"Welcome back," Yana said with a smile as she opened the door.
"Ah, Mom, I'm back," said a voice that sounded feminine—it turned out to be Yana's daughter.
"So, how was your camp?" Yana asked casually while helping her daughter carry her camping gear.
"Thanks, Mom! The camp was amazing—the view was great and the food was delicious!" Yana's daughter replied excitedly.
"Well, good for you," Yana said with a smile.
When they got to the living room, they saw Kuro waving at them from where he was sitting.
"Yo, Lina. Welcome back," I said with a smile.
Seeing the handsome face smiling at her, Lina froze for a moment, then blushed.
"Mom, who is this handsome guy? Are you... cheating?" Lina asked Yana, slightly suspicious.
Yana's face turned red at the question, remembering what had happened earlier. But before she could answer, Ren spoke up first.
"Lina, how could you forget your own big brother? my heart… feels hurts," I said, dramatically clutching my chest with a pained expression.
Lina blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Wait… brother?" she asked slowly, her brow furrowing in confusion. His face did look familiar.
"Ah, so it really is you, brother," Lina said after closely examining Ren's face.
"So, how did you become so handsome? Can you tell me?" she asked excitedly. Even Yana seemed curious about Kuro's answer.
"It's a secret," I replied with a smirk, placing my index finger over my lips.
Hearing Ren's answer, both mother and daughter looked disappointed—though their faces turned red at his gesture.
"Ah, whatever. I'm a bit tired from camping, so I'll head back to my room," Lina said, quickly running off, still not used to Ren's handsome face.
I smiled as I watched Lina hurry to her room, then turned to face Yana.
"So, Yana, do you want to continue where we left off?" I asked with a sly smile.
Yana's face instantly turned red at Ren's question, and she quickly made an excuse about returning Lina's camping gear before running off.
"Like mother, like daughter," I said with an amused smile, watching Yana chase after Lina to her room.
After that, I relaxed in my room while training my Dark Power to become more skilled.
Then I started thinking about what my goal would be. Well, of course it's going to be a harem—this is the world of High School DxD, after all. I also have to get stronger so I can protect what's mine. Hunting stray devils at night seems like the only option if I want to level up.
Time passed, day turned into night, and I began preparing to hunt stray devils.
I smiled as I put on a long-sleeved hoodie and a pair of jeans, remembering what happened during dinner—teasing that mother and daughter duo relentlessly until their faces turned completely red.
It seems like the effects of Temptation are really strong on regular people. I'm not sure if it would work on someone stronger.
That's also why I did what I did to Yana—to test how powerful the effect really is. Even though she was essentially forced, she eventually accepted what I was doing to her.
Walking down the dark streets didn't seem to affect my vision—in fact, it felt like I could see even more clearly than during the day.
I headed straight for a quiet area, since that's where stray devils are most likely to appear.
After searching for thirty minutes without finding a single one, I frowned.
"Wandering around blindly like this won't work," I said in frustration.
"It can't be helped. I'll have to use that method," I muttered. Risky, but it should work.
I then released my Demonic Aura to lure a stray devil out.
Apparently, besides intimidating weaker creatures, Demonic Aura can also attract beings like stray devils.
Right after activating the aura, I quickly hid inside an abandoned house, just in case I got hit by a surprise attack like last time.
After waiting a while, I finally saw a stray devil. I instantly activated Demon Form.
When I was about to kill him silently, I stopped—because from my point of view, six more were coming this way.
I immediately returned to my hiding spot, wondering why so many stray devils were showing up.
Then I remembered—something that made me want to punch myself for forgetting: my Demonic Aura had been upgraded, so of course it would have a stronger effect.
Now isn't the time for regret. I need to focus on getting out of this situation.
Luckily, the stray devils aren't gathered in one place. If I'm careful, I should be able to take them out one by one.
After that, I approached one of the stray devils, cloaking my entire body in Dark Power to make myself hard to see in the dark and seemingly even muffle the sound of my footsteps.
I immediately used Dark Power to cover the mouth of the horse-headed stray devil and dragged it into a dark alley.
Its eyes widened in shock as it struggled to break free.
I had a bit of trouble holding it down—it felt stronger than the ones before.
Without wasting any time, I formed a sword out of darkness and thrust it toward its neck.
After waiting a moment, the stray devil finally died, and I touched it.
[Level Up]
"One down, six more to go," I muttered to myself. Luckily, my MP fully recovers with every level up, so I can keep doing this again and again.
Also, I couldn't help but wonder—why do these stray devils look more like demons than I do?
I continued taking them out one by one, feeling fortunate to have the upper hand in the darkness.
When I was about to launch a surprise attack from behind on the sixth stray devil, it suddenly turned around and struck at me.
Caught off guard, I quickly dodged its spear, but from my angle, I saw its leg—or rather, its tail—coming straight at me.
I didn't have time to dodge. I was sent flying into the wall of the nearest house.
Thankfully, I had managed to shield my body with Dark Power just before the impact.
Before I could recover, I sensed danger heading my way. Without hesitation, I rolled to the side to avoid it.
Boom!
