Shin High School DxD Volume 1 Chapter 2

It's Difficult Being a High-cla.s.s Devil Who Dreams of Becoming a Harem King

Part 1

After meeting up with Rias and the others at the park, we transported the mysterious group of Devils to an a.s.sociation of experts in the Underworld via a magic circle, and then returned to the Hyoudou residence. We also reported the current situation to the Underworld's government through the House of Gremory as well. My comrades, as well as the Gremory peerage, gathered in the living room on the first floor of the Hyoudou residence. We often used this living room for discussion as it became pretty s.p.a.cious when the Hyoudou residence was reconstructed into a nine-storey building. Rias looked at everyone as she said.

"About the Devils that attacked Ise…as expected, they're the [Unknown Devils]. Such was the report I received from Ajuka-sama's servant."

—.

I see, so they had even come to this town…! Everyone turned grim in response to those words. I said.

"If I'm not mistaken, it was the incident where the Devils with completely unknown origins started appearing everywhere in the Underworld, right?"

Indeed, currently, the unidentified Devils had been appearing in the Underworld and causing trouble everywhere. It became something that even the Underworld was unable to ignore. Even after they were caught, we still had no idea who those guys were. Unlike in the past, ordinary Devils in the Underworld now had an ID created for them. For the n.o.bles — in the Underworld where a strong cla.s.s society still existed, it was important for them to have something to prove their own ident.i.ty. Nonetheless, n.o.body from the [Unknown Devils] that had been caught disturbing the Underworld tried to show any proof of their status or ident.i.ty. It's really easy to think that the old Devils and their grandchildren that had been living in the outskirts of the Underworld suddenly decided to revolt against the current government. The group of mysterious Devils that attacked me were these [Unknown Devils]. Rossweisse-san said as she pondered.

"They have been appearing in the territory of other mythologies too, and now they're at Kuoh Town…"

…This situation, it's certainly not something delightful. To think that the incident in the Underworld is also happening to the human world, and of all places, it was in the city that we live… Xenovia took a lamented breath.

"Even though the barrier here is quite durable, for not only the Grim Reapers, but also the mysterious Devils to pa.s.s through it…"

The 'Grim Reapers' Xenovia was talking about were exactly like the legends, those who hunted living souls. Under the lower layers of the Underworld where Devils and Fallen Angels lived, there was a certain territory called the Netherworld, which was ruled by one of the three pillar G.o.ds of Greek Mythology, Hades. It was the place where they screened dead souls. I heard that it's an uninhabitable place because of the harsh environment. And those who worked for the leader of the Netherworld, Hades, were called the Grim Reapers. We had a bad relationship with them as there had been times when we fought. It was because Hades had an objection with the idea of every mythology making peace with each other. And so, the Grim Reapers snuck into Kuoh town and attacked us a few days ago. I didn't know how they managed to pa.s.s through the barriers, but…it surely was a threat. Ravel said.

"To begin with, the barrier was something that researchers from every mythology had thought of…"

Rossweisse continued.

"I also took part in that project as well, and…I can confidently say that it's not something that a normal Devil could break."

Ever since Rossweisse-san joined us as a comrade, she had been conducting research on defense and barrier-related magic, and she had become quite skilled in the area. Ah, demonic power and magic were two different things. Demonic power was a superpower that Devils possessed since their birth. The a.n.a.lysis of a Devil's demonic power and the miracles created by G.o.d to recreate them through their own theory and formula was called magic. One could also say that it was a technique of creating a supernatural phenomenon. Starting from Rossweisse-san, there were also many of my comrades who were learning magic. As the topic of Grim Reapers was out, Rias said.

"If the one backing those [Unknown Devils] is a G.o.d-cla.s.s being, then it wouldn't be weird for them to be able to break through the barrier."

If they were able to pa.s.s through the strong barrier, that meant they had to be at least a G.o.d-cla.s.s being. In other words, it was possible that a G.o.d was related to this case. I agreed with Rias's opinion.

"I mean, that should be the case. The Netherworld…I am sure the rulers of h.e.l.l must be involved."

Frankly, at present, the rulers and G.o.ds who reigned over the [h.e.l.l] of all mythologies had formed a cross-mythological alliance. And because of that, our speculation was…they would somehow hinder us in the Rating Game World Tournament, though we weren't sure how. Starting from Rias, and including me, the old and new members of Kuoh Academy's Occult Research Club belonged to an anti-terrorist organisation called [DxD]. And included in this a.s.sociation were:

• The Sitri peerage, led by Sona Sitri-senpai.
• The Great King Bael peerage of Sairaorg-san.
• The next head of the Duke of Agares peerage of Seekvaira-san.
• The team of my rival, one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, Vanishing Dragon White Dragon Emperor Vali Lucifer.
• The Fallen Angels' organisation Grigori's agent corps, the [Slash Dog] Team.
• The Two Heavenly Dragons, Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig and White Dragon Emperor Albion
• The Five Great Dragon Kings [Gigantis Dragon] Fafnir, [Mischievous Dragon] Wu Long, [Prison Dragon] Vritra
• The Great Victorious Fighting Buddha from the First Generation of the Journey to the West team (First Generation Sun Wukong)

—And, those were the members a.s.sembled. On top of that, the members had been reinforced as the Cleaners of the Altars (First generation Zhu Bajie), as well as the Golden-bodied Arhat (First generation Sha Wujing) from the first generation of Journey to the West team joined. Although the first generation Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing had retired, they probably regained their sense of youth due to the acts of terror toward every mythology, and also because they had been able to rampage in the World Tournament. And so, they had returned to the frontlines of battle along with the first generation Sun Wukong-jiisan. The members of the new Hero Faction that Cao Cao led were also added as supporting members. Known for having a history of rampaging, as well as capturing the public's attention, they were no more than supporting members. Nonetheless, I was sure they would make a move if there was any major battle.

