Chapter 4

[Objective: Befriend him fast enough for him to tell you his predicament.

Reward: Unlock Relationship function and God of Lightning pendant.

Penalty: Gain the trait 'Lazy Apprentice']

One of the first books I read in my past life was the Count of Monte Cristo, it was also one of the first that made me want to look for more information about what I was reading.

And now I was on a mission to befriend him? I don't know if this is weird or amazing. I'll take it as a bit of both.

But besides, how am I supposed to get him to tell me about his revenge plan in less than 3 minutes? At this point in the story he was practically consumed with paranoia and revenge.

Hmmm, although maybe I could take advantage of the fact that I look so young and try to look cute or something? Nah, if I had a decade less maybe but now it's impossible.

"Hey, I'm a bit lost and I wanted to know if .... Where is it?" It's gone...? "Damn it happened again!!!" 

My brother and several servants always emphasize my habit of locking myself in my own world ignoring the rest, I try to improve it but it always ends up happening!!!

*Growl* 

"And now I'm hungry, fabulous," Now where am I supposed to go? "System! Why haven't I lost the mission if Edmond's already gone?"

[Edmond Dantes' revenge plan hasn't been carried out yet, so it's still possible that he will tell you his plan]

That's great! But that doesn't help me to know where or how I can find him. Besides he's completely human, there's no magic energy in him to search for him like that.

[Fate always works in mysterious ways Host, maybe it's easier to find him than you think!]

Is that a hint? You know, sometimes I wish you wouldn't be so cryptic about what you say to me.

"Hmm, I guess I should go find someplace to have lunch" I try to avoid getting too lost in my thoughts by talking out loud to no one in particular "Good thing thanks to the system I have a lot of money from the human world".

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is your thing right system?"

[The system does not confirm or disprove the Host's conjecture].

"I'll take that as a yes..." If in theory the system is powerful enough to give me an ability with which I can turn myself into someone OP then I wouldn't be surprised if it can alter at its convenience reality or something.

How did I come to this conclusion? Well, right now I am in the same restaurant where Edmond Dantes is eating.

I mean I might think it's just fate or something, but to find him HERE of all places? I didn't choose the place where I was going to eat either, I got a little lost and asking the system for help it guided me here.

In other words, I had every reason to be suspicious.

[The system considers that the Host is thinking illogical and unreasonable things] Yeah right, play crazy system.

But well, I had a mission to complete "H-Hello, we met a moment ago near the coast" Don't stutter dammit "I wanted to apologize again for not looking".

"Heh, small world huh...?" Interesting, he seems pretty calm "It's all right kid, accidents happen sometimes"

He looks like someone nice, he even smiled kindly at me. I thought he would be like those edgy people who always act gloomy and make fun of other people's misfortunes, so it seems like it will be even easier to get some confidence.

Seeing that my presence didn't seem to bother him I decided to sit at his table, of course I stopped to see his reaction but again I saw no discomfort on his face so I sat down to chat.

"Do you have enough money to come eat here boy?" Quite a lot of money in fact "It's not a place where just anyone can come" Really? It doesn't look like a fancy place.

"My parents gave me enough to come here, it's okay" Technique to control the conversation, close any topic that doesn't interest you in a simple way "Now that I see you better you look familiar" And start what interests you.

"Heh, well that may be because I am somewhat known around here" Then he was already about to start with his revenge plan "I acquired the title of count recently".

"Oh, yes I remember you" Ready, he took the bait "Father said he found it rather strange how someone could acquire so much fortune out of nothing"

"What can I say? Luck is with me" And just as I did, he also closed the conversation... It's good

There wasn't much to highlight from the conversation as it was mostly banal stuff, I feel like we understand each other a bit but still nothing to push him to tell me anything.

In the book Dantes had few allies, and they were mostly people he ended up using or who helped him after he escaped from prison.

"Edmond!" ...Was it you again system? "Ali brought me here, we need you to come back now." 

"Haydeé, how many times do I have to tell you not to make a fuss?"

Black long hair and a beauty that would make most models of my former life envious, she wore an elegant dress that was a little dirty with sand. She was Haydeé, Janina's princess and Edmond's current slave.

"And Ali, you don't have to be swayed by her whims, whatever emergency happened you could have told me." 

The other was a tall man, with a slightly dark complexion and hair showing signs of balding, dressed in a butler's tuxedo. He was Ali, Edmond's mute slave.

"Fernando is dead, your plan has worked" Haydeé said WHAT? "Besides there are many rumors about Valentine inheriting all the Villefort fortune, everything is almost over".

"Fantastic news!" Edmond turns to me "My apologies Mon ami, but I have more important matters to attend to, it was nice to have met you."

"T-The pleasure is mine..." And with that Edmon, Haydeé and Ali leave.

'What does this mean system!!! You said that the plan was not yet executed'.

[Not ALL of the plan has not yet been executed]

'Next time be more specific goddamn it!!!' How come it's not all over already? In the book after this Dantes decided to take care of his allies and abandon his revenge.

