He wailed to the skies in sorrow. The harshest hurdle had been surpassed, yet there was no one to comfort him. He cried, for it was the only thing he could do. His victory, a joyous occasion for many, was something he never wished to experience again, for only he knew what he had to go through to achieve it.

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  |DxD|- Chapter 5- Aftermath

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  Death, a solemn ending that comes eventually for all. Some may greet it with pride. Others may meet it with resignation. Some may have the blessing of embracing death mid-battle or the curse of being slaughtered like livestock. That was the fate of his people when the whole world conspired against them.

  Marcei met his final end with his head held up high. He regretted lying to the boy. Once he bested his foe, Igor would not find him. A necessary sacrifice, he’d tell himself. He’d repeated those three words so many times he found himself questioning if he had become the very hypocrite he disdained.

  He just hoped Igor survived. He wouldn’t know how to explain to his parents if their son joined the otherworld so soon. The Lord knows how many children had been massacred during the war. The supernatural world made sure every last descendant of their people was eradicated to the last infant. Igor truly was their only hope.

  Marcei felt the call growing stronger. The home of his ancestors was calling to him. The remaining embers of his soul ascended past the clouds. A feeling of liberation spread through his chest, but it was also accompanied by worry. Could the boy win? Would he survive on his own?

  That one question was turning into a burning obsession. Perhaps the lack of answers was the reason he retained conscious thought. He always tried to remain distant, but he had come to care very much for Igor.

  He wanted to look back, but a force stopped him. He needed to see below the clouds and the desire only grew stronger. There was a bad feeling sprouting through him. He had to see how the boy fared.

  The illusory shackles binding his soul strained against his will. He tore free from the compulsion and flew down. There was a feeling of hands trying to grab him, but he relented and flew past the clouds.

  Far below, he could see the ocean of trees. Igor must be down there fighting for his life. The chances of winning even against a weakened Low Class were still minuscule for a human without a sacred gear or mana, even worse if it was just a child.

  He knew he could do nothing to help at this point, but he at least wanted to see. However, there was a problem. The moment he escaped the influence of the otherworld, the afterlives and hells of other pantheons would become aware of his soul. If he were discovered, there was a chance Igor would as well.

  He grimaced in sheer indecision. Why did he care so much when this child did not stem from his lineage? Tallus was the one who should be in this situation.

  Marcei was on the border of indecision and had barely considered going down when he felt it. It was a spark, a very familiar spark of power that had him freeze. That burst of vitality, short as it was, was something he could never, would NEVER mistake.

  [Did he…HE DID!]

  He almost cried in sheer elation. The energy he felt from Igor was the very same energy he felt from the warriors of their people many years ago in his youth. No words could describe the sheer elation he felt. Vital Energy—if Igor somehow awoke it, then it would change everything.

  All the plans they’d prepared, all the books and exercises prepared for his survival would have to be changed. They had prepared for an Igor who would use mana, not vitality. Knowledge that would die with him had to be passed on at all costs.

  Marcei immediately made a decision. He stretched his hand and a small blue sphere formed. His features faded along with his legs. His body shrank as his awareness slipped away. But it was a small price to pay. He owed too much to Igor.

  This small ball contained all of his insights and understanding of vital energy. He was never a wielder of it, but he was fortunate enough to witness the last generation of users in his younger years. He did not wish to know what Igor had to experience to awaken it. He could only hope the price was not permanent.

  [Survive!]

  He released the sphere. It would collect in the time chamber’s library. The sphere vanished and with it, the last traces of his consciousness disappeared. Perhaps this time, he could hold his head a bit higher in front of his ancestors. Regret was the hallmark of his life, but with Igor, he saw hope. Maybe…just maybe it wasn’t the end for their people.

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  |DxD|

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  The town of Kuoh was a territory governed by an overseer from the Underworld. Her name was Cleria Belial, a woman from one of the Pillar Clans of the Underworld. The town was given to her for management and for the past year, she had been responsible for the safety and prosperity of its citizens.

