Gaming Badly in DxD

-Zatren Fumigami-

Well, instead of tackling the Epic Dungeon the day after like I planned, it took around a week.

Turns out, I had a lot more to do than what I first thought about.

First of all, I couldn’t just go around, visiting my kids and loved ones only from time to time; it felt distasteful, and while I considered myself a free spirit of sorts, I was still going to man the fuck up and spend some time around my girls and kids.

…Though that meant that my house’s walls had to be replaced twice before I taught Kuroro that: Tackling into the floor equals good, tackling through the kitchen means bad.

Nothing that gentle parenting couldn’t solve!

After that, it was mostly training.

Thankfully enough, Kiba did not attempt to be a suicidal idiot a second time, and after a heavy scolding from Rias, he was set to go into training. That aside, it wasn’t only Kiba that I was training, but the entirety of Rias and Sona’s peerage.

It went… slightly more entertaining than I thought it would be?

‘’Faster, maggots!’’ I called out, sweeping the air in an arc with my spear.

Following the movement, the air cracked as lightning roared like a hungry beast. The thick scent of ozone filled my nose as the bolt of magic electricity hit just barely behind their panicking forms. ‘’Faster! I said full speed! Strain those muscles and tear them apart! I can just heal them right after!’’

Some would call me a slave driver (Those who did got extra training), but my results were irrefutable. I pushed them to the brink, and then immediately healed them up.

I trained the group each day, exchanging who was in my Party each time since the limit was five in total.

Though there were certainly some… exceptions to my training.

For example, Gasper was not nearly as ready, emotionally or mentally, for this type of training. Instead, he spent most of his time looking from the side inside his box. However, every half an hour he spent inside, he had to spend a full one outside.

To be fair, I believed he was having a much worse time mentally than those I put through hell and back physically. Social anxiety was a bitch.

A shout cut through my musings.

‘’It’s not fair! You don’t push Rias and Sona nearly as much!’’ I didn’t remember who said it among the small crowd, but I bet ten whole dollars it was Ruruko whining again.

‘’Of course not! I’m absolutely fucking biased and they have much less to catch up to!’’ I scoffed, channeling another bolt of lightning in my hand. Only that this time, instead of just throwing it in their general direction, I smirked like an idiot and changed some properties of the attack using a quick math equation. ‘’Now go, go, go! Hot potato!’’

Slamming the bolt of lightning into the ground, I watched in amusement as dreadful screams of progress echoed in the gym as my attack started bouncing off the walls, and each time it did, its modified momentum rose.

I had to keep feeding it MP or else it would stop, but nothing too draining.

‘’Sir, yes, sir!’’ Of course, just like there were people complaining, there were also those who took my tortu— training way too seriously, like Sachi. ‘’Absorption Line!’’

Who, instead of running away, was already setting lines on the ground as she ran. If the lightning attack so much as grazed one of Absorption Line’s strings, it would get a big portion of its fuel sapped away. ‘’This is nothing! Haaaa!’’

From my place on the sidelines, I stared, amused. ‘’That girl is not right in the head, I feel.’’

Which was perfect.

‘’You mean like their sexy teacher? Yeah, probably.’’ An equally amused voice echoed, and I turned to look at my other student.

This one, I wasn’t really torturing physically, since this level of training would have been entirely too much. However, that didn’t stop her from wearing the girl’s track uniform while sitting on the floor.

I would have liked to say it was ironic, considering just how much into the stereotype of a neet she could fit, but Aika was surprisingly athletic.

…For all the wrong reasons. Something something… ‘You need more stamina to—’ And then I cut her off before I could get distracted by the mental image.

Aika, unlike the rest of my friends and comrades, wasn’t a devil, but a baseline human. I couldn’t put her through this training without genuinely affecting her general health. So, until her body got used to magic, she just had some regular physical exercise while we trained Calculation Magic.

Currently, she was my only student in this area, and while I was not near the level of Ayuka’s expertise and fluidity, the levels I was racking up on my Teaching skill were enough to make up for it.

‘’I’ll tell you to watch your mouth and be respectful,’’ I said, raising an eyebrow at the grinning, bespectacled girl. ‘’But you’ll probably say some horny shit like ‘yes daddy’, or ‘Have I been a bad girl?’ and I cannot afford to get distracted by your shenanigans, you little perv.’’

‘’Ah! The whole, unfiltered truth! How could you do this to your girlfriend?!’’ As if struck, Aika recoiled back, clutching her chest like I had just stabbed her through the heart. ‘’How could I ever recover…?’’

‘’I’ll get you nun robes to roleplay a God and Worshiper scenario if you manage to make a fireball by today.’’ I deadpanned.

‘’I’m all fired up!’’ Aika suddenly dropped the act and grinned like a madwoman, jumping to her feet in a second.

Her eyes dilated as she picked up her book from the ground and took a look at the basic formulas for small spells of diverse elements I had set up.

