It was 7 PM, and by that point I had kind of given up on just stumbling on some evildoer doing evil in a seedy street. The cigarette in my mouth was doing its very best to distract me from my hunger, which had gone unattended since yesterday, and frankly, I was simply fucking around at this point.
And then I found a murder scene, right on the street. Freshly made, too.
Right across me, exiting the alleyway, was a house. Regular looking, two floors, nothing of note. Except, of course, the door that was ajar and off its hinges. This alone wouldn't be much of a murder scene if it wasn't for the pool of blood right at the entrance.
I looked around me, to see if I was the only one who saw this obviously suspicious scene.
…Nope, not a single soul was walking here. Not even cars, funnily enough.
Taking a drag from the cigarette with one hand, I used the other to take the gun from my trousers.
[Stylish Twirl]
I began twirling the gun, spinning it just like a proper cowboy would, preparing myself for the worst and making sure I had a few [Stacks] on me. I spat the cigarette onto the street.
I wasn't stupid. Goddamn demons and angels existed, and Rias' explanation implied that they weren't the only supernatural thing existing. I got lucky with that demon yesterday, I didn't know if whatever awaited there (if it was still there in the first place) would have such an exploitable weakness again.
As I walked to the house, I oddly felt calm. The infinite eyes of E.E watched my every step, and knowing what I looked like as I moved, how horrid of a husk I was under the piss-stained jacket and bandanna…
It was a comforting reminder that I was immortal.
By the time I reached the entrance of the house, the blood pooling around the door's steps, I could feel 5 [Perfect Stacks] accumulated, and they were still growing.
E.E was already scanning what it could from inside the house that was within 12 meters, spotting a whole bunch of blood and strewn around furniture. There were clear signs of a fight, and oddly enough, right in the middle of the living room, there was a sort of magical circle, candles surrounding the circle and a leather-bound black book sitting in the middle, the cover illustrating a star symbol upside down. The trail of blood led to another room, of which I couldn't see more since it was more than 12 meters away, but I could see that there was a light coming from there…
I blinked.
Eyes Everywhere was fucking ridiculous. Who the fuck thought this was a good idea.
While I analyzed the entire scene, another few Stacks got added to my stock, leaving me with 7 [Perfect Stacks].
Whoever got shot with this would be fucking hurting.
Finally, I took a step forward into the house, right into the pool of blood.
A small splash sound came from stepping on it, but I ignored it. It wouldn't matter if whoever was there knew I was inside, E.E would make sure I saw them first.
The house was silent. One step. Two steps, Thre-
"Oh."
Now within range, I could see the entire scene, inside what was the kitchen.
A young woman lying on the kitchen floor, around twenty, guts open, innards spilling out. A horrified, frozen and dead face, eyes dull and with dried up tears. She was wearing normal clothes at the time of her death… and beside her was her obvious killer.
Most striking was his pure white hair, followed closely by his large black coat. A golden cross hung from his neck, and in one of his hands, held tightly, was a curved knife, bloody and rusty.
And he was looking at the door leading to the living room, his face frozen in tension.
Right, he must've heard me. The outline of the house made it so it wasn't possible to see who was at the entrance hall from the kitchen or the living room. Add to that that the killer wasn't exactly right by the door, the whole scene being located deeper in the kitchen, and it meant that he had no fucking clue who just entered his little crime scene.
10 [Stacks]. The shot would have double the damage.
The door to the kitchen was open, so there WAS a possible angle to shoot with ricochet right into his head… but I didn't. Not yet, at least.
This guy had a cross, his coat had a sort of priestly vibe to it, and this living room was full of cultist stuff. It was obvious that there was more to this shit.
I focused E.E's sight on the killer, trying to discern every minute thing he had on him.
Okay, that was a gun inside his coat. That'd be valuable loot. What was weird was the handle he had hidden away in his coat's pockets. It was at easy reach for him, so it must be at least somewhat important, but its use was lost to me. Even looking deeper into the device with E.E told me nothing.
…This guy was really looking at the door, as if ready to spring any second.
12 [Stacks].
I didn't bother waiting anymore, whatever I wanted to find out I'd do so once I killed this fucking maniac. The gun still spinning, I visualized the shot. It'd go from outside the living room, to the corner of a wall, which would lead directly to the kitchen, straight into the killer's forehead and, considering the shot was 12 [Stacks] strong, would pierce the brain.
Easy Peasy.
I moved the gun to-
"I don't know why, but something SMELLS LIKE SHIT!"
My eyes widened. His voice was horribly grating, I needed him put down right now. Without more preamble, I stopped spinning the gun and shot it, the recoil feeling amazing in my hands.
BANG!
In the blink of an eye, the bullet traveled exactly as predicted, ricocheting off the wall into the kitchen. One small issue.
The killer moved before it could hit his head, as if blessed with supernatural reflexes, he moved as soon as I shot it, which couldn't have been more than a few milliseconds. Good news was that his reflexes weren't THAT good, and despite moving, his right shoulder took the solemn duty of eating shit.
"OH FUUUUCK!" The killer screamed, holding his shoulder that now sported a cool new steaming hole at its center. "THAT HURTS LIKE HELL! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
I silently appreciated the potency of the bullet. It passed cleanly through bone and tissue, leaving a hole larger than the bullet itself in its wake. Those [Perfect Stacks] were the real deal. More important yet, since the shot landed, it counted as a [Perfect Shot], which meant that my [Stacks] didn't go away, instead granting me one more, taking the count to 13 [Stacks].
"You fucking PIECE OF SHIT! Came to help your demon worshiper friend, right!? I'LL FUCKING SHOW YOU A REAL PIECE OF GUN!"
As he said this, he produced the gun he was carrying, rushing to the door while his other arm hung limply, useless since his shoulder bone got completely pierced.
Before he even got to pass through the door, I shot again, aim adjusted so the bullet went a bit higher since the guy's now standing. This time, considering he's good enough to dodge the bullet to the head, I aimed square for the chest.
BANG!
Since the guy was right in front of the door, there wasn't much room to dodge, but he tried anyway. Moving slightly to his left, the bullet went and grazed his right side. Still, considering the amount of [Stacks] on the thing, the bullet left behind half a hole where it touched, bleeding and probably hurting like shit.
14 [Stacks].
The killer yelled in pain, but still moved forward, exiting the kitchen while sporting a crazed look.
"You little FUCKER! I will-!"
As he began his tirade and raised his gun in my general direction.
BANG!
Another shot, this one aimed squarely at his hand holding the gun. To my surprise, with this short of a distance, he just hopped to one side and cackled derisively.