  Stray devils were devils who committed grave crimes and, according to Underworld Law, must be killed on sight. Treason, rebellion, and murder of one’s master were all crimes befitting of capital punishment.

  Stray devils were mostly servants in peerages who murdered their kings and in doing so, severed the energy connection binding them to their kings. This made stray devils unable to control their energy and gradually devolve into monstrous beasts that craved the flesh of sentient entities, primarily humans.

  Devolving into chimera-like beasts varied from stray to stray, sometimes taking years, but the cannibalistic tendencies often manifested as early as weeks to a few months. Stray devils presented an extreme security risk not only because their existence guaranteed the alienation of devils from other factions and races, but also because strays did not adhere nor care for maintaining the secrecy of the supernatural world.

  For centuries, Devilkind had established bases in the human world. Earth was the easiest realm to access, and unsuspecting humans were just weak enough for even the weakest stray to feast on. Overseers throughout the planet had a responsibility to prevent such instances and eradicate all strays. This duty fell to her as well.

  Cleria had been tracking a stray devil named Jonathan for the past few months. His elusiveness forced her to form a temporary alliance with the local church to hunt it down. Yesterday was almost a success. The stray had finally been cornered in the town’s outskirts, but he had somehow escaped the encirclement again.

  For the past several hours, Cleria and her peerage had been combing the countryside for Jonathan, searching for him from late evening until early morning without rest. Her wings carried her above the forest canopy in search of her target. The morning sun shone down upon a head of snow white hair and revealed wearied grey eyes.

  Flying next to her was her bishop, Lina. Her knight and rook were down below combing the forest floor. Cleria felt exhausted from the chase, but it was vital that Jonathan was captured and executed before he caused more panic.

  “{Phillipe. Do you have any updates?}”

  In the forest below, a portly young man moved with surprising agility for a man of his size.

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  “No, Madam Cleria. I have yet to see the dreaded mongrel. But rest assured, I, Phillipe, shall notify you as soon as I find anything.”

  “{Alright, Philippe. Keep your eyes peeled.}”

  “Oui, Madam Cleria.”

  Philippe bounded through the forest with explosive efficiency. Each jump was filled with power gifted from his rook piece. On the other side of the forest, a young man in a dark trenchcoat blitzed with agile precision. He was a blur through foliage.

  “{Joseph. Any updates?}”

  “I do. I’ve just caught the scent of blood up north and I’m following it.”

  “{Species?}”

  “Human.”

  Joseph replied grimly. He just hoped it was a random corpse and not a victim. Back in the air, Cleria had an equally grim expression. Her brows furrowed in thought. Humans rarely, if ever, ventured this deep. Something was not adding up.

  “Lina. Did Jonathan escape with a human?”

  “Not that I am aware of, Mistress Cleria.”

  Lina focused her senses ahead. Her familiar had yet to find anything. They had been on the chase for over ten hours and everyone’s mood had plummeted. If the stray devil Jonathan escaped again…she dared not imagine the consequences.

  “{Cleria. Are you there?}”

  “Joseph?”

  “{I’m getting closer to the scent. I can confirm it’s human blood and also the blood of Jonathan. I estimate they are fifteen kilometres from here.}”

  “Good work, Joseph. Let’s all meet up together.”

  Cleria felt relief. This entire ordeal would finally come to an end. The human in question was possibly an exorcist. It would be a headache compensating the church for their loss, but it was a headache she would choose any day over another stray like Jonathan.

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  |DxD|

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  Cleria was a devil already over a century of age. This year, she would be a hundred-and-two. For her people who could live for ten millennia, she was still very young, but ancient by human terms. In a century she had seen everything, including a bloody war that engulfed the entire supernatural world a few decades ago. She thought she had seen all that could be seen, but it was clear the world still had much to show.

