Disclaimer: Just in case nobody realized I don't own nor do I claim ownership of Highschool DxD, all characters and worlds belong to their real world respective owners. I'm just having some fun, that's all.
Highschool DxD: The Cursed King of Kuoh
S1 Ch 8: Disciplining a Bad Dog
Away from the Occult Research Club in Sukuna's estate, Ura was hard at work preparing her master his next meal. Stainless steel gleamed under the soft lighting, reflecting the dark granite countertops. The air was thick with the rich, savory aroma of roasting meat and subtle herbs.
Ura, who'd changed out of her scandalous kimono into a simple black dress and white apron, moved with practiced grace. She was completely focused on the centerpiece of their dinner: a massive clay-encased thigh, slow-roasted to perfection. While an impatient Sukuna waited at the head of the table.
She carried the steamy dish on a large, ornate silver platter to the mahogany dining room table. The clay casing, hardened by the intense heat, was dark brown and cracked, promising the tender treasure held within. Next, she brought a bottle of well aged deep ruby red pinot noir, the label indicating an extraordinary price and vintage.
Sukuna, still dressed in his maroon italian suit, watched the preparations with an eager glint in his eyes.
Ura placed the platter before him with a flourish. She then used the cooking mallet and with a theatrical flourish, she brought the hammer down on the clay. As she hammered down the center of the clay encased meal she gently placed the hammer down and began breaking the shells away from the meal.
The clay fell away, revealing the thigh of meat, dark brown and glistening, with steam billowing out in a fragrant cloud.
"The clay seals in all the moisture, Master," Ura explained, her voice soft as she began to slice the meat. "It ensures a truly succulent flavor in the meat."
She used a razor-sharp carving knife to cut thin, delicate slices, each falling onto the platter. The meat was so tender it barely offered any resistance. She then drizzled the portions with rich, dark plum sauce before pouring a generous measure of the expensive red wine into a crystal glass for him.
As commanded, Ura then poured her own glass and finally took the seat next to him on his right.
"Please, enjoy, Master."
Sukuna wasted no time. He picked up a slice with his fork and brought it to his mouth. His eyes widened slightly in sincere appreciation.
"Yum," he hummed, savoring the complex flavors. "The fat rendering is perfect. It simply melts in your mouth, and the plum sauce-the sweetness cuts the savory richness beautifully."
Ura took a bite herself, closing her eyes in momentarily shared appreciation.
"Indeed. The texture is divine. The slow roasting allows the collagen to break down completely, leaving the meat perfectly tender.
They were both foodies, finding common ground in the detailed analysis of flavor and texture. A brief moment of gourmet shared pleasure.
As they ate, the conversation naturally drifted back to the day's events.
"The principal." Sukuna said, as he swirled the deep red wine in his glass. "A pathetic little man. He reeked of incompetence and masochism. I suppose the devils would enjoy keeping their puppets tightly controlled."
"He is merely a placeholder, Master," Ura replied, dabbing her mouth with a linen napkin.
"And the devils?" Sukuna asked as he took another bite of meat. "The King, Sona Sitri shows some promise but she is far too obsessed with order. It makes her boring an utter stick in the mud. While her queen is far too uptight."
"They are young and far too nervous about managing their fledgling territory. Though as you say, Master, they have potential well the Queen and the King that is."
Sukuna shrugged as he leaned back.
"I don't feel one way or the other about them. They are weak right now, but their structure is interesting. The idea of the Evil Pieces I have to say is a clever idea for enhancement and increasing their population."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Honestly, becoming a devil through those pieces would probably enhance me further, maybe even unlock more of my potential. I don't fear the change or the idea of tapping into that power." He paused, a flicker of genuine disdain crossing his face. "But I cannot bring myself to even consider the idea of answering to someone weaker than me. And both of those brats are without a doubt weaker than me."
Ura nodded, understanding his core philosophy of his character. Sovereignty was everything to him.
"I assume you've spoken to Upper Management about this?" Sukuna asked.
"They contact me when they feel the need, Master, not the other way around," Ura informed him before sipping her wine. "They'll speak only when they believe it's necessary. The lords work in mysterious ways as your species says."
"I suppose," he shrugged unbothered.
The meal was winding down. Sukuna finished the last slice of meat and drank the last of his glass.