"HA! Not gonna catch me like that again, ASSHOLE!"
Fuck, the bullet didn't ricochet anywhere useful. And he raised his gun agai-
I quickly moved aside from the doorway I was shooting from, hiding behind the wall of the entrance hall.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Right where I stood, more precisely where my head was, passed five white, shining bullets, landing right on the opposing wall to me. The bullets let out steam, buried in the wall. They emitted their own light.
Those were not normal fucking bullets.
"Ahh~, hiding now, aren't you, FUCKER!? NOT SO BRAVE NOW, HUH!?"
His voice was really pissing me off. Without much to do, I just quickly calculated a trajectory, and shot at the opposing wall.
BANG!
The ricochet bounced the bullet off to the living room, right back at the killer, where he just… sidestepped it, cackling.
"HOW FUCKING BORING! BORING! I'll make you PAY for breaking my fucking arm, you FUCKER!"
Okay, this wasn't fucking working. I needed a less predictable shot.
Before I could shoot again, the killer simply dropped his gun, the weapon clattering against the floor.
"Since you're so FUCKING SHY, I guess I'll have to go find you, RIGHT!?"
He began taking out the handle thing from his pocket. I didn't let this opportunity go to waste, quickly taking a peek outside the cover to get a direct line of sight with the killer and promptly shot at the ceiling.
BANG!
"HA! YOU STU-"
Before he could mock me, his voice turned into a painful scream, as his left knee received a bullet right in the center, landing straight in the bone.
1 [Stack].
The bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, into the floor, then right into his kneecaps. A beautiful shot, really.
"FUCKER! You think you can just SHOOT AN EXORCIST!? I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT-"
I didn't bother letting him finish. I quickly planned the trajectory of another shot, this one direct to his heart, and peeked from cover.
BANG!
"FUCKER!"
Before the bullet reached him, in an action that occurred within less than a second, the killer took out the handle-thing from his pocket and activated it. And from it-
Was that a lightsaber?
Apparently yes, since in less than a second of all this occurring, he managed to actually stop the bullet. In fact, I think he disintegrated it entirely. All with one swing of the lightsaber.
"You. Are. Fucked."
Even with the injured knee, the killer just threw himself across the living room, rapidly approaching my hiding spot. Before he could, I aimed at the floor behind him.
BANG!
Ricochet off the floor, right into his spine… except he, without turning around and in mid-sprint, just moved his lightsaber and disintegrated the bullet coming behind him.
Uh-oh.
I hurriedly stepped back from my position, running back to the ajar door where I entered from and reaching for my pockets, scrambling to put a new magazine into the gun.
While I fumbled with the gun, the killer finally managed to reach the spot I was hiding this entire encounter.
He smiled as he saw me.
"Hello, there you are, you disgusting fuck. I knew something smelled LIKE SHIT."
As soon as he finished those words, I secured the magazine into the Colt with a satisfying CLICK from the gun. I looked back at the manic looking killer, one of his arms hanging limply at his side, his shoulder bleeding profusely and staining his uniform, with the same happening to his knee and side. He was standing resting his weight mostly on just one leg, while he glared at me with a crazed smile.
I looked at him with my most neutral gaze possible, lowering the hand holding my gun so it was pointed to the floor.
"You're one creepy fuck."
BANG!
Bouncing from the floor, right to his head, the bullet got blocked in one swift move by the lightsaber.
"AH, I SEE! The filthy, shit-scented demon dares to call me, ME, CREEPY!?"
"I'm not a demon." I corrected, a bit lamely.
BANG!
Again, the shot got blocked by the lightsaber.
"Huuuhhh? What's that I hear, not a demon? THEN WHY IS IT THAT YOU REEK!? YOU REEK, REEK, REEK OF A HERETIC!"
Shit.
With those words, the killer threw himself again in a mad dash, right at me with his shining white lightsaber at the ready.
I didn't bother shooting again, instead opting for the nice option of running out the door.
"YES, YES, RUN, FUCKER! I'll make sure to put a FUCKING HOLE on your OWN shoulder! SEE IF YOU LIKE IT THAT WAY!"
Now out of the house, I turned around to see the self-proclaimed exorcist still hot on my tail, dragging himself at great speeds to me.
I planned a trajectory for three bullets ricocheting from the house, right into his back. As he dragged his frame out of the doorway, I shot thrice.
BA-BA-BANG!
"STOP THAT!"
To my horror, the three bullets, all with different routes and trajectories, got swiftly deleted by the exorcist with his sword in a maneuver that I would call highly impressive if it wasn't for the fact that he was a crazy asshole.
After that, we both paused on our tracks, staring at each other.
…
Well, now I was a bit fucked, wasn't I?
The exorcist seemed to get the same idea, since his face twisted into a sick, self-satisfied grin.
"Oh? Oooohhh? Is that all? Am I supposed to be impressed with your little toy, your little tricks? Would you like me to 'ooh' and 'aah' in surprise for you? Would you like a round of FUCKING APPLAUSE!?"
He charged again, and I had fuck all ideas.
Welp, at least I'm immortal, right? Long live the Darksign!
I aimed the gun at him again, out of token resistance more than anything. In my head, a plan for how to reach my Bloodstain once I got resurrected was taking form. I had more or less given up.
"That fucking THING! FIRST, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER USE IT AGAIN!"
As he yelled that, he raised his blade, and threw himself at me again, a furious warcry ripping out of his throat.
It was pretty obvious what he was going to do, he was going for my right hand, the one holding the gun. It was so telegraphed that, were my bullets not useless against him now, I could've easily exploited it.
…
And the lightbulb shone.
It happened in less than a second, as much shit does. Before the lightsaber made contact with my arm, right before it got completely cut off, I shot the weapon, as if I was juggling it, into my other hand.
The lightsaber cut through my arm at the elbow, perfectly slicing it.
"HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU-!"
But before he could raise his lightsaber again, now that he was holding it down after his slice, now that he needed to recover to perform another maneuver with his lightsaber, now that he was so, so close to me, so close that I could see all of the unbrushed teeth inside his mouth…
I aimed the M1911 Colt right at his temple, pressing the barrel firmly into it.
For a very, very brief second, just one tiny second, I delighted in the look of horror dawning on the exorcists' eyes as they quickly turned to meet mine. And as our gazes met, I could see the panic, the fear, the realization of how badly he fucked up, the realization that he had no way of turning this around.
I gave him a grin.
The exorcist turned his he-
BANG!
