Highschool DxD : The Time Devil

Chapter 14- Devil's Gameplan: Surviving in a World of Gods and Demons

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I had several plans to prepare for. Since I'm ten right now, that means I've already spent half my time before the start of the plot, which will kick in around when I'm twenty. Even though I've changed many things here and there, and most probably the "plot" would be too different to even relate to, the core plot still marks the beginning of chaos, as Issei was mostly stuck between events and was not the starter of them, so they would still happen if Issei didn't exist, of course not all events, but most would still take place. So, I have to be as ready as possible for the upcoming future.

Now, I've never considered myself particularly brave, and I'm definitely not the protagonist type. So, the smartest thing I could do is plan for every scenario, including the worst cases. To be perfectly honest, my current strength is already enough to guarantee my survival—except for a few situations—but there are several real threats ahead. For instance, there's Trihexa, and then, of course, the ExE invasion, which is way worse, and even if I may be able to survive them, I have come to love my new life quite a lot. Though I can't say I have many friends...well, Lavinia counts as one, but I care a lot about my family, oh, and Rias too, and I am not completely sure I'll be able to protect them all with my current strength.

Given my race and its genealogy, my potential maxes out at the super devil level, maybe higher, though no one's ever actually reached that point. And then there are our classic racial weaknesses, like holy light and all that, which need to be worked on. Heck, we couldn't even talk about the Biblical God freely. "Ughhh...damn," I groaned as I felt the pain in my head from mentioning God, "I seriously have to do something about this...even with all my strength and defense, if this can hurt me, there's probably some backhand of the....big G, in controlling or atleast a final measure against the entire devil race..... it's like having a bomb within....well my fiest research topic is probably gonna be this." I thought seriously as it could be possibly my biggest weakness.

Reaching the super devil level wouldn't even be enough for something like Trihexa… let alone the ExE gods. Those guys could kill Great Red, the strongest being in our universe, with ease, which, honestly, does scare me a little because, for the current me, I can't even hope to fight against Great Red, and it was K/O'd by ExE gods.

That basically means that if I want to survive, I'll have to break through the limits of my universe. To be honest, with the right planning, I might be able to push my space-time powers to a level where I'd surpass anyone here. But I can't be totally sure of that yet. So, once again, I'll have to rely on what I'm best at: research. It might take some time, but luckily, time isn't exactly an issue for me.

I could just create a new time-space dimension where time works differently, cutting off my body's connection to the dimension and leaving only my soul in there. I could even make a puppet as a carrier for my soul while I focus on research. That way, I could spend a thousand years in research without wasting any of my own actual time—or my body aging. Though, maybe a thousand years is overkill… a hundred years… Nah, ten would do. I am a genius, after all, and spending too long alone can't be good for my mental health. I am not a cultivator who can meditate straight for millions of years. Huh...maybe that's why they kill anyone who annoys them even a little.

With that plan settled in my mind, I walked out of my room, headed to Lavinia's room, and said, "Hey, Lavinia, let's go visit Rias. Oh, and bring Seekvaira along too." What, you thought I'd rush off to set up a lab and start experimenting? Nah, the ExE gods won't be here for decades, and I'm confident enough about handling Trihexa when the time comes. That doesn't mean I'm overconfident, though—I'm no fool. I'm not fighting any battle unless I'm 100 percent sure I can win it, but yeah, I am confident that I would be ready. Besides, the problem would start only after I reach super devil level. Right now, I haven't even reached my top potential, so worrying too much is useless.

A few minutes later, Lavinia and Seekvaira joined me, and we headed to Rias's place together. After all, there's more to life than just training and planning for doomsday, right?

When we got there, Rias was already waiting, looking excited to see us. (We had already texted her before coming.) "Finally! I was getting really bored," she said, giving a mock pout.

"Bored, huh? Well, we're here to fix that," I replied with a grin, taking a seat as Rias's servants brought out some snacks and drinks.

We spent a while just chatting and watching some of the shows Rias had been obsessed with lately. Honestly, some of these shows were surprisingly entertaining, even for me. Since they basically looked like cheap copies of animes from my past life....Dragon's Peaches, Zoruto, Pirate King Goofy.... honestly, I had a stomach ache just laughing at them, as it was far too funny.

Eventually, we started playing some games. Rias had set up a board game that seemed way more complicated than it needed to be, with rules that even Lavinia couldn't fully grasp at first. And believe me, she's usually the one who gets these things instantly. She might not look like it, but she's smart.

"Wait, so if I move here, does that mean I lose a point, or do I gain one?" Lavinia asked, staring at the board with a frown.

Seekvaira shrugged, clearly as lost as the rest of us. "I think it's supposed to be a bluffing game, so… maybe it's both?"

Rias laughed, enjoying our confusion. "You're all hopeless. Watch, I'll show you."

No, she didn't know anything and was just spouting bullshit while pretending to be smart...

I eventually figured out some kind of way to play that made sense, even if we probably weren't following the official rules anymore. But the laughter and little arguments over moves made it way more fun.

In the middle of a particularly heated debate on whether Seekvaira was cheating (she totally was), the door opened, and someone stepped in. The room suddenly quieted as we looked up.

It was Sirzechs Lucifer himself, standing there with his usual calm and collected expression. He glanced around the room, taking in our little gathering with a soft smile.

"Ah, I see I'm interrupting. But I thought I'd stop by and say hello," he greeted us warmly.

"Brother!!" Rias shouted excitedly upon seeing Sirzechs.

And there goes his calm and collected expression. If someone saw him now, they'd probably be thinking, "How the fuck is this guy a Satan!!!"

---end of chapter 14---