Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or any of the references found in this story, nor am I making any profit from this story. All original Highschool DxD characters and references belong to their rightful owners, I just own the original characters and concepts that I have created myself.

[The Holy Maiden - Jeanne L'Ange]

Jeanne cut her seventeenth undead human in half from the waist with Excalibur Blessing, turning around and moving to the next target without missing a beat.

Another slash, another undead human falls.

Blood, bones, entrails, brain matter. Everything that should stay inside of the human body litters the surrounding area, painting the entire ground with a disgusting red.

She decapitated another undead human, a young man only three or four years older than him. His body fell to the ground with a dull thud, slowly burning in the meanwhile.

Undead are created after a vampire bits a human who has a low tolerance to their species. Undead are usually made up of mundane members of humanity but there have been cases where an exorcist became an undead as well. Thus, it is heavily advised to not let them bite you, hence you join their ranks.

However, they aren't a threat on their own. Their biggest strength comes from their large numbers that can easily rush you. The basic strategy against undead is to pick them off in small groups by separating them using yourself as bait, though this only works if you have a partner working with you.

Jeanne noted that there was a rather large group of undead coming her way, and before she could react, her partner had acted for her.

"Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil!"

A golden circle sprung to life, hanging above them in the sky as it spun madly.

"May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls! Amen!"

Golden light was released from the sigil, bathing the entire area in a warm aura.

At the same time, Excalibur Blessing had reacted to the power of God's System and empowered its effect on both herself and the Undead. Jeanne could feel herself grow stronger, more faster and durable. Meanwhile, the Undead had been stopped in their tracks, their legs having turned to ash due to taking the full force of a Holy Sacrament.

Jeanne flashes a thumbs up.

"Thank you Svan! I knew I could count on you!"

"O-of course you can count on me! This much is nothing for me!"

Jeanne stuck her hand into the air, hand grasping the air, and produced three thin, rapier-like swords between her fingers. If she remembers correctly, Sieg had called them "Black Keys" when they were experimenting with her Blade Blacksmith. A strange name in Jeanne's opinion but Sieg had the naming right since it was his idea.

They were Holy Swords meant to be thrown rather than wielded, and their small size made it easy to carry a large amount of them. They could also be powered with magic easy activation requirements also suited someone with low magic reserves such as his own.

Jeanne steadied herself, focusing her aim, and threw the swords at the incoming undead. All three swords found all three undead, piercing through their heads and lodging them into the wall behind. Their bodies soon became limp, like puppets with their strings cut.

Jeanne felt something shift behind her and turned around, only to duck under the swiping hand of an undead woman. She created a Holy Sword from below the undead, piercing through her body and neutralising her. She hung on the sword, arms wildly lashing out, until her erratic movements slowly calmed down.

That was the final undead human in this area. Relaxing her stance, the girl leaned against a wall gathering her breath, surrounded by mounds of burning corpses that used to be human beings.

"Are you alright?" Svan asked as she made her way towards the blonde girl.

The air was still thick with the pungent odour of blood, of death. Corpses had been strewn about everywhere during the skirmish, and Jeanne had noticed during the skirmish that the bodies of the Undead were horribly mutilated before they were put down for good. None of the villagers were killed quickly before their unfortunate transformations; it was easy to see that their suffering was prolonged.

"Yeah!" Jeanne nodded with a smile. "This much is nothing! I can do this all day!"

Svanhild didn't seem to believe her but accepted her answer anyway.

In truth, Jeanne was not alright at all. Being forced to fight against undead humans who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time had taken its toll on Jeanne, not physically but mentally.

She knew this was going to happen at some point but it didn't make it any easier to accept.

Though it made her feel a bit better knowing that she would soon turn the perpetrator into a Holy Sword pincushion.

[The Innocent Monster - Freed Sellzen]

"Why do you bother playing with these humans? I've seen you for what you truly are."

"Do not compare me to you, you monster."

"You're just as much of a monster as I am!"

As he walked through the hallways of the Vatican, that final conversation kept playing itself in Freed's head over and over again. It plagues his thoughts, keeps him distracted from whatever he does.

But what if that vampire was right? What if he is the same kind of monster?

No.

No!

Freed refuses to believe what that damn vampire spouted! He is nothing like that thing!

He has Sieg, Lint and Asia! He has Rion and Riel! Even Jeanne has become a close friend of his! If he were a monster, they would never have reached out to him! Never have accepted him! They would never have been able to change him!

Freed feels happy when he's with them. Not that twisted form of happiness he felt when he cut down that stray vampire, when he ripped his limbs from his body and pierced through his head with his sword, sliced him to pieces and burnt him to ash-

Freed felt sick when he felt his mouth twitched upwards, and bit on his lower lip to the point of drawing blood.

Why?

Why does he feel like this? Why must he constantly question his own existence?

Why does he have to suffer in such a manner?

Why him?

'Isn't that obvious by now? It's because you're a monster.'

Freed didn't even bother reacting outwardly, having been all but used to the voice by now.

'Why do you still fight against it? There's no going against your own nature, you know? It would be so much easier for you to just accept yourself as you are.'

'Never. I will continue to reject that notion for as long as I exist.'

'You would continue to reject yourself? That will lead to nothing but a life of misery. You'll be wearing a fake mask for as long as you live, hiding your true face from your friends and family.'

'...'

'You realise this, don't you? You cannot live your life in such a way, hiding yourself away from those you care about. At some point, they will prod deeper and deeper until they finally realise what you truly are.'

'Shut up.'

'And once they see you for the monster you are, how will they react? Will it be disappointment? Maybe disgust? Perhaps anger?'

'Shut. Up.'

'And when they do, you will have nothing to hide yourself with. You will be unmasked, and the world to see an ugly monster that thrives on the suffering of others. Because that is what you are, all that you ever have been and ever will be.'

