A Deal with the Devil

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Play The Game Differently by Mirlnir

 Anime X-overs & High School DxD/ハイスクールD×D Xover Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Adventure, Words: 39k+, Favs: 855, Follows: 1k+, Published: Apr 5 Updated: May 18 416Chapter 4: A Deal With The Devil

Sitting on a ruined house, I observe Issei, who was slashing and shooting monkeys coming his way with his light weapons. Easily dodging their attacks and killing every one of them in one hit. I'm... honestly quite impressed at the pace he's improving. Not only he got stronger physically and developed somewhat of a tactical mind, but his skill in the sword got slightly better.

I bet he's much stronger than he was In his first rating game, even without the Boosted Gear. If he unlocks it now, I'm sure he would be able to use it more effectively too.

I guess I made the right choice by recruiting him.

"Hyaa!" With a yell, he cuts down the last enemy. Issei lets out a breath as he stands taller. "That's the last of them. So now we wait, right?"

I get down from the building I'm on and nod. "Give it a minute and they should start spawning."

Too bad there's no treasure chest this time.

I gaze at my companion and use Observe...

Issei Hyoudou

Red Dragon Emperor

HP - 714/740

MP - 170

SP - 621/740

Race - Human

LVL - 27

STR - 58

END - 74

DEX - 52

INT - 17

WIS -10

CHA - 12

LUK - 100

Affection - 54

Thoughts about you - Savior

Only two days inside the weakest dungeon and he's already around Raynare's power in terms of stats. Just wait until he unlocks his Boosted Gear...

"What do you think the next round is?" He questions.

"I'd say more special infected," I answer. "Maybe all of them at once."

He gulps and grips his blade tighter. Good thing light swords are effective against zombies too.

A minute of silence was cut short when sinister giggles rang throughout Kuoh. I spot the tongue of a Smoker flying too Issei and I cut it off before it makes it way to his neck. I whip my head to the smoker above a building and I barrage it with ice spells.

Issei ducks under a leaping Jockey and beheads it but is pinned down by a Hunter. As it was about to kill him, I stab it with a lance to its head, saving my "Friend" from it.

"Th-thanks." He mutters.

I smile reassuringly and nod.

2 Affection with Issei Hyoudou

A roar was followed by a Charger, rushing us with its arm. Issei gets up and rolls out of the way while I fly upwards, causing it to ram into the wall behind us. Issei doesn't waste the chance and starts to shoot it as he charges it, slashing it repeatedly until it dies. Issei then turns his gaze to a Boomer near him and ends it with one shot of his gun.

I evade an acid spit from a Spitter and quickly kill it with a Frozen Orb.

"W-was that all of them?" He asks, breathing heavily.

"If you don't count the bosses then-" I spot a Tank roaring and destroying everything in its way to Issei. "Get ready!"

Tank

Level - 42

HP - 7500

Issei gasps as the hulking mass slams him into a house.

"Shit!" I fly closer and see it beating the hell out of the boy. I start making ten knights to try and distract it, but its focus was solely on Issei.

Issei Hyoudou

HP - 450/740

No, no no!

I start barraging it with Sleet Storm, chipping away at is HP at a fast rate.

Issei Hyoudou

HP - 243/740

"Hey, fucker!" It ignores me, annoying me further. "I'm talking to you!"

I cast Ice Cannon and hit its back, taking a big chunk out of its health, but it still doesn't even look at me!

Tank

HP - 2510/7500

It grabs the down form of Issei by his leg and slams him to the ground, and a "Crack" was heard, causing my blood to run cold.

Issei Hyoudou

Hp - 27/740

No, no! Damn it! You can't be serious- He can't die now! He still hasn't done anything useful to me. If he had died in a battle against a powerful opponent I might understand but it's a zombie for fuck's sake!

Is this a joke? Did I seriously waste my time with this piece of trash?! Damn it, I should've killed him and took his Gear. I could convince Ddraig with enough time and-

"Boost!"