A loud crash struck the spot where I had just been, and bits of debris hit my body. I immediately jumped back after rolling to see what had just attacked me.
There, I saw a stray devil that looked like a minotaur. It had just swung its massive axe.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, feeling slightly threatened by its muscular build. I had intentionally saved these two stray devils for last because they looked dangerous—and they were armed.
"Little man, quit sneaking around and fight like a man!" the minotaur-like stray devil growled, blowing steam from his nostrils as he glared at Ren.
The other stray demon, the one with a snake-like lower body resembling a lamia, simply rolled his eyes at the minotaur's words.
"Hiss... nonsense. Weren't you the one who tried to ambush him?" the lamia said, flicking his tongue like a serpent, his voice laced with mockery.
"Silence, snake! Real men don't make excuses!" the minotaur shot back firmly.
"Whatever. Let's just finish him off together. You can have a quarter of the spoils," the lamia said with a commanding tone.
"What?! Only a quarter? I could defeat him without your help!" the minotaur growled, glaring at the lamia.
"Use your brain, you meathead! He's skilled at hiding in the shadows. If he escapes, we'll be helpless. Besides, I'm stronger than you, so it's only fair I get more," the lamia replied with a condescending look.
The lamia's words infuriated the minotaur. Steam burst from his nostrils and mouth as the two began to argue loudly.
Meanwhile, I watched them with a blank expression, thinking how ridiculous they were for fighting in front of their enemy.
Forget it—this works in my favor. I can use this moment to upgrade myself. There's no way I can beat them as I am now.
[Hell System]
Name: Ren Kuroishi
Race: Demon (Dark)
Level: 17
HP: 25/25
MP: 200/200
Strength: 5
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 45
Endurance: 5
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 8
Abilities:
| Dark Power V | Dark Vision | Demon Form | Demonic Aura V | Temptation V | Soul Language |
Resistances:
| Physical Resistance V | Magic Resistance V | Fire Resistance V | Poison Resistance V | Dark Immunity | Light Weakness V | Holy Vulnerability |
After the upgrade, I immediately felt a surge of power. I was definitely stronger than before—strong enough that I might actually stand a chance against them.
Using my newfound power, I immediately attacked both of them with a bullet barrage made of darkness.
The two stray devils were caught off guard and tried to dodge and deflect the attack.
When the barrage ended, they saw Ren fleeing in the distance.
"Bastard! Don't run away!" the minotaur shouted, charging after Ren in a rage, his body covered in wounds.
The lamia, on the other hand, wasn't as injured, as he was more agile than the two of them.
Right now, he could sense that Ren had become stronger than before, which made him hesitate. But in the end, he decided to give chase—believing he would become stronger if he devoured him
With that thought, he rushed to catch up with the minotaur.
A trembling sound echoed as the Minotaur charged after me. Thanks to my upgraded agility, I was able to escape easily—but my stamina was already running low, and I was gasping for air.
So, I came up with a plan. I quickly turned at a junction, putting a wall between me and the sight of the two stray devils.
The enraged Minotaur kept chasing Ren, unaware of the barrier made of darkness in his path. He tripped and fell.
Realizing too late that he had fallen toward sharp, dark spikes, the Minotaur had a brief moment of clarity. Regret washed over him—he had let his emotions take control and walked right into a trap.
But it was already too late. A sickening crunch echoed as the Minotaur hit the ground.
Seeing him die instantly, I quickly reached out to touch him—then disappeared into the darkness.
A moment later, the Lamia finally caught up. But once there, he found nothing—no sign of the Minotaur or Ren.
The only thing he did find was a smear of blood and axe, which heightened his wariness as he cautiously scanned his surroundings.
Lamia sensed danger from behind and swiftly swung his spear to block the incoming attack—another spear, seemingly forged from darkness.
He immediately dashed toward the origin of the attack, determined to eliminate Ren without delay.
Ren was slightly surprised by Lamia's speed and quickly conjured a barrage of dark bullets, launching them in his direction.
Lamia agilely dodged the barrage, though a few of the bullets struck him, causing him to flinch. Still, he pushed forward, intent on taking Ren down.
Suddenly, a dense shroud of darkness erupted from Ren's body, blinding Lamia. Unable to see, he was struck directly by the rest of the bullet barrage.
As the darkness receded into my body, I saw Lamia's lifeless form on the ground, riddled with holes.
"Well, that was easier than I expected," I muttered, a bit surprised that I had managed to take down both stray devils so easily.
I reached out and touched Lamia's corpse—it vanished on contact.
[Level Up]
Seeing this, I immediately opened my status window.
[Hell System]
Name: Ren Kuroishi
Race: Demon (Dark) [Evolve]
Level: 20
HP: 25/25
MP: 200/200
Strength: 5
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 45
Endurance: 5
Stat Points: 15
Skill Points: 14
Abilities:
| Dark Power V | Dark Vision | Demon Form | Demonic Aura V | Temptation V | Soul Language |
Resistances:
| Physical Resistance V | Magic Resistance V | Fire Resistance V | Poison Resistance V | Dark Immunity | Light Weakness V | Holy Vulnerability |
"Can I evolve?" I said in surprise, noticing the word Evolve next to my race.