The Wandering Devil
Chapter: 1
So, a new fic idea I wanted to do. Let me know if you enjoy it or have any suggestions since I'm always open to any. Thanks for all the support on my other fic. Hope you enjoy!
(A new world)
I gasped in panic as my eyes snapped open to be greeted in an unfamiliar room. My entire body felt like it had been set ablaze in pain, and I tumbled out of the unfamiliar king-sized bed I definitely hadn't fallen asleep in.
With a quick cursory glance at my surroundings, I observed the luxurious bedroom that seemed fit for a king before doubling over in pain. This certainly wasn't my room.
The painting on the wall looked expensive enough to put me in debt for a few generations itself. I had no clue what was happening. I grasped at my throat as it started to burn up, only to notice my small hands.
These weren't my hands?! What in god-OW, what the fuck. The sharp stabbing sensations that were sent through my head caught me off guard. Specifically, my eyes began to burn.
Had I been kidnapped? Probably, my luck was just that shit. I couldn't even think properly, as my mind felt disoriented. My teeth were gritted as the pain only increased.
Everything in my vision began to get blurry and I only had time to look up at a mirror to see a young crimson-haired teen with bright blue eyes staring back at me before I doubled over in pain.
A glance up, and I noticed my eyes, which were now apparently a clear blue, now changing. My pupils dilated as a swirling nebula of colours suddenly swirled out from the centre of my eyes.
I didn't even get a chance to voice the sheer incredulously I felt as memories, not my own, began flooding into me. It was like watching a film as a life that wasn't mine briefly played.
By the end of it, I had to admit I had no clue how to feel about this whole situation. The fact I was in another world was probably the biggest shock factor, or perhaps it was the fact I was a pure-blood devil.
I was Zephyrion Gremory, the youngest child of the Gremory family. I have two older sisters Sirena Lucifer, who is one of the four Satens and the eldest, along with Rias Gremory who was a few years older than me.
I had an entire new life, with many friends from the devil school I apparently went to and parents who adored me more than anyone from my previous life could ever hope to. It was certainly a weird experience.
The fact that in my other life, I knew that most of these people were from a fictional world. Excluding the fact my elder sister was a gender-bent version of Sirzech Lucifer it was pretty much the same.
I found myself utterly perplexed and baffled, still half wondering if I had somehow stumbled into some bizarre lucid dream.
Unfortunately, I couldn't ponder for much longer, as my eyes started glowing, and I glanced back up into the mirror. I gawked at the change my eyes had gone through.
My vision sharpened as I was left with a pair of multicoloured orbs. Iridescent eyes that had a blend of golden and purple with pink in the middle.
Contrary to the description that made it sound like they would be an ugly amalgamation of blended colours that didn't mix well, that couldn't have been further from the truth.
It was as if someone had trapped rainbows in my eyes and frankly, they were beautiful. They looked much more unique than the green eyes I had in my previous life and the clear sky-blue ones I had previously in this body.
The shock of the new change to my eyes made me almost ignore the tug that I felt in my stomach, and I could only look in confusion as cracks in the air began surrounding my form.
I vaguely began to hear a frantic knocking coming from what I now knew was my bedroom door, but oddly enough didn't care as I stared at the cracks in fascination.
The knocks faded into the background as I felt drunk on something. It was difficult to explain. I couldn't think much as my mind became blurry and as if a mirror had been broken, reality broke away to reveal a Kaleidoscope of colours.
I couldn't even muster up any resistance as my body was instantly sucked into the portal of swirling colours and my vision darkened as I quickly lost consciousness.
-Scene Break-
Regaining consciousness I groaned as I noticed I was lying sprawled across the ground, blinking blearily I propped myself up with my arms and looked around confused.
Waking up on the ground proved far from pleasant. I briefly entertained the notion that it might all have been an elaborate dream. Alas, reality struck as I still found myself still inhabiting the body of Zephyrion Gremory.
I was still stuck with all these memories of another life packed into my head. I rubbed my eyes as I stared around where I had suddenly found myself.