"Freed?"

Freed looked up and met the eyes of Asia Argento.

"Asia."

Freed tried smiling, and the blonde-haired girl returned the smile as she strode forward with a small bounce in her step.

"Are you the only one here, or did Sieg come back as well?"

"It's just me as far as I know. Rion has already gone back to the Institute, and Sieg only left earlier today."

Asia's smile widened even further as she took hold of his wrist and turned back around. "Then there's something I want to show you, hurry up and come with me!"

'That smile is wasted on a monster like you.'

Freed ignored the voice in the back of his head as he was led through the halls by the energetic blonde. His mouth was stretched into a real smile as he made small talk with Asia along the way.

'She will reject you when she see's you for what you truly are.'

"And that was when Father Strada and I decided that I should also train!" Asia finished with a grin, looking into Freed's eyes for approval. "What do you think?"

"It's a good idea. Not many people can be trained by Cardinal Strada of all people." Freed's smile turned a little forced at his next thought, "But you'll probably have to train under Sister Quarta if you enrol through the Training Program."

"She can't be that bad, can she?"

"Rion would cry himself to sleep whenever he had Combat Training the next day."

"T-that not really enough to-"

"Lint still has nightmares. I still have nightmares."

"N-now you're just exaggerating-"

"Sieg will have a panic attack if you use "Griselda Quarta" and "Training" in the same sentence."

"...that bad?"

Freed nodded grimly.

"That bad."

The girl deflated slightly but there was still a fire in her eyes, and Freed couldn't help but laugh; Lint had the exact same eyes on her first day and she came back the quietest she had ever been. Even Riel didn't actively mess with her due to having been in the same state at the time.

Strangely, the thought of Asia being brought to that level made something inside of him roar, and it wasn't the voice this time.

Huh.

[The Successor - Siegfried]

Man, time sure flies by quickly when you're a hero descendent training to become a child soldier-exorcist, I meant exorcist.

A lot has happened these last two years. I've begun working together with Svanhild in regards to magic; she understands all magic related problems much better than I do. In fact, her magic power dwarfs my own at this point, and she's still not reached her limit like I have. That's why I decided it would be a good idea to ask her for help, and help me she did.

I still haven't overcome my limit with rune magic though. Actually, both of us are stuck at the same place in regards to rune magic at the moment, no matter how much she denies it. At my current level, I'm still nowhere near the level where I can be called a master, but I know enough to put up a good fight.

There's also my swordsmanship that's leapt my bounds thanks to Ewald. We would hold sparring sessions every now and again, and he would correct my posture and any mistakes I made during the spar.

It's been a lot of help since Masaomi left.

Masaomi. Now that's a can of worms I would rather leave unopened.

It was a year after he had been deployed to Japan, most likely Kuoh, when we had gotten word about his crime of falling in love with a devil. The Vatican had responded by sending their exorcists to "correct" that mistake.

And the result?

Masaomi Yaegaki and Cleria Belial are currently considered strays.

Not dead. Strays.

He's alive. Masaomi is alive.

I don't know what happened, and I might never know, but Masaomi managed to survive the attack on Cleria and himself, and escaped from their pursuers.

For the next couple of days after that, passing exorcists or sisters would give me looks of pity or give me their condolences.

None of them knew how happy I was-how relieved I was-to hear that Masaomi Yaegaki had been excommunicated and designated as a stray exorcist. To hear that they would have to hunt down a heretic who is very much still alive. I have enough trust in his skills to know that he won't die easily, and he has the support of a High-class Devil. Surely that means for something?

Of course, it does make me a little bit sad knowing that he won't ever come back. The church will never accept him again after what he did and I doubt the devils will accept Cleria after she got together with an exorcist.

I hope that one day, I'll be able to find him if only to see how he's doing. We technically shouldn't be seen anywhere near each other except for him being on the other end of my Demon Swords.

In regards to training, I was mainly practising on my proficiency with the five Demon Swords. I've been working on magic and physical conditioning as well but not as much as practising on how to use the abilities of Gram, Balmung, Dainsleif, Tyrfing and Nothung.

Every night I go to sleep, Gram and Balmung synchronise their own memories with my own, allowing me to see everything that they had seen.

And what I saw was breathtaking.

It wasn't because I saw the moment of their creation, nor was it because I saw the adventures they had went on with their wielders.

It was because I saw Sigurd and Siegfried themselves, and they were absolute monsters.

I never even knew that humans could reach that level of strength. Their strength, speed, technique, endurance. Everything about them completely dwarfed what I had seen in this world. Even Vasco Strada in his prime wouldn't have been able to touch them if what I saw wasn't a hallucination.

Sigurd, before consuming the heart of Fafnir, was a handsome man with short black hair and grey, steel-like eyes. It was only after eating Fafnir's heart, inheriting his knowledge in the process, had his hair and eyes shifted to a bright gold and red respectively.

He was a master swordsman at first but dabbled with runes after his meeting with the original Brynhildr. His skills with his runes were on a whole other level. He mixed it together with his swordsmanship in ways I didn't even think were possible. With his absurd talent in both magic and swordsmanship, he was a man that most would be hard pressed to face against, let alone win against him.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was an extremely handsome man with brown hair that fell to his back and piercing green eyes. After bathing in Fafnir's blood, his hair and eyes also changed to the same gold and red that Sigurd obtained, but his skin had tanned in addition.

He was a powerful warrior in his own right but was not as skilled as Sigurd in magic. In fact, he couldn't use magic at all. All he had was Balmung and his own skills to fight with. Left with only a single decision, Siegfried had honed his swordsmanship, his single fang, with a terrifying obsession. Day after day, night after night, he continued to swing his sword without rest. He had gone through countless battles, sharpening his fang with each victory.

