High School DxD – "Shadow Level-Up!"
| Kuoh Academy Dorm-Wing, Friday night
Rain had finally quit, leaving the air rinsed and humming with katydids. Rias Gremory's private residence—a converted dorm-wing atop the old building—glowed warm behind French doors that opened onto a broad stone balcony. She leaned against the balustrade, crimson hair loose, pale legs ghosted by moonlight beneath an oversized white shirt.
A soft thump signalled Kazuki Ren's arrival. He vaulted the exterior fire-stair, feet touching down on marble with a cat's hush. Shadow Step shortened the distance between alley and roof; normal people would have needed a ladder.
Rias didn't startle. "You're late," she murmured.
"Weighted sprint with Koneko ran long." He flipped a coin-sized notebook to her—tonight's stray sightings, culled from local occult forums. She slid it into her shirt pocket, then surprised him by not moving away. Their shoulders brushed; static tingled where devil heat met hybrid warmth.
"I've wanted to ask…" Rias's gaze stayed on Kuoh's silvered rooftops. "Why hunt strays so obsessively? You're not a devil servant, not on payroll. Most hybrids would hide."
Kazuki searched the horizon, too—distant radio tower lights blinking crimson. Honesty felt easier when both stared forward. "Because power hoarded without purpose feels… hollow. Because every corpse I turn into a shadow reminds me life's coin has two faces, and I still own the toss."
He exhaled, half-laugh. "And because swinging a pipe at monsters is fun."
A musical chuckle slipped from her throat. "Refreshingly blunt."
Silence settled, comfortable. Cicadas thrummed below. Finally she admitted, quieter, "I hunt hard for a similar reason—every rescued human keeps my family's darker reputation a step behind me."
When she looked up, moonlight silvered her lashes. He found it suddenly difficult to ignore the way the breeze teased that too-large shirt against her curves. Twin auras inside him collided—devil side heating pulse, fallen‐angel side cooling nerves so he still thought straight.
He cleared his throat instead of leaning closer. "Work to do. Forum said something big's nesting under 5th-ward sewer tunnels."
Rias's smile curved. "Then Kuoh thanks its anonymous hunters."
She pressed a tiny, sealed envelope into his palm—red wax unbroken. "Open after tonight's patrol."
Their fingers brushed. He tucked the envelope into inner jacket lining, lifted two-finger salute, and stepped backward into the night—literally. Shadow swallowed him; the balcony stood empty save for the devil heiress pondering how deeply a free knight could burrow into a Gremory heart without ever pledging a piece.
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| Kuoh Storm-Drain Maze, 00:17 hrs
Concrete corridors reeked of moss and rust; ankle-deep runoff reflected Kazuki's flashlight as quivering mirrors. The report had said "wingless minotaur with glowy cracks." His HUD tagged faint demonic residue well above low-class: Threat: High, 180 XP.
He cut the beam, switched to night vision—an affinity perk of his fallen side—iris gauzy-gold in the dark. Shadow Soldier scouted ahead; Arachnid Knight scuttled along wall-pipes.
Roar. Air vibrated. A twelve-foot silhouette lumbered into the junction: bull horns of corroded bronze, chest fissured by magma veins. Sewer water hissed where liquid fire dripped.
Kazuki rolled sideways as a molten fist cratered floor tiles. He drew no weapon—pipe and bokken felt inadequate. Instead he exhaled command: "Extract." Shadow Soldier melted, reforming as tar on the minotaur's ankles, slowing it. Arachnid Knight vaulted, blades slashing glowing tendons behind knees. The beast staggered but back-handed the spider shadow into a wall, splattering darkness like spilled ink.
Kazuki dove forward, palms slamming concrete, and activated the skill he'd practiced all week: Shadow Storage. The floor-shade beneath him opened like cellar doors; from it he yanked the iron pipe he'd cached earlier—now upgraded via stat growth to feel like a quarterstaff of steel.
Sprint, vault, horizontal strike across the snout. Crack—horn chipped. XP tick +12. The minotaur bellowed, swinging. He ducked, drove an upper-thrust into glowing chest fissure. Sparks erupted; HP bar he never shared dropped a chunk, shoulder grazing lava blood, flesh sizzling before devil vitality sealed it.
Pain sharpened focus. He Shadow-Stepped through the beast's legs, re-emerged behind, and plunged pipe tip at base of skull. Critical. Magma trails dimmed; gigantic form toppled, shaking tunnel foundations.
+180 XP – LEVEL 8. Stat points +4 flooded capacity. He banked them for later. Shadow Extraction prompt bloomed violet:
> Target viable – Combine with damaged Shadow [Arachnid Knight] to create Knight-Class Shadow "Tauros"?
He confirmed. Darkness surged, knitting bull and spider into a centaur-like monstrosity bearing spiked gauntlets—twice Arachnid's mass. Knight-class aura radiated loyalty.
Kazuki rocked back on heels, wiped ash from fringe, and grinned. Sewer hunts had perks.
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| Gremory Balcony, 02:03 hrs
Rias waited, a fresh pot of Darjeeling wafting steam between them. Kazuki arrived via stairwell—balanced; Shadow Step made him woozy post-battle. He reported the kill, omitting XP figures but noting the new knight-shadow. Rias listened, eyes gleaming like twin dusk stars.
"You fought alone against a high-class stray and returned without limp." She poured tea. "Either you're reckless or destined."
"Reckless tends to survive longer with training," he answered, accepting the cup.
She bit her lip, decision forming. "Open the envelope."
Wax cracked. A single silver key lay inside, branded with a stylized R. "Guest-suite key," she explained, cheeks tinting rose. "For post-patrol showers, heated meals, or… conversation. Not a symbol of ownership—only trust."
Warmth—not devil fire, not fallen light, something kinder—rose beneath his sternum. "I'd be honoured."
A comfortable hush settled as they sipped, city lights glittering below. Finally Rias teased, "Next time invite me to that sewer finale; spoils of battle taste better shared."
Kazuki laughed, the sound rolling genuine and light across the night. Shadow Level-Up meter: 52/550, but another bar—thin, crimson, labelled only in his heart—clicked forward too.
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4 | System Log (Private)
LEVEL 8 | Stat Pts Unspent: 4
New Skill • Shadow Storage Lv1 – store or retrieve non-living items through shadow pocket (capacity: 50 kg, range: 3 m)
Promotion • Arachnid Knight ➜ Knight-Class "Tauros" (strength-type)
Total Shadows: 3
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Chapter 5 closes with Kazuki standing on Gremory balcony, silver key warm in his fist, unaware that elsewhere a lone necromancer feels his minotaur vanish and swears vengeance—fuel for the next stray arc.
End of Chapter 5
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