1.1 To be a Devil

He had a dream. Ever since he was a kid.

The top of the world.

Always wondering what it would feel like to be there.

Just as children dream of being superheroes, or traveling to the moon or becoming a fireman.

But as people grow up, become adults and integrate into society, these silly so-called childish dreams disappear and people settle for the status quo. They adapt to the world around them.

Not him.

His dream wasn't a short-lived passion like the kids who loved superheroes. It was something deeper, something that kept burning in the depths of his heart and kept driving him forward.

But as time passed and he grew older, discomfort pressed down on him. The time had come to face reality.

The reality that all the effort was useless.

No matter how many martial arts he mastered, he was nowhere near as overwhelming as the strongest should be.

Beating up punks was completely feasible. If firearms came into play, it would be difficult. If he was surrounded by soldiers in full gear... it would be game over.

So he reached for his last move.

Isekai.

So he prepared himself.

He traced, analyzed and unraveled the pattern.

And at the ideal moment—

– he stepped in front of the truck-kun.

^*^

He had succeeded.

To be reincarnated in another world.

But despite achieving his objective, not everything went as he had wished. He imagined that truck-kun wasn't very happy about being forced to send him to an isekai and cursed him.

Because he was still very human.

The supreme power that the strongest should wield. He couldn't feel any magic in himself, no matter what he did to try to feel it. Buddhist-style meditation, meditation under waterfalls, silent meditation, fasting, mastering yoga, converting, seeking spirits, praying to the gods and binding himself to a cross.

There seemed to be no right answer, so he continued along the path Shadow-sama had taken.

He couldn't find it.

Even when he knew it existed. Even when he knew the world he was in.

So he changed his approach. If he couldn't have magic being human... he would become something else.

It was too soon to have access to the Crimson Princess. But until then, he would prepare himself.

Sharpening his mind, training his body, perfecting his techniques even more. He built, deconstructed and built again. He reached the pinnacle of human technique.

And then he waited.

For the moment when he could wield magic.

"That's how I got here."

He finished his long monologue, explaining in detail his opponent's 'why are you here?'

"... What the fuck was that?"

The rude fallen angel replied, not very satisfied with hearing a complete life story. In fact, he didn't even know why he had waited for the boy to finish, when he could have interrupted him at any moment. Dohnaseek, who had just come from a hunt, didn't understand the mind of the human who appeared in front of him.

"How rude. I've told you my story and this is how you answer me?"

The boy shook his head. With language of that level and that attitude, it was no surprise that he would be expelled from heaven.

"Foolish human. If you leave now, I'll pretend we never met."

The fallen angel insisted. He didn't know how the human had found him, but Dohnaseek wanted to finish before those who could really prove to be a nuisance showed up.

"No. This is the perfect opportunity to test my current limits."

How far he had come with effort alone, without any supernatural power.

He had everything prepared. He had even taken the trouble to leave enough hints for Akeno. He had also already acquired the pamphlet with the summoning magic for Rias. As he had been followed for the last few hours, he was sure it worked.

The rest was just adjusting his schedule to meet the fallen angel. Dohnaseek was the best target as he was the one who made the most nightly rounds.

"A human wants to face me? A fallen angel?"

His laugh was full of derision.

Humans couldn't defeat fallen angels. Even more so someone without a shred of magic. Not even if the Biblical God himself wished it, it wouldn't happen.

But despite the mockery he suffered, the boy took the katana out of his backpack and fastened it properly to his side.

"Don't underestimate me too much-"

Removing the blade and getting into a basic stance, his onyx-black eyes looked at the fallen angel floating a few centimeters above the ground.

"- otherwise you'll die."

It was honest advice.

"Damn you!"

But it was taken as a provocation and ended up landing a good blow on the proud Dohnaseek. The fallen angel created a blue spear in his right hand and flew towards the boy.

His flying speed was easily double or triple what a human could achieve by running. But despite his impressive speed, Dohnaseek was ridiculously...

"... simple."

The eyes, the position and the hidden intent. He analyzed everything with one glance. Dohnaseek would come straight for his chest, trying to end the fight with a single attack. To prove his superiority. The superiority of fallen angels.

A fool.

When you had the advantage of flight and long-range shots, recklessly going for a direct hit against an opponent with unknown abilities was an amateur mistake.

He expected more from someone who was part of a race with a high life expectancy.

It was as if they hadn't trained at all.

Long before the fallen angel entered his maai's range, the boy moved two steps to the side. Speed and strength were not needed. His body moved smoothly.

Without having a chance to stop the advance, Dohnaseek passed straight through him. Trying to react with a scowl, the fallen angel spread his wings to kill his impulse, forcing himself to stop with a ricochet. But it was another unfortunate decision.

Standing within the boy's maai, all he had to do was draw his sword in a slash. With one clean, unhindered blow, a line of cuts that spurted blood appeared on the fallen angel's backside.

All this being done without a single shred of magic.