1 [Stack]
Right between his forehead, the bullet went through, piercing his meat and skull, cleanly entering his frontal lobe. The impact of the bullet sent him back, dropping his lightsaber to the ground, him falling soon after on his back as his forehead began to bleed profusely all over the front garden.
The exorcist was done.
As soon as he fell down, I let out a huge, deep breath.
"Jesus fuck, that was close."
Sure, I would've revived eventually, but it still would've sucked.
Simply glad that this whole shitshow was over, I ran my hand through my face, trying to-
…I ran my hand through my face.
…
Slowly, I looked at my right arm, very distinctly missing everything from the elbow forward. E.E then easily spotted where the missing half laid on the floor, discarded like trash.
…Oh, so this is how heavy amounts of adrenaline felt. Huh, funny that, not even E.E had realized I had no arm.
…
Now that I came to terms with the current situation, the pain arrived.
"FUCK!"
I fell to my knees and tried to hold my stump, quickly letting go once I realized it hurt more to even touch it.
"You exorcist piece of shit! Holy fuck, this hurts!"
Being unable to even touch the damn thing, I just tried to stay still and took deep breaths. The pain didn't alleviate in the slightest, but it was the thought that counted.
Thankfully (if there was anything to even thank in this whole shitshow) it seemed as though that lightsaber was hot enough to cauterize the wound the second it got made, meaning that I wasn't at risk of dying from hemorrhage.
I was just missing half-an arm. No biggie.
I closed my eyes in pain, which brought no reprieve since my senses were still afflicted by E.E. Goddamnit! Why the fuck did I even try this picking a fight here!? It sure as hell wasn't a sense of fucking justice! Why the-
Humanity.
The reminder made me still. Right, Humanity! That's what I came here for!
…Wait, why didn't I gather anything from killing this fucker?
I quickly checked the exorcists' corpse with E.E and… oh for fuck's sake.
No way this asshole's still alive.
With a grunt of effort, I got on my feet, picked up my gun with my only hand left, and took a step towards the exorcist's body, who was barely shaking his head and moving his fingers a little bit. The blood kept pouring from his forehead, making a new pool of blood in this property.
If I listened closely, I could hear something coming from him.
"...F-fucker…. K-kill you… f… d- demon… "
How supremely unhelpful.
I didn't bother with any more theatrics, I needed the fucking humanity and I needed it NOW.
I aimed the gun, made sure to aim at his frontal lobe again, and simply,
BANG!
The body gave one last spasm, then moved no more. As soon as he died, I could feel it. I could feel them. White energy coming from his corpse, right into my body.
"Oh, oh YES."
I could feel the Souls enter my body, his life essence becoming part of mine through conquest. I could feel it filling the void that I was, just a little. I felt just a tiny bit more whole.
The sensation was fantastic… but I was still missing something.
"Where's the Humanity."
I looked at the corpse of the exorcist and frowned. He must've been human, right?
After a few seconds, I decided to just try what I did with the bloodstain, I extended my left hand to the body and hoped for the best. Unlike with the bloodstain, something didn't immediately come back to me, as if it was energy wishing to return to its rightful place. No, nothing like that.
But I did feel something there. And so, I pulled.
As I pulled, as I forced whatever was inside the exorcist to fucking LEAVE its body, something began to take form at the palm of my hand. Something black, as if it was pure darkness, outlined by a white sort of energy. It looked right so I kept pulling, and pulling, and pulling, and pulling, and-
And then I was done.
Without even realizing it, there was simply nothing more to pull from. Now in front of me was just a corpse, a completely empty, worthless carcass with two big fucking bullets through its brain. And in my hand…
Was a black sprite, with a thin white outline.
Humanity.
It was odd, it wasn't the same as what I had gathered from the bloodstained. I felt like I could save the sprite of Humanity in my pockets and it would just stay there, like any other item. Convenient, if nothing else.
For now, I pocketed it. I still needed to loot the place.
In fact, now that I thought about it, something changed now that the exorcist was dead. When I first encountered the house, I couldn't feel any cars around the street, or even people. It was completely deserted.
But now… I could easily hear the sounds of cars.
Shit. Was he blocking people off from getting here?
I needed to get out of here fast, this murder scene was horrific enough when I entered, and it was worse now with the addition of another corpse with multiple bullet wounds. I really didn't want to get the police on my case, or worse yet, Rias and her troupe of shitheads.
Quickly, I made a fast dash for all I needed here. Precisely, the exorcists' gun and lightsaber thing. Kneeling down, I first pocketed my gun, then grabbed the lightsaber by the handle-
Only for me to drop it with a single touch.
"Shit! This is burning!"
The handle felt horrifically hot for some reason. I didn't bother wondering why exactly it was so hot, I just took off the bandanna from my face, wrapped it around my hand, then grabbed the lightsaber.
It still felt horribly hot, but it was enough to let me press the button on its side. With a single press, the lightsaber turned off, now just a handle of horrific temperature.
I pocketed the saber on one of my jacket's pockets, then ran back inside. I didn't bother staying long, just making a direct line to the gun the exorcist dropped, and although the thought of possibly harvesting humanity from the dead girl inside went through my head, I really didn't want to stay here longer than I needed.
Loot gathered, I ran back outside, quickly kneeled down the exorcists' side to take ammo for his gun, and finally absconded from the place without looking back at the exorcists' corpse, going back to the alleyways I came from, now a few Souls richer, with a new gun and also a cool new lightsaber.
Best of all, it only took me half-an-arm.
Today was the day of good deals, it seemed.
"And… Fuck, there we go, all set, right?"
I looked at the makeshift fire pit with some sort of abject pride. I had it built inside a fenced area by the city center that looked pretty abandoned, the fence itself already broken before I got here and perfect for entering. The place was obviously dirty, but it was a small inconspicuous space that didn't really attract any attention.
At the center of the space was a poor excuse of a firepit. A small circle of pebbles, with whatever wooden things I could find in the trash.
But… something was missing. I didn't know why I thought that way, as far as I knew the firepit was good enough to light, but it didn't feel right. At all.
I stared at my shoddy work, eyes narrowing.
After a few moments, I snapped my fingers.
"It needs a stick."
It was a stupid addition, really, but it felt right for some reason. I quickly looked around the place and the nearby trash. Soon enough, I had a metal rod in my hands.
With an odd sense of satisfaction, I buried the metal stick into the pile of firewood. Now my bonfire had a metal rod sticking out, looking absolutely… perfect.