I stared in equal parts astonishment and amusement. Apparently, it was that simple to inspire Aika to push her best.

It kind of reminded me of one of those shonen anime scenes where the character gets so pumped and inspired that they manage to make a breakthrough soon after.

However, real life wasn’t an anime last I checked, and Aika was nothing but a beginner, the chances of her actually making a—

‘’Fireball!’’ I whipped my head to the side.

A ball of dark, purplish fire, no bigger than a football, shot out of Aika’s hands, and in… a random direction. I heard someone cry out as the ball impacted one of the magically reinforced walls and left a scorch mark on it.

Aika’s body was sweaty as if she had just run a marathon. She breathed harshly and fell to her knees. The exhaustion of casting a powerful attack on her first try, leaving her magical reserves on the ground, and directly pushing into whatever equivalent of magical exhaustion humans had.

Yet, that didn’t stop her from turning around and giving me the biggest grin I had seen outside of Chrysalis' own.

‘’Never underestimate… the will of a woman... I’ll be… waiting… De-lin-quent-kun…~’’ Her words were tired, but the determination was clear as she tried to move over.

Yet, before she could fall flat on her face, I caught her body as it went limp in my arms. Her exhausted breaths turned into hums of relief as I started restoring any health and magic she had lost by pumping my own into her body. ‘’Ahh… Much better…’’

I’ll be sure not to do that tactic ever again until I need Aika to make some sort of last-ditch breakthrough to defeat the big bad evil.

Because I don’t know how I’ll go buy a slutty nun outfit of her choice without dying of shame in the process.

And I know she doesn’t have one yet, I checked.

‘Life may not be a fucking anime, but this world’s rules sure do feel like sticking to them.’ I groaned internally. ‘Was this why the Supernatural was mostly hidden from the human population? Imagine the amount of hyper-fixation people who could just make shit happen by sheer will alone!’

I left the thought of super-powered dinosaurs somehow roaming the streets for later.

I still had bums to train, after all. From Zero to Hero, people!

-X-x-X-

‘’Teacher A-yu-ka~!’’ I called out while stepping out of the magic circle.

I noticed that I hadn’t received the usual session last week, since the magic circle never flared up—by Koneko’s word—So I decided to take the matter into my own hands.

Partly because I always enjoyed the Satan’s brainstorming, and partly because I had an ugly feeling in my stomach at the notion of not following the deal.

Basically, I had to match the coordinates on the magic circle of my house to the one that sent me to my teacher’s lab. It took a bit of time going through the old records, but once done, it was just a matter of slapping mana into it until it worked.

Thankfully, Ayuka had not closed or ‘locked’ the other end, making the task much easier.

‘’I need your help with something, remember the evil—‘’ I paused, blinked, and smiled apologetically. ‘’Ah, hello there. Sorry to interrupt.’’

Because on the other end, it wasn’t only Ayuka that awaited. Her lab, as always, held a small mess, but instead of her being hyper-fixated on research like always, I had interrupted her chatting with another Satan; Serafall, who only waved in response.

Considering her smile and casual dress, I didn’t think this was a serious matter, but a casual chat. Her magical girl outfit consisted of a purple one instead of the usual pink, but with the same frilly skirt and cutesy ribbons.

Of course, the magical girl staff was always a given. How else would the powerful magical girl Levi-tan access her powers?

It was just common sense.

‘’Za-kun! Come here, come here— Whoa, oi, oi. Do you just jump power levels like a shonen protagonist in between seasons? It’s getting ridiculous, you know?’’ Serafall’s excited face broke into widened eyes and then back into smiles as she started pacing around me. Her starry eyes told me she was greatly surprised. ‘’I don’t see you for two weeks and you’re like this? You could wipe the floor with that Astaroth boy ten times over now! Good job, good job~!’’

I chucked at the praising nature of the petite Satan before nodding. ‘’Yup, been a bit busy lately. Like, for example… Taking Sona out on a date.’’ I commented, half-boredly, before breaking into a fit of chuckles as Serafall’s jaw practically hit the floor.

Only for her to hug my side with soul-crushing force and shake me in the air. ‘’I knew you were the one, Za-kuuuun~! Now, now, you better take good care of my sister, alright? Otherwise… I will be very mean!’’

I just took the shovel talk at face value and patted the Satan’s back.

There was no way a normal hug was this strong. She perceived I had gotten stronger and was actively testing just how big a hug I could take.

As always, this world had me in a constant game of catch-up, but definitely not for long.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made me glance at my teacher. She was dressed in her regular lab coat. To be fair, I don’t believe I have ever seen her in another outfit. Contrary to last time, however, her long, messy green hair was tied into a neat bun plus ponytail combo.

‘’Dear student, my mistake, I must have missed our earlier appointment,’’ Ayuka, totally not hiding her amusement behind a professional façade, apologized while motioning for an almost-empty table. ‘’Take a seat with us, we were just chatting.’’