And as a result, he had broken through his limits as a human and reached a level that surpassed the gods themselves.

When I saw the strength of these two men, the skills that they had obtained during their lives, it made me feel excited.

They have clearly shown me that humanity is not the weakest race in the world. They just have the hardest time producing powerful beings that can contend with the various powers of the world.

And if humanity could give birth to heroes of such strength and skill, then what about me?

How far can I go?

That single thought was what drove me to throw myself at Griselda and fight her every. Single. Day.

It wasn't the best decision but after everything I had seen, it certainly wasn't the worst.

I like to think that I've learnt a lot but I've still got a long way to go before I can fully wield any one of them with full confidence in my abilities. I've already burnt myself multiple times when training with Gram, frozen my leg at least seventy times now, destroyed multiple training rooms, and more.

While I should probably be dead due to my overusing of the Demon Swords', they have already assured me that they would be actively holding back on their curse power. My lifespan will still be taken if I actively use their abilities but if I just wield them like I would any normal sword, then there are no problems.

And that's ignoring the fact that I've lost at least five years of my lifespan by now. I know I should be scared but knowing that Senjutsu is a thing puts me at ease, if only slightly.

I've also been working on a way to circumvent the whole lifespan weakness, just in case I never get my hands on Senjutsu.

After all, if Vali was able to use his demonic power to power his Juggernaut Drive rather than his own lifespan, then why can't I do the same?

It hasn't been easy at all since I'm using my own Mana rather than the demonic power that all devils are born with, and it's only succeeded to a small extent, but the point is that it worked, meaning that it's possible.

At the moment, I can't use my own Mana because using a single sword will completely drain my Mana reserves. That was when I had the idea of using the mana crystals that I created during my magic control training to increase the mana used.

The result? Three crystals worth of Mana offer me a single use of one demon sword's full power.

They never said it would be easy controlling a demonic sword of legend. Hopefully, I'll manage to learn something new by putting my training into practice today.

Right now, I'm in Germany for my first mission. Well, I say mission but this is just a test that also happens to be a mission.

The Sigurd Institute want to test my skill with the Demon Swords, as well as their effectiveness against our sworn enemies. Thus, I was sent on a simple elimination mission to get rid of a stray devil that's holed itself up in Baden, Germany. It's a C-rank threat level, or a low-class devil in the Underworld's terms. There have already been multiple casualties-missing townspeople-so the church have decided to send someone to end the threat.

There were no problems that the higher-ups could see, so they had accepted the Sigurd Institute's request and sent me with my Swords, my combat outfit and a white cloak.

Speaking of outfits, I didn't have to modify mine because luckily for me, the male exorcist outfit is a lot more normal than the female variant.

The male outfit consists of a black, skin-tight body armour that has no sleeves and is flexible, black pants made of the same material and black combat boots, all adorned with various straps.

Thank god this world was created to highlight the female body.

And the city of Baden sure looks nice. I wish I could spend some time in the city but unfortunately, duty calls. The sun is starting to go down and the townspeople are beginning to go home; the exact time the stray devil should come out of hiding.

The mission details stated that the stray was last sighted in the Black Forest that Baden is known for. The forest is far too big for me to search on my own, and I know better than to walk blindly into enemy territory, but that's where my runes comes in handy.

I picked up a pebble with a flat side off the ground and opened my Magic Core, feeling the warmth in my chest that signalled its activation. Pushing magic into my finger, it began to glow blue until a blue flame was lit on the tip of my finger.

I placed it on the flat side of a pebble and inscribed a certain rune.

ᛒ

Berkano, one of the most basic tracking runes there are. By inscribing it onto a pebble and focusing on my target, I can track their location using their connection to the earth below them. It doesn't work if they are shielding themselves using magic or if they're flying through the air, but since this stray devil has no idea that I'm coming after them, there shouldn't be any problems.

The pebble began to glow a bright blue before it tugged my hand towards a certain direction.

Straight into the forest.

...I really don't want to go in there. Going into a dark forest when it's almost night to hunt down a stray devil in its home territory. If that isn't a red flag, then I don't know what is.

But I have five demon swords of legend with me. I also have my Touki, rune magic and four years of practice thanks to the teachers at the training institute. That counts for something, right?

I'm going to go in there, hunt myself a monster, and leave with my limbs intact. I'll fight with my swords and use my rune magic to help. My Touki can protect my body from its attacks, and I'm pretty agile for a human.

I can do this.

I took another look at the forest with a newfound courage.

I guess it's time to be a hero.

[The Stray]

Zalagras considers himself to be a smart devil, smarter than his previous peerage compatriots at the very least.

When he first ran away from his master, the filthy bitch that she was, he had laid low rather than go out on an indiscriminate murder spree as most stray devils did. Thanks to his actions, he had easily escaped the Underworld and made it back to Earth.

His stay on Earth had been less than accommodating, mainly due to the new body he found himself with. Due to his demonic power running rampart inside of him, his body was forced to undergo a transformation to better suit it. The end result was a human torso, arms and head with the lower body of a black spider.

For the next couple of weeks after his transformation, he had travelled quickly and quietly while only stopping to kill one or two humans along the way. In doing so, he created a pattern of murders that seemed like an ordinary murder case to those investigating the scenes left behind. With nobody suspecting a stray devil, he could move about however he wanted without any hindrances from the church or Devil Hunters.

Even now, in his current location, he only killed one or two humans before planning on leaving the city. However, he must have made a mistake somewhere along the line because it would surely explain the exorcist that was hot on his heels.

Zalagras isn't an idiot. He knew that he was being pursued the moment he felt a small application of magic power outside the forest. It was definitely an amateur, otherwise the exorcist would have already been here by now, which meant that this was probably an exorcist straight out of training. Their first mission, most likely.