Surrounded by a vibrant lush forest which was teeming with life, it almost seemed to preen with nature. The trees and grass were all filled with life. Birds flying around happily. This place looked too good to be true.
The only sign of human existence in sight was the colossal walls in the distance along with the colossal tower which seemed to be on a mission to leave earth. I didn't know what to think at the moment.
One moment I was sitting at home, only to be reborn into Zephyrion Gremory. Now I was waking up in a random forest, still just as confused. Swiftly collecting my thoughts, I gathered myself and calmed myself down with a sigh.
There was no use obsessing over it.
I had always been good at adapting to bad situations, and I saw no reason to alter that strategy now. I looked at the massive wall that seemingly stretched on for miles. I guess that's a good starting point.
Getting up, I pat myself down and went to put my hands into my pockets, only to find I had none. Looking down at my current state of dress, I nodded and let out a depressed sigh.
Right, noble devil clothing. I was currently in what essentially was my pajamas. Deciding not to dwell on it, I was thankful that pureblood devils appeared to wear what could amount to a simple red shirt and pants for bedtime.
At least I didn't have to walk around wearing a nightie in midday. With that, I began walking towards the large wall stretching out. It took me a while to walk around to find an actual entrance.
A large brick road filled with people lining up finally entered my vision. I noticed the guards at the gate, which led to a city inside the wall. There was a man with a clipboard signing people in.
Getting a glimpse inside the enormous city Inside the walls, I saw what seemed to be a massive tower that spiraled up to the heavens in the distance. Okay, where the fuck had I ended up?
There was only so much shit I could and was willing to take in a single day. With a sigh of resignation, I ran a hand through my blon- Oh wait, crimson hair now before shrugging helplessly and casually strolling around to join the line.
It took an entire two hours of waiting before I finally reached the front of the annoyingly long line of people waiting to enter.
During that time. A single unmistakable detail was brought to my attention, it was the elf standing right in front of me. It drew my attention to the multitude of races lining up alongside me.
I was starting to wonder if I was even in the world of dxd anymore.
"Excuse me"
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a hand waving in front of me, huh? I must have zoned out.
"Uh, hello," I replied with a bit of uncertainty.
"Name?" The man in front of me asked boredly.
"Zephyrion," I replied.
He raised an eyebrow at my unique sounding name, and I gave him an uncaring glance. I noticed his eyes linger on mine, which was fair since they were pretty weird.
"Surname?" He lazily continued while writing on his board.
"Gremory," I replied evenly.
"Age?" He ticked something off.
"Fifteen?" I winced as he gave me a dry look.
"Purpose of entry?" He droned on. He sounded bored out of his mind.
"Seeking Residence?" I half-asked.
He rolled his eyes and wrote something down.
"Alright, welcome to Orario. Try not to cause too much trouble during your stay." He spoke his clearly rehearsed lines.
Wait, Orario? Where had I heard of that before? It was ringing some bells.
Nodding in understanding, I walked past him. The guards sitting around and chatting didn't even bat an eye at my entry. Hold on. I paused, my gaze fixated on the woman with wolf ears walking past me. Suddenly, it clicked – Orario.
Gods, dungeons, Monsters.
Shit.
I somehow ended up in Danmachi.
-{Serafall Pov}-
The underworld was currently in an uproar. Devils were being sent out in droves to scour the entirety of the underworld. Every single one of the four Satan's peerages had been mobilised and even the common devil was on the lookout.
Zephyrion Gremory has gone missing. This news was massive and had spread to every corner of the underworld. The fact it was a pillar devil was one thing, but also the fact he was the younger brother of Sirena Lucifer made it much more important.
A mere half an hour after the news had been released, a ten million Ria which was the devil's currency had been offered for the safe return of Zephyrion. With an additional five million Ria offered for any information leading to his whereabouts.
Serafall Leviathan currently strode down the large corridor with a purpose. The normally cheerful aura dissipated as a frosty aura of malice surrounded her. She was not in the mood to keep up the act.