And so, the members of the anti-terrorist Team [DxD] were insecure about the rulers of h.e.l.l in a way. If it were Azazel-sensei he would say something like, 'I guess you could say that we have our own view, while they also have theirs as well'. The thoughts of supernatural beings such as G.o.ds were beyond my imagination as I was just an ex-human who was reincarnated as a Devil after all. It's only natural that there are things I didn't understand, you know. Now, about the possibility of the rulers of h.e.l.l using those mysterious Devils…although it was no more than mere speculation…it seemed like the others were convinced as Irina asked Rias.

"Are we also not allowed to investigate the real ident.i.ty of the unknown Devils? Like, maybe we can ask the person in charge of the other mythology's Netherworld?"

Rias shook her head.

"Currently, no one knows anything about the incident. Even if we talk about the unknown Devils, it seems like we will only get unnecessary information as even our boss knows nothing about this case."

I nodded in response to Rias's words.

"Yeah, the guys that ganged up on me looked like they had no idea about who I am as well."

Those guys were probably sent in knowing nothing. If that's true, then more questions might arise. If Hades and the others did use and send them, where did he scout them from? Where had the Devils who had no idea about Oppai Dragon been this whole time?

"Normally, it's impossible. Ise-sama as the Oppai Dragon is well known throughout every mythology, so for them to not know you, they must have been living in an isolated area."

Akeno-san put her hand on her cheek as she tilted her head.

"Additionally, they appeared right in the middle of the Rating Game World Tournament that all mythologies are partic.i.p.ating in. The tournament is also moving onto the main stage, so we should at least had heard of them before if they are Devils."

Angrily, Xenovia bravely said.

"If we know the mastermind behind all of this, we'll attack them first!"

Rias crossed her arms and sighed.

"If it could end that way, we'd attack together with [DxD]. But it would also be a good thing if the enemies are just mere terrorists."

Rias then continued.

"—There is a reason why G.o.ds cause phenomena and events in the human realm. That's why we can't afford to destroy them easily… This series of cases, even if Hades is the one who's behind all of this, attacking him would cause us a lot of trouble as he's the one who rules over the place which controls the souls in the Netherworld."

As Rias said, we couldn't destroy the G.o.ds easily. Previously, when the evil Norse G.o.d Loki came to attack us, we couldn't destroy him as well, so it ended with his capture. …Although, one of the factors was that our power at that time wasn't enough to destroy him. There were also cases where a G.o.d could be revived after being defeated if the humans had faith in them. After eating a cookie, Koneko-chan said to me.

"…It's probably best if we seal that skeleton G.o.d."

Koneko-chan was also learning sealing techniques, and there was even a time where she completely sealed an Evil Dragon in the fight against them.

"Y-You are extreme, Koneko-chan…"

The Gremory group's half-Vampire boy who looked like a girl smiled wryly. Ravel nodded in response to Koneko-chan's opinion.

"I've also heard of such ideas as well. On top of that, these ideas are gaining support day by day. If push comes to shove, then I'll also have to agree with Shirone's view."

The moment we defeated a ruler of h.e.l.l, we would seal them away. Well, we could rest easy if we have our allied G.o.ds watch over the sealed G.o.ds. Currently, that was our best option if a battle ever broke out. Kiba then came back to the topic.

"Now, as expected, we are all interested in the origin of the unknown Devils. The outskirts of the Underworld…is that place truly isolated just like Ravel said?"

Rias said as she took a sip from her cup of black tea.

"I haven't heard any details regarding that from Ajuka-sama. …But the real ident.i.ty of the unknown Devils that showed up everywhere…"

Everyone went 'Hmm…' as they made a troubled face. The st.u.r.dy old man who was enjoying his cup of black tea let out a sound from the corner of the room

"Hm."

[Your Eminence.]

Everyone, including me, turned to hear his opinion. That man was His Eminence Vasco Strada. Although he was eighty-seven years old, his st.u.r.dy body was that of a young man. Having thick muscles and a wrinkled face, this fierce man was respected by Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Kiba and everyone from the Catholic church. He was originally a cardinal priest, but upon realizing the importance of a system to nurture the warriors, he became the church's leader on guiding warriors. Being the previous owner of the Holy Sword that Xenovia wielded, Durandal, this legendary warrior was known as a pure-hearted human while also being super strong. We're also indebted to this man as he took care of us as well. Especially Asia and others who were from the Catholic church, they deeply trusted him. Currently, he was living in this town as he was partic.i.p.ating as a member of Rias's team in the Rating Game World tournament. He would occasionally join our discussions and give us useful pieces of advice. Everyone paid attention to His Eminence's words as well this time. His Eminence Strada began to talk as he raised three fingers.

"There are only three possible ways as to how the unknown Devils came about. The first is, having been reincarnated using the Evil Piece System. However, I've heard that they show no signs of being Reincarnated Devils."

His Eminence Strada put one of his fingers down.

"The second is cloning technology. There is certainly a possibility that the technology of the Grigori or the Devils has been leaked and used by the rulers of h.e.l.l. And if that is the case, those Devils must have the same genes as ones that have previously been identified. However, I've heard that they aren't identical. And that leads to—"

His Eminence put another finger down as he said this.

"—The Devils' mother, Lilith."

The pure-blooded Devils Rias and Ravel were completely shocked by His Eminence's words.

"…T-That is…!"

As Rias showed that she wanted to say 'That's Impossible', His Eminence continued.

"The being that is said to have given birth to all the first generations of the n.o.ble families. If there was someone who could create the unknown Devils from scratch, then that being has to be Lilith. …However, this is merely the opinion of an old man. I still remember the incident caused by Rizevim Livan Lucifer like it was yesterday. And I've heard that he was particularly obsessed with his mother, Lilith."