While he would normally enjoy feasting on humans, Zalagras knew when to call it quits. If he were to kill this exorcist here, he would find himself with a higher Stray Class and more exorcists after him.

'A shame, really. The smaller ones always taste better when they're-'

His thoughts were interrupted by the bolt of lightning practically screaming as it flew his way. Zalagras launched himself backwards with all eight of his legs, barely dodging the lightning that pierced through multiple trees, leaving a smouldering hole in each one.

"Stray devil Zalagras of the Dantalion clan," a young voice rang throughout the forest clearing, "formerly Dario Andino of Greek descent before reincarnation into a devil. You have been sentenced to death for your crimes against humanity."

The mere mention of his previous, human name brought up an explosive rage from the bowels of Zalagras' heart. Veins bulged as his fists shook in anger, trying to hold himself back from blindly lashing out at his surroundings, but the demonic power's influence over his mind won out in the end.

"WHERE ARE YOU!? COME OUT AND FACE YOUR DEATH, EXORCIST!"

The following silence only served to further anger the stray.

"YOU DARE-!"

This time, it was a sword that flew at him rather than a lightning bolt. His superior eyesight made out the features of the sword in midair; a long and slender blade with an extremely short hilt that was dyed in red.

Zalagras scoffed at the incoming sword. Does the little exorcist truly believe that this is enough to kill a devil? With that thought in mind, Zalagras lifted one of his legs to swat away the sword like one would a fly.

Which is why he was surprised when, instead of knocking it out of the air, it sank into his skin without resistance.

And then came the burning.

Zalagras howled bloody murder as his leg began to burn from the blessed steel that was trapped in his leg. He quickly made to pull it out of his leg when more swords came flying his way.

Barely able to hold back the insult in his mind, Zalagras decided to wisely dodge the Holy Swords-because what else could they be?-and jumped to the side. The swords pierced the earth with a dull thud and stood straight, hilts pointing towards the sky.

Zalagras wasted no time in removing the Holy Sword from his leg, wincing as he placed his hand on the red hilt. He quickly pulled it out of his limb with a small grunt, throwing it to the side and returning his attention to the matter at hand.

The swords came from above, so that meant the exorcist was currently hiding above the trees. The only problem was that he was constantly on the move, making sure that Zalagras couldn't keep track of his location.

Zalagras found himself forced to constantly jump from one place to another, dodging the swords that would keep honing in on his location. He kept a keen eye on the direction of which the swords came from and began to see a repetitive pattern in their movements. If he's right, then the next sword should come from...

Zalagras jumped forward before suddenly stopping in his tracks, lowered his head and spun his large body with a surprising elegance, easily dodging the dozen swords thrown at him.

Now that he knew which direction the swords would come from, all he needed was to trace it back to its origin and he would find his exorcist.

As he easily read the trajectory of the next sword, his eyes fixed themselves towards a certain direction. A bloodthirsty grin stretched over his face as he made out the faint outline of a human body in the treetops.

He found him!

He charged forward with a newfound purpose, his sharp limbs easily cutting through the bark and sending numerous trees toppling down. He could see the exorcist fall along with the trees, entangled within the large cluster of branches and leaves.

Zalagras almost bounced with joy when he found his attacker glaring at him through his unexpected restraints. He was a young boy with effeminate features, a mop of dark hair and striking red eyes that were currently glaring at him with promised murder.

"Poor little exorcist, whatever will you do now~?" Zalagras sang with a perverse glee as he slowly brought his front limbs forward, enjoying the way the boys chest was rising rapidly.

'He's afraid~!'

"I would like to thank you, boy. You see, I was looking for a small snack after my latest meal, and then you appeared not a moment later!" Zalagras chuckled as he impaled the ground harshly with his limbs, an act to scare the boy. After all, humans taste so much better when they're terrified.

The boy didn't reply, choosing to glare at him even harder than before.

Zalagras frowned. It seems that the church have trained this boy rather well if he refuses to show his fear.

'I guess I'll just eat him now then.' Zalagras thought with a disappointed sigh.

He lifted his limb in the air and slammed it into the boys midsection. Blood spurted out in a wild torrent, colouring Zalagras' body a bright red as the light began to fade from the boys eyes.

At least, that was meant to happen.

Zalagras' eyes widened when, rather than blood pouring out of the exorcist's wound, the boys body began to turn into water before falling apart, forming a small puddle below.

An illusion?

He fell for an illusion!?

Rage bubbled up from the confines of Zalagras' mind, further enhanced by his demonic power to create an unstoppable monster of wrath, hellbent on slaughtering his quarry in the most violent ways possible.

"Y͜҉̶̵͝O͘͠U҉̵̨͏͞ ̧͏͜L͏͡͡I̧͞T̡̨T̀͘L͏̨͜E̷̡̨̡͏ ҉̴̶B̷͜͟͜͠R̵̡̕Ą̀͜͡T҉̶͢!̧̕͟͞ ̨͘͘͜Ì̴̸̧͠'́̕L̵̶͝L̷̡͞҉͘ ̷̸̴Ķ̧͡I̧̛͢͜L̕͟͢͠͏L҉̵̵͏ ̡͢Ý͠O͏̶̵̢͝U̷͟͠!̸̷͟"

He swung his front limbs as hard as he could, as fast as he could, and toppled multiple trees in an instant. With the remaining remnants of his sanity having left his mind, all that was left was a raging beast with no control over itself.

Zalagras charged through the forest, swinging wildly and cutting down every single tree in the vicinity. It was only for a moment, but he caught the small flash of movement in front of him.

"I͏҉'̶̵́͟V̸͘͢E̕͟҉̨̢ ͠͝Ģ̷͠O͝͝T̴̨̛͘͝ ̧̧́͜͡Y̶͡͞Ơ̶U̡͜͜͢͜ ̴̨̡N̡͠O͘͏͢W̢̡!̸̡"

Zalagras let his jaw fall down and spewed a countless number of spiders from the inside of his mouth. Black Widows, Redback spiders, Yellow Sac spiders, Brown Recluse spiders and more. All manners of poisonous spiders flew out of his mouth and spread themselves throughout the entire area.