And by the mugs filled with their beverage of choice, along with a few papers here and there, just confirmed my suspicion that I haven’t interrupted some sort of very important, super secret reunion at the least.

‘’Sure, though, tea without pastries is no good.’’ I chastised while being released from Serafall’s death embrace.

I placed a hand on the table, making some kustard and chocolate-covered pastries appear. From croissants to macarons of every color, and some pain au chocolat for good measure.

‘’Have a handful, I always have plenty of these~’’

Serafall’s small cheer and Ayuka’s polite thanks were more than enough to lift my mood.

-X-x-X-

‘’I’m curious about something, teacher,’’ I asked. The sound muffled through the cookie currently being stuffed in my mouth.

Casual conversation wasn’t what I was really here for, but I’ll take it over crazy shenanigans at the moment. Ask me tomorrow, and I may jump the gun and make the shenanigans myself.

It just worked like that.

However, I was intrigued by something. Far on the side, I could peep a big test tube with a… well, mass of flesh inside. Angry red, muscle fibers overgrown and interlaced the wrong way, and a deep, toxic-green color coursing through it like very gross veins.

Suddenly, I wasn’t really hungry anymore.

‘’Yes, student of mine?’’ The woman asked, readjusting her glasses while taking a sip of her tea.

During this short while, I could see she wasn’t really paying much attention to the conversation. If I had to take a guess, it was like Ayuka was using me and Serafall’s bantering and chit-chatting as white noise. Something to keep her more or less grounded and down to earth while she thought about something else.

‘’That blob there.’’ I pointed across the lab, making Serafall look and then turn away in disgust. I mentally apologized as she suddenly put her pastry on the table and frowned at it like it had shot her dog. ‘’Any possibility it’s related to that arm I gave you a while ago?’’

Ayuka paused mid-sip, blinked, and then offered me a warm smile. As she settled the mug down, she nodded, hands on her knees. ‘’Observant as always, Mr Zatren. Yes, that’s… try number forty-three if I’m not misremembering.’’

…What did she mean by ‘try’?

Was my teacher doing fleshcrafting experiments? I knew she was some sort of crazy scientist, but I didn’t know she did them in living tissues, too.

And by the curious, almost shocked glance Serafall was giving the taller woman, I believed this may have been something to keep under wraps. However, considering I was not getting silenced by the government right now, I believe I was in the green.

‘…Now that I think about it. I’m friends—Or at least I think so—with Serafall, brother-in-law with Sirzechs, and the student of Ayuka. That’s three of four Satans I know.’ Frowning, I tapped my fingers against the table in deep thought.

‘’I’m currently having trouble trying to replicate whatever effect had made that arm you brought me into what it was. At first, I thought it was a drug, probably a magic or physical enhancement.’’ While I had my deep, completely important thought, Ayuka kept explaining in a flat tone, like she was reciting from a book—In this case, probably from her research. ‘’It would have been easier with a medulla sample, but oh well. It was, indeed, some kind of enhancement, but not physical, and I did not have enough material to entertain the possibility of it being magical.’’

‘’What about soul-like?’’ I threw a guess. Seeing as Ayuka raised a curious eyebrow, I kept going. ‘’Well, when we fought that thing with Rias and the rest, I saw that it had some sort of thing going wrong with its soul. And that ability of mine has grown since that time. So, I could maybe shed some light on it, if you’d like?’’

A pause. Ayuka hummed in thought before nodding, offering a more real, and a lot more tired smile. ‘’We do not lose anything for trying. Thank you again, dear student.’’

‘’Anything for my marvelous teacher. You could pay me back by letting me take you out sometime~’’ I winked as I got up.

And as I approached the test tube, I could see from the corner of my eye that Ayuka frowned, confused at my words. Meanwhile, Serafall face-palmed while muttering something about ‘Equally as smart as she is dense…’

Seems like I had my work cut out for me.

I took a long look at the fleshy abomination. It was even more disgusting while being close.

The arm that I had given Ayuka was still in there, only covered by fleshy bits and a crystal-like protusion. It kind of reminded me of the Boosted Gear when that idiotic Fallen had stolen it and turned the Juggernaut Drive into the Cancer-naut Drive.

‘Analyze, do your thing…’ I hummed as a screen popped up in front of me.

Viser’s Left Arm.

Through a very dangerous process, the soul of Viser has been altered, utilizing her Chess Piece as a medium.

The result was her already depraved mind turning into that of a mindless animal. Yet, in the process, the chess piece became a retainer of the devil’s soul.

Besides the System screen, some realizations pierced deep into my skull.

Viser is alive. Viser is in misery. Viser is trapped. Viser’s soul has been tampered with. Viser’s piece has been tampered with. Viser holds the Queen Piece. Viser’s Queen Piece has been tainted with curses.