"I camouflage my body with my illusion magic and run after Dante and follow him to his mansion.

At the door of the mansion stood another man butler, this one must be Bertuccio.

"Bertuccio! Everyone!" Edmond begins "This day my plan of revenge will end. I want you to invite Daglars widow and daughter, also Mercedes and Alberto. My debt to the Villaforts has already been paid."

This did not happen in the book... Shit

[Mission complete!

Objective: Befriend him fast enough for him to tell you his predicament.

Reward: Unlock Relationship function and God of Lightning pendant.

Penalty: Gain the trait 'Lazy Apprentice'] How did you complete it?

[You have been given the lightning god pendant] Edmond and the rest went into his mansion to I guess plan what would happen tonight.

But what just happened?

[Since he had a friendly, nonjudgmental conversation, the system detected that Edmond saw him as someone he could trust, even superficially. By confessing his plan to everyone the mission was complete]

Uh? Well... this is all very strange but I guess I won't complain about a completed mission. Plus I'm sure I'll be able to use the pendant I got for something.

It was golden, like an olympic medal, but it had symbols and runes that I don't know engraved on it. I kept it in my pocket, I will explore its functions in the underworld.

I left the mansion and walked to an uncrowded alley "Now the next thing that interests me the most. Relationships!"

As I was used to with the mission screen, a holographic screen opened up in my eyes.

[Sona Sitri: Best friends.

What she thinks of you: One of the people she can trust the most.

Valentino Barbatos: Big brother.

What he thinks of you: The person he loves the most. Would give his life for you] Awwww, thank you Tino I also appreciate you very much. I'll still kick your ass when you least expect it!

My parents' was pretty basic. I skipped their names and also the ten or so names of the servants in the house.

[Kiyohime: Your elder brother's queen

What she thinks of you: She will protect you with all her power to make your brother happy.

Edmond Dantes: Acquaintanced

What he thinks of you: A strange boy who approached him out of the blue].

Interesting. Neither Serafall nor Sona's parents appeared there.

[A minimum level of trust is required for the system to be able to track your feedback and opinions about the Host.]

Oh, now I understand, what a peculiar feature 

Well now what next, what should I do with Edmond? I would really like him to be the first member of my peerage but he doesn't have any power other than his great mind to make plans.

Besides, I don't know how I should invite him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I must admit that I was on the verge of just going home. But after giving the situation a lot of thought I decided to go to Edmond's mansion.

It was almost midnight so I guess whatever I had planned was probably over by now.

The plan was simple, approach him when he is sleeping, wake him up and using my illusions confuse what is happening with a dream, then I will offer him power and practically eternal life.

If he refuses I put him to sleep and it's as if nothing had happened. If he accepts I will give him a devil piece and work a few months to get him used to his powers slowly without him really knowing he is a devil.

"What's going on...?" Was that smoke? The mansion was on fire "I have to get closer fast!" 

Thank Satan that devils are very fast.

"No... Something is happening" When I got closer I could feel traces of magic, neither Edmond nor any of his allies felt anything like that.

*THUD*

"Edmond!" I always wanted to kick in a door like I was in an action movie!!!! "Where are you!?" None of this was happening in the original story, nor was it supposed to.... "W-What the fuck...?"

On the main stairs lay Ali's lifeless body, a trail of blood was coming from upstairs to where her body was and her face was burned.

I resisted the urge to vomit and looked away from the body, I also used my illusions to make the body disappear from my sight.

I may be a devil but I had never seen death in such a violent way.

Once I could no longer see Ali's body before my eyes I continued up the stairs, the slimy feeling under my shoes reminding me of the blood trail.

"Edmond!!!" I reached the second floor and "Oh shit...!" Bertuccio's body was leaning against a door. His head was crushed to a pulp and his entire body charred, the smell of burning human flesh invading my nostrils.

"Bluagh" And I couldn't resist throwing up. Call me what you will but any normal person would feel the same way in a similar situation "This wasn't supposed to happen".

"Haydeé!" Edmond's voice! It's coming from over there.

I ran in the direction of the voice ignoring the bodies I was finding as best I could. All with signs of serious burns. "Edmond!!" I kick in another office door and am confronted with a grotesque scene.

Half of Edmond's face was burned to the bone practically, the office we were in was on fire and in a corner away from the door was Haydee, or well, what was left of her....

"Oho" What do we have here? A child?" A haughty voice was heard and there I saw him. Dirty blond hair, a lead-colored tuxedo and an expression straight out of a deranged mind "Nice to meet you! Maybe Edmond told you about me, but okay. My name is Fernando Mondego, Count of Moncerf."

"Damn you! What the fuck did you do?" I couldn't contain my anger, not after seeing the cruel way they died.

"This?" Fernando looked at his left hand and it caught fire "It was a gift from a kind old man, he told me it would solve all my problems and it certainly did!"