Although Rias and Ravel were bewildered, a part of them seemed in agreement as they pondered on it. After thinking for a while, Rias said.

"…Does that mean Hades has found Lilith-sama…? However, according to the legend, Lilith-sama had been destroyed…"

His Eminence Strada also said this.

"Hey, princess. History is something that can be altered drastically. We believers have also done that as well. Even in the world of Devils, the ancient doc.u.ments are also vanishing, right? One of the examples is the city of Agreas. Its legend is still incomplete after all."

Everyone became silent in response to His Eminence's words. …I didn't know much about the mother of Devils, Lilith. Although I knew a different person who bore the same name, and that person was living in this house… But strangely, she was also somehow connected to Rizevim in the past…

Rizevim Livan Lucifer was the son of the first generation Maou Lucifer, and also the worst s.h.i.tty guy who was the boss of a terrorist group. He was also the grandfather of my rival, Vali. Having summoned the atrocious Evil Dragons of legend, and the evilest being, the [Beast of the Apocalypse] Trihexa, he caused catastrophic damage to every mythology's territory. We managed to defeat him and the Evil Dragons, but we had to suffer heavy damage. However…as we couldn't completely defeat Trihexa, we created a special isolation barrier field in another dimension and sent a subjugation force to fight against Trihexa. The subjugation force that consisted of strong and famous beings from every mythology was still fighting even now as the long battle continued. Among that subjugation force, there were lots of people to whom I was indebted as well. The mother of Rizevim, the wife of the first generation Lucifer, was the Devils' mother, Lilith. … That Lilith currently existed, was found by the rulers of h.e.l.l and they created the mysterious Devils…? His Eminence Strada laughed lightly as he saw our troubled faces.

"…However, this is just the imagination of an old man. Maou Ajuka Beelzebub and the old Devils have also taken this into consideration as one of the possibilities…"

We could relate in a way to His Eminence's words. As we didn't have any answers of our own, we discussed a plan on how to deal with them in a future encounter. Towards the end, we also had a discussion about the purple-haired girl that I met. I had Rias, Ravel and my comrades use their own information networks to find out about that girl…but just who in the world was she? She was more mysterious than the unknown Devils in a way. Our meeting that day ended with that discussion.

No matter who these unknown Devils were, even if they were controlled by someone, if they intended to hurt my comrades, family, or anyone living in this town — I just had to defeat them. That's what I decided, a simple and easily understandable decision…

—After the discussion ended, I went to bathe, and all that was left was to sleep for that day. Thanks to how my house had become a mansion, my room was now super s.p.a.cious and a canopy bed was added as well. Just until some time ago, I would lie on the bed with Rias and Asia at my sides… However, it seemed like they added another giant bed.

The reason was—.

"Today, I'll sleep beside Ise for sure!"

"No, I am the one who's gonna sleep beside darling!"

"You're going to fall if you sleep beside Ise you know!"

"It's gonna be okay as long as it's not lecherous!"

"There's no way Irina the perverted Angel wouldn't do something like that!"

"You are the perverted Knight!"

"I'm cool with that!"

"C-Cool, you said…?"

The two people arguing on the bed were Irina and Xenovia. As the situation regarding sleeping arrangements had changed, lately, five people sleeping side by side together had now become the mainstream thing compared to how it used to be three. Usually, it would just be me, Rias, Asia, and depending on the day, Akeno-san, Xenovia and Irina would also join us. Also, Koneko-chan and her sibling Kuroka, as well as Ravel and Rossweisse-san. That meant the number people who would be sleeping with me certainly increased. And as it looked like sleeping next to me was an important thing, they would often compete for it. Although we had decided the order of the girls that would sleep with me…they would not follow that, and as a result, there were times where I had to sleep with unexpected people. But, I was very grateful! As someone who's lecherous, this was like a dream come true…

"Ununu."

"Mumumu.

Irina and Xenovia glared at each other. By the way, both these girls looked like they took it too far as they only wore a single piece of underwear. I could see those voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.t.s you know! Their b.o.o.bs would sway every time they argued! What a feast for my eyes! I often couldn't get any sleep as well as they kept having fights like these before we slept! Ah, but I was happy that I got to sleep with Rias after a while!

"P-Please calm down, Xenovia-san, Irina-san."

Asia came in to separate them.

"Good grief, there's no other way, huh. If that's the case, can't you both just sleep beside Ise?"

Rias gave such a suggestion in a 'good grief' way. Rias, who managed the girls, always finished things calmly like this, although there were also exceptions—. All of a sudden, I could feel something soft touching me on my back!

"Ufufu, there's also another way, and that is sleeping on top of my husband."

Akeno-san said such bold things to me! I can feel them on my back perfectlyyy! Aaaaaah, the feeling of Akeno-san's oppai softness on my backkkk! Rias suddenly looked dissatisfied as she saw Akeno-san's appearance.

"Akeno! Your turn isn't supposed to be tonight!"

As Rias said that, Akeno-san said with complete ignorance.

"I've run out of my beloved Ise-kun's love. If I don't replenish it by tonight, I won't be able to live tomorrow."

Akeno-san tightly wrapped her hands around me, a clear display that she wouldn't let go of me! Rias then cutely puffed her cheeks out and came closer to Akeno-san!

"You can't do that! I also want to sleep with Ise every night!"

"Why don't we just sleep with Ise on the same bed? I have to have an order for sleeping you know… And sleeping by myself really makes me feel lonely at night… Hey, my husband? You want to touch my b.r.e.a.s.t.s every night, don’t you?"

Who wouldn't feel like their mind would melt if such words were whispered to them with a spoilt tone? While Rias and Akeno-san were battling it out, she appeared!

"Ise! I came to sleep, nyan!"