‘’Huh…’’ I blinked, face scrunching up as I looked at the… thing with new eyes. ‘’That’s fucking disgusting.’’

‘’What is?’’ From my right, Ayuka asked, looking in curiosity at the twitching blob of flesh. ‘’As you said, it seems to be some sort of soul-related experiment, isn't it?’’

Serafall also joined in, arms crossed and foot tapping against the floor as she tried not to look at the blob directly. Instead, distracted herself with other empty tubes. ‘’Quite unnerving, isn’t it?’’

‘’It is a soul thing, yes,’’ I confirmed, though, considering just what it was, I would have preferred it weren’t. ‘’The… person that was Viser… Her soul is still in that thing. Whatever the heck they did to her. It involves some sort of curse. Her Evil Piece is still in there, and it feels like it’s holding everything together. Imagine trying to hold food, water, and clothing inside a bag made of rotten meat. That’s the general feeling I get from it.’’

Ayuka hummed, taking a step forward to get a better look at the experiment. Meanwhile, I sent an apologetic smile to the petite Satan who just stared at me, disappointed, while looking a bit green in the face.

‘’Za-kun. We just ate.’’ She whined softly.

I scratched my cheek and… put a hand on top of her sleek, soft locks of hair. ‘’Sorry. Sometimes I just run my mouth.’’

Then I noticed I was patting a Satan on the head, and took my hand away. Sure, Serafall, I could call a friend, but I don’t think it was all that respectful to pat her head like she was a little girl. Doubly so, considering how she just stared blankly at nothing while I was doing so.

Chiii…

Ignoring the rebooting Serafall, I turned to my teacher as a hum of realization escaped past her lips. ‘’Anything, teach?’’

‘’More or less so.’’ Ayuka shrugged.

Small, green numbers appeared and disappeared around her as the bob of flesh started to tear and change. The liquid inside the tub drained away, and it opened up.

As the crystals broke and the flesh unraveled, I noticed this was the first time I could properly see Ayuka using Calculation Magic, or some sort of advanced version of it.

‘’And… here.’’ With a gesture from her hand, the blob of meat containing Viser’s soul was ripped in half.

I did not need Analyze to tell that the thing was still alive, and I didn’t really want to dig deeper into it. Instead, I focused on the small piece of chess that got ripped from it.

My newly discovered manipulation over souls and Spiritual Arts told me that whatever Ayuka did, it was much less of a physical thing, and more of a ‘’mess with your soul’’ thing. The sole Queen piece, no longer tied to Viser’s soul, had thin, green cracks alongside its charcoal color. Meanwhile, the remaining meat sack barely held the deceased Queen’s soul together.

Taking one last look at the twitching mess of flesh, I took a deep breath, and, instead of only feeling up her soul, I grasped it.

‘’Viser, you may have been a massive bitch—A murderous, cannibal bitch at that. But this… Eugh, even I believe it’s a bit too much.’’ As I said, I focused on the remaining strands of Viser’s soul.

Most of them had already been torn apart by the process that Ayuka just did, but whatever remained, I tried to take hold of. And, surprisingly, I did. The woman’s soul felt like a string getting tied into my fingers. Motes of pure light that, by Serafall’s confused face and Ayuka’s hum of curiosity, were not really visible to the two Satans.

…I didn’t really know what followed next.

Cut me some slack, alright? I wasn’t a God of the… afterlife.

I stared at the soul strands, then at the sky, and I had a very, very smooth brain idea. Something that someone normal would probably not attempt, but since when was that a deterrent for me?

Also, technically, Viser died in Japan, sooo…

‘’Izanami?’’ I asked the air. The Goddess of Death belonged to the Shinto pantheon. If I remembered correctly, I had spoken her name once before, and while I certainly didn’t know if she was real or not, it didn’t hurt to try. ‘’Can you, uh… I don’t know. Maybe take this thing with you?’’

…

For a moment, I cursed internally. Even if the Goddess did exist, she didn’t really have a reason to—

‘’Very well…’’ A shiver went down my spine, and goosebumps crawled all over my skin.

For a moment, I swore that I saw the picture of a smiling, raven-haired woman in my mind. I didn’t get many details off as the image disappeared, and with it, the sudden coldness I felt on my chest.

I turned around, only seeing the two stoic Satans, before looking at my hand. The strands were gone, and in their place, a single piece of parchment remained.

Parchment of Izanami.

[???]

‘…Huh.’ I blinked before putting the fine piece of cloth in my pocket.

‘’Well, that’s that, am I right?’’ I smiled, satisfied, with my hands on my hips. ‘’Everything that starts well ends well, and all that jazz—Which reminds me, Teacher Ayuka, I still need help with something!’’

The woman blinked before offering a warm smile. The Queen Piece that rested in between her fingers disappeared before she nodded. ‘’Ah, you did indeed. What is it?’’