"Y̨͜O͏̶̨̨͝U̢̨͘͜ ̢̛͠͠Ć̷̶̢͝A̸̶̡̕Ń̛͠͝ ͟͝R̛͡͡͏U͢͠N̴̸ ̨̕͘͟͞B̷̀U͟͞T̸̛̛͜͡ ͜͡͝Ḿ̛͠Y̨̡̛̕ ̶̧͠Ş̧̛͟͝P̢̛͜I͠͝D̵̛̛́E̷͝R̛͡͡҉S͠҉̧҉ ̢̀W̴̡I̧͠L̷͟͏L̶̛̛͘͜ ̧͜͜͜F̷̢͢͝I̷̡̧͜͡Ǹ̴̵̵D̕҉́ ̷̸͟͡Y̛͟O҉͝U̷͘͘͡͡!̷̷͢͠ ͏̨͞O̡͘͟N̵̨͘͞E̴͟͝͠ ̨̡͟͞B̸͘͞I̶̕͠͝T̵̡̡E҉̸̀́̕ ̸̵̀͡À̡̧̛N̨̧̛͟D͝ ̡̀͟͠Y̵̛͘͟͡Ò́Ų̷̛͟'̴̛͢͡L̸̢͜L̶͘ ̢D̷Į̶È̵҉ ͏҉̵T̸̴̸͘͢H̨̕É̴́̕͝ ̴̡̛M̛̀͟O̴͘͟͞S̴̶͜T̶̷҉ ͠͏̵̴͢P̶̸̛͜͡A͝͠I̕̕N̷̸̡̕F̢́͝͠͡U̵̴̕͡Ļ̷̛ ͝͝D̴̴̨͢E͞҉A̡͜͠͠T̴̛͢͟͠H̸̡̨͘ ̷͢Y̸̷̛̕͞Ơ҉U͠ ͏̸Ç̛̀͡A̡̕͝N̶̨̢ ̴̕͜Ţ̷̸͘͢H͞͠͞Í̴͡Ņ̸K̀ ̕͜O̴̧͟҉͞F̷̧̕͞!̷̢͡,."

The spiders began to spread throughout the forest, combing the area for any signs of life barring Zalagras and their own. It didn't take long until he received a signal from one of his spiders that the human was located.

"Ì̵̕͞ ́̀͠F̛̕͜Ó̧̡͢͞U̕͟͡͝N̕̕D̕ ҉͡Y̶̵͟͝O̡͞͡Ư̧,̀ ̕͏H̡͢͜U͏M̨͘͠A̧̨͘͡Ņ̀̕͡!͞͞ ̴̢̕͜Ḿ̷̨͡͝Y̷͘ ̴̴̧S̸̵̡͝͡P̢̀͡I̧̕͟͢D̢͝Ę̸̨R̸̢̛͢͝S̷͟ ̵̢̕W̴̶̨̡̛I̵̷̧L͢͠L̵͘ ̵͢͜҉P̷̧͘O̢͟͞Į̡͟S̸҉Ó̷͠N̴̶͘ ̸̕Y̴͟O̴͟͞Ú͜͞!̷̢́͢͠ ҉͞T̶̶̴̀͠H́͏E̸͢Y͠͡'̸̡҉҉L̢̕L҉̧̢͘ ͘͏͢͏R͘̕͜Ì̢͜͡P̡͟ ̧̢̕͞͏Y҉̕͢͜͝O̧̕͢͡͠U̢͡͡͞ ̷̨͜͝͏T̡̕͘͠O̴͟͡ ̸̡̨́͢Ṕ̡͘͘͜Í̀͝E͏̨̕C̸̢̛͡͝E҉Ş̶̡̡͢!҉̶̛͝ ̶̧̨̀͟T̴̵́Ŗ̷̷͟͞Y̡̡͜͠ ̨͘N͝O̧͠T҉̸̨͜͜ ͏T͢O̧͏̡̧̕ ͜Ḑ̶̕͞͝I̛͝͠Ȩ̷͜ ̸̢T̴͘͢O͡҉͏̨O̢͟ ͟͟͞Q̶̢͢͢U̶̧̕I̵̵̧͜͢C̢͘҉̧̕K͏̢̨L҉́͏͠Y͟ ҉̷̧̡T̶̵̨̀̕H͡҉̵O̵U̶̕̕͝͡G̴̡̧H̛̛͘,͠҉̴̕ ͝͞I̷̢͏͏ ̸̢́͝͞W̸̸A̡̕̕͢͝N̛͘͝T̀͞҉ ̷̛͘T̡͡Ǫ͝ ̷̶͢͠͡S҉̵̛̀̀Ą͜͏V̶̡́O̷̷U̵̡͢͝R̛͝ ̷̸̛E̶̛͠V̴̵̶͞͡E͏̸́͜Ŕ̢̢͞Y̨̕͏̕ ̴͝͡҉Ļ̴̴͞A̛҉͡Ş̵T͜҉̀͜ ̢M̶͜Ò̧M̴̷̸Ę̛͢N̢̕͢͡T̸͡͏̵͘ ̨̀͟͠Ǫ̨̢̛F̴̶͜͞ ̴̛̕͟Y̢̡̧͝O̧̕͜Ų͘͡R҉҉ ͏̴D̸̴E͏̀̕M̧̡͢͡I̴͏̡́͢S̢͠͠E̷̕!͟͏,.."

Zalagras charged towards the exorcist's location with a newfound strength in his legs, a guttural roar escaping his mouth and echoing throughout the forest the moment he laid eyes on the human who had caused him so much trouble.

