Chapter 1
Lugh listlessly fiddled with the cuff of his white shirt, feet on the table in front of him and ass firmly planted on a plastic chair on the verge of falling apart. He let out a small sigh as he returned his gaze to the dilapidated interior of the shed- EHEM... small house serving as his temporary 'base', "Okay, maybe trying to steal the Aztec Sunstone wasn't such a good idea."
"No, no, I think it had some merit."
"Really?" Lugh looked up at the man sitting across from him with curious claret eyes, "I tried cause I was in the area."
"Yes, trying to steal the symbol of power of a Sun God and making enemies out of the local shaman tribes has always been among the top of the list in the amazing ideas you humans have had over the centuries." The man's lips curved into a thin smile, his features hidden by darkness, "But I'm not here to listen to your rambling."
Narrowing his eyes, Lugh sat up before leaning forward, "You know, I don't like it when you try to be a smartass."
"Yes, we often envy what we do not have. That is a trait we seem to share."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"My point exactly. Now, on to business..." The man retrieved a black leather briefcase from his side and hoisted it onto the table. It opened with a small click, though Lugh couldn't make out it's contents because a shoddy, abandoned shed in some random part of the Cayman islands didn't exactly come equipped with 'modern facilities'.
All he had to go on was a few flickers of light coming through the parts of wood that had rotten away thanks to nature... and a shitty lantern that the guy he was talking to had brought with him.
On that subject, it'd been nearly 4 years since he set up his little 'organisation', with him as the sole and founding member as of yet... hopefully not for long because his own company was dangerous, as proven by his most recent 'incident'.
"Right." The man held up a paper before lowering it again, reading it aloud, "A job from a branch family of the As-"
"How are you reading in the dark?" Lugh interrupted with a raised hand.
"Sometimes I forget you're... human." Lugh didn't appreciate the way the man said 'human' but nodded along nonetheless, visibly curious, "I have night vision. Now silence, this might be an important job for your desired career."
Lugh gave up his inquiry with a sigh, relaxing back into his chair with hands raised in surrender, "Since this job's so important and all, can I at least get your name?"
"No. You may address me by the name I gave you."
He got shot down for... he'd forgotten how many times now.
This man had appeared around a year or so ago, during a particularly dry spell and given him a job. After that, he started appearing periodically, telling him to designate an office so that he could explain the details.
For Lugh, who was a no-name human in the world of the supernatural, there was no reason to deny him... Especially because even now, all he was getting was private investigation jobs from folks who thought their significant others were cheating, with an occasional bounty for a pet.
...T-That would change soon though!
Anyway! The name he gave him was simply, 'A'.
Lugh was brought out of his thoughts by 'A' clearing his throat, "I can leave if you want."
"No no, stay. I really want the job."
...The Aztec shamans may or may not have stolen all the money he had on him as punishment.
"Right..." A narrowed his grey eyes, "The job this time is a private request from a noble house in the Devil owned territories of the Underworld... An inconsequential branch family but good for you as things stand. It's particularly surprising and I suggest you accept. The full details will be disclosed upon meeting but it has something to do with animal taming."
"Geh. Devils." Lugh recoiled slightly, "The last one I met tried to rip my face off after I told her she had nice ti-... a nice figure."
It was an honest compliment too! He liked complimenting people on his walks through the night.
"I'm fairly certain anyone you say that to would do the same." A finally let out a sigh of his own, visibly tired with Lugh's totally lovable attitude, "It is surprising because of the name you've chosen for your 'agency'."
Lugh's jaw hung open before he snorted, blowing A's words off by slapping the table between them, "Devil May Cry is an awesome name, man. The devils are just stingy."
There was no man out there who wouldn't use the name if given the opportunity to. Dante was a right inspiration for motivated people like himself.
The idea to open the agency had popped in his mind after he woke up as a high schooler with an empty wallet and deadbeat parents in this new, frankly much cooler world, and he'd gone with it ever since.
"Right..." A looked at him with unamused eyes before sighing and tossing the paper in the air, "That's going to summon one of their servants, I trust you know how to use it? They'll take you to their Master."
Lugh caught the paper with a gloved hand, sliding the other through his light brown hair, "Yeah, I think... can't make out much in this darkness though."
Unfortunately, nature decided to slap him across the face and a bird landed on the decaying ceiling, making everything above Lugh cave in, right onto his face and into his open mouth.
As the optimist he was, he didn't think much of it... The newly opened hole in the ceiling let enough sunlight come in for him to make out a matrix pulsing with faint traces of the distinctly different magical energy used by Devilkind.
"Hey, least I can see now."
A however, did not appreciate nature's gesture.
He stood up with pursed lips, dusting off his black suit, "I do hope our next meeting will be under more... amiable circumstances. A job from the Devils should be lucrative if nothing else." Frustration however, also resulted in a slip of the tongue, "I simply don't understand what the Governor sees in this fool."