The one who opened the door forcefully and appeared was a beautiful black-haired woman with cat ears and two tails! She was Kuroka the nekomata! She was the real sister of Koneko-chan, as well as one of my future brides. Although she had a daring personality, she also had a dynamite body. And tonight as well, she barged into the women's quarrel that was still going strong! She jumped onto the bed and flew into my chest! Her plump b.r.e.a.s.t.s covered my face! I could feel her supreme and soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s on my face!

"Yes! This is it, this is it! There's nothing better than being healed by hugging down Ise after taking care of things."

Koneko-chan also appeared as if she wanted to pacify her sister's actions.

"…Kuroka-oneesama, you have to follow the orders that Rias-oneesama made. I am also holding back, you know?"

Koneko-chan tried to pull Kuroka away. Somehow, I felt like the girls kept gathering rapidly… And, when I thought about such things, Rossweisse-san who was wearing pyjamas peeked in from the door's side.

"…I-I also want to sleep with Ise-kun, but…tonight is not my turn, but…everyone's being audacious, but…I'm not able to do such things…but, but!"

It felt like she was fighting with her own temptation. Rossweisse-san might have been bewildered after seeing the number of people on my bed as she was a late bloomer, so she wasn't the type to take initiative. From the opened door, Ravel also showed up. She must've rushed here after hearing all the noises.

"Please! Everyone, calm down! We all have to follow the order and rules that were decided by Rias-sama who's at the top of the ranking! Everyone also wants to sleep with Ise-sama! E-Even me too…!"

Ravel also walked closer to the bed after trying to stop everyone. There were ten people on the bed, including me, Rias, Asia, Akeno-san, Koneko-chan, Kuroka, Xenovia, Irina, Rossweisse-san and Ravel… By the way, this new bed's pretty amazing as it held up ten people easily! And Asia finally also exploded in this situation! She stripped off her pyjamas and dived toward me!

"The spot next to Ise is mine!"

I smiled wryly as I caught Asia when she leapt at me. Rias let out a sigh as she said 'Well then, let's just sleep together…'. With that compromise, we all ended up sleeping together that night. …By the way, situations like tonight weren't the first time this had happened. I mean, Rias must have added this new bed because she foresaw this situation. I felt really grateful for these kinds of peaceful situations, even though I do feel uneasy because of the incident with the Unknown Devils. While I prayed so that Xenovia's bad sleeping habits wouldn't turn towards me, I fell asleep with everyone—.

Part 2

We continued our Devil's Job despite our wariness due to the Unknown Devils that had appeared in Kuoh Town and the worsening situation. On that day, I went to one of my regular customers' house, but it wasn't Morisawa-san. I pedalled my bike and arrived at a mansion that was pretty far from Kuoh Academy. I stood before the door and pressed the bell. As I did that, there was a response which came from the intercom.

"It's open, nyo. Please come in, nyo."

It's the usual answer. I opened the door and stepped into the entranceway. The one who was waiting there was — a muscular man. However, he wasn't just your usual man who had a nice body. He was wearing the costume that was worn by a magical girl from [Mahou Shoujo Milky Trial 8 Celestial Stars]!

"Welcome, nyo~. Devil-san, I've been waiting for you, nyo!"

A muscular man who's cosplaying — no, a reverse trap! In other words, it was a maiden in a man's body. This person was the pervert among my regular customers…someone who liked magical girls! Even though he looked like that, his eyes were genuine and br.i.m.m.i.n.g with purity! What's with the [Nyo] at the end of each sentence, you ask? It didn't really matter, did it? His appearance was way scarier, so it's not a big deal.

The name's Mil-tan. I didn't know anything else, and I didn't want to know either. I felt it shouldn't be known. Mil-tan had been my regular customer ever since I started my Devil's Job. It's about the same time as Morisawa-san when I met him. Even though they both had some kind of weird fetish, it seemed the customers who called me out had that tendency. I guess it was because I was a pervert as well.

However, I remembered someone who was one of the people I was indebted to whenever I looked at this magical girl outfit. That person also liked this series, huh. I heard that she had asked one of her relatives to record the new series [Mahou Shoujo Milky Trial 8 Celestial Stars], and I was sure that she was looking forward to it once she returned. I asked Mil-tan.

"Hey, Mil-tan. What's the request today?"

By the way, Mil-tan's requests had quite the interval. We did get called at fixed intervals in a certain time, however, ever since we entered this year's summer, we rarely got any requests anymore. While waving the 'toy' magical girl wand around, he said to me.

"Devil-san. I want you to look at Mil-tan's magic!"

"Okay, okay. Magic, huh?"

Well, what he meant by 'magic' had to be his physical strength. It's been a year since I met him, so I knew about that kind of thing. What did he plan to do with the violence that's released from those thick arms? Fine then! Be it chair, desk, show me that you could break it into pieces! Your muscles wouldn't betray you after all! Mil-tan waved his wand even more, and suddenly spun around. Please stop spinning with that body. It made me think that you were going to kick at some point while spinning, you know. There were many of my acquaintances who were great at those kinds of attacks, so I would guard myself if I remembered them, you know.

"Milky Spiraaaall Executiooooon!"

It was the moment Mil-tan said that. What!? A magic circle developed at the end of the wand, and shards of ice spurted from that magic circle!

"—!?"

I had no choice but to be surprised by this result! It's so sudden! Mil-tan's link to real magic was dista— well, not distant, but he was not supposed to be able to use magic! But, I was sure that what I saw just now was a magic circle! Ice shards flew out from that magic circle! Being terribly confused, I heard an unexpected voice.

"Fufufu, that's right. Mil-tan just turned into a Magician."

When I turned to the source of the voice, there was a girl wearing gla.s.ses in the room, Kiryuu! My cla.s.smate Kiryuu! Why was she here!?

"Kiryuu!? Why are you here!?"

Mil-tan spoke as if he had expected Kiryuu.