Serafall frowned, looking between me and the scientist before pouting. ‘’Your casual way of breaking any and all norms when dealing with outside factions unnerves me on a professional level… but.’’

She paused before smiling, doing a twirl with her magic staff, and skipping back to the table while humming. ‘’Good thing only magic girl Levi-tan is here today, and not big Satan Serafall~’’

-X-x-X-

-Ayuka Beelzebub-

‘’You say you’re having trouble with your Evil Pieces?’’ I asked, confused. The young man made a so-so gesture with his hand. Then, from thin air, the same box I had given him, which contained the chess pieces corresponding to him, appeared.

For a moment, I glanced at Serafall, but if the fact that the boy had a set of his own bothered her at all, she didn’t show it. If anything, she was just as curious as me.

‘’I won’t say trouble per se, but they look weird.’’ Zatren shrugged, pursing his lips before opening the small box.

There, the entire set rested. He had not used a single one of them. However, unlike the deep blue of the regular pieces along with the purple cracks that his Mutated ones held, the set had completely changed color.

I picked the Queen up. The piece was exactly the same proportions, but instead of that deep blue coloration, it was now a much lighter shade, almost turning cyan. The crown of the Queen was another color entirely, being a bright golden hue.

I ran my Analysis spell in a single moment.

The function of the pieces themselves wasn’t altered, which was to dig into the Reincarnated’s soul and release a special mix of darkness magic born out of Demonic Power. The Agreas crystal made sure this energy didn’t erode or corrupt the soul by containing it deep inside, and then feeding small portions of it to the person’s soul, going as far as to enhance a different capability in the process.

The Rook made the person’s skin tougher, the bones denser, and—as a side effect, I didn’t feel the need to remove—less prone to sickness.

The Bishop focused on increasing the Demonic Power reserves in exchange for not augmenting any sort of muscle mass, though those who hold it may still gain it if they train hard enough.

The Knight made the legs or the mobility equivalent of the reincarnated to become packed with muscle, though their magical potential was the ‘’least’’ among all of the pieces.

Finally, the Queen and Pawn were a mixed bag. The former got all of the others’ abilities, with none of the ‘’disadvantages’’, while the Pawn did something similar, but to a much lesser degree.

However, it was not a single time since I created the Evil Pieces System—approximately five centuries ago—that such a change happened.

But it was the first time a Divine being had a set of pieces…

The concept of the Divine always felt… lackluster, to me. However, I didn’t know that it could have such interesting effects when artifacts were involved. And I was now sure that this change was brought by my student’s ascension, since along with Demonic Power, I could feel a smidge, a spark of Divine Energy deep inside the chess pieces.

‘’You do not have to worry about functionality. These are perfectly usable, but if you were to reincarnate someone now…’’ I hummed aloud, chuckling to myself, much to the confusion of my company. ‘’Indeed, they would reincarnate as a minor Deus. Probably much weaker than you are, but the change will happen nonetheless. I’ll say, dear student, that you always manage to bring the most interesting cases of study to me.’’

‘’Neat.’’ The man whispered, trying to act nonchalant, even if the shock was clear on his face. ‘’…So, uh… how do you even reincarnate people again? You see, I have this girl I really care about. Very talented, a bit weird, but has some great potential with magic, so…’’

Frowning, I gave a confused glance to match Zatren’s own. ‘’Have I not explained the process to you?’’

‘’You threw me out before I asked, and this is the first time we have spoken ever since, teacher of mine.’’ He deadpanned, taking the Queen from my grasp and putting it back into its box. ‘’Weren’t you supposed to send me some sort of guide? I remember you saying that.’’

I paused.

My analysis spell extracted the moment directly from my subconscious and replayed it clearly in my mind.

‘’…Indeed. It appears so.’’ I nodded with crossed arms.

A meaty smack echoed in the lab, one I definitely did not notice from my fellow co-worker and friend, facepalming as she muttered something along the lines of ‘A dumbass genius.’

Truly, I could not begin to think what she referred to.

‘’Well, this is a great opportunity to learn, I believe.’’ I offered with a smile. ‘’After all, now with that little… matter more or less solved, or in the process to, I had my schedule re-made, and I hold more time in my hands.’’

‘’So, you’re going to teach me to reincarnate someone… and immediately check on the side effects my new pieces would have in someone else.’’ Zatren smiled, easily deciphering the meaning behind my words.

‘’Of course, I’ll have to check if it's still safe, after all.’’ For some reason, I had the belief that he did not believe me, considering just how wide his grin spread.

‘’Neeerd…’’ A completely impolite and childish voice said. ‘’Oi! You were thinking something rude just now, weren’t you?!’’

I turned to Serafall with a wide smile, noticing how her eyes narrowed and her lower lip trembled in a fake pout, while giving what I believed was called ‘puppy-dog eyes’. ‘’Of course not? Truly, Serafall, your work may be affecting your mood a bit too much. I haven’t thought or spoken a word besides my interest in this development.’’