...I take it back. all of it.

With a roar of his own, he pushes the Tank, giving me a chance to freeze its legs and feet. He grins as the green gem of his red gauntlet glows. He rushes the Tank and stabs it in the heart, then aiming his gun and shooting its head over and over, until he runs out of bullets. The boss backs away a bit then falls dead to the ground.

I walk up to him and take out a health potion as he collapses, his Sacred Gear disappearing.

"Good job." I commend, gently holding his head as I open the vial and bring it to his mouth. "You unlocked your Boosted Gear. And it seems you skipped the Twice Critical stage as well."

He opens his mouth to drink the red liquid. As he gulps it all, he grins. "Hell yeah!"

I smile, letting him go. "There should be one last boss to kill before we are done today. You stay here, I'll deal with it."

"W-wait, I can help! Let me-"

"It's a Witch, Issei. And if we go by the game's mechanics, it can one-shot us both. I can fly though, so she can't get me." I explain.

Well, I just want a little bit of EXP and stats from a boss, but what I said is also true.

"Bu-"

"Rest, Issei." I press on. "I'll be back in a second."

He thankfully doesn't make it anymore annoying and complies, leaning back against the wall. "Be careful."

I get out of the ruined house and instantly hear its sobs. I flap my wings and hover over the ground, easily spotting the little bitch walking around a park. I trap her between for walls and cast many Frozen Orbs, riddling the zombie with shards then completely blowing up its body with the explosion of the orbs and three extra cannons for good measure.

Level up x2

+3 STR +7 DEX

Ten stats from a boss? Not bad at all.

I fly to its corpse, seeing a treasure chest near it.

Opening it, I get one Gacha, two Stat Crystals, one INT and one WIS, an orange-colored Greatsword, and a ruby gold ring.

Inferno Greatsword

A powerful sword with strong fire enchantments

Deals 20 Physical Damage + STRx2.6 + 120 Fire Damage

Ring of Life

Increases maximum HP by 20%

I wish the blade was a different kind of sword. I don't do well with heavy weapons but oh well.

Now, for the Gacha...

Excalibur, the Noblest Phantasm - Legendary Weapon

The Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur, the pinnacle of holy weaponry. It is the physical embodiment of heroic ideals and the bite of its edge is an antithesis to the mere makeup of unholy creatures.

Deals 2000 Physical Damage + STRx10 + 5000 Light Damage per hit

Cannot be used by one of an unholy race.

Special Ability: Releases a blinding beam of light that deals 50K Light Damage and causes severe magic burns; Deals x25 Damage to Unholy Creatures

Requirements: Level 150 and [Master] in Sword Proficiency

Special Ability Requirements: Level 200, Level 60 in [White Mage] class

... ... ...

...What I saw couldn't even be described. Not even the word Beautiful is close to explaining it. I didn't even utter a sound at the sheer awe I'm in just looking at the majesty of this blade...

And now... It's mine.

I couldn't help but start giggling, slowly building it up to full-blown laughter. This is incredible. My luck is incredible.

Once I get strong enough... The devils won't be much of a threat anymore.

It'll stay in my inventory for now, but I'll be damned if I don't use it to destroy a castle or something.

"Akane." Issei gets closer to me. "What was that? I heard you laughing just now."

"Oh, it's nothing." I brush it off. "Actually, here." I give him the stat crystals but keep the ring and sword. "Got this for you. The sword is yours but I'll keep it with me until we get here again."

His eyes widen in awe. "Woah, really?!"

I nod with a smile. "You can say it's a reward for today."

He blushes slightly as he takes the crystals. "Thanks, Akane."

12 Affection with Issei Hyoudou

"But what do I do with them?" He gazes at the crystals.

"Crush them."

"Huh?! Why do that?"

I raise a brow. "That's how you use them, genius."

He blushes in embarrassment. "Oh."

He does as he was told, and check to his stats told me that he's five stats better in INT and WIS.

