Chapter 17: Aurora

[Third Person's Point of View]

"Hmm", he typed on the keyboard, as his right hand operated the mouse, "This is quite different from the manga"

The Devi-Net or the internet used by the whole underworld had only surface-level information about the magical side of the earth.

Based on what he could gather, this world was unlike anything he knew from Jujutsu Kaisen. However, it strangely fits his expectations of what a crossover between DxD and Jujutsu Kaisen might be like.

To start, Innate Techniques were commonplace in the supernatural realm, not limited to just Jujutsu Sorcerers. Even devils possessed their own version through Inherited Clan Traits.

The original Augustus didn't know much about the supernatural side of the earth and coupled with the extremely rare occurrence of normal devils awakening their innate demonic techniques, he was completely unaware of the existence of the Jujutsu world.

Those fortunate few that awakened, were eligible to start their own Extra Demon House; a prime example being the first Abaddon, who awakened the Innate Demonic Technique [Hole], in use famously by the current third-ranked Rating Game player - Bedeze Abaddon.

On the earthly side of things, he learned that there were two types of sorcerers: those who used magical energy and those who used cursed energy. While they were given different titles - 'Magicians' and 'Jujutsushi' - both types of sorcerers were essentially the same, with only variations in their source of energy and their casting method.

Both of them had an equal chance to awaken either Magical Technique or Cursed Technique, depending on their energy source. However, according to global statistics, the likelihood of a human awakening their Innate technique was only 1 in every 5 million individuals.

So even amongst the supernatural community, Innate Technique wielders constituted about 7%.

He scrolled down the webpage and clicked on an article that caught his attention.

Titled in bold, 'Japan and its Eight Great General Houses'

It provided context for the political climate in magical Japan, a crucial and influential community within the magical world.

"Haha. Very predictable. Of course, Japan would be the centre of the world in a crossover between two Japanese manga and light novels"

After a good laugh, he read the rest of the article, which brought attention to the main variations between this reality and the original one.

Japan was under the control of the Gosanke or The Big Three Families- Zenin, Gojo and Kamo in the original. But here, Hachidai Shogunke or The Eight Great General Houses, rule Japan, with the addition of Kushihashi, Doumon, Shinra, Himejima and Nakiri to the original Big Three.

"Too fucking complicated", He groaned as he read the long article describing the history of the eight clans, "Lemme sleep urghh!."

He shut down the computer and ripped the page from the notepad where he had jotted down all the important information.

"April 2016 hmm.....", he wondered to himself as he looked at the piece of paper, it suddenly caught fire and disintegrated into dust. The remains were quickly blown away by a gentle breeze, "A bit more than 8 months."

He continued to gaze at his hand, tightly clenching his empty fist for a few moments before shutting his eyes.

A cunning grin spread across his face as he opened his eyes with a sharp gleam. "Eight months to prepare? Piece of cake. Absolutely no problem," he declared with unwavering confidence.

*****

A woman with brown eyes and brunette hair strolled through the busy streets of Central Ameing, making her way towards the City Centre Mall. Her head turned from side to side, taking in every little detail of her new surroundings, revealing that she was most likely a tourist unfamiliar with the area.

[Image Here]

But reality was far from that; instead of appreciating the scenery around her, she was rather observing the lines floating above the heads of her fellow devils.

[Amelia - Lesser Devil - Tier 9]

[Ronald - Lesser Devil - Tier 10]

[Ava - Lesser Devil - Tier 9]

Augustus, or Aurora as she currently went by, questioned her system. 'What do these tiers represent?' she asked.

[The Tiers correspond to the respective level of one's strength]

'Waaahh, how grateful I am for your assistance, system!' she exclaimed, dripping with sarcasm. 

[Thank you! The system endeavours to provide comprehensive assistance to the user for a seamless ascendency experience.]

'...'

'What do these Tiers scale to in the local power system? How do they fit into my pathway sequence? Please provide a cosmic scale reference for clarity.'

[Request accepted]

[Processing request]

Aurora hummed quietly as she waited for the next batch of text to appear.

[Compiling Information]

[Ding! Here's your answer. (Note- It is not feasible to assign a Tier rating to the user's pathway sequence since the user's Tier level may vary while maintaining the same sequence. Therefore, this response is excluded.)

Tier 10 - Baseline Species - Wall(?) Level

Tier 9 - Low Class Supernatural - Building Level

Tier 8 - Medium Class Supernatural - Large Town Level

Tier 7 - High Class Supernatural - Small Country Level

Tier 6 - Ultimate Class Supernatural - Continental Level

Tier 5 - Satan/Seraph/God-King Class Supernatural - Planetary Level

Tier 4 - Super/Strongest God-King Class Supernatural -Stellar Level

Please keep in mind this is only a rough estimate, the actual strength of beings varies greatly in the same class.]

'The power level of this world has greatly increased', Aurora compared the power level in front of her to the actual power of characters in DXD. Serafall was said to be able to freeze the whole island of Japan at once if she wished, making her a High Tier-7 at max.

Here, she held a Tier-5 status, which gave her the power to freeze not just Japan, but the entire world if she desired.