  The forest was alive with the retreating screams and calls of monkeys. Flocks of crows and ravens maintained a safe distance on tree branches, watching from above like spectators. Their silence was more unnerving than the shrill caws they were known for.

  Cleria stood rooted to her spot, her eyes wide in pure disbelief. What she witnessed would remain with her for the rest of her life. The stray devil Jonathan was found dead. His corpse had been brutally beheaded—not by a blade, but by something like an explosive shell.

  The buzz of flies was so heavy it pained the ear. Long lines of ants and other critters had crawled inside the stump on his neck, carrying tiny pieces of flesh between their jaws.

  Jonathan’s face was not what horrified her. It was how his corpse lay on the lap of a child. His blonde hair was bloodied crimson and thick with clot. His head was slumped over a patch of dried vomit on his chest. His right arm…it was mangled. Chunks of flesh had been torn away, exposing crushed bone.

  Cleria could never fathom how this scene came to be nor would she. The child, miraculously, was still alive. He teetered on the edge, but he was still alive. Her heels squelched through the puddle of blood and crushed bone.

  She grabbed Jonathan’s corpse with one hand and threw it behind her. The flies and flesh-eating insects stubbornly clung onto the bloody corpse. There were fewer critters on the boy, but she could see eggs dotting the wound and daring carrion beetles had burrowed into the exposed bones.

  She knelt next to him and held his arm. A careful burst of demonic power incinerated the flesh-eating insects. Her heart mourned for him. The weight of this child, this…slaughter—it settled in her chest. She could not begin to imagine the atrocities he had to witness at such a young age.

  “You will be fine, child.”

  She knelt down on one knee and soothed the unconscious boy. A small black box materialised in her hand. She opened it and picked up a chess piece. It was a rook.

  “You have fought bravely, but this will not be your end. Rise and live once more.”

  Her voice was soft and gentle. This poor soul who had endured so much—she would give him a new purpose in life. She pressed the piece into his chest. It phased into him, yet it could barely sink into his skin before it was violently ejected. Cleria caught the piece midair with shock visible on her face.

  “What?”

  She tried to push it in again, but was met with a similar reaction. The piece could only half-submerge itself into his chest before it was ejected like a spring-loaded cannon. Cleria caught it and tried again, but nothing changed. This was…odd.

  This time, she took out her queen piece and she didn’t hesitate in using it. She sank it into the boy’s chest, yet it could not completely submerge before it was ejected, this time with great force. The piece shot upward. Cleria only had the reaction to shift her head, not catch it.

  Phillipe reacted with surprising speed. The portly man put power into his legs, jumped into the air, and caught the queen piece with ease. He was ready to hand it over when Cleria’s actions left him and all the others equally stunned.

  “Madam…”

  Cleria had taken out a vial of phoenix tears. She clasped it tightly in her hand, seemingly hesitant on whether to use it. This was a gift to her by her cousin. The value of phoenix tears could not be calculated just by money alone. Only two vials existed in her entire clan, and one was with her.

  Under normal circumstances, she would never use it, but this boy…this boy was a mystery and something told her he would be worth it. If an evil piece could not reincarnate him, then maybe, he might just be very special. It was a very risky gamble, but one she was willing to take.

  “I know what I’m doing.”

  Her words were aimed at her bishop who had walked up to her. Lina’s words were left stuck in her throat before she could say them. The clan would not overlook this. The Phenex would have questions too if this came to light, but given her master’s desire, she lowered her hand.

  Cleria uncorked the vial and carefully poured a third of it on his arm. A single drop was considered a second life and for immensely good reason. The moment the drop landed on Igor’s flesh, the effect was immediate.

  Chunks of muscle tissue and crushed bone recovered at a speed visible to the eye. The depression on his chest steadily filled out with sickening cracks of bones snapping back into place. The fingers on his right hand rotated back into place and the crushed bone on his knuckles reformed. The wound on the back of his head closed. The burns on his ribs healed. The healing proceeded smoothly throughout his whole body until no scars remained.