She was currently making her way to the meeting room of the four Satans. Where her three friends awaited her arrival. Frost covered the windows, and she walked past the cowering devil servants.
The reason she was so angry? She had been the one to discover Zephyrion's disappearance.
Serafall had been going to try to coerce her cute "Zeph-Tan" into making an appearance on her show for the hundredth time this week, Only to feel a large mass of demonic energy gathering in his room.
Zephyrion had been told many times not to practice magic alone, since an unpractised magic user with his amount of mana could easily cause damage to both himself and his surroundings without proper guidance.
She had, of course, been concerned, especially when she sensed the sheer amount of power fluctuating from within his room. Which now made her wish she hadn't been polite and simply knocked.
In her defence Zephyrion was an introverted boy who liked his privacy, as much as she loved to tease him and jump all over him when he hung out with her, Serafall had always respected his privacy.
Now though when she had felt the mana dissipate and the silence inside the room, she had been worried Zephyrion had somehow hurt himself.
With that thought, she had kicked down his magically reinforced door, expecting to see the annoyed face of Zephyrion as she invaded his privacy, only to be met with nothing.
Serafall had frozen as she entered his room, finding it empty. Walking around in confusion, she discovered a pool of blood and what appeared to be vomit beside his bed.
She lost track of time, simply staring as her mind gradually pieced together its own interpretation of the events that had transpired. The result was ugly.
Her mind slowly ran over the worst outcomes before she snapped into action. Multiple detection spells were cast in a split second as she performed a large-scale scan for any sign of Zephyrion.
A pulse of thick demonic energy pulsing out across the whole mansion searching for him, akin to a radar. Nothing came up, and she had immediately informed everyone she could of the missing Zephyrion.
Her peerage members and Sirena's had been sent out in under five minutes of the discovery.
Ajuka had been immediately called to the scene, as she didn't bother sparing any pleasantries and ran a thorough investigation of Zephyrion's room. Serafall had been while joining the search with a spectrum of emotions following through her.
She and Zephyrion were closer than one might expect from a lady of her position. She had been utterly enthralled by the adorable crimson haired boy when she first encountered him.
In contrast to Sona, who often appeared embarrassed and frustrated to even be seen with her, much to Serafall's concealed sadness, Zephyrion had always been there for her, even if he remained unaware of it and the depth of her attachment to him.
She had long accepted Sona's apparent dislike of her after a harsh reality check when she had been especially depressed after the two hundredth year anniversary on the day her best friend had died.
Seeking comfort she had naturally gone to Sona, her beloved little sister, only to be shoved away. As sona had been with some other pureblood heiress and didn't wish to be embarrassed by her.
Depressed and feeling especially lonely, she had stumbled into Zephyrion who had been visiting the Sitri manor with Rias. Only he had snuck away from her after getting bored.
He being the ever silent but smart boy, he had instantly noticed she seemed down and unlike her uncaring little sister spent time comforting her. That had begun the start of a close friendship between the two.
Now Serafall had to walk and tell her fellow Satans that she had unknowingly let Zephyrion be abducted.
The feeling of helplessness as she failed another person she held dear was heartbreaking, and it was only her determination that stopped her from fully releasing her emotions.
She would find him.
-{Zephyrion Pov}-
I was currently sitting on a bench outside the massive spiralling tower as I observed the many adventurer parties going in and out of the dungeon.
Some came out injured, while others had massive grins in their faces, lugging giant bags with them. I hadn't run into anyone I knew from Danmachi, but that was to be expected since I had only been in Orario for an hour.
There had been hundreds of parties in that hour that kept venturing into the dungeon. It showed me just how many people there were who went to explore the dungeon.
You'd think the threat of being chomped down by some monsters would make the profession rarer. Turns out, people living in fantasy worlds didn't have the same mindset.
Orario was a massive city, much larger than I had imagined it to be. I didn't really have anything planned at the moment, which led me to simply explore the city. The various shops selling potions and clothing were pretty fun to browse.
The most practical course of action would likely be to join a familia, considering that people who didn't join one tended to be weak. Plus, who wouldn't want to become what was essentially a super human.