The boy was currently fending off his precious spiders using his sword. It was a rather large sword that created a powerful gust of wind with each swing he made. With each swing of his sword, his spiders flew into the trees and died from the impact, only earning him the ire of the devil.

The spiders that managed to get past his sword made an attempt to bite into him but ultimately failed due to the white aura surrounding the exorcist's body. Try as they might, they just couldn't seem to get through that strange aura of his.

The boy noticed him, eyes widened with panic as he lifted the greatsword into the air.

"I̸̶̡͘͞'̵̧V̀͜͞È̵ ́́̕͟͡G̴͘͟͞O͏͟T̶͘͡͠ ̨҉͡͞Y̛Ǫ̵̛͟U͠͝ ̢̧͟Ņ͠O̸̧҉͏W̴̴̧͞!̴̡̛"

The devil pounced.

"Balmung!"

The sword was swung.

'Huh?'

And Zalagras found himself staring at the sky.

As he hung in the air, he found himself surrounded by every single one of his spiders, all flailing about in the air. There were also sticks and stones flying around him.

And boulders.

And trees.

In fact, the entire surrounding area seemed to have been blown up into the sky.

For a moment, it felt as if the whole world stopped moving.

Then came the descent.

Zalagras fell back down to the earth with a grunt, his devil body unfazed by the impact. It was only when the boulders and trees fell atop him did he actually scream out in pain.

The whole area was covered by a massive heap of stones, trees, clods of earth and one spider devil. All of Zalagras' spiders were killed when the trees fell down on them, crushing and reducing them to a mere stain on the ground.

'What kind of sword was that!?'

It took everything Zalagras had to just stand up, broken as his body was. His limbs trembled under the weight of his body and he was forced to grab onto an uprooted tree for support.

He was brought to this state by a human!? A devil such as himself!?

His rage had reached an entirely new level, turning into a controlled, yet calm blood lust. However, his demonic power reacted accordingly to his emotions and brought out the worst of himself. His body began to mutate even further, slowly losing whatever part of his body resembled a human.

If he stopped for a single moment and paid attention to his surroundings-if he had noticed the exorcist change weapons and lift a new sword into the air, he would have realised just what was about to become of him.

"Tyrfing!"

A flash of light.

And Zalagras howled in agony.

The moment the sword was swung, a wave of absolute destruction steamrolled towards him, destroying everything and anything that stood in its path.

The trees were stripped of their leaves and toppled over from the sheer force of destruction generated by that sword. The ground was reduced to a paste, the trees were reduced to sawdust, the stones were reduced to dust, and great clods of soil and dirt were ripped away from the ground.

And Zalagras was hit by the wave at full force, smashing into every single tree in his path and breaking them to pieces. Splinters bit into his skin, branches impales his limbs, stones battered his body, dirt blinded his eyes. Everything was hurting and he couldn't stop it.

He had finally stopped in his path when his limp body slammed into a large boulder, almost shattering and breaking through it in the process. The wave had also died down, to the level of a gentle force that pushed against his body. His muscles twitched from the pain, blood pouring from cuts all over his body. All eight of his legs were broken, the bones all but shattered, and he couldn't even utter a single word.

At that moment, Zalagras' body was broken beyond repair.

Yet it was not enough for the exorcist.

"Dainsleif!"

'Another weapon!?'

A flash of blue light travelled towards Zalagras at a frighting speed. The moment it came into contact with his battered body, the surrounding air began to rapidly cool down, slowing down Zalagras' faint movements to the point where he couldn't move at all.

Ice began forming around his body, starting at the bottom. His eight legs were frozen in place with a thick layer of ice that rapidly moved up towards the remnants of his human body, freezing his fingers, stomach, chest and shoulders. Zalagras tried to break free but there isn't much one can do against a temperature of absolute zero.

Just as the ice was about to move towards his head, it stopped in its tracks. The blue light surrounding his body had faded out of existence, returning to the blade of the sword wielded by the exorcist.

Zalagras snarled as the exorcist calmly walked forward, sheathing his ice sword and pulling out another sword. It wasn't the greatsword from earlier, that much was obvious, but it also wasn't a Holy Sword of any kind. In fact, the power that was wafting around the sword seemed... demonic?

"And that is that we call checkmate." the boy said with a smug smile plastered on his face.

Zalagras wanted to kill the boy so badly but he knew when he was beat. His rage got the better of him and now he was trapped in a powerful layer of ice as a result. The fact that he lost to a child only infuriated him but he wouldn't let the boy know that; it would only make him feel like he lost in more ways than one.

"What are you waiting for!? Just hurry up and kill me!" Zalagras growled at the boy, even going so far as to try spitting on him.

Pride. Something that all devils embody, reincarnated or otherwise, and his pride refused to allow the boy to see him as weak. He wouldn't give in, not even when faced with his death.

Zalagras knows that he will die after today, but his pride also refuses to allow him to die alone, which is why he would at least take this body down with him, frozen or not.

The boy raised his new sword and charged forward, and Zalagras used that moment to enact his final attack.

He called upon the remnants of his demonic power, the wild and destructive energy of his devil soul, and willed for it to destroy everything.

A suicide attack. He would create an explosion using his own body as a key ingredient to destroy this entire area, along with himself and the exorcist before him. Everything would be consumed by the demonic power, leaving nothing behind but a massive, smouldering crater.

"IT'S MY WIN, EXORCIST!" Zalagras sported a bloodthirsty grin as the boy's sword swung down. As soon as the sword would make contact with his body, he would detonate and take the exorcist with him!

Which is why Zalagras couldn't help but let out a small "Hah?" when the sword phased right through his body, leaving him unharmed.