"She's Mil-tan's older sister apprentice."

…

…Wha-, o-older sister, apprentice? I didn't really get what was going on, but…I screamed loudly in surprise.

"Older sister apprentice? S-Sorry, Kiryuu…I don't understand what's happening…"

Of course it's hard to get, don't you think? Mil-tan used magic, and Kiryuu was here! Furthermore, he said she was his older sister apprentice! Kiryuu stuck her hand out as she laughed mischievously

"To put it simply…it means this."

As she did that, a magic circle appeared from her hand!

"—. T-This, isn't this magic!? Kiryuu, you!?"

Kiryuu amusingly laughed as I became even more shocked.

"Nihihi. Yes, you see, Mil-tan and I are currently learning magic."

Learning magiiiiiiiiic!? K-Kiryuu was? T-That's, even though this girl was one of our few cla.s.smates who knew about our real ident.i.ties… To think that she was starting to learn magic! I didn't even imagine that!

"Who are you learning from!? Is it Rossweisse-san?"

As I said that, Kiryuu shook her head sideways.

"Nope, Rossweisse-chan didn't take me as her apprentice."

"W-Well, is it Le Fay?"

If the master's not Rossweisse-san, then it's either Le Fay or Kuroka, as they were her only acquaintances who could use magic. However, Kiryuu also denied that.

"Hmm—, I asked Le Fay to make me her apprentice as well, but I got rejected as she isn't great at teaching. And at the same time, I got rejected by Kuroka-oneesan as she said it was too troublesome."

Well, Kuroka would surely reject. She was not the type that would teach someone magic. Although she might if one persistently asked her, and the compensation for that had to be big.

"If that's the case…who's your master?"

"It's someone who was introduced by Le Fay, Reni-sensei."

—.

…So it's like that, huh. I covered my face with my hands as I grasped everything. Mil-tan folded his hands in front of his chest like a maiden as his eyes shone brightly.

"She's a super beautiful Magician onee-sama, nyo… I feel that she's exactly the ideal magic master!"

Reni-sensei. That meant Lavinia Reni-san! She was a witch that I knew. A famous Magician that belonged to one of the many Magician organisations, [Grauzauberer], and one of the members of the Fallen Angels' Grigori's team [Slash Dog]. She was also a being that was like an older sister to my rival Vali Lucifer, and like Mil-tan said, she was a super beautiful onee-san. Kiryuu nodded as she said.

"Reni-sensei, she's a real beauty, isn't she? I became madly in love with just a single look and asked her to make me her apprentice ASAP, you know. Also, somehow, I heard that the Magicians' organisation [Grauzauberer]'s entrance terms have become gentler? Compared to the others, at least. That's why we are learning from Reni-sensei. Mil-tan also applied to be an apprentice around the same time, but I am the senior apprentice by a small margin."

….So that's what happened. She wanted to learn magic, and when she asked her Magician acquaintance, she went to Lavinia-san's place and became an apprentice with Mil-tan at around the same time. I wanted to ask how Mil-tan met her, but…well, I felt like he had the fate to make him able to meet her. Now that I understood the situation, I asked Kiryuu once again.

"You, what are you going to do now that you've become a Magician?"

Kiryuu gorgeously made a pose and said.

"I will become a magical girl and save the world!"

"As expected of onee-sama, nyo! That's what a magical girl is, nyooo!"

Mil-tan was somehow greatly moved… Kiryuu shrugged her shoulders and continued.

"…Or so I wanted. Well, to be honest, after meeting you, Asia and the others, and knowing about your real ident.i.ty, somehow, it felt like I was ignorant of you all. So I thought that maybe by knowing a little bit, I might be able to help Asia and the others."

—.

…I see, for the sake of Asia and the others. This girl, she was so thoughtful of her friends. That must be why Asia, Xenovia, and Irina were counting on her in terms of usual life. Kiryuu patted my back with a welcoming face.

"And for that reason, because I might also be with you for a lo~ong time, let's work together ♪"

Mil-tan also responded by excitedly patting me on my back.

"Devil-san, let's work together ♪"

Mil-tan's palm's pat on my back was really effective… However, pairing Kiryuu and Mil-tan might be one h.e.l.l of a combination in a way… Lavinia Reni-san, what were you thinking when you made these two people your apprentices…?

W-Well, she looked like someone who didn't really care about these kinds of things, so it was not weird for her to take apprenticeship requests… Although if it was that person, I guess I could rest a.s.sured as she didn't look like she would teach them bad things. …But, well, just as Kiryuu said, I felt like Kiryuu, me and…Mil-tan might be in each others' company for a long time. As I grasped their situations, I calmed down and asked about the request.

"So, Mil-tan. What's your request to me?"

Mil-tan made a serious expression while Kiryuu laughed mischievously as they replied at the same time.

[Accompany us with testing our magic.] "Nyo"

….

…What a worthless request! In the end, I did become their opponent… However, who would've expected that the feminine Mil-tan who looked up to magical girls and Kiryuu who knew about our real ident.i.ties would learn magic as well? Although I haven't finished being their opponent for various explosion-filled magic, Kiryuu said.

"Please don't tell this to Asia and the others yet. I plan to improve to a certain degree first and then tell them on my own"

"Okay, okay, understood."

As I replied, we parted ways and I pedaled my bicycle, going back to my office. As I was going home, there was suddenly an SOS magic circle deployed next to my ear. Rias said with a serious voice.

[Ise. We have received an order from the Maou-sama and Duke Agares. The unknown Devils have appeared in an area within our jurisdiction. We are going to subjugate them.]

I replied.

"Understood."

…They have appeared, huh. Those Devils. Although I still didn't know what their plan was, it would be troublesome if they kept making a mess near me. As I sent my bicycle to the parking s.p.a.ce at my office, I made my dragon wings appear on my back and flew out into the night sky—.