I nod. "Good. I think we're done for today. Tomorrow, same time."

He grins. "You got it, boss!"

Walking through town with Asia, we enter a known clothes shop, since all her stuff is back at the church and I'm frankly not going back there with her. Stuffing the bodies in my inventory is one thing but cleaning off the blood that is literally everywhere? Hell no.

"Go pick up anything you like. I'll wait for you here."

"Eh? Bu-but you already bought me a lot of stuff..." She gestures to a bag full of other essentials.

I smile gently and pat her head. "It's fine. I promised to help you, didn't I? Go on, I won't leave."

10 Affection with Asia Argento

She nods with a blush, hurrying over to choose her clothes.

A quick glance at my current budget made my eyes twitch. I need money, desperately. My mother's 300K Yen is not nearly enough to explore my Engineer class. I might need to ask her for more later, but I doubt she has enough either. How to gain enough money without making anyone suspicious? The only answer is waiting until my next world, to see if it's dangerous or not, then get money from there.

I'll probably resort to stealing if it isn't a high-level world.

I sigh. Hopefully, it isn't. One is enough to worry about.

"Um, Akane? I got what I wanted..." Asia breaks my musings, holding not as much as I thought.

"Is that all?" She nods. "Okay, let's go pay for it."

And we do so, costing me around 30K. We get it all in a bag and walk back home.

And it was a simple one. With Asia simply smiling and humming while I stare at my stats, reading them over and over.

Akane Amamiya

Level - 61

Class - Cryomancer - LVL 57/100 [22%]

Secondary Class - Engineer - LV 12/50 [45%]

Race - Human

Rank - Mortal

Alignment - Neutral Evil

HP - 660 [181.5 per minute]

MP - 9630 [4815 per minute]

SP - 550 [165 per minute]

STR - 36

END - 55

DEX - 59

INT - 642

WIS - 618

CHA - 50

LUK - 30

It's coming along nicely. My INT and WIS are more than halfway to 1000. I wonder though, how do I reach the next Tier? Or are Tiers for NPCs only?

You can get to Tiers. I'll explain it once you're strong enough.

I see...

We finally arrive home and I open the front door. As I step inside, I freeze instantly.

two huge magical signatures just made themselves known, one obviously bigger than the other, getting me to break into a cold sweat. they don't seem to be hostile, however, so at least I have that going for me.

I walk inside slowly and spot the fucking Crimson Satan sitting on the couch, with his wife standing behind him looking at me judgementally.

Can I please spend a day without meeting a superpowered asshole for once? Who's gonna next appear next, Ophis? No, wait, I'm betting it's fucking Trihexa.

"Who are these people?" Asia whispers.

"Asia," She looks at me anxiously. "Go to your room, I need to talk to them alone, please."

"Um... Okay." She nods and takes off upstairs.

Sirzechs Lucifer smiles as I take a deep breath through my nose.

"Greetings, lord Lucifer. It's an honor to meet you." I greet with a respectful bow.

No need to piss off someone I don't stand a chance against.

5 Affection with Grayfia Lucifuge

5 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer

And that seems to be the good thing to do too.

He chuckles. "It seems you already know who I am but please, there's no need for formalities. I've only come here for a favor."

Of course, you fucking did.

It's about Rias, isn't it? Is he gonna try to convince me to get in her Peerage? Or force me? Because I literally have no way of opposing him now. If he wanted, he would've easily killed me right here and now, and then got Rias to resurrect me, and I won't be able to do anything...

But from what I know, Sirzechs isn't exactly... A "bad" guy. As long as I express regret, and he believed me, I think he would leave me alone... That's if my acting can even fool him.

And I'll bet everything I have that it won't. And he might even find it offensive or would even discover my sociopathy. That will make it very difficult to deal with him in the long run... If he doesn't kill me now.

