Chapter 1: The Sketch of a New World
I opened my eyes, and for a moment, the world was nothing but a blur of star-violet light and the smell of old parchment. When the haze cleared, I wasn't in my cramped apartment anymore. I was lying in a field of grass that felt like silk, under a sky so blue it looked painted.
I sat up, my movements fluid and effortless. I felt… clean. The mental fog, the exhaustion of a mundane life, the literal weight of a human soul—it was all gone. In its place was a cold, humming clarity.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Void-Ink Pen. It was heavier than it looked, its obsidian surface swirling with trapped nebulae.
"DxD," I whispered.
The name felt like a secret password. I knew this world. I knew the red-haired princess, the perverted dragon boy, and the endless, tiring war between the Three Factions. But I also knew the "System" that governed them. It was a machine designed to turn souls into soldiers.
I stood up, spinning the pen between my fingers. "Let's see if I'm just a gear in the machine, or the one who builds it."
I focused. I didn't reach for 'mana' or 'demonic power.' I reached for the Void. I imagined a guardian. Not a knight in armor—that was too human, too limited. I wanted a nightmare that could eat the sun if I asked it to.
I pointed the nib of the pen at my own shadow.
"Wake up, Yoggy."
I didn't draw a circle. I didn't chant. I simply intended for it to exist.
The ground didn't just shake; it groaned. Ink-black liquid erupted from the earth, thick and viscous, defying gravity as it rose into a towering pillar. Then, the eyes opened. Hundreds of them—amber, violet, and blood-red—blinking in the dark mass as it took the shape of a many-eyed, shifting horror.
The air around us turned to ice. The pressure was so immense that the trees nearby began to snap like toothpicks.
[...Master...] The voice resonated in my soul, a frequency that would have shattered a normal human's mind. But to me, it was music. It was 100% loyalty, wrapped in cosmic terror.
I felt no drain. No exhaustion. I could have created ten more just like him without breaking a sweat. The "limit" the original Annihilation Maker had? It was gone. I was the Sovereign of this ink.
I looked toward the horizon, where I could feel the faint, flickering pulses of the Gremory and Sitri territories. They were like candles in a hurricane.
"Serafina," I murmured, and a silver-haired woman in a monochrome dress stepped out from behind the monster, bowing with a grace that made the world look clumsy.
"Yes, Master Caelum?"
"The house is finished. The tea is ready. Let's wait for the 'Main Characters' to arrive," I said, a small, cold smile tugging at my lips. "I think they're going to find that the Third Way is a very, very lonely place for anyone who isn't invited."
In the old school building, Rias Gremory froze. The tea cup in her hand trembled, a single drop of liquid spilling onto the table.
"President?" Akeno Himejima's voice was sharp. She had felt it too—a cold, numbing sensation that made the lightning in her veins feel sluggish.
"Something just... entered the territory," Rias whispered, her brow furrowed. She looked toward the western forest. "It's like a piece of the world was just deleted and replaced with something else."
Behind them, Issei Hyoudou was clutching his left arm, his face pale. "Ddraig is going crazy, Buchou. He's... he's growling. He says something 'Wrong' just woke up."
Rias stood up, her crimson hair glowing with a faint, dangerous light. "Koneko, Kiba, Issei. We're moving."
They reached the clearing ten minutes later, but they didn't find a monster or a battlefield. They found a Victorian manor that looked as though it had grown out of the earth like a jagged tooth. It was beautiful, silent, and radiated a "neutrality" that was more terrifying than any demonic aura.
The Victorian manor didn't just sit on the hill; it seemed to hold the land hostage.
Rias Gremory stopped at the edge of the property, her expression neutral but her eyes scanning every stone of the architecture. Beside her, Akeno stayed silent, her usual playful smile replaced by a focused, analytical gaze.
"It's beautiful," Rias murmured, though her hand remained near the crest on her blazer. "But it shouldn't be here. Akeno, did the Sitri territory reports mention any land acquisitions in this sector?"
"None, Buchou," Akeno replied softly. "According to the records, this is still municipal forest. And yet... the ley lines are bending toward that front door."
Issei took a step forward, his Dragon Hand twitching. "Something feels weird, President. It's like the air is too quiet."
As they crossed the invisible boundary of the estate, the shadows beneath the porch pillars began to ripple. Slowly, a massive, many-eyed entity coalesced. It didn't roar or lunge; it simply occupied the space, a silent wall of cosmic ink that stood between them and the house.
Rias didn't flinch. She took a half-step forward, her posture perfect. "I am Rias Gremory, daughter of the House of Gremory and the current overseer of this territory," she announced, her voice clear and resonant. There was no anger in her tone, only the weight of her standing. "To the Master of this house: we mean no harm, but your presence here is an anomaly. We wish to speak."
The front door opened with a heavy, wooden click.
Serafina stepped out, performing a perfect, 45-degree bow—the kind of etiquette only seen in the highest circles of the Underworld. "The Master is expecting you, Gremory-sama. He apologizes for the... unsettling nature of his guardian. It is a creature of instinct, not malice."
Rias's eyes flickered to the maid, noting the silver eyes that held no reflection. "A well-trained household," Rias noted, her voice steady. "Very well. Lead the way."
She gestured for her peerage to stay alert but told them to lower their guard. She walked up the steps with the grace of a true noble, her crimson hair flowing behind her.
I was sitting in a high-backed leather chair in the drawing room, idly spinning the obsidian pen. When they entered, I didn't stand up immediately. I just watched them.
Rias stopped three paces from me, her eyes meeting mine. She didn't look threatened; she looked curious, as if she were solving a puzzle.
"You have a very unique signature," Rias said, her tone polite but firm. "It doesn't register as Devil, Angel, or Fallen. Yet, you've built a sanctuary in the heart of my territory overnight. I believe an explanation is in order, don't you think?"
I stopped the pen. "Punctual and polite. The stories didn't do you justice, Rias Gremory."
I gestured to the empty chairs. "Please, sit. Serafina has prepared tea. We have a lot to discuss about why I've decided to make this corner of the world my own."