"I'm guessing you fumbled your teleportation and that was supposed to come out after you were back wherever you're from." Lugh regarded the man with a shit-eating grin, prying bits of the ceiling off his beloved table.
"..."
With no words in his mouth, A simply vanished from sight.
Chuckling, Lugh picked up his plastic chair before walking over to the shed door and kicking it away to reveal a sight straight out of a painting.
A beach of white sand, with waves from a clear blue ocean gently lapping against the shore as birds chirped in the cloudless skies.
The Sun shone brightly but it's warmth was a mild and welcome change to the searing heat he'd previously been exposed to.
Lugh hummed as he sauntered to the shoreline, his black shoes leaving visible prints in the sand, "How did this go again?"
Setting the chair down, he plopped down on it with a small smile, pulling shades out of his vest pocket and putting them on, "Right, I make a wish?"
"Dear God, may a million dollars fall into my lap! Wait no, that's not right..." Lugh tilted his head, wondering why his wish felt off, "Oh wait, I know. It should be Satan."
Lugh sighed, slightly hesitant but resolved himself, he was strapped for cash.
Giving his black suit pants, striped button up shirt and Victorian-style black vest a once over, he let out a satisfied hum before holding up the paper, "I wish for a ho-... Well, that's kinda anticlimactic."
He hadn't even completed his wish yet a large green matrix appeared overhead, moving down to reveal a dark-haired buxom woman wearing a simple white sundress. She had her hands at her waist, one over the other and still hadn't opened her eyes.
"Kinda underwhelming for a Devil but I like it. A 7/10." Lugh gave her a thumbs up and flashed her a smile.
The woman opened her eyes to reveal pale golden pupils that looked at him like he was an insect, "You are the one my lord desired?"
"I don't swi-... Yeah. Lugh Ahearn, the one and only."
"Very well, let us depart then." She offered him a hand, not returning the introduction... Hell, she looked repulsed even giving him a hand.
Lugh narrowed his eyes but disregarded it as a critical case of stick up ass and smiled, "I hope your Lord is better at hiding his... thoughts."
-
Lugh took his words back.
"You people disgust me."
"Okay wow."
"But we are strapped for manpower as is and you have potential, so I'm told." The Devil Lady's lord regarded him with disgusted blue eyes, ruffling his brown hair, "Join my peerage and accomplish something other than disappointment for all who know you."
The guy looked like a typical hot guy... but Lugh guessed that was a perk of being a Devil.
He'd appeared in a... he wanted to call it a living room? Thing was it had a high ceiling, complete with a chandelier, exquisite paintings on walls, a fireplace, and a wooden floor... It smelled of rich asshole.
But that wasn't important right now seeing as he was surrounded by a dozen or so people, some of them chicks, others dudes... Their only shared trait seemed to be an annoyance with him and expensive clothing... though the chicks were dressed more like 'exquisite dancers' if you caught his meaning.
"I'm thinking no isn't an option?" Lugh inquired politely, putting his hands together like Buddha come again.
"We can remove your limbs until you become more... agreeable. In fact..." The Devil smiled at him, taking off his coat before gesturing to his people, "I think that's what I'll do. Capture him."
Inhaling deeply, Lugh nodded, "I guess I got no choice then."
He balled his hands into fists.
"Nice. I love it when you people resist."
"I love it when folks like you have their ego shattered." Lugh answered back, glancing at the few people getting ready to move as he rolled up his sleeves, "Whatcha waiting for?"
He didn't have to wait long as a massive greataxe came crashing down onto him, intent on causing mortal harm... Only, that wasn't quite what happened. Lugh just raised his arm as a shiny black texture replaced his fair skin and the weapon shattered like glass against it.
He grabbed what was left of the weapon and pulled his assailant towards him, slamming his free fist into her face. The force behind the attack made her body shoot backwards, blowing through the room's wall as Lugh smiled.
"Is that your sacred gear?" The Devil that had called him inquired, unfazed by the fact that one of his peerage had, more likely than not, received permanent brain damage, "Most curious. Is that coat of black it's physical manifestation?"
The guy was probably referring to how his arms were now a shiny black up to his elbows.
He may have had a dry spell with work in his time in this world, but that didn't mean he'd wasted said time.
With nothing but sheer fucking will, he developed an ability of his own to combat what the world could throw at him.
Lugh shrugged, "Nah, it's not a sacred gear. Not magic neither. The fact you don't know what it is means you're an uncultured prick."
The Errant for Hire simply cracked his blackened knuckles instead of explaining further, "You don't mind if I loot your mansion, right?"
At least his cash problems were solved.
"Is it Touki?" The Devil asked again, changing his question, "No, it doesn't feel like it."
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... I'm pretty sure you guys know what power he has through 'sheer will', aka, a manifestation born of willpower.
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This is just a passion project and I'm not particularly a fan of DxD itself, just the world. It's the perfect setting for this idea. I'm busy for a while but I have a few chapters prepared for this already, courtesy of some free time.
I hope you all enjoyed it and oh, do tell if you liked it and want more. Feedback is half the fun in writing.