My student snorted, and Serafall pouted even harder, pointing her magic staff at me like an accusing finger. ‘’LIES! My magical girl powers tell me of your treacherous mental words!’’

I don’t think magical girls have such an ability, however.

‘’Now then, student of mine,’’ I turned to Zatren, trying so that the eagerness in my voice wasn’t as palpable as the real excitement for this new experiment. ‘’You said there was a girl you wished to add to your peerage, yes? Let me accompany you, and let's see how impactful your ascension was to my own creation~’’

The young man stared at my face for a moment before slowly turning away, cheeks rosy and mumbling something that I didn’t quite catch. Then, a ripple in space appeared as the man jumped through. Quickly, I followed along.

‘’Oi! Don’t ignore me, you kissless neet! I wasn’t done with you!’’ Serafall called out from behind, and I felt the portal ripple once more as she jumped behind me.

‘What an interesting form of travel.’ I mused, seeing the variety of colors distort, weave, and change while teleporting. ‘Hm… the Dimensional Gap? Risky, yet effective…’

Truly, just how many things could my student do before he was tearing logic, reality, and law apart by merely existing?

-X-x-X-

-Zatren Fumigami-

The process of Reincarnation was, honestly, as easy as it had looked or felt when Rias and Sona did mine.

Finding Aika wasn’t hard, as she was just lazing around in my home. Apparently, some light convincing to her parents was more than enough to reassure them of the move out; the only problem was just… taking things from her home.

Yes, she had that many cosplays, and I was not helping with the ‘toy’ section of that.

The moment I offered the Reincarnation, she was game, and even after informing her of the two Satans in the room, she took one look at them before giving me the finger guns with the wiggly eyebrows.

She was a real one like that, even if Ayuka completely missed the meaning behind it, unlike Serafall, who said nothing besides huffing in amusement.

I had chosen a regular Bishop piece, especially considering the girl’s magic prowess she showed earlier today, and after placing the piece on top of her clothed chest—I had to reassure her that, no, she didn’t need to take her top off for it to work—the job was done.

Small lightshow, expected something more, but it was alright.

‘’So, how do you feel?’’ I sat beside the perverted girl as she stared at her hands. ‘’Any difference? Any… divine intervention type of thing?’’

I was genuinely curious. After all, I didn’t expect that the Evil Pieces would change so much by just being bound to me. What would happen if my ‘servants’ ever made their own peerages? Would their Evil Pieces also hold a candle of Divinity? Did I just throw Divine Power into the Devil’s repertoire and genetics a few centuries down the line?

‘’I, uh… Not much? I mean, I feel weird. Tired, too, and that ‘magic pool’ or whatever you meant is certainly bigger.’’ Aika frowned, getting up and trying to get a feel for her new body. ‘’Hm… Though I also feel warmer than usual?’’

That’s when I noticed.

From her back, there were two small wings, much shorter than the wingspan of a regular devil. Her wings, like mine, were a deep shade of purple, but they didn’t have as many edges, being more round-like and soft. Alongside that, something was protruding from her lower back, just above her perfect, jean-covered peach of an ass.

It was a thin, purple tail, which ended in a heart-like shape at the tip.

‘’I knew you were a succubus!’’ I accused right then and there, making Aika notice her own new limbs with surprised shock. ‘’There was no way a regular human could be that horny! This explains so much!’’

Ayuka, being the total nerd she is, had stepped forward with a smile. I saw her eyes glow, and a bunch of equations appeared all around her head as she circled the newly reincarnated Aika. Who, to her credit, didn’t look the slightest bit nervous. Instead, she even posed from time to time, and frowned when the older woman didn’t pay her any mind.

‘Yeah, it do be like that, hun.’

Aika caught my gaze, and we shared an understanding nod. Even Serafall joined in, which led us to have three dumbasses nodding to each other with resolute looks while the most intelligent scientist of devilkind hummed and whispered to herself while trying to look for any changes.

‘’Indeed. Just like I felt with the piece itself, there is a small spark of Divinity buried deep down in all the Demonic Power. Though… the mixed-in genetics, I did not expect. It was very diluted, probably some great-grandparent’s cousin.’’ Ayuka confirmed with a satisfied smile. ‘’The tiredness is a product of being newly reincarnated. That’s what usually happens when a baseline human suddenly gets converted. Do take these next few days lightly.’’

‘’Ah, yeah, thank you… doc.’’ Aika nodded, now deterred from trying to help me bag the green-haired scientist, before her legs shook a bit, much to her surprise. ‘’Woah there…!’’

I shot to her side, holding her by the waist.

‘’You good?’’ I whispered worriedly. The grip of her hands on my arms served as reassurance.