Rummaging in my pockets, I produced the small sprite of Humanity I harvested from the exorcist. Extending my hand to the bonfire, acting out of pure, primal instinct given to me by the Darksign, I held the piece of Humanity to it.
With purpose, I firmly crushed the Humanity in my hands, feeling how all that it contained, all the essence of Humanity within, spilled down to the bonfire. The second the Humanity juice made contact with the wood-
Flames. Beautiful, beautiful flames.
In one instant, this small decrepit space, dark and filthy, became warmly lit, with even the smallest of objects in the vicinity producing sharp shadows behind them. The flames within the bonfire danced languidly while hugging the metal rod, which now stood proudly inside it.
This… This was comfortable.
BONFIRE LIT.
I took a deep breath, savoring the light of the bonfire. I had planned to revert to my human visage as soon as I had this shit lit… but I wanted to sit down for a second. Just enjoy the flames.
And so I did. I dropped my backpack to the side, stretched my arms, then sat down by the fire, its flames hypnotic and relaxed. Even if it was useless, I closed my eyes, and let the warmth of the flames wash over me.
As if by magic, I could feel all of my exhaustion wash away. The wear and tear provoked by the day suddenly felt irrelevant and nonexistent. The beautiful flames… they were so pretty that I-
I let out a small (and most definitely manly) scream as I laid witness to something horrible with E.E.
"Oh! This- This is fucking disgusting. Jesus Christ."
I focused my gaze, adding another pair of eyes, to the process of my right arm growing new bones, meat and tissue. I saw in full detail how my sad little stump began to grow and reform, granting me sights that I wished I could erase from my memory.
They weren't kidding when they said the bonfire fucking healed you. This was traumatizing.
One concerning minute later, it was done. I stared perplexed at my brand new right arm, hand and all. It was exactly as I remembered, clenching my fists and flexing my arm as if to test if I had finally lost the mental warfare against the ever elusive DxD.
But nope, it was all real. Brand new arm, and all it cost was killing a weird fucking exorcist for his Humanity. One good deed at a time, folks.
Speaking of which, I turned my head to the bonfire and extended my hand, again closing my eyes for proper effect.
I searched within me, poking and prodding for anything I could sense. Something like this would've been unthinkable this morning, but ever since I died and turned into an Undead, it seemed as if my connection with the spiritual or supernatural had grown, at least in regards to my own things.
Sure enough, I felt it. My Humanity, the one piece of it I had inside me.
…This process would consume it. After it, I would be left with no humanity in me. It felt odd and nothing if not concerning, especially considering this wasn't some random guys' Humanity, it was mine. But it needed to be done.
So I took hold of it, and feeling the all-healing heat of the bonfire in front of me, I let the Humanity wash over me, letting it combine with the warmth of the flames.
Eyes Everywhere caught every second of the transformation back, of how the energy I released from my hand began covering every single part of me, putting me back together as I was before. The bonfire, as if giving guidance, helped the Humanity reshape my body as to how it was before.
Not before long, I gazed at myself with E.E, and I saw, despite all that had happened today, me.
It was easily noticeable that the restoration, unlike the creation of that arm, wasn't perfect. My face, that already wasn't the most flattering, had become much paler, and the already deep eyebags had become completely sunken. I looked like absolute shit, but at least, I didn't look like a zombie, and that in and of itself was a great achievement.
I glared at the sky above me, already dark and starry. It was too late to go shopping for clothes and it'd be useless to go shower myself only to get back into these clothes that had at least thirty diseases on them. So if all that was out of the question…
My stomach grumbled, comically loud.
"Fucking hungry."
I hadn't eaten since yesterday, after all.
With a grunt of effort, I forced myself to stand up. I checked my pockets to see if I had my wallet in them, grabbed my backpack off the floor, then simply left the small resting place I set up for myself. I was confident that the fire wouldn't be put out by anyone while I went to look for grub. One, it was really out of the way for people, and second…
Why would anyone take down such beautiful warmth?
…Because people were dicks, right.
In spite of still being a couple hours before midnight and the prior plans to hunt some strays, I became unable to step out of the bonfire's warmth for the rest of the night. With a Teriyaki McBurger down my gullet and with a couple cigarettes for good measure, I inevitably fell asleep by the fire, the comfort of the fire too good and uncommon for someone like me to enjoy.
I decided to give myself a rest for once. It was my fucking afterlife, after all. And thus, by the warm, warm bonfire, I fell asleep. Peacefully, which was something that not even in life I could truly achieve.
My peaceful sleep got interrupted by my eyes being forcefully opened by some external force. Around me, was an ever-expanding void, with the only thing in sight being an old computer set.
Goddammit.
I trudged to the desk with not a small amount of frustration. Sleep was for rest, not for this leveling business, dammit.
Eager to get this shit done with, I read the text on the ancient, white computer screen.
GREETINGS INCURSOR.
TODAY'S INCURSION HAS ENDED.
INCURSION SUMMARY:
MONEY= $61 USD ⇒ $196 USD
BULLETS = 40x 0.45 Bullets ⇒ 26x 0.45 Bullets
STATUS = Human ⇒ [Undead] Human
EXP COUNT:
3000 [XP] required for LVL.3
Ricochet Shots! [3 Times Hit]: 300xp
Avid Hustler! [30+ USD gained]: 300xp
First Canon Character Met! [Rias Gremory]: 100xp
First Taste of Light Damage! [Exorcist Light Sword]: 100 xp
Close Call! [VS. Freed]: 200xp
Killed Stray Exorcist [Freed Sellzen]: 1200xp
Death (1st Time) [Suicide]: -500xp
1800 [XP] ⇒ 3500 [XP]
NOTE: Negative XP won't reverse level-ups.
NOTE: Further deaths will multiply the XP loss by 2.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 3!
+1 SKILL POINT
You have unlocked a new side skill tree, [Pyromancer]! Side skill trees don't conflict with the main skill tree, [the Perfectionist]. You may spend skill points in a side skill tree instead of a main one.
Side skill trees, unlike main ones, don't have the initial 3 free skills.
CHOOSE A NEW SKILL!
[The Perfectionist]:
[Coin Flipper]: Grants the ability [Coin Maker], letting you generate a coin with a custom value (Minimum: 1 USD) by using your own available funds. This coin is specially made for enabling Ricochet shots and cannot be normally used for exchanges. Depending on the value, it can increase the DMG of the shot with a multiplier (2x Mult = 10 US) with no upper limit. You can generate up to 4 coins with no cooldown. The coins will disintegrate after they're thrown and stop being in the air.[Ricochet Junkie]: For every Ricochet a shot goes through before impact, the DMG of the projectile gets multiplied by 1.5x DMG. You also gain the ability [Willful Ricochet], letting you choose at will when a projectile shot by you will Ricochet instead of landing.[The Hood Splitter]: Your shots gain the ability [Shot-Splitter]. If a target receives two shots, and the second one lands on top of the previous one, [Shot-Splitter] triggers, making the first shot explode in shrapnel and giving the second shot a 5x DMG multiplier while vastly boosting the piercing capabilities of it.