I think part of it was my new devil instincts, which made me feel greed at the free power up it would give.
I guess I could think about that later, for now, I wanted to go see this guild that effectively controlled the dungeon and all the adventurers in Orario. I would probably register for access to the dungeon, since who wouldn't want to fight monsters?
Now maybe one of the various people walking past could help, walking towards a scruffy looking man who was the nearest person to me. I politely coughed and gave him a disarming smile.
I may be a little shit, especially with my suddenly acquired devil instincts telling me to just force the information out of him ringing in my head, but I was perfectly able to be respectful when necessary.
The scruffy looking man wore a black cloak with a weird goblet inside a half moon, he looked at me dismissively.
"Excuse me, could you tel-"
"Fuck off" he grunted and turned back to his friend he was speaking to.
"…"
I barely acknowledged when my fist raised and only realised what I was doing when my fist collided with his face, making a crunching sound as his body dropped like a sack of shit on pavement.
Blinking, I looked down. He was out cold with blood coming out of his mouth. His friend looked admittedly just as shocked as I was. I had fully expected to get the shit beaten out of me.
I knew it was a stupid idea, but something flared up inside me, I had never experienced the brief flare of anger I had felt before. It had caught me off guard and made me lash out.
Shit, was I a devil of Wrath? Or maybe a devil of Pride?
My memories allowed me to learn about the seven sins devils had.
Seven sins. Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, Gluttony and finally Wrath.
Every devil normally matured into one of these sins, which gave them a power based on their sin and an increase in power the more they indulge in their allocated sin.
Which in turn increased the random power they were given by it. 'This could also just be my devil instincts not allowing the disrespect by a mer- a human.' I mentally corrected myself.
I would have to get used to this whole devil thing, but for now, I ducked under the enraged fist of his friend. I'm guessing these guys weren't exactly strong or over level one, since they went down pretty quickly.
That could also just be my devil physiology. One practised jab to the face sent him into the realm of Morpheus, with his friend laying beside him.
I swiped the pouch on his belt before running like a madman away from the scene. Luckily I'm pretty certain no one saw me, My enhanced physiology made me faster than I had ever been before.
It was an hour later, I finally found the guild. Turns out that the Guild had only been ten buildings northwest from the Tower of Babel. Which was embarrassing that I had been so close to it earlier.
The building itself was a relatively mundane looking three-story house with three multicoloured banners. The guild was currently packed with people walking in and out, only comparable to the dungeon itself.
After pausing for a few seconds to admire the building itself, I decided to make my way inside the guild building itself. I wondered if I could become an adventurer without being a part of a familia.
It didn't matter if I couldn't since I would probably join one anyway. A free power up on top of my supposed new devil physiology which made me a lot stronger than I was as a human, and wasn't that a surprise.
I mean I guess I should have expected it but to think I was that strong now was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure the falna given by gods only boosts what's there too, so that's a bonus.
The thought of having supernatural strength when it was only yesterday I was sitting at home depressed was pretty unbelievable. I was still half expecting to wake up at some point, but I just went with it for now.
I'm sure anyone else would be freaking out about leaving the life they had behind, but honestly, there wasn't much anyway. Plus, why complain about being given super strength and possibly magic?
Strolling up to the register, a brown haired man stood behind with a bored expression. He glanced up at me as I came to stand in front of him. He wore a set of black vest and pants with a white collared long sleeve shirt underneath and a grey bow tie.
"…"
"…"
"Hello" I started, and he sighed as if he understood what I wanted from that alone.
Grabbing a clipboard from under his desk.
"Name."
"Zephyrion," I replied.
He didn't bat an eye at my name, he probably didn't care.
"Age?"
"Fifteen." I was having a mad sense of déjà vu. Was the man from earlier and this guy related. They had that perfect 'I want to do anything but this' look
"Familia?" He asked.
"None." I replied somewhat nervously.
"What?" He looked up.
"None." I repeated.
He looked like he was about to say something before he shook his head. He brought out another file and offered me a pen.