"Right. Enough talk of paperwork and weaklings," he said as he pushed his chair back. "I need one last challenge before my first day tomorrow. I need to tame my first Shikigami: the Divine Dogs."
Ura's eyes brightened up with interest.
"An excellent choice, Master. They are loyal and quite powerful, and will be quite useful in the coming days.
"Indeed. But you know the rules," Sukuna stated. "I can't fight them inside the base boundaries if I want to tame them. It would be considered outside interference, and I want them to submit to my power, not the base's."
"Of course," Ura agreed, gathering up the dinner plates. "The surrounding woods are vast and untamed. Plenty of space for a popper ritual."
Sukuna agreed, a familiar excitement thrumming through him. He stood up stretching out the muscles that had been cramped by the tedious day.
"Good. I'm going to change into something more appropriate for a contest of strength than this suit."
He then gave Ura a mischievous look.
"Leave the leftovers out and keep them warm. We're about to get two very loyal, very hungry pets."
Ura watched his retreating back as he walked toward his master bedroom, a soft smile growing on her face. She began efficiently cleaning up the remains of the delicious meal, the clatter of silverware against china was the only sound coming from the luxurious kitchen.
o-O-o
Sukuna and Ura traveled deeper into the mountains away from Kuoh Town, the oppressive stillness of the wilderness quickly replacing the distant hum of civilization. They moved quickly, using Sukuna's mastery of the Shadow Travel to bypass the devil king's sensors, arriving in an isolated clearing high in the remote peaks.
The air was sharp and cold, carrying the clean earthy scent of pine and damp moss. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves in the high wind, and the occasional distant cry of an unseen animal. The Moon's light casting long violet shadows across the rough uneven terrain.
Sukuna had changed into his combat attire: a sleeveless white kimono top, edged in black, with a sleeveless black undershirt beneath. He wore matching pants, black sandals, and a thick black martial art belt cinched the kimono top together. The look was minimal, practical, and lethal.
Before commencing the ritual, Sukuna turned to Ura, his eyes dead serious.
"You will not interfere," he commanded, his voice carrying the absolute authority of a master. "This is a test of my strength. These dogs will submit to my power and no one else's."
Ura's beautiful features were etched with concern.
"Master, they will be enhanced by the Celestial System. They will not be the same Shikigami you read about."
"I know," Sukuna said, shrugging off the warning. "That's the point."
She hesitated, her worry evident.
"What if they kill you?"
Sukuna's gaze was hard and unwavering, yet utterly detached.
"Then that's all I was worth."
Ura lowered her head, a deep, reluctant bow.
"Understood, Master. I will obey."
He turned away from her and focused on the ritual. He placed his hands together and formed the proper hand seal, drawing massive amounts of Cursed Energy from his core. The air around him shimmered, growing heavy and oppressive.
"With this sacred shadow, I summon my trail!" Sukuna intoned, his voice booming across the desolate clearing.
From the deepest shadow pooled beneath the surrounding trees, two massive forms began to form. Just as Ura had warned, these were no ordinary shikigami. The two Divine Dogs were the size of five foot tall dire wolves, made entirely of living, swirling darkness. Their eyes were twin points of glowing crimson, devoid of pupils, radiating pure malevolence. The very embodiment of predatory shadow.
The two dire wolves materialized fully letting out low, guttural growls that vibrated in Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna didn't wait. He dropped into his fighting stance, his body tensing like a coiled spring. He immediately flared his Cursed Energy, reinforcing his entire body. The air around him cracked with latent power.
The dogs attacked simultaneously, moving faster than any animal should. Sukuna met them head on, his enhanced strength allowing him to batter the first one away with a devastating kick into a nearby tree, while launching a barrage of razor sharp, invisible slashes with Dismantle at the second.
The second dog, however, didn't try to block. It dove instantly into the shadow cast by the moon, becoming completely incorporeal as it merged with the shadows. The first one mirrored the second's actions, melting into the darkness at the base of a nearby pine tree.
Sukuna found himself alone in the clearing. He leaped high onto a large branch of a nearby evergreen, looking around, his four eyes scanning the growing darkness. He extended his Cursed Energy, trying to sense the incorporeal forms, but they were cloaked perfectly by the abundant darkness and the enhancements granted by the Celestial System.