But... I can use this too. If I play my cards right... I could get funding from him. Sirzechs is desperate, even if he's trying to hide it. I could come up with a deal he can't refuse... but that would be revealing almost everything about me...

Damn it.

Let's see...

Sirzechs Lucifer

The Crimson Haired Prince of Destruction

HP - 295,500

MP - 430,350

SP - 295,500

Race - Devil

Tier - Champion

LVL - 553

STR - 856

END - 783

DEX - 931

INT - 1503

WIS - 1491

CHA - 391

LUK - 221

Thoughts about you - Intrigue

Affection - 10

Grayfia Lucifuge

The Strongest Queen

HP - 140,200

SP - 140,200

MP - 485,000

Race - Devil

Tier - Elite

LV - 412

STR - 464

END - 553

DEX - 652

INT - 912

WIS - 891

CHA - 210

LUK - 200

Thoughts about you - Neutral

Affection - 5

That settles it.

The best way to get out of this situation... Is to stay neutral about everything.

Not that it's a good way, of course.

"And what would that be?" I ask, moving and sitting on the sofa across of him.

His smile drops as he stares at me blankly. "From what you already know, the three factions are not in a good situation. And as a Satan, I must try to recruit humans and other beings, since the birth rate is very low and to bolster our defenses should war break out between us."

He's blunt. Very blunt.

"From what I saw and heard, you're already a powerful mage for a human your age, and still growing at a baffling rate. And so, I would like to invite you to join us." He continues. "As a devil, you won't have to worry about aging, and you would be able to become as powerful as you can."

"... My apologies, but I'll have to decline."

-1 Affection with Grayfia Lucifuge

-2 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer

He frowns. "Why not? Do you not want to become ageless?"

"No, that's not it." I shake my head. "It sounds amazing, being immortal and getting constantly stronger, but my dream... contradicts that."

He leans in closer to me. "Your... Dream?"

I nod. "Devils, Angels, Yokai, and other mythological beings and gods... all of you are powerful. But humans... they're not even close to you. And I want to change that."

That got him to narrow his eyes. "I could count to you very powerful human heroes from history. And the current strong human worth mentioning is Dulio Gesualdo. Isn't that enough?"

Careful, Sirzechs. Your greedy devil side is showing. "He's powerful because of his Sacred Gear. Sacred Gears that you devils really enjoy stealing."

It was very very small, but I saw him flinch.

I continue. "We only have these Sacred Gears to rely on. You, devils, have special powers with every clan. The Bael's power of destruction and Phenex's immortality. Not mention, one low-class devil could easily wipe out a SWAT team on their own, and a Satan-class could destroy all of Japan several times over. That's not counting the other races of course."

At the corner of my eye, I saw Grayfia glaring at me.

"If that is the case, then how will you power your race?" He asks, genuinely curious. "You said it yourself. You only have Sacred Gears to rely on, and the use of magic is very difficult for humans."

This is it.

I only have two choices: One, stay silent and don't get any funds until your next world. Two, reveal your current tech/dungeon to Sirzechs, get him to keep it a secret between us, get funds for your engineer class, and hopefully a formidable ally.

Both options have their ups and downs. The first would make my growth stay a secret to me and Issei currently, and that's a good thing. But, I don't know what world I'll be getting next. A high-level one would ruin my plans almost completely, but a low-level one would make my faction independent from the start.

The second would get me money much safer, and get me in Sirzech's good graces. But it'll make me "owe" him since he kickstarted my "Project".

I wish I had more options... But beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes.

...The second option it is then.

"This." I pull out the plasma pistol from my inventory.

He eyes it curiously and tilts his head. "And this is...?"

"Let me demonstrate." I stand up and create three small ice walls in front of each other on the floor. I aim and hold the trigger, charging the gun then letting go, the plasma shot completely destroying the walls in ease.

Sirzechs raises a brow in interest.

"This here is a plasma pistol," I inform. "I believe I don't have to explain what that is."

"No, you don't." He chuckles. "But where did you get such a thing from? Is it somehow related to your magic?"