She entered the mall, muttering under her breath, "If I had enough demonic power, even I could do it right now. But that's beside the point."

"This is gonna complicate a whole lot of things"

'What about Tier 3 and above? Why don't you show their information, system?'

[Access to tiers above level 4 is presently unavailable to the user. Kindly ascend to the status of demigod to gain access to them.]

The mall's exterior was sleek and modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows that showed off the bustling activity inside. The first four floors were lined with an array of stores, each with its own flashy signs and elaborate displays. The fifth floor was an open space with various tables and chairs set up, indicating it was the food court.

Aurora made a beeline for the upscale women's fashion section on the fourth level. She walked into the first store on her left, called Balanceciaga.

The store was filled with a plethora of gorgeous female clerks, all dressed in stylish and elegant attire. As soon as she stepped inside, one of them approached her with a friendly smile.

"How may I be of assistance to you today, madam?" she asked with a warm and respectful smile. 

Looking around the store, Aurora replied, "I was hoping to find some semi-formals."

"Certainly, Ma'am. Please follow me," the clerk stated as she turned and led them into the store. 

Yes, Augustus' primary reason for going to the mall was to purchase clothes that were more suitable for his female persona, 'Aurora'. He had been wearing his mother's old clothes, but they were ill-fitting as she was only 5'7 with a slender frame, while Aurora stood at 5'10 even in her form.

His White Ring of Faceless couldn't adjust his form to make him shorter than his current one.

He chose to take on the form of a female, specifically modelled after his deceased love Aurora, for a reason. He needed to get a good look inside Balam Trading House in order to rob it successfully.

What better disguise than a gorgeous female devil, who could also play the part of a clumsy and innocent character? If she happened to accidentally stumble upon forbidden areas, it would be easier for her to get away with it.

*

As Aurora left the Henry Button, her shopping completed and a few bags in tow, she couldn't shake the feeling of someone's eyes burning into her back.

Aurora admired the stylishly designed shirt and long-bottom trousers in the first shop as she decided to change into it, appreciating the intricate detailing and elegant cut. She couldn't help but smile at how much better she looked in these new clothes compared to her uncomfortable old set, which was in one of the bags hanging around her arm.

As she descended the flight of stairs, she felt the person observing her for quite some time finally decided to approach her.

She pretended to not notice anything as she continued on her way until a hand suddenly grasped her shoulder from behind.

"Hey" A man's voice called out from behind her, causing her to turn and examine the unfamiliar figure.

The man before Aurora was at least 6 feet tall, towering over her with broad shoulders and a moderately toned physique. His blond hair was styled in a messy yet fashionable way, and his facial features were decently sharp. A cocky grin plays on his lips as he looks at her.

Aurora's gaze shifted to the hand grasping her shoulder, and she gave a 'cold' glare to the man standing in front of her as he quickly removed his hand with an apologetic grin on his face.

"Pardon my manners," he said with a sheepish smile, extending his hand in greeting. "My name's Edwin, but Ed works just fine."

[Edwin - Lesser Devil - Tier 9]

She knew from the moment she used [Observe] on him a while back when she saw him eying her.

He flashed a charming smile and asked, "Say, gorgeous, are you available at the moment? Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee?"

Internally, Aurora winced at this man's pathetic attempt at flirting with her.

She turned away with a short reply, "I'm busy." But Edwin persisted, following her and attempting to persuade her.

"Hey! Wait! Just spare me 10 minutes of your time. Hey!"

Aurora walked away without bothering to respond, causing an angry glint to pass through Edwin's eyes. "Do you know the largest magical trading centre in the city? My father is the head manager there. If you agree to have a cup of coffee with me, I can make it worth your while."

The blond-haired devil's face was etched with a mischievous grin, knowing that few would resist such a tempting proposal. It wasn't uncommon for some to indulge in a one-night stand in exchange for a large sum of money, especially with the devil's reputation for their sinfulness.

Aurora halted mid-stride, her mind spinning rapidly as she processed the information.

"Really?" She gave a flirtatious smile and turned to face him, asking with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

Edwin's grin widened as he anticipated the intoxicating beauty in his bed later that night. But before he could fully revel in this thought, a sudden and overwhelming force invaded his mind, causing him to lose control of his mind.

[Maximize Magic: Charm species]

In the midst of a bustling staircase, no one gave a second glance to the couple talking to each other.

Aurora's posture changed as she took a step closer to the man behind her, observing the love-struck look in his eyes with pink hearts dancing around and her demeanour quickly turned frigid upon the confirmation of the success of her spell.

"Why don't you tell me more about that?"

********************************

Author-san here.

(I'll address Augustus as 'HER' instead of 'HIM' when he is disguised as Aurora.)

Guess who crossed 100 powerstone in a week? 

Thank you guys for your continued support. Means a lot.

Last chapter for the week. Another 2000 words done. Phew!

Let's get to 140 Powerstones for this one by the weekend. 

Oh, and the new illustrations and power explanation chapters(Do you guys even need one after this chapter?) will drop by soon.

So do VOTEEE.

And as always do leave a review and comment if you liked the story and chapter so far.

See you guys next week.