Part 3

I arrived at a town that was three stations away from Kuoh Town. The location was somewhat far from the urban areas, and there were only three houses here, so I was sure it had been deserted for quite a while now. The gardens were filled with wild gra.s.s, the walls were also damaged, and windows were shattered. My comrades, all of the Gremory peerage members (Rias, Akeno-san, Koneko-chan, Kiba, Gasper) and the Hyoudou Issei peerage (Me, Asia, Xenovia, Ravel, Rossweisse-san), as well as Irina arrived. And then, a blonde girl with long hair and red eyes that had a face as beautiful as the girls that you would see in paintings, Elmenhilde Karnstein, joined us at a place that was quite far away from the citizens' houses. Elmenhilde said.

"To think that this is the situation after I returned from a secret intelligence mission… What chaos."

Unlike Gasper, who was half-human, she's a pure-blooded Vampire. Also, she was the daughter of a n.o.ble family. Things were complicated at first, but right now, she was homestaying in the Hyoudou Residence and had been going out with us with the goal of gaining various information. Her dream was to restore and develop the city that was destroyed by Rizevim. She was prideful and high-toned when we met her at first, but after a lot of things happened, her personality improved as well, making her way cuter now. Usually, she would also be helping me at my office, but this time, she went out for a secret intelligence mission for a little while. My comrades didn't just include them. A giant being — a Dragon flew down from the sky. It knelt down before me and spoke politely.

"My master, I, Bova Tannin, have just returned."

The giant dragon, Bova, was my first subordinate after becoming a High-cla.s.s Devil. He was also one of the legitimate sons of my Dragon master, Tannin-ossan, who was a former Dragon King. He held such strong interest and respect for me that he quickly came to me after I became a High-cla.s.s Devil and asked to be my subordinate. As I couldn't disregard it either, he became my first subordinate. Bova and Ravel had to take care of something in the Underworld and had just returned. As I identified my comrades, I asked Rias.

"These are the members for this time?"

Rias nodded.

"Yes. As Sona and the other DxD members have something they need to take care of, this mission has been entrusted to people like us."

…So that means the subjugation of the unknown Devils was also happening in other places, huh. I looked at the deserted house once again. …I could even feel the presence of Devils and their aura from outside. Also, there was quite the number of them. Not only from inside the house, but I could also feel them behind us as well. Everyone looked like they felt the same thing as they were watchful of their surroundings. Rias stood in front of the deserted house and spoke with a loud voice.

"Come out please. We know that you've been hiding here."

Rias's voice echoed over the whole area. A moment of silence—. However, the group of suspicious figures started to appear from inside the house and our surroundings. There were humanoid Devils, as well as Devils that looked like monsters. Their numbers were…about ten, twenty, thirty…. No, no, more than one hundred, I guess? What an absurd number! On top of that, every last one of them had an aura that didn't belong to a Low-cla.s.s Devil or Mid-cla.s.s Devil, but a High-cla.s.s Devil!

This was impossible! Why would a hundred High-cla.s.s Devils gather at such a remote place? In addition, the number of Devils had been decreasing since the Great War between the Three Factions, so it was impossible for more than a hundred precious High-cla.s.s Devils to gather at such a place! The unknown Devils, if they were all High-cla.s.s Devils, then this number was too absurd!

Just as His Eminence Strada said, I wondered if the mother of Devils, Lilith produced these Devils. The Devils grinned and looked calm. As expected, it seemed like they didn't know about us. If they knew, they would be running by now. If this was one year ago, this number would have been a problem to us, but if it's us right now—. A male Devil who acted as a representative said to us.

"Devils, Angels, Dragons, and even Vampires. What do you want with us?"

Rias majestically said.

"We are the ones who wanted to ask questions here. You guys, what's the reason for you to be here? If you spill out the goal, we'll let you guys live. Our order doesn't care whether you are dead or alive after all."

These guys laughed heartily in response to this warning. Ah, it seems impossible to negotiate. Looking at their behaviour, Xenovia already took out her Holy Sword Durandal, challenging them to fight. The Devil who acted as a representative said.

"We've simply been ordered to investigate the movements of Devils and Angels around here, and were occasionally ordered to attack them."

"By whom?"

In response to Rias's question, the Devil said.

"I also want to know that, as the orders come through our minds only. Also…we can't contain this feeling of wanting to rampage with this power."

The surrounding Devils laughed eerily in response to the male Devil's words. Even these guys didn't know the one giving them orders, huh. Well, I didn't know what their true motive was, but I couldn't overlook this case either since they held animosity towards us…

Rias majestically said.

"In any case, you guys have caused many deaths just for the sake of fulfilling your desires. By the name of Duke Gremory, we'll defeat you guys!"

And those words marked the start of the battle!

The enemies came at us from all directions! I also quickly changed into my crimson armor and prepared my stance in response to them! The first ones to strike were the sword wielders Xenovia and Kiba, who cut down the Devils charging from the front! Both of their ranks as Devils were Knight, and the Knight's specialty was their speed, thus those two swung their swords at such high speed.

The Holy Demonic sword that Kiba held and Xenovia's Holy Sword Durandal defeated several Devils that charged from the front at once! Holy energy is a Devil's weakness, which meant the special weapons that those two held turned the enemies into dust. Irina and Akeno-san flew into the sky and attacked from there.

"Holy Lightning!"

Akeno-san, who had the blood of a Fallen Angel, spread her jet-black wings from her back and created thunderclouds over the night sky. From there, she struck down with light-imbued lightning. The Devils that were struck by those lightning bolts were burned to ashes in an instant.

Akeno-san's Devil rank was Queen, and the Queen had the specialty of having strong power. It was endowed with all the specialties of Knight, Rook, and Bishop. Similarly, Irina, who flew to the sky, also made her pure white wings and a halo on top of her head appeared.