[Pyromancer]:
[Basic Pyrokinesis]: Grants the ability [Pyrokinesis], making you able to generate a flame in your hand that can be expanded and controlled. It is limited to your hand and upon throwing the flame or dropping it, it will die.
{Gunman / Pyromancer} skill available for unlocking!
[Actual Finger Gun]: Grants you the ability [Finger Gun], letting you use your hand to shoot fire bullets. The strength of the bullets will depend on the progress of the [Pyromancer] skill tree.
And that's what she wrote.
I stared at the screen for a good while, weighing the pros and cons.
I definitely wasn't investing in Pyromancing for now. It seemed like it could be cool for sure, but right now I wasn't sure I could take my time progressing the skill tree if threats like the exorcist appeared again. If I went and waved my flaming hand at him he'd just proceed with beheading me… although the finger gun bit was mighty tempting, I'd admit.
That left the Perfectionist skills.
The shot-splitting one seemed really good, but I didn't think that the fuckers I could encounter here would just stand still and let me shoot them in the same exact place twice. The exorcist was proof enough of that. That left the coin one and the ricochet one.
Both were disgustingly useful. The ricochet one rewarded me for doing what I always did, plus letting me ricochet a shot as much as I wanted. The coin one essentially served two purposes, first as a damage multiplier (although the fact it drew from my funds was a bit concerning) and second as an instant surface for ricochets. Ideally I'd get both and that's that, but I needed to choose the best one now and later see if I even bought the other, since new skills from the tree would roll around.
Hnnghh, I knew that the ricochet upgrade was the safest bet. All ricochets got a boost, plus ricochet as much as I wanted. Literally flawless, zero risk, go team.
…But I wanted to shoot some fucking coins, dammit.
Besides, the damage multiplier on the coins was absolutely fucking ridiculous. No upper limit!? I knew that it would cost an obscene amount of money to even produce the coin required for an ungodly multiplier, but if we thought about it long term, once I was rich as all shit and dominated this puny fucking game like I'm meant to…
It could do some serious, serious fucking work. And in my afterlife we planned for fucking success, you shitheads.
Certain and expectant, I clicked on [Coin Flipper], and after clicking yes on a prompt asking me 'Are you sure?', I felt the new power right at the tip of my finger tips.
Idly, even aware of the fact I was inside a dream, I do the motion someone would normally do when flipping a coin, putting my thumb against my index finger and thrusting it upwards.
As I did so, thinking about the absolute minimum value, a coin formed itself from thin air at my thumb and instantly launched itself lightly, making a small arc in the air and falling to the ground (or, well, whatever this void-floor thing was called), disintegrating the second it made contact.
…I felt cool.
I looked back at the computer screen.
Name: Daniel García, [the Perfectionist.]
Level : Level 3 [Perfectionist] Undead Gunman.
XP: 3500
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Skill List:
[Perfect Shots][Perfect Stacks][Stylish Twirl][Coin Flipper] (NEW!)Perk List:
Eyes EverywhereSharpest ShooterTrait List:
DarksignConditions:
Undead (Darksign)
Ah, would you look at that, they finally updated the photo in my character sheet. Now instead of the awful previous one, now there's one of me looking like a fucking recovering addict, taken right after I used Humanity to stop looking like a zombie. Cool, very cool.
CHARACTER CHANGES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED.
DAY-END SUMMARY DREAM CLOSING…
…
…
…
DREAM CLOSED.
SWEET DREAMS, INCURSOR!
Finally, the world went black and I resumed my sleep.
AN: This was originally uploaded on FFNet, but I decided to give Spacebattles a try, since it seemed like feedback was more readily available. I must say, so far this website has the best formatting out of all fanfic sites, since I had to change literally nothing from the original Google Doc, which makes the massacred text in FFNet look quite pitiful in comparison.
If you enjoyed my writing, please let me know. If you didn't, also do let me know (although I'd appreciate some bare minimum politeness, at the very least). Also keep in mind that English is my second, self-taught language, so there may be some ugly grammar fuck-ups here and there.
I do have to say, as a word of warning, that I update rather infrequently. I am here hoping that the feedback will make me feel guilty enough to actually keep writing consistently. Yes, I am holding the story hostage in exchange for reviews. Yes, this is happening.
Whatever the case, I appreciate that you read these two very extensive chapters.
Thanks for reading.
For once, I woke up without something smelling like piss and/or shit… okay, it still smelled awful, this was a refuge made in an abandoned space, which meant that plenty of hobos before have pissed here, and so would the hobos after me.
But the fact that I actually felt rested was enough of a rarity that it deserved a standing ovation.
In front of me, the bonfire was still lit, the flames drifting ever so slowly and gently, providing warmth with no pause. It gave this whole shithole a homey vibe that it truly didn't deserve in the slightest.
Set on proving that feeling right, I stood up and began taking a piss on one of the walls nearby.
Daniel, if this was your way of moving past being homeless then you weren't doing a very good job.
I would prove that fact once I actually had some property under my belt, thank you very much. Right now I was street waste, and if the city was gonna treat me like fucking trash then I could piss anywhere I wanted as retaliation. Fuck you, Kuoh.
As I discharged my absolute fury on this ratty abandoned wall, I began charting out the course of action for today. It was becoming quite clear that keeping myself moving every day was the most I could do for now, since it didn't seem like hustling gave much XP to level up. If I wanted levels I needed to kill shit, and so far all of the hostile, killable assholes have been chance encounters.
So, what I could do that was under my control was either hustling (which was unnecessary for now since Rias gave me that fat donation) or information gathering, and my only source of information right now was Rias herself.
I frowned as I recalled that tidbit. I actually didn't even know what to ask her, or if I even needed to ask anything. She already said everything that was of interest to me yesterday, I truly have no fucking clue what else I was supposed to gather from her.
…Right! I needed to know the greatest question of them all. I was sure that if I at least could have this answered, this whole fucking mess would make a whole lot more sense. Hopefully it'd be enough to chart a good course to another city or whatnot.
As the last drops of piss fell on the wall, I nodded to myself.