"Sign this, it'll make sure that should the event of your death occur, the guild shall not be responsible for any death or injury sustained in the dungeon." He said, almost like he was trying to get me to reconsider by making it sound ominous.
I happily signed it, much to his slight displeasure, and he nodded.
"A guild adviser will be assigned to you shortly, please wait as we contact someone for you." He said monotonously.
I watched as he walked away, presumably to go fetch me my new guild adviser. I sat down on a chair nearby, somewhat awkwardly, as people passed by me. Normally, I would pull out my phone, but I didn't have that luxury at this moment.
Adventurers passed me in droves as I waited for fifteen minutes. I was beginning to feel myself grow bored as I tapped my foot. Finally, after a few minutes, the man who had registered me came back.
This time he was followed by a beautiful woman with long red hair that went down to the bottom of her back. Cold yellow slitted eyes with two fluffy red ears that twitched ever so slightly.
The red-haired beauty wore the same attire as the other man, whose name I never bothered to catch. The suit she wore hugged her curves in all the right places. Her aura was cold as she looked around with apathy.
The wolf girl finally locked eyes with me and seemingly assessed me. I stood up as the man came to a stop in front of me.
"This is your assigned adviser, Rose Fannet. If that's all, I will leave you two to get sorted." He said dismissively.
He walked away before I could reply, and I frowned at his attitude. The wolf girl in front of me continued to stare with apathy in her eyes.
"Continue staring at me like that, and I may just start blushing." I said with a grin. Finally breaking the ice as she didn't react to my words.
"Follow me." She finally said and began walking away.
We arrived in a secluded room which had two couches either side and a table in between. We both sat down and she grabbed a folder.
I went to speak, but she cut me off.
"No familia?" She questioned.
"Yeah…"
Her eyes narrowed at me dangerously, so I decided to change the topic.
"So, Rose, was it? Mind providing me some information on the dungeon?" I asked.
"You haven't even done research on the dungeon?" She questioned almost maliciously.
"Well-"
"You should quit while you still can." She cut me off coldly. Closing the folder with a snap.
"I'll take my chances" I replied without missing a beat.
I wasn't going to be scared off, I knew even with my enhanced devil genes I would need to be careful, and it wasn't like I planned to charge in without any worry for my well-being. I very much liked being alive.
"Another fool eager to throw their life away in the depths of the dungeon for glory and wealth. How pitiful." She said with the same apathetic tone.
I felt myself grow annoyed at the dismissal she sent at me.
"I assure you I'm capable of going into the dungeon without a familia." I said.
I didn't know where in terms of power I stood at since I was only aware I had somewhat super enhanced genes, but if I could knock out an adventurer with a falna then surely I could at least take on the first floor?
"Don't mistake luck for skill. The Dungeon doesn't play favourites and it certainly doesn't show mercy. It isn't as simple as just killing monsters" She dismissed my statement.
"Why must you newbies be all the same? You think you're some invincible hero in the making setting out on an adventure until reality hits you like a ton of bricks, and at least those fools had the backing of a familia with a falna." She continued with a tiny hint of annoyance, as if it were a preconceived notion that I would die.
It made me quiet down a little bit as I understood, she must have had many others like me who had recklessly gone into the dungeon only to die. This was probably her way of coping after watching perhaps hundreds of adventurers under her watch die.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine" I couldn't help muttering, but by the way her ear twitched, I could bet she heard me.
She shook her head and I saw a small amount of sadness flash in her eyes before it was crushed the next second. She handed me a folder with the basic information pertaining to the dungeon.
"If you wish, you may take a loan for basic leather gear and a basic iron sword. This will need to be paid back within the next year if you do take this path." She said robotically.
I nodded, the meeting wasn't really notable after that, and I left after asking a few questions. I gave her a last look, I saw her hesitating before she shook her head almost sadly and her ears ever so slightly drooped.
I couldn't blame her, but it wasn't like I was a normal case compared to a normal human. My strength was decent for someone who hadn't trained their body like at all.
That did beg the question, whose familia did I want to join?