*Rustle* *Rustle*
Suddenly, a massive black maw appeared beneath his feet, erupting from the shadows directly on the branch. It lunged for his waist. Sukuna reacted instantly, launching himself backward into the air just in time.
While he was still airborne, the second dog manifested from the trunk of a massive oak tree, intercepting him mid-flight. It slammed its full, enormous weight into Sukuna, driving him hard into the rocky ground.
Before Sukuna could recover, the Divine Dog's fangs sank deep into his right collarbone.
"AAAGH!"
A sharp, raw yell of pain tore from Sukuna's throat, as blood instantly poured from the wound, staining the white kimono crimson.
"That's not a chew toy you fucking mutt!" He shouted, half sarcastic, half furious.
He squeezed the dog's sides with his powerful arms while simultaneously activating Cleave just beneath his grasp. The dog was blasted away, its body tumbling across the clearing, releasing his shoulder.
Sukuna scrambled to his feet, a low growl rumbling in his own chest. He activated Restoration, the gaping wound closing rapidly, the pain receding.
"Definitely, stronger than the Stray bug from before."
Suddenly, the second dog, having recovered, attempted to bite him from behind through his shadow. Sukuna whipped around, his speed blinding, and grabbed it by its throat. He hoisted the massive beast into the air, pulling it completely away from the ground and the surrounding shadows before it could disappear again.
The dog snapped its jaws at him, its crimson eyes burning with hatred. Sukuna smirked, a cruel, triumphant curve on his lips.
"That shit only works once, mutt."
*Crack*
With a swift, brutal movement, he snapped its neck clean. The dog instantly went limp, its massive body hanging heavy in his grip, before he dropped it to the ground.
"One down," he said, breathing slightly heavy.
Rustle Rustle
He turned his head toward the deeper, darker part of the forest, expecting the remaining dog to emerge which it did. The second dire wolf came walking out slowly, its massive form radiating cold bloodlust and hate. Sukuna adjusted his stance, smirking for the final confrontation.
But then, something unexpected happened.
The first dead dog began to dissolve. Its massive body didn't fade; instead, it unraveled into thick, roiling shadow tendrils that snaked across the ground like snakes. The tendrils surged forward to the second divine dog, wrapping around its legs and body.
Sukuna watched, genuinely shocked, as the second dire wolf began to absorb the essence and mass of its fallen counterpart.The remaining dog began to grow, swelling to a ridiculous, monstrous height, close to twenty feet tall. It was pure, living shadow, blacker than the night sky, now possessing four glowing crimson eyes with no pupils. The creature let out a terrifying, echoing roar. One that shook the very trees of the forest.
Sukuna felt a prickle of unease, but the thrill of the fight immediately took over. He refused to back down. A wide, manic grin stretched across his face as he readied his stance for round two.
"Now that's more like it," he muttered, his Cursed Energy flaring in anticipation.
The monolithic Divine Dog, now a colossal titan of shadow and rage, lunged. Its massive form moved with the speed of a runaway truck, tearing up the earth as it charged.
Sukuna met the charge, knowing a direct hit would be catastrophic, even with Reincforcement. He sidestepped the initial rush, delivering a devastating reinforced punch to the dog's side, a blow that would have instantly shattered a normal creature's ribs.
The dog merely roared and spun, its huge shadowy maw snapping at his legs. Sukuna leaped back, but the dog was too fast, and too large. It caught his left arm, tearing it clean off at the shoulder.
Blood prayed across the clearing. Sukuna barely flinched, even as the pain registered as a white hot spike. He immediately activated Restoration, the complex Reverse Cured Technique consuming a significant portion of his energy as bone and muscle knit back together, regrowing the limb in a matter of seconds.
"Fast, but predictable,' Sukuna grunted, already launching a series of Dismantle slashes towards the massive dog's head.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The dog, proving as elusive as a shadow, didn't try to block. It simply dipped, merging with the ground's shadow, becoming momentarily incorporeal. It reappeared twenty feet away, its four crimson eyes locking onto Sukuna's with renewed fury.
This pattern repeated several times. Sukuna would attack, landing powerful blows that tore chunks of living shadow from the beast, only for the dog to retreat into the shadows and regenerate, forcing Sukuna to constantly deplete his energy regrowing torn limbs and healing bites.