"You think I can't feel your demonic power when you're flaring it for the whole world to sense?" the boy remarked with a scoff. "I think you'll find that I am quite familiar with demonic power and how it feels. I knew what you were planning on doing the moment I felt your demonic power acting up inside your body. Suicide bombing? Really? Try something more original."

But Zalagras wasn't listening to the boy. In fact, the boys words didn't even register in his mind.

Because his mind was cleared.

The moment the sword phased through his body, Zalagras found himself with the ability to think clearly again. The demonic power that had polluted his mind was all but gone, the connection cut away thanks to that strange sword the exorcist used.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to close it a second later.

He blinked a couple of times, staring into thin air with open disbelief.

His eyes widened.

And then he remembered everything.

The moment I felt his demonic power act up, I used Nothung's ability of selective cutting to slice through his demonic power, destroying its connection with him. I was only meant to stop him from blowing himself up to take me with him.

The moment his attempt of murdering me failed, I had expected more of the pride that devils are so well known for. I expected insults to be thrown at me, or a glare trying to bore holes into my head.

I didn't expect the wail.

Why is he crying?

Why is he begging for forgiveness?

The sword in my hand felt heavier as the seconds passed, as the reincarnated devil before me continued to blubber like a child.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm sorry!"

The tears didn't stop falling at all, not even a little. In fact, it only increased in intensity as time passed, and I felt my drive to kill the stray slowly beginning to fade away.

"I didn't want to do it! I couldn't control myself! I'm sorry! Forgive me! I'm so sorry!"

He wasn't apologising to me. He wasn't asking me to forgive him.

He was apologising to the people he killed, asking for their forgiveness.

This isn't the devil I was told to kill. This isn't Zalagras the stray devil anymore. This is someone who has realised their actions and deeply regrets it.

This is Dario Andino, the human turned devil who has realised just what he has become.

And it was only possible because-

Because I severed his connection with his demonic power.

I forced him to realise what he did in his maddened state. I forced him to recount every single memory he made as a stray devil.

This is bad. My arms are beginning to tremble and I'm slowly lowering my sword.

I'm hesitating to kill him.

No!

He's a stray devil, isn't he!? He killed his master and peerage members, and ran away! It doesn't matter if he regrets his actions, not when he did this to himself-!

"You! Exorcist! You came to kill me right!?"

"Wha-"

"I can't live anymore, not after what I've done! Please kill me!"

Don't do that! Don't look at me with those eyes and ask me to kill you!

"I'm a devil aren't I!? I'm a devil that's killed humans wherever I went, and it's your job as an exorcist to kill me!"

That's right! Why am I hesitating!? Just cut him down right now and this will all be over!

I tightened my hold on Nothung, a grimace on my face as I raised the sword into the air. All I have to do now is swing it down and it will all be over. That's all I have to do. It's simple. Just one clean cut and he dies.

This is it.

I'm about to kill him.

I'm going to swing my sword and kill him!

He's going to die!

So why...

Why does he look so happy?

1) Don't hesitate in front of a devil.
2) Don't show weakness to a devil.
3) Take the best opportunity you see to kill a devil.

Those were the three main rules we were taught in regard to combating stray devils. As long as we follow those three rules, we wouldn't die an early death.

So why am I already breaking all three of them?

Why can't I kill him!?

"Why are you hesitating!?"

'Because I-'

"Why are you giving me time to fight back!?"

'Because this is-'

"This is the best opportunity you'll get you know!? Why won't you kill-!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed at the top of my voice, personal control be damned. "HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST KILL YOU AFTER ALL THAT!?"

Don't hesitate in front of a devil.

"WHEN YOU CRIED FOR THE LIVES YOU TOOK WHEN YOU WEREN'T IN CONTROL!"

Don't show weakness to a devil.

"WHEN BEGGING THE PEOPLE YOU'VE ALREADY KILLED TO FORGIVE YOU!"

Take the first opportunity you see to kill a devil

"HOW THE FUCK DO EXPECT ME TO JUST IGNORE ALL OF THAT AND KILL YOU!? I CAN'T DO THAT! I CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT!"

I had prepared myself for this moment ever since I was born in this world. I made sure to kill my emotions when I would first face a stray devil-when I would kill my first stray devil.

Where did I go wrong?

Was it because I expected a monster without compassion?

Maybe it was because I didn't think of stray devils as anything more than mindless beasts?

Did I ignore the influence of their demonic power?

Had I assumed all stray devils were cruel monsters who would betray their masters?

I don't know. I honestly don't know anymore.

All I know is that I can't kill this man, not when he is more human than devil.

I just can't kill him.

Fuck. I'm crying.

Dammit it, stop crying.

I hate the hormones in my body.

Damn it. I hate this. I hate feeling like this.

The forest clearing was silent for a minute or so. I kept my gaze on my feet, unable to look Zala-Dario Andino in the eyes.

I'm scared.

Scared of killing a human.

I don't want to kill him.

I don't really know how long we remained quiet for but at some point, Dario broke the silence.

"Can I ask you for your name?"

I mulled over the request for a moment before replying.

"Siegfried. My name is Siegfried."

"Siegfried. That's a nice name." Dario hummed, and I forced myself to look at him. He gave me such a gentle smile that I was forced to avoid my gaze once again.

How can I kill someone like this?

"My name is Dario Andino, though I suppose you already knew that." Dario chuckled, and I felt myself wanting to cry again because this isn't the monster I was meant to kill. This is the human Dario Andino.

"Siegfried, you don't know how much those words mean to someone like me, but after everything I've done, I don't deserve to live anymore."

"B-but you must have had a good reason for becoming a stray!"

"I was murdered by that devil bitch and reincarnated against my wishes," Dario spat, looking like he wanted to say more but shook it off, "but that doesn't excuse the fact that I had killed innocent humans. Even now, I can feel my demonic power slowly returning, and when the connection is reformed, I'll go back to being a monster that will kill any human I find."