"I made this," I smirk as both of their brows shoot up. "And it's pure technology. No magic related."

"I... see." He nods. "But how? This is far above anything humans have ever come up with."

"Now, I can't reveal all my trade secrets, can I?" I respond cheekily.

"I guess not." He chuckles again, then grew serious. "But why show me this? It would've been better for if you would had kept this a secret, no?"

"Because this thing is not cheap to make." I lose my smile. "But we can compromise."

"Compromise?"

I smirk. "Simple, I'm willing to help your sister with her marriage farce." He doesn't show a reaction to my knowledge. "For a price, of course."

I sit back down and he opens his mouth to speak. "I'm guessing this is about money?"

"Hmm, well, money is the better payment, but not necessarily, no." I shrug. "Materials are good enough too."

He stays silent for a second before continuing. "Can you make something stronger than that in a week?"

What? A week?

I look at him in alarm. "A week? I thought there's still a month before the Rating Game?"

"It was moved to an earlier date due to complications I won't disclose." He shakes his head. "I take it you can't?"

I can... If my luck is good enough with the card pack, but I can't rely on it. The bigger and powerful things take much longer to make. Something that could take damage Riser is at least a 4-star.

This is bad. Really bad.

Shit, I thought I could at least keep the dungeon a secret with this... Fuck!

Or wait... I don't have to. I don't really need to tell him. I might have to reveal it to Rias if I want Sirzechs to help me... And that is the "lesser evil" here.

Knowing Rias, she won't "Betray the trust of her friends" so she won't tell anyone... But I'm not completely sure if Sirzechs will not pull a Dumbledore and go "For the greater good of devil kind" on me.

Last chance...

"...I can help in another way, but it'll cost you as well."

That got his attention. "And what way is that?"

I shake my head, trying to calm my beating heart. "I'm afraid I can't tell how, but if you send me Rias and her Peerage for the rest of the remaining time starting tomorrow, I promise, they will be much stronger than ever."

He narrows his eyes. "How much stronger?"

"Twice as strong as they are now."

Grayfia scoffs. "What lies. There is no way anyone can-"

Sirzechs holds his hand up, silencing the maid. "Is it true? Could you really get someone that strong in a short amount of time?"

I smirk, albeit a bit shakily. "I'm proof of it, no?"

He gazes at my face intensely, searching for any lies. One minute of that and asks. "What's the price?"

Good. He took the bait.

"A favor for each of her Peerage members. The King included."

He closes his eyes and stays quiet, no doubt thinking about it. His wife doesn't seem too happy about this, glaring at me even though her Affection is four and not in the minus.

"Very well." He agrees. "Four favors it is."

"Four?" I grin boldly. "I remember there being five."

Woah, Akane. Your greed is showing.

He smiles back. "But knowing the last member, he won't come out of his shell even if you try to drag him."

I chuckle. "Fine, four favors then." I get up as he does so. "We have a deal then?"

He extends his hand to me. "That we do."

I shake his hand, feeling relief and giddiness. "Good doing business with you, lord Sirzechs."

"Of course." He nods. "I have to ask though, what will you do if you don't deliver?"

I hum, not exactly worried. "Well, you can examine their powers once I'm done. If it is not satisfactory, then I'll join her Peerage."

15 Affection with Sirzechs Lucifer

"That is acceptable." He nods again and smiles thankfully. "Thank you, Akane. Even if you didn't do it for free, I'm very grateful for this."

I smile back. "Of course."

With that, he finally leaves the house... by teleporting of course. I get one glance of Grayfia starting suspiciously at me before they disappear in a crimson light... And he didn't even notice the little spider entering his pocket.

This... went on much better than I expected. If these things keep happening, with overpowered assholes appearing everywhere wanting something from me, my heart may explode.

... ... ...

...You know, after seeing that assholes stats, I got the urge to go back and level the hell up.

I'm gonna do that right now...

(?)