"This is annoying!" Sukuna roared, realizing he wasn't going to win a battle of attrition against a creature that could constantly disappear and regenerate.
He stopped fighting defensively and began to run, speeding through the forest. The hound gave immediate chase, its heavy paws crushing the undergrowth beneath it.
As Sukuna sped past the giant evergreen trees, he started throwing out targeted Dismantle slashes at their trunks.
Shing! Crack!*
The massive trees groaned and swayed before falling with earth shaking crashes, falling directly on the raging beast.
The combined Divine Dog, however, seemed only to grow angrier. It crushed the wood with its immense paws and teeth, before resuming the pursuit. Its speed undiminished.
Sukuna led the chase toward the edge of the clearing, where a wide, open expanse of exposed granite rock face reflected the moon's light offering no shadows for the beast to exploit or hide in.
Finally, he stopped, turning to face the monster. Now that its healing and escape routes were neutralized, the real fight could begin.
The beast lunged, swiping and biting with blinding speed. Sukuna dodged, his movements fluid and precise, a dance of death. He was bleeding from a dozen minor cuts, but his focus was absolute. He unleashed a sustained barrage of Cleaves, powerful, focused slashes meant to tear through durable objects.
Kick! Shing! Dodge!
He cut into its flanks, its legs, its head. The living shadow flickered and tore, but the beast refused to give up, roaring its defiance, snapping its jaws inches from Sukuna's face.
Sukuna knew he was running on fumes. He needed a final, decisive blow. Gathering the last reserves of his Cursed Energy, he jumped high into the air, leaping nearly fifty feet above the clearing.
He focused the entirety of his remaining power into his right foot, raising it high above his head for a devastating ax kick.
"You stupid Mutt! It's time for you to SIT!" He bellowed, his voice laced with raw power.
He brought his reinforced heel down with the force of a meteor strike, aiming squarely for the center of the Divine Dog's enormous head.
BOOM!
The impact was seismic. The air rushed out of the dog's body, and the massive creature collapsed instantly, its head hitting the granite with a dull thud. The four crimson eyes flickered once, then went dark. The beast wasn't dead, just knocked out cold.
The colossal shadow form immediately began to dissolve, shrinking rapidly until it became two distinct, and small shadow dogs lying on the ground.
A system alert immediately echoed in Sukuna's mind.
Alert: Shikigami Submission Complete. Divine Dogs have submitted to the user's will. User may use them however they see fit once they recover.
Sukuna stood panting, his body skating with exhaustion, blood coating his once white outfit. He felt a dizzying rush of power, not just from the submission, but the brutal fight as well.
Ura arrived mere moments later, sprinting across the clearing, her eyes wide with fear and relief.
"Master! Are you alright?!"
"Fine," Sukuna gasped, wiping the sweat and blood from his brow. "Just tired."
As he spoke, he felt a powerful surge of energy flooding his system, the reward from pushing himself beyond his limits.
Alert: Skill Level up
[Cursed Energy Output] - Level 4
[Innate Technique Shrine Technique 2 Cleave] - Level 2
[Reverse Curse Technique 1 Restoration]- Level 4
Then came the new notifications, signaling the unlocked deeper powers of his system.
Alert: New Skills Unlocked
~Innate Technique Shrine Technique 3 Spiderweb Level 1: A slashing attack that creates an interlock web of dozens of cleaves that adjust itself depending on the target's toughness and magical energy to cut them down though can be used to destroy inorganic matter as well.
~Reverse Curse Technique 2 Auto Heal Level 1: Allows the user to use RCT with much more efficiency allowing them to heal injuries and regrow limbs unconsciously while expending little energy.
"We're done here," Sukuna finally said after he finished gaining the last of his new abilities. The two unconscious shadow dogs were absorbed into his shadow.
He then focused his intents, opening a portal of swirling darkness beneath their feet using Shadow Travel.
"We're going home, Ura." He commanded as he stepped into the portal
"Yes, Master." She responded, immediately following her master through the portal.
With a final silent flick of wind they were gone, leaving the heavily damaged forest behind.
A/N: If you like this story and what to read ahead chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are already available for Patrons.
Just go to to Google and type in RoguePrince69 and click the link then enjoy.