I was going to find out what the fuck Highschool DxD meant.
Before that, however, I needed a change of clothes and a fucking shower. And even before THAT…
I looked at the bonfire, frowning. I pocketed my lil' fella back in my pants, zipped it up, then got in front of the magic fireplace.
Extending my hand, I began to feel for something, something within me…
Using the bonfire's warmth as a guide, I looked within myself and- oh, there it was. I could feel my Souls.
800 Souls laid within me. Life essence harvested from that shithead Exorcist.
I tried feeling if I had any more than that, but no luck. It seemed that killing that Stray fuck the first night didn't net me any Souls since I still wasn't undead.
Now to the important bit. I concentrated and once again began to search within myself, specifically, all that I was, all of my strength, all of MY-
…Oh, was this a joke?
LVL: 1
SOULS: 800
————
Vitality: 8
Attunement: 0
Endurance: 8
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Resistance: 15
Intelligence: 10
Faith: 0
————
Humanity: 0
Why… Why could I feel a perfectly ordered sheet? Were those supposed to be my… what, characteristics? Statistics? Why the fuck was the most magical part of this fucking experience so far, that didn't involve using a magazine or a fucking ancient computer for upgrading myself, involve an actual numbers sheet?
I felt terribly disappointed with the discovery, dreading having to worry about more 'character' bullshit. It didn't help that it seemed actually worse than the upgrades I got while sleeping.
No matter, these were supposed to be aimed at increasing my own strength, and goddamn I was gonna get stronger. In fact, that Strength stat looked miserable, if I wanted to increase it…
I felt for my 'Strength' stat, and I tried using my Souls to upgrade it. As soon as I had the thought, I felt the cost of such an action.
Strength: 8 ⇒ 9
Cost: 673
What a useless fucking cunt I murdered yesterday. He was such a pain in the ass to kill and yet he only gave me enough to barely increase a stat. Before I upgraded, though, I gave the transaction some thought.
Was Strength really what I needed here? Could there possibly be a more important aspect of myself that was worth upgrading?
…
The fuck was I talking about? I wanted the big fucking muscles, and I was punching those devils to death if they ever got too close to me. The secret weapon, as it were.
Confirming the upgrade, I felt my Strength increase… a little bit, but that was fine. It would add up, eventually. After the upgrade, I was left with barely a few Souls.
Souls: 127
I idly noticed that the cost of upgrading all stats had increased, but I didn't bother analyzing this stat sheet any further. Whenever I had Souls to spend, I'd just spend them on Strength and fuck all else. If I spent an entire lifetime already doing math only to fail miserably in the end, I would NOT do the same in this one. Fuck that.
Now, it was time to buy some clothes, then take a shower. I had spotted a very cheap clothing store while exploring the city, and I already had some ideas on how I wanted to look.
This was my afterlife, baby. I needed to at least not look like shit while I cruised through it.
"Hm… maybe a haircut, too? Is having an unshaven mug aesthetically pleasing these days…?"
Inside the petrol station bathroom, I was doing one of the harshest and cruelest methods of torture known to mankind.
"Shit, are my eyes really this bloodshot?"
Looking at myself in the mirror. Well, I could always look at myself using E.E, but it was better to just focus on the mirror and pay no mind to the infinite eyes looking at my horrid self from every direction.
Granted, it wasn't as bad as usual. For one, I had just taken a shower for the first time in…
…I felt a sudden urge to not discuss this particular topic. Let's just say that it took me dying to actually get myself cleaned up for once.
Aside from that, I was wearing honest-to-god new clothes. Well, new second-hand clothes, I wasn't about to waste my entire budget on clothing since I was still missing a solution for my bullet problem, and I didn't want to splurge on things before getting that settled.
A clean (it was sad that I had to clarify this) gray long-sleeved shirt hugged my upper-body, feeling quite snug and comfy. I was also wearing a fresh pair of loosely-fitting black jeans, with a cheap leather-belt securing it to my waist. I also naturally bought some cheap socks and boxers.
My shoes were the same as always though, since they weren't atrociously dirty or torn apart. New ones were also expensive as shit.
Overall, this little expenditure ran me about $68 USD. A steal, if we're being honest, since I also got a jacket that's folded next to me. A neat gray parka jacket that would help with the nightly cold.
I had $128 USD left after the little shopping trip. $118 after paying for access to the shower, a toothbrush and toothpaste, some deodorant, plus the little packets of shampoo and soap.
Kuoh was now hosting the cleanest hobo in the world.
"Tch, maybe I should just mug people."
Concerning statements like that were made as I turned my face from one side to the other while gazing at myself. It had been a long time since I saw myself with damp, clean hair and although my face still looked ghastly in general considering my recent zombification, it was better than the usual, feeling myself fresh for a change.
I thoughtfully rubbed my chin, feeling the hairs of my stubble.
"I don't look half-bad…. I could trim this bitch, though."
Nodding sagely, I washed my face using the faucet, then began saving my hygiene stuff inside my backpack (which still reeked of trash, but you know, baby-steps) and finally wore the jacket, leaving it unzipped.
…Huh.
"I actually don't look homeless, for once."
Good as that fact was, it still didn't change that at the end of the day I'd go to sleep by a bonfire inside an alleyway… still, dress for the job you want and all that, this was a good change.
Now that the matter of my personal hygiene was finally taken care of after God knows how long, I exited the showers, bought myself another McTeriyaki burger on the way ($113 left), and then, by 1 PM, I reached a payphone.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, unlike in Chile, the payphone actually fucking worked, and it wasn't just a magnet for hobos to go and piss all over them for sport.
…As a note for later, I should probably reevaluate how much of my life has revolved around pissing in public spaces. It was concerning, to say the least.
While reading the business card Rias gave me yesterday (which was stored in my backpack, the reading being done conveniently by E.E) I dialed the number and inserted a loose 100 yen coin I had from yesterday's hustle. Idly biting the McTeriyaki burger (which was quickly becoming the only thing on my diet) I waited for someone to answer.
…Goddamn, why the fuck haven't they exported the McTeriyaki to anywhere else in the world. Fuck me.
Finally, the line got picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Swallowing the bite of burger beforehand, I answered.
"It's Daniel."
After hearing some silence from the other side, I hesitantly added.
"...you know, the homeless guy?"
A low, womanly chuckle came from the other end.
"Why yes, I know who you are. I'm just looking for the President. Please wait a little."
I frowned at her answer, but wisely and calmly decided to not start fights with Rias' secretary or whatever she was… Despite how much I wanted to, since she was just assuming (correctly) that I was homeless. Okay, I know I just told her that I was homeless but it's the principle of the matter.