...Someone was using dimensional magic... Repeatedly.

And not just going through dimensions, but making and destroying them.

...That someone has to be powerful, right? No one can just make dimensions and destroy them very easily. Not even it can do that.

...It needs to investigate this someone. It will get them to join Its cause to get rid of that moron.

If they say no, then It will kill them, it's as simple as that.

First, It needs to deal with some stuff.

...Stupid Red, taking away its silence...

Akane Amamiya

Level - 112

Class - Cryomancer - LVL 100/100 [0%]

Secondary Class - Engineer - LV 12/50 [45%]

Race - Human

Rank - Mortal

Alignment - Neutral Evil

HP - 816 [201 per minute]

MP - 15630 [15630 per minute]

SP - 680 [136 per minute]

STR - 51

END - 68

DEX - 59

INT - 1042

WIS - 1018

CHA - 50

LUK - 40

Skills gained

[Blizzard]

Create a small violent storm.

Deals 100 Ice Damage per second

Costs 2750 per 5x5 meters.

[Ice Mirrors]

Create Ice Mirrors that you can travel from and between at the speed of light.

Costs 2000 MP per mirror.

Ultimate skills gained

[Absolute Zero]

A shot of Ice that will reduce the atoms of anything it touches to absolute zero temperature.

Deals 25K Ice Damage

Costs 15K MP

[Ice Age]

Coat the world around you in Ice, strengthening you and your allies while imperiling your enemies.

Buffs the user and allies by 30% in all stats, and imperials enemies' resistance to ice by 25%

Costs 10K MP

Title earned

[Cryo-Master]

You have mastered the arts of Ice magic, and now, you are only limited by your imagination, as the manipulation of ice comes naturally to you.

Perks gained

[Hypothermia]

Ice spells freeze living targets below 25% Health if they don't have any ice resistance.

[Winter's Majesty]

You are a living embodiment of modif forces; a primordial force controlling and creating sleet, hail, and any manner of ice crystal; a frost god in flesh, a portal for the freezing forces of winter exercised in the manifest, a walking Ice Age ready to plunge humanity back into a primitive age.

The cold weather won't bother you anymore and you are completely immune to Ice damage. Be warned though, a much more skilled ice magician can bypass your immunity.

[Unparalleled Mind]

INT check will always pass

EXP gain is doubled

[Divine Wisdom]

WIS checks will always pass

Party EXP is doubled

MP regen is doubled

Finally, my first ever maxed class.

And these perks/skills are insane. Immunity to Ice? Absolute Zero? Hell, I could probably end Riser single-handedly.

I should've done this a while ago. I got too focused on training Issei and somewhat forgot about myself.

Now, let's see this little thing I just earned...

Choose a new class

[Fighter] [Ranger] [Support] [Mage] [Rogue] [Production]

The Game did mention that I can select a new class after I max the first one out.

What I'm choosing though... Isn't it obvious?

Select a specialization.

[Saber] [Lancer] [Berserker] [Martial Artist] [Knight]

Well, the choices are between Saber and Knight. I need classes that give me a Sword Proficiency because I'm planning to use the Excalibur soon.

But what to choose... Oh, what am I thinking? Of course Saber. Swords are the coolest anyway.

Class gained

[Saber] - LVL 1/100 [0%]

Gain 4 DEX, 4 STR and 2 END every level

Skills gained

[Light Armor Proficiency (Novice)]

You barely have any knowledge on the use of light armor

[Sword Proficiency (Novice)]

You barely have any knowledge on the use of swords

[Magic Resistance]

You are 10% resistance to magical damage

[Physical Resistance]

You are 10% resistant to Physical damage

[Power Strike]

Deals Weapon Damage x 3 + STR / 2

...Maybe I should've thought more about this. Oh well, no matter.

I should go back, for now, any more power boost and I might give poor Sona a heart attack...

...Can devils have a heart attack? Hmm, questions for later.

I need a nap.