  It was a miraculous recovery and worth the enormous cost. It was, however, that very cost that would bring the greatest risk. Cleria picked him up and placed his head against her chest. Dust and streaks of red stained her dress. She remained unfazed and her eyes were clear with determination.

  “I will take this child to Shuri. He’ll need time to recover and her expertise will ensure no lingering spiritual damage.”

  There was another reason she would take him to Shuri. A human in her manor would raise too many eyes. Given her usage of the tear, someone from the clan would come knocking shortly. This child needed a guaranteed sanctuary until then.

  “The rest of you can clean up the area. We will meet at the estate in half an hour. If anyone from the clan arrives before I do, do not tell them anything. I will handle it personally.”

  A small magic circle formed beneath her feet. So much had happened in one day and more would be waiting for her. She just hoped the boy was worth it—no, he is worth it. Regardless of outcome, she wouldn’t regret saving his life.

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  |DxD|

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  In the outskirts of the forest just a few kilometres from town, there was a modest two-storey home. It was surrounded by a metal fence and outside the garage, a normal family car was parked. It was late morning and the sun was unbearably hot, quite rare for this period of the year.

  Inside the house, a woman with long black hair and modest features was cleaning Igor’s body. Her name was Shuri Himejima, a spiritual healer from the Shinto Pantheon and the Himejima Clan. Her hands gently wiped down his body, careful not to press too deep. Her friend Cleria had arrived with the boy and only told her he survived a stray devil attack.

  She rinsed the towel in a bucket and wiped his arm. Her hand trailed from his shoulder to his elbow. She could see the discolouration between the newly regenerated skin on his forearm and the dirtied skin on his elbow and upper arm.

  Her hand slowly descended from his elbow to his forearm, and the moment the wet towel touched it, he flinched violently.

  “Ssshhh…”

  She quickly leaned over and placed her palm on his forehead. She calmed his turbulent energy with her own, being careful not to harm him. His forearm was a trauma point that had deepened into instinct.

  “Be still, child. I won’t hurt you. No one will hurt you.”

  She made it a point to be wary of his right arm. Cleaning him after he’s been put into a deep sleep would be best. The smell was awful and nauseating, making her only imagine how intense the fight must’ve been…and who would be so cruel as to send a boy to fight a stray devil.

  His spear was placed by the door. The craftsmanship was good, but that was only when placed against normal weapons. In the supernatural world, it was no different from a stick. If the scenario was true, then this child survived purely on luck!

  [Calm down, Shuri.]

  She closed her eyes for a moment before resuming her duties. She truly could only imagine what he went through and she would never wish for her daughter to experience the same. The thought made her wish to hold her child and in that moment, she heard her daughter’s cries from the other room.

  “Oh, Akeno…”

  She silently lamented. Now wasn’t the best possible time, but Akeno would not stop crying until she was attended to. Shuri placed the towel on the bedside table and quickly left the room. Igor was left alone on the bed. His pants were discarded and thrown into a basket along with bloody tissues and towels.

  Shuri soon came back carrying a baby in swaddling clothes. Her daughter’s tiny fingers clutched the hem of her shirt. She gently pried her fingers off and sat her on a blanket beside the bed before attending to Igor.

  She still had to clean his legs and his back. The water was still warm so she wiped him down, carefully turned him over, and did the same. There was little she could do with his hair without waking him.

  There were a few more items that needed to be prepared. Incense, herbs, and special teas. Being so close to death would inevitably leave an imbalance in one’s life energy that needed to be addressed. Before she left, Shuri placed her hand on his head. She channeled just a bit more energy into him again.

  “There. That should hold off any nightmares for now.”

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  AN: Mama Shuri to the rescue. If you like her, drop a comment.

  Want to read an extra chapter for free? Go to the forbidden website that starts with a ‘P’. Rhymes with megatron.

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  Chapter 5

  END