‘’Don’t be such a worrywart, I’m fine.’’ She smiled, rolling her eyes before pressing a kiss to my cheek. Oddly wholesome, considering who it was coming from. ‘’…Though, I need a nap. Think that fluffy-as-cotton kitty is still up there? A cuddle-buddy is always nice.’’

Now, it was my time to roll my eyes.

‘’Yeah, yeah, let’s get you to Koneko: The Napping One.’’ I joked. Then, I gave the two Satans an apologetic smile. ‘’If you don’t mind, I’ll take her to the second floor. Let her rest for a bit.’’

With the reassurances of both women that it was okay, we made our way upwards.

And, of course, Aika made me carry her over there, not that it bothered me any, mind you, I always had this… sense of reassurance of being able to hold my girls close. It was nice.

‘’Hey, Delinquent-kun…’’ Aika whispered into my ear as I climbed up the stairs. She had already been putting her new tail to good use, considering how it tied itself like a knot to my left arm. ‘’…What Domain do I have? Hm, hm? Tell me, I am a Goddess now~’’

‘’Lust,’’ I replied, like it was obvious. The certainty in my voice made her snicker. ‘’Either that, or love. Though it may be both.’’

‘’Romance? It is only great after a rough fucking, in my expertise.’’ She hummed, lying through her teeth, considering just how tightly she was clutching my back. ‘’Though, for one such as you, I believe this ‘Goddess’ is willing to concede~’’

‘’My, how benevolent.’’ I mocked and erupted into chuckles a moment later.

Aika followed suit, even letting out a snort as she hit my back in mock-annoyance.

-X-x-X-

After leaving Aika in Koneko’s room and taking a picture of both girls cuddled up against each other, I made sure to have everything ready for my departure.

That Epic Dungeon, I was going to tackle it today—Err, tonight, and I was ready.

The White Dragon Emperor Spear, I had maxed out, along with its Red Dragon counterpart. Their respective skills: Triaina and Dragon Buster were as far as I could push them, considering the day limit.

I had put on my Ghost Leviathan Vest and Gauntlets, which I made sure were in top condition. The Raven Coat, I made sure, was nice, clean, and without any holes. Even if most threats punched above its protection nowadays, it was still stylish, and it offered a degree of elemental resistance that just stacked on top of my already high CON.

Also, I didn’t really have a leatherworking skill to make a better one, so the coat stayed on during life-or-death situations, thank you.

I made sure to leave enough food in case I was missing for a bit, and to tell my friends and loved ones of my little trip. Any details about the Dungeons, they could ask Mittelt or Chrysalis.

So, with my best equipment and with some time to spare, I had only one matter left.

‘Do I bring someone with me?’ I scratched my chin in thought, feeling the small bit of stubble I should probably shave soon. ‘It is an Epic tier, and, unless there’s some sort of super-secret Mythical tier, the only thing above this one would be Legendary…’

‘’My magical girl outfit is not outdated, thank you very much!’’ The voice of Serafall reached my ears as I went back down, making me pause. She sounded oddly amused even through her complaining. ‘’Besides, you’re wearing that lab coat all day, who are you calling outdated? Put some color on that thing.’’

‘’Unnecessary,’’ Ayuka replied flatly. Even if I didn’t see her directly, I was sure she was doing that anime thing with her glasses. ‘’Besides, I have many spares. I need nothing else but what is required.’’

Judging by their general tone, they were having some banter in the living room. Though I was surprised, they still remained here. I would have thought that, considering how long I took, they would have gone away by now—

‘’…Hold on.’’ I paused. ‘’…Gentlemen, I may not have a brain, but I have an idea.’’

‘’Partner, are you talking to yourself again?’’ Jinzui asked, worriedly, probably concerned about my mental health.

Sending the equivalent of a mental hug to the spirit in my soul, I made my way to the living room, slamming the jarred door open with a thousand-watt smile.

‘’Yo!’’ I interrupted the two Satans, who turned to look at me with curious glances. To which, I only pulled the purple gem that was the access to the Epic Tier Dungeon out of my inventory. ‘’If you have some free time… Want to help me possibly tackle an uber-powerful world different from ours?’’

Doubtful looks were thrown my way before I smiled and made a great offer. ‘’Trust me, it works. I’ve been doing this crap for months now. Promise it’ll be quick. In and out twenty—Er, well, probably not a twenty-minute adventure. But if what I know is true, this place could have many different aspects of magic than ours.’’

Immediately, I saw the gears grinding inside Ayuka’s head, while Serafall frowned in doubt. Then, the petite Satan took one look at her friend, who was doing the equivalent of mentally salivating at the prospect of a world with different magic to study.

‘’…Fine.’’ Serafall huffed in amusement, jumping from her seat and doing a spin with her magic staff in hand, which, considering her short skirt, let me take a good look at the bubble-butt that hid below. ‘’The magic girl, Levi-tan, will help out her little sister’s troublesome partner~!’’

‘What a mouthful.’ I resisted the urge to tease.