I'm pretty sure that the strongest families belonged to Loki and Freya.
Though I didn't know for sure. To be honest, I didn't really want to join them. Honestly, I didn't know why I was even asking. Would I rather be a mook in some powerful familia or have a hot, busty goddess all to myself?
Do I even need to answer that question? Now if only I could find said aforementioned goddess anywhere, alas unfortunately it turns out there were quite a few churches around in Orario.
I guess It couldn't hurt to ask around.
-{Hestia Pov}-
Strolling down a quiet street, Hestia's shoulders were slumped with disappointment. The multiple stories and tales she'd heard from Tenkai from other gods had painted a certain picture, of how amazing creating a familia was.
Hestia had come down with a plan to find some children to give her blessing to and start the strongest familia. In reality, building one was challenging without any reputation; no one seemed interested in joining a familia deemed poor and weak.
She'd been rejected by multiple people, and it stung a bit more than she would like to admit. She let out a defeated sigh as she got back from selling potato balls.
Which hadn't been exactly what she had in mind when descending. Hephaestus had kicked her out after months of no progress, which she didn't blame her for. Hestia began to wonder if she was doing something wrong.
'Perhaps I need to be more cheerful?' Hestia wondered idly, playing with a lock of her silky raven hair.
So lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice as she walked into someone. Stumbling, she squealed in panic as she felt herself falling over before a soft hand grabbed hers and pulled her up.
Hestia blinked as she looked up into a pair of eyes that made her stare. Rainbow trapped in a pair of eyes that looked at her with a hint of familiarity.
Bloody crimson hair framing a young, roguishly handsome face. A young man, seemingly in his mid-teens, stood at a relatively tall stature. Clad in a rather basic attire, his arms suggested he had a decently athletic build.
He held her hand for a second as they both stared for a few awkward seconds. The young teen coughed into his hand and released her from his grip.
"Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention." He apologised.
Hestia regained her bearings and waved her hands up almost comically.
"No, no, it's my fault I was lost in my thoughts" she squeaked. She flashed him an apologetic smile.
-{Zephyrion Pov}-
Staring into the sapphire blue eyes of hestia I had to admit one thing. The anime did not do her justice. With silky raven locks framing her cute heart-shaped face, her skin appeared to be flawless, the beautiful smile she wore didn't help either.
Her body had curves in all the right places, and two large orbs seemed poised to spill out from her top. Her long legs that were on display seemed to stretch for miles and added to the hourglass figure she had.
Hestia was a beauty expected of a goddess. It seemed I had finally found her. I really hadn't been paying attention when I felt something soft hit my body and found the form of the goddess falling almost comically.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked kindly. She seemed tired. A difference I instantly noticed from the way she normally acted in the anime.
There had been changes in the other world too.
"You're Hestia right? Heard around that you're looking for members for your familia?" I asked.
She blinked before her eyes slowly began to widen and her eyes practically sparked with hope. Hestia made a cute sound that vaguely sounded like "huh"
"Yeah I was looking to see if I could join?"
"You want to join my familia?" She questioned disbelievingly.
Jeez, just how hard had this woman been rejected? Could people really be this blind? Meh, their loss is my gain.
"Yeah. If you'll have me?" I tilted my head as she hesitated?
"Why?" She asked, looking thoroughly depressed.
Okay, what?…
"Why wouldn't I want to join your Familia? I'd rather have a loving goddess who cares about me compared to just being another guy joining a large Familia." I replied.
I don't know why I was being so soft with her since I was kind of a dick to be honest but it just felt right at the moment. She nodded and regained her bright demeanour.
Was it strange I felt oddly possessive after only meeting her like a few minutes ago? I'll chalk it up to these devil instincts I had gained.
"Thank you- uh" she paused..
"Zephyrion, but feel free to call me Zeph." I said with a grin.
"Zeph!" Hestia exclaimed energetically. She seemed to have gotten her enthusiasm back. Grabbing my hand she started pulling me along with her.
I simply allowed myself to be dragged looking at her in amusement.
-END-