…Fuck this bitch.
Before my thoughts could get any more violent, a familiar, pleasant voice came on.
"Hello Daniel, I take it you're ready to talk about my offer then?"
Right, she still thought I was interested.
"Yeah… about that-"
"Before you say anything, maybe we should discuss this face to face?"
There really wasn't any need for that.
"See, I just-"
"We can discuss this inside my, well, headquarters in this city, as it were. Please, come to Kuoh Academy, I'll have someone waiting for you there. You can come right now, if you like."
…I took another bite from the McTeriyaki. I was getting absolutely shoved into a face-to-face meeting that would help absolutely no one, but I'd admit that I was curious about what the demon's headquarters looked like. And why those headquarters were located inside a highschool. Mostly the second part.
"Fucking— sure, whatever. I'll go right now, I guess."
I didn't bother with more pleasantries, simply hanging up the phone. I really wanted to skip town already. Sure, I had a bonfire here, which was cool, but I could create more (at the cost of a human life) and frankly this was a very boring town overall, devils residing here notwithstanding.
With my funds I could've easily gotten a bus or train ticket (the last one being a cool novelty for me), so I was going to do this meeting with Rias, ask the questions I needed answers to, then go somewhere else. Frankly, the benefits of doing so were endless.
First, I'd no longer be under the watchful eye of Rias and her gang of colorful teens, so I could actually do what I did best and start the mugging enterprise again. Second, I would probably encounter more of these 'strays' to gain XP since they weren't getting actively hunted by Rias' gang, and finally, and the most important one of them all…
I wanted to visit more places. Tourism, if you will.
I was a simple man at the end of the day.
Plans now set, I gulped the rest of the McTeriyaki down my gullet. Then, with a bit of pep in my step, I headed for Kuoh Academy.
…I hope no one there recognized the crazy man with the gun from the day before yesterday.
It took a little while, but I finally reached the gates of the frankly ridiculous school. The academy looked like a lavish waste of money of which its only purpose was to mock the common populace, with its tall infrastructure and old-timey sort of vibe, the kind that would have pretentious shitty piano music playing inside it 24/7. It looked like only rich-snobby fuckers would ever spend their lifetime's worth of daddy's money to attend this shithole shrine to capitalism, getting a free pass into perfect jobs with daddy's connections and while we were fucking at it add that they didn't even need to fucking work in the first place or to even get the damned education to begin with because they already won at life by simply being FUCKING BORN with the SHINIEST FUCKING SILVER SPOON up their FUCKING ASSHOLE.
…No, I was NOT sour about my education. Shut the fuck up.
As I neared the gates, I spotted the small white-haired girl from yesterday, wearing what seemed to be the school uniform (which sported a scandalously short skirt, short enough that it made me want to call the school in the guise of a concerned parent). She gave me a bored look, which quickly turned into one of disapproval.
"You can't smoke here."
Fucking hell.
"Says who," I retorted, because I wasn't about to get policed by a teenage girl with stupid hair that's hiding a cat-tail up her bum.
"The academy's rules. You can't smoke here. It's also disgusting."
I considered momentarily to acquiesce to her rather reasonable request, then firmly discarded the notion.
Ever since I arrived here, I haven't been able to finish a single fucking cigarette without something interrupting me. Be it demons with thousands of tits, murder scenes, or nosy assholes like this little girl. Okay, I have smoked cigarettes other times without interruption, but IT WAS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE MATTER.
I took a rather slow drag of the cigarette, savoring the disapproval of the girl's gaze, then smoothly let out the smoke past my lips.
"If this is meant to help the recruitment efforts then I think you're doing a piss-poor job at it."
She stayed silent, probably debating internally if she should raise a bigger fuss about this, then sighed in resignation.
"Just follow me."
Ah, the taste of victory. Adult man: 1 - Teenage girl: 0.
I followed her into the school grounds, some students milling around which made me raise an eyebrow. Why the fuck were students at school in a Saturday? Were they masochists?
Inevitably, my attempts at looking at them like they were the freaks were thwarted once people noticed me following the girl.
"Huh? Who's that guy?"
"Why's he following Koneko-chan? Is he a teacher?"
"He's smoking…"
"Eek! Is he glaring at us!?"
I was, indeed, glaring at them. In turn, I could feel a dozen glares from some other direction. Turning my head, I could see a group of students, boys and girls, glaring at me.
"He should get away from Koneko-chan."
"He looks like bad news, doesn't he?"
"I will kill him! Kill him!"
"Rip him to shreds!"
…Concerning, especially since that last part wasn't even a hushed whisper, they just yelled that.
I looked at the girl (which was named Koneko, apparently) and tried to see if she had anything to say about such outward violent threats.
Judging by E.E, not a single reaction on her face. Not even a twitch of the eyes.
Concerning.
Still, in absolute defiance of common proper manners, I kept smoking undeterred in a school space.
After much following, I was taken in front of yet another lavishly built two-story school building (the existence of which elicited no harsh opinions on rich assholes whatsoever) that looked a bit worn out, located quite a bit far from the main lavishly built school building for assholes.
No, I was not sour. Stop asking.
Koneko acknowledged me for the first time since she began leading me here.
"You can't enter there while smoking."
I frowned, but even I had limits to the extent I was going to argue with a teenage girl. I took one last drag from the cigarette to finish it, then took it out of my lips to toss it aside.
…The girl's glare hardened. Fine.
I rolled my eyes and simply stored the cigarette in my pocket for later disposal AKA: as soon as she wasn't looking.
Seemingly satisfied, Koneko opened the door to the building. Before I stepped in, I threw the cigarette stub aside on the ground, in protest against schools built for rich assholes.
Inside looked a bit unkempt, frankly. Not messy, but clearly unused, with thin layers of dust coating all of the floor and walls. It looked like a normal, if a bit antiquated, school building. Koneko silently led me up the stairs, then into a hallway with numerous doors by the side, probably leading to classrooms.
At the end of the hallway, rested a black door, much cleaner than the rest of the place. Koneko simply knocked once.
"Enter, please," said a voice that wasn't Rias'.
Koneko opened the door and inside was… a lounge? There were couches surrounding a small table and a large desk by the front of the room. The floor was covered in a probably very expensive red carpet, and the walls were covered in paintings that looked prime for decorating walls for rich assholes.
It was a very opulent living room, kind of.
Sitting in one of the couches, was the flying girl from yesterday, the one with black hair.
