The next few days passed in a haze of satisfying efficiency. Thomas quickly adapted to the rhythm of his new life, a rhythm entirely dictated by his will. Aya Tanaka was the perfect servant. She woke before dawn to prepare breakfast, cleaned their small apartment until it sparkled, and left for work at the cafe with a smile on her face. Every evening, she would return home and hand over all of the day's earnings to Thomas before preparing dinner. For her, serving Thomas was her new and most joyous life purpose.
For Thomas, the money was merely a means to an end. With a steady flow of funds, he swiftly rebuilt a facade of normal life. He bought new, fashionable clothes, a cutting-edge smartphone and laptop, and all the other accouterments a man needed in the 21st century. With his newfound fluency in Japanese, he was able to blend in seamlessly. No one would suspect that the handsome European man politely ordering coffee was an inter-dimensional anomaly who arrived in a pile of garbage just days ago.
Yet, beneath this facade of normalcy, the hunt continued. Every day, Thomas spent hours in front of his laptop, delving into the depths of the internet. His goal was singular: to find anomalies.
The God of Chaos had said this world was from a fictional story. That meant there were protagonists, antagonists, and underlying supernatural rules. Kuoh Town was his game board, and he needed to learn its rules before he could begin to manipulate them.
His search began with keywords: "Kuoh," "local myths," "strange sightings," "unexplained news." Initially, the results were mundane. City history, tourist spots, boring local news. But then, digging deeper into obscure online forums and blogs, he began to discover a pattern.
A name kept popping up: Kuoh Academy.
On the surface, it was a prestigious private school that was formerly an all-girls' school. But amidst the internet whispers, there were strange tales. Stories of an elite group of students so perfect they seemed unreal. These students were revered, admired, and feared.
He found mentions of the "Academy's Prince," a handsome boy named Yuuto Kiba whose charm was said to melt anyone's heart. Then there were the "Two Great Sisters," nicknames for the two most powerful young women in the school: the exotic Rias Gremory with her fiery red hair, and the elegant and intelligent Sona Sitri, the student council president. The descriptions of them went beyond mere admiration, hinting at an unnatural aura of power and authority.
"This is where the center is," Thomas muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on a photo of Rias Gremory on the screen. Even through the low-quality photo on the school website, he could sense there was something extraordinary about her. She was the ultimate target. The power he could copy from her must be immense.
But he had to be smart. He couldn't just walk in there. He was twenty-five, not a high school student. He needed an 'in'. His plan began to form. With his European looks and perfect Japanese fluency, he was an ideal candidate for a teaching position. An English assistant teacher, perhaps. Or a substitute. With his money, forging some diplomas and letters of recommendation would be trivial.
Over the next few days, while waiting for his forged documents to be processed by an underworld contact he found online, Thomas conducted surveillance. He would sit at a cafe across the street from Kuoh Academy's gates, observing the students coming and going. He studied the key faces from his research: Kiba, Sona, and especially, Rias Gremory and her always-present entourage.
On the third day of his surveillance, he saw something that confirmed all his theories.
His attention was drawn to a rather ordinary-looking brown-haired male student. He was clumsy, a bit perverted by the way his eyes followed the female students, and seemed to possess no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Thomas almost dismissed him, until he saw the boy being cornered in an alley by a group of older-looking delinquents.
Driven by curiosity, Thomas left his cafe and followed from a safe distance. He hid around a corner, observing the impending beatdown. It was a cliché scene. The delinquents demanded money, the boy refused, and the first punch was thrown.
The boy fell to the ground, but then something strange happened. As one of the delinquents raised his foot to kick, a flash of red ignited on the boy's left arm. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but Thomas saw it clearly: a blood-red armored gauntlet, with a green jewel on the back of its hand.
BOOM!
A disproportionate force erupted from the boy. The kicking delinquent was thrown backward as if hit by a car, slamming into a brick wall with a sickening thud. His companions froze in shock and horror. The boy himself seemed equally surprised, staring at his now-normal arm again.
Before the situation could escalate further, Rias Gremory and a beautiful young woman with long black hair appeared at the end of the alley. Their presence immediately shifted the atmosphere. Rias merely waved her hand dismissively, and the remaining delinquents suddenly stumbled and fled in irrational fear.
Thomas felt a tremor in the air, the lingering residues of a dense, powerful energy. His system panel flickered in his vision.
{Warning: High-level non-human energy fluctuations detected.}
{Analyzing source... Failed. Target power level too high for initial scan.}
Thomas's heart pounded. There it was. Undeniable proof. The boy, Rias, the black-haired woman... they were all supernatural beings. And their power far exceeded anything he could have imagined. Rias Gremory was his ultimate target, but approaching her now would be suicide. She was surrounded by power.
He needed an easier target. Someone with power, but isolated. Someone he could hunt without drawing the attention of these powerful factions.
That night, he adjusted his search parameters. "Kuoh missing persons," "strange animal attacks," "demon urban legends." He cross-referenced police reports with occult whispers. Finally, he found what he was looking for. A series of 'attacks' in the abandoned warehouse district near the docks. The victims were always single men lured to the area at night and never seen again. Police suspected a gang, but occult forums spoke of 'Stray Devils'.
Stray Devil. The term sounded promising. A lone supernatural individual, unaligned with Rias Gremory's group. A perfect target.
The next night, Thomas was no longer in his cafe. He wore a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and combat boots. Beneath them, his Cartoon Template hummed with potential, ready to absorb any damage. He headed for the warehouse district.
The place was eerily silent, filled with long shadows and the smell of rust and salty sea air. He walked past the decaying buildings, his senses alert. He didn't have to search long. Under the dim moonlight, he saw a figure.
A woman. She wore a tight red dress that looked out of place in these squalid surroundings. She was strikingly beautiful, in a predatory way. She leaned against a wall, as if waiting for someone. As Thomas approached, she smiled at him, a smile that was meant to be alluring but felt only cold.
"Are you lost, handsome?" her voice hissed.
His system panel lit up brightly.
{Warning: Low-level Demonic entity detected ahead.}
{Type: Stray Devil.}
{Initial ability analysis... Detected: Minor Physical Enhancement, Low Illusion Magic, Partial Transformation.}
Thomas stopped a few meters from her, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Actually," he said in fluent Japanese, "I think I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
The woman's eyes narrowed. Her illusion of friendliness faded. "Humans shouldn't be here at night. Leave now, and perhaps I'll let you live."
"I have a better offer," Thomas said, mentally activating his system.
Activate Targeting Mode. A transparent targeting reticle appeared, locking onto the woman's figure. "You will be mine."
The devil woman laughed, a sharp, unpleasant cackle. "Foolish human! You think you can command me?"
In response, a pair of black bat-like wings erupted from her back, and her fingernails elongated into sharp, black talons. "I'll eat your heart!"
She lunged at him, moving with inhuman speed.
Thomas didn't move. He simply stood there with a grin on his face, ready to feel his first true power, and to take it for himself. His first fight had begun.