"AAARGHHH!!! DAMN YOU!"

The fallen angel roared as it forced itself to spread its wings and take off even higher, escaping the boy's range.

There was a contest of eyes between the fallen angel and the human. One was seething with anger while the other was serene.

"What is it, fallen angel? Aren't you going to attack?"

Provocation enough.

Whether he was overcome with rage or had learned from his previous lesson, Dohnaseek held his ground in the air as he began firing spears of light towards the boy on the ground.

They shot through the air, one after the other.

Their speed was enough to escape the boy's perception once he took his eye off them for a single moment.

Seeing himself cornered, the boy chose his best course of action at the moment. Although he had good sharpness, he didn't trust his blade to withstand so many attacks created with magic. Mundane metals would only go so far when faced with the impossibilities of magic.

Dodge, then.

Increasing the strength he exerted in his leg muscles even more, he took a step.

Fourth Secret Technique - Variant: Shinkirou

Exerting only the extreme footwork of the Fourth Secret Technique, he dodged between the gaps of each attack. The muscles in his legs roared with the strenuous movement, his lungs burned and his body demanded oxygen in order to breathe, but the boy kept going. His eyes tracing the path of the spears and his legs moving without a second's hesitation. Some of the spears grazed his body, taking his flesh and blood, but he didn't stop.

This was the moment he had been looking for.

All the accumulation of his techniques being put to use.

He felt no fear.

Far from it.

There was only euphoria.

Dohnaseek, for his part, felt a tightness in his chest. The boy moved fast enough just to dodge, but he couldn't escape Dohnaseek's eyes. And while he was always trying to readjust his aim, somehow his attack would end up being dodged.

How was that even possible?

In all these centuries, it was the first time he had seen something like this. Such a difference.

His magical energy was also draining away at an alarming rate. And the first experience forced Dohnaseek to accept that it wasn't a good idea to carelessly approach the boy, no matter how much it hurt his pride. It was unthinkable that the human could make him retreat, but even without exaggerated strength or speed, Dohnaseek found himself unable to evade the human when he attacked.

Even now, he felt a throbbing pain in his backside. And that made Dohnaseek's frown twitch.

Unforgivable.

His magical energy exploded. Dohnaseek put everything into his last move. The worry and anger disappeared. The only thing left was the absolute need to win.

The boy humiliating him only had time to open his eyes wide.

Dozens of spears fell simultaneously, traveling at twice their previous speed.

Showing the pinnacle of his technique, the boy still dodged. The first, the second, the third... but at some point, it proved insufficient. When the first spear penetrated his arm, the next one was already hitting his stomach.

Dohnaseek watched with pleased eyes as the human's figure was covered in spears of light, his body increasingly battered. At the end of the barrage of spears, an explosion of blue energy spread.

The fallen angel fell to the ground. His breath panting, his magical energy completely drained.

But it was worth it.

He succeeded.

He won–

"... madada (not yet)."

The whispering voice brought him out of his victorious thoughts.

"I haven't given up yet."

When the dust cleared, the figure of the boy appeared, still standing. His body was riddled with holes. His left arm hung by his side, covered in wounds, completely useless. His legs no longer had any strength to move. Blood dripped from every part of his body, his eyes barely kept open.

There was no telling how he had survived, but it was obvious that it wouldn't be long before he fell.

This time, permanently.

"Why?"

Dohnaseek asked.

"Why are you going so far?"

He had to admit it. Rarely had he witnessed such resilience. And it was the first time he had seen anything like it in a human.

"I have a dream. No- an ambition..."

His voice was whispery. Such was the effort just to speak. But trained eyes would notice the strong grip on the katana.

"And I want to see what happens if I don't give up."

With his one good hand, he raised the katana above his head.

"Then prepare yourself."

Inspiration.

At that moment when he was close to death again, he felt a wave of inspiration. The absolute conviction that if he took one step forward, he would reach even greater heights.

A new technique.

One that he hadn't trained in, let alone perfected. There wasn't even a name for it.

But it's looked like the perfect moment.

In his eyes, the dark line was perfectly defined. It took no strength or speed to slash.

His last chance, before his body abandoned him.

And he didn't back down.

He put all his focus into a single attack. Gathering everything he could. If it wasn't enough, he would spend everything he had.

Overcome your limits–

There was no longer any need to analyze. His focus entirely on that single line. His maai expanded. Dohnaseek was in his range.

- HERE AND NOW!

He slashed. From top to bottom.

The boy - Fujiwara Seiji - wasn't even able to hear the sound of his sword cutting through the air.

His body fell forward, completely drained of any energy. All the vitality in his body being consumed in a single attack.

Dohnaseek had already completely forgotten.

But he refused to die yet. There was one more thing to do.

With the effort of moving mountains, he brought the hilt of the katana up to his completely red, blood-soaked chest.

"... Come here."

The crimson light shone.

Fujiwara Seiji felt his eyes blur.

The last thing he saw was a lock of crimson hair.