"Light attack! Eat this!"

She created light spears from her hands and shot it down to the Devils under her. The Devils that received the intense light attacks head-on were defeated. Light was a lethal poison to Devils, and thus being bathed in it would cause severe damage. Akeno was a Fallen Angel, while Irina was a Reincarnated Angel. In addition to those light attacks, the power must be fatal to them. To top that off, Irina who held the holy sword Hauteclaire was similar to Xenovia, meaning that she could produce holy waves. Being the Ace of the leader of Heaven Michael-san wasn't just for show. To the unknown Devils, the presence of Irina was nothing but their natural enemy. Xenovia and Kiba cut through them, while Irina and Akeno-san shot down light attacks from the sky! However, our offense didn't stop there!

"Tou! Ha!"

The one who sent the Devils flying with her bare hands was Koneko-chan, who showed her cat ears and three tails! Koneko-chan's Devil rank was Rook, and the Rook's specialty was simple! It was the increase of offense and defense! Koneko-chan was originally a rare species even among the Youkai Nekomata, a [Nekoshou]. Having mastered Senjutsu, she was able to user her own Ki and the nature's Ki, as well as controlling her Touki. Plus, she could also produce a Nekomata's special power, Kasha. The wheel that Koneko-chan released — was covered with white flames that had the ability to purify as well. Devils would be burned to ashes if they got hit by that! Holy swords, light, purification, all of these attacks that we gave would give any Devil a fatal injury, so it wasn't weird that those Devils flinched.

"s.h.i.t! If that's the case, let's aim for those who don't use holy swords or light!"

A group of them then changed their target.

"Let's start with this small fry!"

The target of their attack was — Gasper. If this was the old Gasper, he would have been 'Awawawawawa! I'm scareeeeed!' scared by the enemy's attack and freeze himself. —However, he was different now. He was a different person now. One of the Devils lit his hands with magic and tried to hit Gasper, but…the enemy's punch didn't connect as the shadow under Gasper's feet expanded and created an enormous black hand, defending against it.

Both of Gasper's eyes lit red in a menacing manner as he said.

"You thought that you could defeat me, didn't you? You're gravely mistaken."

Gasper's body was shrouded in shadow and turned black. And then, Gasper, whose body turned black, changed his form. He changed as his body got bigger and expanded, surpa.s.sing the height of the Devil who attacked him by far. What appeared there was a giant black monster. Being five metres high, it resembled a Dragon closely as it emitted a sinister aura. The whole team of unknown Devils seemed to tremble in fear due to the amount of the aura emitted.

Gasper was without a doubt one of the strongest members here. After going through a lot of things, the Sacred Gear [Forbidden Balor View] that Gasper owned awakened and changed into a completely unknown Sacred Gear. —[Aeon Balor], that was the name of the Sacred Gear that Gasper currently owned.

The Devils that came at Gasper completely lost their will to fight and tried to run. However…the eyes of Gasper, who turned into a black beast, glowed red and stopped the Devils. He stopped those Devils' time. Gasper knocked down the Devils with his thick arm splendidly. f Gasper wanted to, he could defeat all of the mysterious Devils in that place, but we couldn't let that happen as well.

"What the!? We don't stand a chance fighting against them!"

There were some who attempted to run, but we didn't let them.

"Like h.e.l.l you can!"

Bova, the enormous Dragon who was my subordinate, kicked the Devils who tried to run away. As expected of the son of a former Dragon King, he could fight High-cla.s.s Devils without any problems. There was another one who captured the Devils who were running away. The Devils were suddenly surrounded with bats. The Devils who were bitten on the necks and got their blood sucked completely lost consciousness. The one who controlled the bats was the Vampire Princess, Elmenhilde.

"This won't be useful."

Although she was a humble girl, we were really grateful as she did her job properly.

"Or rather, this whole area is already surrounded with barriers."

The one who said that was my Rook, Rossweisse-san. She developed many magic circles on her hands and put up her special barrier technique so the Devils couldn't run away from this area. On the other hand, Asia, who held the recovery Sacred Gear Twilight Healing, was watching over us behind. Even though Asia had no combat abilities, her healing ability was top notch. She was our lifeline as she could quickly heal any injuries. She was protected by my manager Ravel. Ravel was the daughter of one of the former Seventy-Two Pillars, the Phoenix house. Having the special ability of immortality, she wouldn't be defeated easily. That being said, the attacks didn't reach Ravel and Asia's place. After all, our strong teammates were taking down the unknown Devils one after another! As the King, Rias and I couldn't afford to lose either!

"Take that!"

Wearing my crimson armour, I sent a number of Devils flying away with my punches and kicks. Rias, who was beside me, shot out a clump of black-coloured ma.s.s, the Power of Destruction.

"Blow away!"

The Power of Destruction completely blew them away. It couldn't be defended against either, even for someone who had considerable skill. Anyone who got hit by it would disappear. That was the Power of Destruction. The unknown Devils vanished upon receiving Rias's atrocious magic attack. The enemies that exceeded a hundred in number completely changed their expressions upon understanding the overwhelming difference between our powers as they completely lost the will to fight. There were also some who still attacked us despite understanding the difference between our powers.

"Curse you! At the very least, one person!"

They rushed towards Asia and Ravel. However…hose Devils were shot down by light bullets. It was not from us. As I looked at the direction where the bullet was fired from, I could hear a familiar sound.

"Well, well, what a coincidence to meet you at this place, huh, Devil-san?"

The young girl who wore a female church warrior's battle attire with a mix of black and white hair was — Lint Sellzen. Actually, she was also a Reincarnated Angel, as well as one of the members of Rias's team in the Rating Game World Tournament. It seemed like she would also partic.i.p.ate in this subjugation. Lint-san started to sing.