But that, and the suddenly intense stare I got from my teacher, was more than enough answer.

‘This little thing is going to break.’ I chuckled, considering how much the difficulty inside this thing had just plummeted down thanks to the help of not one, but two Satans.

-X-x-X-

Bonus Scene: Doubt from Below, about those Above.

-Xenovia Quarta-

“Oh, oh! That’s so cool!” The girl with almond-like hair exclaimed, practically shaking from excitement. “Can’t believe you met a Deus. Even if he’s not our one true savior… A divine experience is to be cherished!”

“Keeping up with your excitement is hard, Irina. Probably more than dealing with the higher-ups.” I hummed, walking side by side as the girl gasped in mock offense. “Turning you out now…”

It was the right choice, as Irina starts going on a tangent about being nice to their fellow church members regardless of position… Something something, all of us sheep are grown by the same lord and guided to the same pasture.

That was the fourth… No, the fifth time she told me this, I believe.

The remaining Excalibur Wielders were called out for a meeting earlier today. It wasn’t only us that had been stripped of one of the Holy Blades.

The Orthodox church, the Protestant church, and the Catholic church. All had gotten an Excalibur stolen in the span of a week.

Rapidly, Blessing, and Nightmare were missing.

Naturally, all went into a state of panic.

I would lie if I said I wasn’t nervous. Even during the conference, I remained silent and only answered shortly when spoken to. Otherwise, I nodded along while periodically tightening my fist on the armrest. My guardian, Sister Griselda, glanced at me with worry from time to time. If that was because of her superior ability to read people, or because of the mission we were assigned, that was left up in the air.

Because us both, along with one Mother Superior, of whom Sister Griselda had been promoted to right at that meeting, would be tasked with one, if not the most, dangerous task.

We… had to retrieve the Excaliburs. By any means necessary.

“Are you not nervous, Irina?” I interrupted the white noise that was my friend’s rampant charade, stopping dead in the hallway.

I turned, staring her in the eye. Never before had I gripped my robes, my blade, so tightly. “Afraid, even? That’s something normal to feel in this kind of situation, isn't it?”

Irina, the ever cheerful, sunshine and rainbows girl, paused. Her finger went to the corner of her mouth as she hummed in thought. Like I had just asked her something she never thought about.

“Well, of course I am!” She ended up replying, yet the smile on her face prevailed. “It’s a bit of a dangerous situation—”

“We are up against three Holy Blades and a Cadre. Irina.” I reiterated, feeling frustrated at just how we were dropped with such a heavy task like it was nothing. “Do you think all our training up until now is enough for that? That we are enough for that?”

Because after the fall of Rapidly, I was not so sure.

We, the Excalibur Wielders, were not some sort of super-powerful warriors. Contrary to popular belief that the name of our blades may spread, most of us were quite young.

Rapidly is—was the oldest, in fact.

This time, my answer was silence. Irina’s lips pressed into a thin line as she gave me a conflicted look. One of her hands played with the ribbon tied to her wrist; Excalibur Mimic, while the one wielding it was pressed against her chest, where I knew she had a small rosary inside her combat outfit.

“What brought this on, Xenovia…?” She asked timidly, almost nervously.

‘What brought it on…?’ I wondered. It was a difficult question. However, I didn’t really have an answer for it. Maybe I was really just overreacting.

After all, the church held people much stronger than us, Excalibur Wielders. If the situation really was as dangerous as I believed it to be, then we would not be the ones sent, but the likes of High Priests and Priestesses.

‘Or… we could also get outside help.’ The memory of the Godling I had met along with Sister Griselda a week ago came to mind. I knew that she had saved the number, even if she reassured me that it was not needed. ‘But would that be the same as admitting defeat?’

“...Sorry. It was a lapse.” I shook my head and kept walking. At this hour, I was sure the cafeteria lady would have gone home, but we still could get some food if we didn’t leave a mess behind. “Let’s just do our best. After all, his light has never failed us before, so we shall not bend the knee either.”

“Now that’s the Xenovia I know!” Irina excitedly hyped me up while marching alongside me. “Let his wisdom pave our victory! Amen!”

I nodded, yet those words kept repeating inside my head.

‘The church has stronger people than us. On a completely different level. Then, why would they endanger us, if we were the Cadre’s target in the first place…?’

Even as I tried to ignore it, the thought made my stomach churn.

-X-x-X-

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Author's Note:

Bringing a nuclear strike to a gun fight'' ahh companions.

For anyone wondering, yup, this means that in the next chapter, we will enter the Dungeon. Now, what is in that dungeon and why is it so important?

Well, I did do a poll about going to other worlds some time ago, didn't I? Kek

Unrelated, but I hope Zuzu calling out to Izanami and she actually answering back cracked more than one of you up, because it sure was funny when writing it.

I have 12 more chapters of this fic on my if you wish to support me.

Discord Link: .gg/92Yt5wxeWN