"You can find help so please don't ask me to-!"

"But I want to die." Dario interrupted with another smile as he forced himself forward. His body crumbled into large chunks of frozen meat but it didn't stop him. When his legs fell apart, he used his arms to drag himself. When his right arm shattered from the strain, he used his cracked left arm to pull himself up.

Please don't say it.

Dario lowered his body, or what was left of it, and placed his forehead on the ground before me.

"Which is why I'm asking you to kill me while I'm still human."

"I..."

I don't want to kill him.

"I don't..."

But how can I refuse him at this point?

"...I'll make it as painless as possible."

I placed Nothung back in its sheath and brought out Gram. Lifting the golden sword into the air, I activated its Sun Attribute and brought forth the golden flames of the sun itself.

...It's not enough.

Gram. Maximum output.

A second sun came to life within the forest.

And as I brought that sun down, I took the life of the human known as Dario Andino.

And that's chapter 8.

So yeah, first thing's first.

Canon has been bitch slapped once again! Masaomi and Cleria are both still alive but on the run (le gasp)! Will they survive long enough to meet our protagonist!? Will they be hunted down by the forces of the church and Underworld!? Only time, and my mood every now and again, will tell what will become of the couple!

I also decided not to put Jeanne and SIegfried on the same team since it would be a bad idea for the church to keep two of their most valuable assets together in one place. They would run the risk of losing both of them together rather than a single one if anything were to happen.

As such, Jeanne's partner is one of my OC's. SIegfried will have a partner in the next chapter; his current mission was just a test to see how far the Sigurd Institute's successful experiment can go.

Besides, it's not as if exorcists are given a single partner to work with for good. They work with different partners from time to time so Jeanne and SIegfried will probably work together at some point.

As for Freed, he's begun falling into his inner darkness once again. I still have plans that won't end with him being cut into pieces though, so don't worry about that.

Finally, there was SIegfried's first experience with the world outside of the Vatican, and it didn't go as well as he thought it would.

This is because most people, SIegfried included, seem to forget something about stray devils. Before they were insane monsters, they were people too, and it's not as if all stray devils were bad people to begin with. Some of them might have had their own circumstances, such as Kuroka.

This is me showing that the world isn't black and white. Stray devils were their own people before their transformations, and some must have had a proper reason for killing their masters and running away other than the usual "power-hungry" excuse.

So here we have SIegfried meeting his very first stray devil, expecting a monster who killed his master and escape the Underworld for his own selfish reasons. Instead, he was faced with someone who ran to protect himself only to fall into a state of madness without anyone to regulate his demonic power.

I also want to make this point obvious: SIegfried is a human from another world, meaning that he still holds his own morals rather than what they taught him at the church. If you were in that kind of situation as well, you would hesitate too. Simply put, he's too kind for the world of DxD.

He won't be turning into an angsty character if any of you are worried. He'll still be his normal self but will have learnt a lesson.

Moving on, what did you guys think about the Demon Swords? SIegfried has finally figured out another way to get around the common weakness of Demon Swords by using the same method as Vali, though it isn't perfect. I also tried showcasing their abilities in this chapter but this is just the bare basics so far. There will be more techniques that will be introduced later on in the story.

For now, I'll just list the basics of their unique abilities:

Gram - Can produce golden fire as hot as the sun. It can also be charged up to increase its power. A simple, yet powerful ability.

Balmung - Can generate powerful winds with each swing, as you had seen in the fight. At full power, Balmung is able to create an enormous tornado.

Dainsleif - Can produce a blue aura that freezes anything it touches. This can also be transmitted into the air to freeze the water vapour, forming large pieces of ice. SIegfried froze the stray devil by freezing the air around Zalagras.

Nothung - Selective cutting. This can be used to literally cut through anything the user wants, whether it be physical or non-physical. This is actually my favourite ability out of the five swords.

Tyrfing - Can increase the force generated by its actions, resulting in unparalleled levels of destruction. What you saw in this chapter was SIegfried increasing the force produced by swinging Tyrfing through the air.

And now, for the reviews:

[Yukilumi] The church is pretty corrupt and SIegfried has made his dislike of them quite obvious, but there isn't much he can do when the people he cares for are devout followers. As for SIeg knowing about God's death, he's not really a devout follower to begin with since he knows that God is dead. He believes in Him but doesn't worship Him, if you know what I mean, and that loophole makes it so that his knowledge doesn't affect God's System.

[Warlord of Chaos] Gram and Balmung are stronger than the DxDverse Excalibur in regards to sheer power, but Excalibur has a greater diversity in abilities. Gram and Balmung are pretty much straightforward in their abilities. I'm trying to give the Demon Swords more of a spotlight compared to their canon counterparts.

[Journey to the End] I've explained it in the previous chapter's AN but I'll do it again. Basically, Dainsleif and Nothung look like Dark Repulsor and Elucidator respectively, and Tyrfing shares the same appearance as its Final Fantasy counterpart. As for Kiba's fate, I can't say much but I can say that he didn't stay at the church. None of the survivors are at the church anymore.

[Black332] - Perhaps in another time, brother, but not this one. It is a sad day when the five Demon Onee-Sans will not be lewded, but I must stick to my words!

[The Loud Person] You're right about the profile picture. That was the best image I could find for the SIegfried rather than Siegfried.

[Doortolight47] The thing is that I don't want to bring too many elements of Fate into this story, so Jeanne will not be wielding a flag or using Fate!Jeanne's NP. However, I have some amazing plans for Jeanne that I can't wait to write, so you'll have to be patient until then.

[fruitpunchsamurai-987] You guessed right. That's going to be SIegfried's appearance for the duration of the story. As for Dulio, he'll be making an appearance in the next couple of chapters.