splashed with acid.

"Did she just shoot acid from her nipples?" Izuku asked.

"Please be careful," Rias advised before turning toward Yumi. "Yumi!"

Yumi got her sword ready and vanished from sight.

"She just vanished!"

"No she didn't, she's just moving fast," Rias corrected. "In this game, she's my Knight. Her attribute is speed. And her ultimate attack weapon is her sword."

Reappearing in a flash, Yumi sliced off Viser's front legs before the corrupted She-Devil could even react.

Viser screamed in pain as blood spewed from her wounds.

Then, Koneko stepped up to face Viser next.

"Koneko! Watch out!" Izuku shouted.

Viser's face started to become monstrous as the rest of her body, her eyes became pitch black, her teeth became sharp fangs, and a fanged mouth opened up on her lower body. Without warning, Viser lunged at Koneko and closed her lower jaws around the small girl.

Izuku watched in horror, but Rias seemed unfazed.

"It's alright…" she said, to his surprise. Then Viser's stomach mouth was forced open from the inside as Koneko emerged unharmed. "In the game, she's my Rook. Her attribute is simple… She has unparalleled strength. That won't even put a dent in her."

"See you on the flip side," Koneko muttered as she slammed her fist into Viser, breaking all the teeth on her lower jaws and sending her crashing into a pillar.

'Mental note to self. Do not make her mad.' Izuku thought.

"Akeno?" Rias turned to the last member.

"Oh, is it my turn?" Akeno smiled. "How exciting. I so love this game."

Then, one of Viser's severed front legs started moving and tried to grab Rias, but fortunately, Izuku noticed it and, summoning his Sacred Gear, punched the leg away.

"Thanks for that, Izuku," Rias said.

"No problem, my body did that on its own."

"Akeno, finish her off please," Rias ordered.

"I've got news for you: You're not the only one who likes to play rough here… So, let's have some fun!" Akeno said as lightning started crackling in her hands.

"Akeno is my Queen. Her attributes are a perfect combo of all the other pieces. She's simply unbeatable."

"Tough girl… Not ready to give up yet? Goody! I get to play some more!" Akeno then unleashed a lightning bolt on Viser, causing the Stray to scream in pain as her body was scorched by the lightning.

"Her weapon is a dark, magical power… And that's not all…" Rias continued explaining.

Akeno's face now had a faint blush to it as she licked her lips. "This violence… It's making me so hot."

"She's really into S&M."

"Is this as good for you as it is for me?!" Akeno continued to torture Viser.

"You mean she gets off on this?" Izuku sounded a little disturbed.

"Akeno… I think she's had enough," Rias said.

Akeno stopped her attack, and Viser collapsed to the ground. "Aww, over already? I was just starting to enjoy myself."

Rias then approached the defeated Stray. "Any last words before we finish this?"

"Go to hell," Viser cursed.

"Alright. How about we get it over with then?" Rias summoned a magic circle. "Game over." Then, the same dark energy that Rias had used to eliminate the Stray Devil that attacked Izuku was unleashed on Viser, annihilating every trace of her. "We're done here. Come on. Let's go home."

"Sounds good to me," Yumi, Koneko, and Akeno responded.

"But wait a second," Izuku said.

"What's wrong?" Rias asked.

"What am I? What chess piece? I'd just like to know how I fit in. Tell me: Am I a Knight or something like that?"

"You're a Pawn," Rias replied before turning to leave.

"A Pawn? A foot soldier? Oh," Izuku said, almost like he was in some sort of resignation.

And so, Izuku has come to terms with his new life as a Devil, and Rias is helping him train for the upcoming U.A. Entrance Exam. Not only that he's met two girls: one, a girl of the church, and the other, someone else training for U.A. Perhaps he will meet them again?

So yeah, Asia has a snake tail for her lower body rather than legs. For context, it comes from a Quirk mutation, rather than from being a lamia or directly from a snake-like Quirk. I did this because I wanted a lamia-like recurring character in the story, plus something like this happening with the DxD human/former human characters in the MHAverse wouldn't be that big of a stretch.

See you next time. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!