"You... Solid Illusion!" I raised my left arm and a swirl of wind began to take shape "Rasen Shuriken!" This wind took the shape of a 4-pointed Japanese shuriken and I threw it at Fernando. He opened his eyes in surprise and went through the wall to the outside.

"Thanks for the technique Naruto..."Then I remembered Edmond's dying body and rushed over to him.

"Edmond! I got you!" I knelt down with him and saw all the damage caused by the burns. His hat was completely charred, his suit had many holes showing puncture wounds, his right leg being the most affected.

And most seriously, half of his face was burned.

"I-it's you..." I heard Edmond's voice and looked at him "T-The boy from earlier..."

"Yes Edmond! It's me! You're safe with me now so just rest!" 

"M-My revenge... N-It's not over..." Tears started coming out of his healthy eye "J-Just d-just d-desperdicie.... m-my l-my l-life..."

"Damn it Edmond, it's not over yet, you'll recover you'll see" I said that but I really didn't know what to do to heal him... there was only one solution but I didn't know if he would accept "If there was a way for you to live and finish your plan what would you say!?"

"Wh-what...? W-What do you mean...?"

"Just give me an answer!"

"I-I... I... would accept-that..." I don't know what he agreed to but after that he closed his eye and his pulse almost stopped. 

"That's all I needed to know" I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a red box with gold accents. My devil's pieces

My father told me that every noble house in the underworld had its incantation for using its set of pieces, and I still remembered the one for the Barbatos house.

"By the power entrusted to my hand" I opened the box and took out the first piece I found. My queen "From this day forward you are me" The piece began to glow "And I will be you. My problems become yours and my enemies will also be your enemies" The piece glowed brighter and I began to insert it into Edmond's chest "You will always walk by my side for I will be your master" And with that the piece went in.

What happened next could only be described as magical, all his wounds healed until his body looked completely healthy. Even his face healed without any burn scars.

"Edmond!" Once the process was over I shook him to lift him up "Edmond wake up!!!"

"Kuh..." Edmond let out a grunt of pain and opened his eyes "Boy? What are you doing here?" 

"Ha, it's good to have you back Edmond" A tear escaped from my eye but I wiped it away "It's a long story but the important thing is that you're okay." 

"What happened?" He stood up and saw Haydee's dead body "So it wasn't a dream..." He bowed his head and clenched his fists "It was you!?"

"Calm down Edmond, I didn't do any of this" I raised my hands in defense to reassure him "The cause of all this was....."

"Edmond Dantes!" He didn't die?!? "So you're still alive, huh?!??"

As if he was one of the Fantastic Four, Fernando flew through the hole through which he was shot when he received the Rasen Shuriken.

"Fernando damn you!!!" It wasn't necessary to accuse him, when Edmond saw him the anger clouded his mind and he practically lunged like a wild beast.

"Ha!" And Fernando returned him with his fire "It's useless Dantes, now I am much more powerful than YOU".

I ran to Edmond and helped him to get up "He is right, as you are now you can't beat him" Although his clothes were torn and he had many superficial wounds he would never defeat him "You will die again like this

"Do you think I care? I'm going to kill that bastard!!!" 

"Hahaha come here Edmond!" Why didn't he come to us? I mean I had raised an illusion so he wouldn't attack us now but he should have attacked on sight.

I'll never understand the villains who just let the main character recover from his wounds, just finish him off on the ground and that's it!

But well, that overconfidence came in handy now "But I can help you get revenge" I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the pendant "Here, put it on and you will have enough power to finish your long awaited revenge". 

I wanted to keep it for myself to see what cool powers I could get but my queen needed a little help right now.

"What is this?" Edmond put it on and the effects were almost immediate.

Lightning bolts shot out of his body, his eyes shining with an electrifying glow that showed power "Ha...Haha" And feeling the power that the pendant gave him my queen could only do one thing. 

"Muahahahahaha" He laughed.

With a flash that I could hardly follow and with his evil laugh Edmond attacked Fernando.

The fight didn't last a second, it seemed as if Fernando couldn't even register what had happened as his hands, legs and head fell severed to the floor.

"Goddamn it!" .... I definitely should have kept that pendant."

THANKS FOR READING, ANY COMMENT, RECOMMENDATION OR CRITICISM IS WELCOME AS LONG AS IT IS WITH RESPECT.

Happy New Year people! I want to take this moment to answer some of the doubts I've seen in the comments of the previous chapters.

1.-No, there will be no Harem, like many I am also tired of DxD harem Fics. Leonardo will have one partner and only one partner, this is not negotiable. There will be some romantic drama and love triagles, but he will only end up with one girl.

I saw a couple of complaints about Leonardo copying famous attacks like Star Platinum and asking him to be original. There will be originality but because of the character theme right now he will only have that. The illusions give infinite possibilities friends.

No one asked this but I will say it once and for all. This fic still doesn't have a fixed schedule for its chapters, they will come out as I have inspiration to write. I could offer 5 chapters in a week or just 1 in a week, but I'll try to publish them frequently!