"My name is Lint ♪ Lint Sellzen ♪ I am the church's emissary~, also Heaven's Brave Saint!"

…That girl's older brother Freed also sang that kind of song. His version was more vulgar though… Holding a specially-made gun that shot light bullet, as well as a sword that was made out of purple flames in both of her hands, she walked closer to us as she defeated the Devils that targeted Asia and Ravel.

I asked Lint-san.

"…W-What is it, Lint-san?"

She answered as she scratched the back of her head.

"No, no, I was just confused that you said Freed-aniki sang that. I'll stop if it bothers you."

As she pointed her gun to the enemy, she continued.

"I was ordered by His Eminence Strada to join you, as exorcising Devils is a church warrior's tradition, so here I am."

Ah, so it was His Eminence Strada's order.

Well, even without any order, she was the type that would come here and say 'because it's interesting'. And as reinforcements for us arrived, we continued to defeat the High-cla.s.s calibre unknown Devils. Well, there are all sorts of 'High-cla.s.s Devils'. The best of the High-cla.s.s Devils only have slight differences when compared to Ultimate-cla.s.s Devils, as some High-cla.s.s Devils like the Great King Bael's next heir, Sairaorg-san, were said to be equal to or even surpa.s.sing Maou-cla.s.s. However, these guys were on the lower level. Still though, if it were your usual Devil or Angel who fought this number of High-cla.s.s Devils, it would be a demolition. However, we survived fighting against these treacherous and strong enemies. We had previously faced descendants of the former Maou, those who had inherited the souls of heroes, legendary Evil Dragons, and even G.o.ds. Thanks to that, we were named those who deter against evil intentions by the higher-ups of all mythologies.

I wasn't saying that all the people here could defeat a High-cla.s.s Devil with ease, but rather with nice teamwork, we could show them unequaled strength and fight one-sidedly like this. …Or rather, these guys, they were just rampaging around with the powers that they had. They weren't actually thinking… I couldn't feel any kind of experience coming from them. It was as if I was fighting against ignorant children who simply relied on raw, unrefined power. Or so I thought, but hey, we defeated more than a hundred unknown Devils within ten minutes—. We sent the surviving Devils as well as the dead bodies to the specialised organisation of the Underworld through a magic circle. After processing things, everyone calmed down and let out a sigh.

"Looks like there isn't anyone left."

"… I'm relieved."

"For now, I guess this area is fine."

Kiba, Koneko-chan, as well as Elmenhilde, were investigating the deserted house and its surroundings to see if there was anyone hiding. Kiba went by foot, while Koneko-chan used her Senjutsu to detect their presence, and Elmenhilde searched the area by using her bats. Hearing this, Rossweisse-san undid the barrier magic that was placed upon the whole area. Well then, I guess I'll remove my armour and prepare to go home. —It was the moment I thought such things.

"—♪"

I could hear a song. I thought it was just my imagination, but…

"—–♪ —–♪"

The singing voice…got closer. As if everyone had realised this, we became alert and turned to the source of the voice. As we did that, there was a human figure along with a singing voice walking closer. That was — the long and purple-haired girl that I talked about! The girl that disappeared that time! Why was she here!? Wait, she was also there after the unknown Devils attacked. …To think that she would be here in the same situation like before, what did it mean? I said to everyone.

"Everyone, this is the purple-haired diva that I met—-"

The moment I spoke those words—. Suddenly, my vision was warped. I was very sleepy. At the same time, my body lost its strength. I quickly fell down on my knees. …P-Power was leaving… my body… I couldn't put any strength… I couldn't retain the power and consciousness to preserve my crimson armour, thus making me release my armor state. Ddraig agonisingly said in response to this.

[…W-What is this…? …Song, huh…that girl's song…had an effect on…me and partner….!]

…S-Song…? That beautiful voice certainly swayed our brains when we heard it, and my body couldn't even stop shaking… My vision…it started to get blurry as well… …W-Wasn't this weird? T-That time, although I did hear her singing voice…I wasn't like this…

Ddraig said.

[…S-She probably didn't use…h-her power…that time…!]

I looked at my surroundings, and everyone except me seemed fine. Everyone was in awe as they watched my condition change.

"Ise! What's wrong?"

"Ise-kun!? What in the world is this…?"

Asia rushed to my side and used her healing magic on me. I was enveloped by her soothing green aura. Usually, I would be healed with this, however…even with Asia's ability…it didn't change anything!

"G-Guoooo…"

I looked at the source of the voice and found Bova was also on his knees in agony. It seemed like Bova had also lost his strength… …T-To think that it only affected…D-Ddraig, me…and also Bova… …Did her song only affect…Dragons?

"s.h.i.t! Stop that song!"

"Is this girl one of the Devils from before? Well, whatever it is, the fact that she attacked Ise-kun and Bova-san doesn't change!"

Xenovia and Kiba held their weapons as they became vigilant and faced the purple-haired girl. …If left like that, Xenovia or Kiba might end up attacking that girl! I strained my voice and said to Xenovia and Kiba

"…W-Wait. I don't think she means any harm… J-Just stop…!"

She didn't hold any hostility the first time I met her… Although she did have an unusual atmosphere, I had a feeling that…she wasn't a bad person! That being said, Rossweisse-san created a magic circle and released it toward the purple-haired girl. The girl was covered in a light blue aura. As the aura disappeared, the girl lost consciousness as she fainted on the spot. Rossweisse-san let out a sigh as she said.

"I used my hypnotism magic on her for the time being. Glad it affected her well."

….That sure was some nifty support from Rossweisse-san. The mysterious girl who sang that mystical song had appeared, but we were able to accomplish the subjugation of the unknown Devils. We then returned to the Hyoudou Residence after we retrieved the girl who fell asleep for research purposes. And then, we were shocked upon discovering her true ident.i.ty.