Investigating

Disclaimer: I own neither High School DxD nor Demon Slayer. This story is purely fan fiction. Please support the official release.

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●??? POV●

Hmmm, seems it's a clear sky tonight.

No unwanted or dangerous presences detected. No shadowy monsters lurking in dark corners. Not even a tentacle monster looking for a fair maiden to have its way with...

I wonder how that would feel? What a shame...

I would have liked to do ○○○○○○○○ with it. Or perhaps even ○○○○ ○○○○? All with my limbs bound while I-

'Akeno!'

My familiar's shoulders jump up a bit with a jolt as I glance to my right, meeting the singular slit-eye of my King's familiar.

'Stop daydreaming already! We have a duty to uphold.' She chastised me through our telepathic link.

Turning away, I put out the best pout I could conjure up with a crow's face.

We are currently conducting our nightly inspection by sharing our familiars' senses. I was hoping to find something new to toy with, but it seems I am not so lucky tonight...

With a flick of my finger, or in this case, a flap of my wing, a small magic circle was conjured atop my right eye. A scrying spell. Not the strongest, but enough to see an ant on the ground several kilometers away.

While scanning the streets slowly from left to right, 'What, exactly, are we on the lookout for again?', I finally ask.

'Anything weird or suspicious. Stray devils, supernatural creatures, other people's familiars...'

'No no, I understand that, Buchou. It just feels like you're looking for something, or rather, someone.'

'So you could tell, huh? Haaahhh...'

Dispelling my magic, I then turn to face the one-eyed bat-thing to my right. My King's familiar.

'There has been a suspicious increase of stray devils in Kuoh as of late.'

Hmm, not the first time I've heard of that, but there is something more, isn't there?

'Any idea what the reason is?'

'A theory I have is that they're after the Boosted Gear, which currently resides in one of Kiba's classmates.'

I could sense a huge 'but' incoming.

'But that's not what I'm concerned about. The cause of my worry is the multitude of stray devil corpses that keep popping up in obscure places. It started a few weeks back, and now the number has almost reached the triple digits.'

'Oh? Now that's something. Perhaps a rogue magician? Now that I think about it, it has been a bit too quiet in the night lately.'

Not that I'm complaining though. The fewer things that go 'bump' in the night, the more time I have to indulge in my 'hobbies'.

Ufufufu.

'There is little evidence suggesting a rogue magician is responsible.'

'Oh? And what makes you say that?'

Stray devils, no matter what species they once were, can reach High Class in power level after their transformation, with some even bordering the Ultimate Class in sheer firepower.

Given my King's previous statement, the person responsible for killing these abominations doesn't use magic, implying that their means are purely physical.

'Old warehouses, dark alleys, empty rooftops... The corpses have been found all over the place. And the only piece of evidence proving that they were all killed by the same person...'

'Hohh... What is it?' Even though we were speaking telepathically, I couldn't help but lean my head closer.

'...They all bore clean cuts through their necks. As in no signs of resistance, as if their reinforced bones, muscle tissue, and even carapaces meant nothing in front of this person's blade at all.'

I couldn't help but whistle in my mind. That is impressive, hands down. Even Kiba has difficulty getting his swords to penetrate the sturdy hides of the ones we come across, let alone their carapace.

'And you say this person only used a blade?'

'Yes, and by the lack of damage to any part of their carcasses besides the neck. It seems our illustrious devil-slayer makes it a point to end their battles in one strike.'

She then conjured up her own scrying spell, scanning her half of the town. Makes me wonder how it feels to see through only one eye. I'll just ask later.

'Then isn't this a good thing? Less stray devils to kill means the town is safer and less trouble for us to take care of.'

'I wish I could say that too, but it remains a fact that there exists someone running around the town at night killing Stray Devils with little to no effort. As if he were walking in the park. Who's to say whether his or her intentions are good or bad?'

Whatever words I wanted to say died in my throat. She was right. It was pointless to weigh the benefits this person's presence brought against the disadvantages. There was just no telling when this person would turn his sights on the mundane citizens.

Even more so if he is capable of what my King just told me.

With that, we both turn around and fly back to the academy's OCR Building.

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●Muichiro POV●

What a weird-looking bat.

'The one next to it... that was a crow, right? What are a crow and a bat doing together in the middle of the night?' I wondered as I sat down on the roof's ledge and let my feet dangle.

Last I checked, bats didn't look like that. Just how much has the world changed since my death? I'm not even sure how long it's been. Is it even the same era? It sure as hell isn't the Heian period anymore...

I am broken out of my idle musing by the sound of wings flapping. A black feather landed on my lap followed by 4 presenses landing right behind me.

Picking the feather up between two fingers, I inspect it closely.

"Hmm... Too big to be a crow's... a raven's? No, that can't be it eith-"

"Oi."

"Hmm?"

Big. Ginormous. Big Bombastic Bazongas. I could go on and on with words to describe the two mounds I suddenly found in front of my face, but it seemed their owner was rather annoyed with me at the moment if that scowl on her face was any kind of sign.

"...Good evening?" I muster up as a greeting, craning my head up to meet her eyes. She is rather tall.

"Who are you?" She crosses her arms, further emphasizing her impressive bust as her navy blue hair sways in the wind. Her attire consisted of a maroon, skin-tight coat-like top with a wide collar, a matching skirt that almost shows her butt, and black-heeled shoes, leaving little to the imagination.

"Do you always dress like that, or is that a uniform of sorts? Perhaps role-play attire?"

The scowl etched on her face deepened further for some reason. I was just asking a normal question...

"Insolent human..." Raising her arm to her right, she summoned some kind of light spear. Pretty...

"Just kill him and be done with it Kala! I'm losing time for my beauty sleep!" Shouted a little girl behind her to my right.

The girl in question, playing with her blonde hair, looked no older than 12. She was wearing some kind of pitch-black dress with white frills along with a sort of headband/ribbon on her head and a green jewel embedded in the collar. It reminds me of those rich folk's female attendants from the West during my time.

"Mittelt is right, Kalawarner. Stop wasting our time already. Raynare is expecting us back at the base any minute now. No time to toy with these puny humans."

On the opposite side of my vision, a man in a gray coat stood. He had on a hat with a flat top and a brim wide enough to shroud his eyes in darkness. The hands on the arms crossed in front of his chest were twitching a bit, signifying his impatience.

Now that I think about it, it was kinda weird for such a diverse trio of people to be standing on this rooftop at this time of night. Perhaps an explanation for that can be found in the appendages on their back, the only thing these three have in common.

Long and wide wings. Big enough to engulf my body in their shadows. All pitch black with silky feathers that shimmer when you look at them at an angle.

"Are you guys Tengu perhaps?"

Ah, tengu. I could feel the nostalgia course through my veins as I recall all the times I faced these guys. Most of the ones I fought were annoyingly fast and used a spear as a weapon. Very much like the one the lady in front of me was holding. I don't think they were made of light though...

"Hah! As if! Those feeble little birdies would never hope to hold a candle to us."

I could feel the derision in her voice as she leveled her weapon's tip to my neck.

"What would make you even think to compare our races? I should rip your tongue out for such insolence."

She's got quite the mouth on her.

"Well, if we're gonna talk about insolence, I think it is also rather insulting, let alone improper, to point a sharp object at someone for no valid reason." I explain with a straight face. "And also, those who ask for a name should give out their own, you know? It is called common courtesy where I'm from."

"...Why you little-!"

Why is it that I keep getting sharp and pointy objects in my face after I give out good advice?