"Ara~, until you finally decided to come, Daniel-kun. We were starting to worry here."
I would've put some focus on her or what she was saying, but sadly for her, there was something distracting me.
There was a shower in this fucking lounge, for some godforsaken reason. By the side, with the only thing dividing the shower and everything else being a long curtain that did a very poor job of covering what was happening on the other side.
Even with an effective curtain there, it would've been for naught, for Eyes Everywhere was always active and that fucking shower was within range.
And inside was Rias. Showering. For some fucking reason.
Granted, it was good eye-candy. Very good eye-candy actually. And sure, she was undeniably attractive, but I wasn't no fucking moron. No one invited someone over and then mistakenly showered in their lounge-shower by accident.
Were… were these attempts at seduction? Was she hoping I fell under servitude by thinking with my dick?
Were the circumstances different, I would've fell for it hook, line and sinker, but that wasn't the case now. I was a big man with big ambitions, after all.
I promptly decided to ignore whatever was happening there (which was hard since E.E was always active and I had to endure the horrible fate of ogling an attractive wet naked woman) and instead answered the ponytail girl.
"Well, I didn't really want to come here, but your owner kind of insisted."
I made no attempt to side-step the 'slave' conversation. Also, I couldn't help but gaze with my eyes to the side.
"Could I know why she decided this was a great moment to take a shower? In her inexplicable lounge-shower, no less."
The ponytail girl chuckled amused at my query.
"She just thought you'd take a bit longer to get here. I must say though, you've cleaned up after yourself since yesterday. You look quite dashing."
I believed no words from her, but grunted in affirmation anyway. Not wanting to stand in line of sight of the shower, I stepped in further and took a seat in one of the couches, taking off my backpack and leaving it on the floor. In a moment, the ponytail girl stood up and served me a cup of tea, the liquid gently pouring out of a very expensive looking teapot.
…I should've considered robbing this place before I skipped town.
"Please," said the ponytail girl, presenting the cup with a firmly stuck smile on her face. "The President will be done in a moment."
I took the cup and simply drank the tea. It had been a long, long time since I last had a cup of tea, and I was honestly missing it.
To my surprise, the tea was quite good.
"It's pretty good," I said off-handedly, taking another sip.
"Thank you," she answered, still smiling.
And we fell into silence. It felt a bit awkward, but it was probably intentional, since the only thing that could be heard was the shower and how the water fell from her body.
Still, in a mighty show of willpower, I did NOT pop any sort of boner or any other bodily reaction. Mostly because after three days of having E.E, the X-Ray vision that let me look at literally anything I wanted, the naked body of a woman (or a man) didn't elicit any response in me. At least, not in the context of unwilling ogling. If I used my own two eyes for it, that would've probably been another thing.
Eventually, Rias stepped out of her lounge-shower dressed in the school uniform, which still had a way too short skirt. She gazed in my direction (my own gaze was stuck in my cup, unwilling to focus anywhere else) and smiled gently.
"Daniel, it's a pleasure to see you. I'm sorry about the shower, but I just didn't expect you to arrive so soon."
I looked back at her and frowned.
"Sure," I said, putting all of the sarcasm I had into the word.
As Rias got a view of my face, she looked surprised.
"My, you look a lot better today, Daniel… but also a bit pale. Are you okay?"
Must've noticed my post-zombie paleness. I simply shrugged my shoulders.
"Rough night, is all. Can we please just talk already?"
She nodded and made her way to the desk, sitting behind it and crossing her hands.
"So, have you given thought to my offer?"
I couldn't help but look at her a bit miffed.
"Yeah, and I could've told you over the phone that it just wasn't happening."
She sighed at my response. "But I can't help but wonder if you've truly given thought to it. Yesterday it seemed like you were quite into the idea, and now you're just firmly stuck in rejecting it."
"Yeah, I was acting. So I could stop the conversation."
Actually, I was acting so I could potentially kill myself and become a stray devil, but that was out of the question now.
"You don't need to act with me, you know?"
"Apparently I do, since you just can't take a fucking no for an answer."
We were both staring at each other now, me glaring at her while she simply kept a neutral look, as if considering her next move. As we were engaged in the stare-down, ponytail girl chuckled.
"My, look at the sparks fly."
We both turned our stares to the ponytail girl.
"In what fucking loopy land does rejecting a slavery offer constitute as sparks."
"Not now, Akeno."
Instead of looking chastised, she just seemed even more pleased by our responses, as if vindicated.
Rias sighed, deciding to ignore her slave's interjection.
"Look, Daniel, do you even understand the lengths you could reach simply by becoming a devil? You're such an impressive human out of sheer natural skills, without a Sacred Gear whatsoever. If you became a devil, I would ensure—guarantee, even—that you'd become a powerhouse with the proper training you deserve."
Before I could again interject, she continued.
"And I know your stance on slavery. I'd be more than willing to sign a contract—a binding contract—that states that you shall not ever be treated as a slave. You'd be a slave in name only, but you would have all the benefits of becoming a devil plus the benefits of being part of the Gremory family. My family. Of course you'd still have to participate in Rating Games and things like contract-work, but those will be properly compensated by me. Personally. I will make sure that you get paid out of my own pocket."
She gave me a determined, set look.
"You wouldn't be a slave. I would never make you one."
I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Perhaps this was the Impostor Syndrome I read about long ago, when I dreamt of entering medical school? This girl was willing to practically beg for my allegiance, but it was under the basis that I was naturally this gifted gunman when in reality I just got given this power… but the feeling didn't last long. After all, I spent an entire life of misery before getting here, I was NOT about to waste the chance to become a powerful motherfucker by feeling guilty about shit.
That said, I looked at Rias and answered her own determined gaze with my own.
"Rias, I understand that you treat your… family properly. But that isn't the issue, I just don't want to bind myself to anyone. Anyone. I'm sorry, but no amount of clauses or concessions will make me agree."
She didn't relent.
"And what about your potential? You could become so much stronger if you just accepted entering my peerage."
"I will become stronger, but I will do so in another way. Without becoming a devil. Sure, it'll probably slower, but I can fucking assure you that I won't be lesser than you devils."
She didn't seem convinced by my argument.
"You… really don't understand how unfathomably powerful devils can be, Daniel."
"I don't care, I will shoot all of em' dead. I got my methods."
"Daniel, I know you've been able to manage through for now, but unfortunately not everyone— in fact, most competent supernatural beings won't be affected by a simple bullet."
"I. Don't. Care." I insisted, leaning forward and fixing Rias with a glare. "I will teach them to eat shit and lead all the same."