Highschool DxD : The Time Devil

Chapter 20- Bringing Back a Witch

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"Okay, then from now on, you will follow me. I'll make you a part of my peerage in less than two years, when I get my evil pieces at age 12. For now, I'm on a world trip with some of my family, so you'll be joining us. Since America is just the first destination, the trip has barely begun. Instead of sending you to the Underworld or leaving you here, it's better for you to come along." We were already traveling in a large group, and Rias and the others probably wouldn't mind Zephine joining us, I specifically mentioned my age there to curb her evil thoughts.

Zephine would be a great addition to my peerage, though her combat potential wasn't too high. She might reach the peak of the ultimate level with my proper guidance, but achieving satan level would be difficult for her. Her potential also depended on the piece I chose to reincarnate her with. My initial plan was to give her a pawn piece, but her Sacred Gear had made me reconsider. It was perfect for her to be my lab assistant, second only to Lavinia in importance. Now, I was considering giving her a bishop piece. I planned to recruit pawns later, as the number of pieces required for reincarnation depended on the king's strength. By being stronger when reincarnating pawns, I might be able to use just one piece for individuals who would usually require more.

My plans for my peerage were detailed, but I also wanted a full complement of pieces. Perhaps I was greedy, but greed fuels ambition. Just as necessity drives growth, greed drives excess—and more is always better. I had countless plans for my life. Perhaps the most important of them was to shed my pure devil status after reaching the super devil level. I had some ideas for advancing beyond that, but they would require experimental materials: a few demigods, some gods, and a handful of evil gods. All were necessary for my goals.

The status of a pure devil truly didn't mean much to me, sure devils had a much higher lower limit than humans, but our upper limit was limited, and it was only after the death of the biblical god that our condition improved, but even now, devils have way too many weaknesses, and they needed to be curbed, I was extra careful about not leaving any weakness, mistakes or loopholes, especially after my experiment failure in my last time...indeed death truly does teach us a lot....It's just that not many get to apply what we learn from it.

I aimed to combine my devil powers with divinity, theorizing a state beyond super devil level—what I called the Devil God level. Attaining divinity was the first challenge, for which I needed gods as experimental subjects. To study the merging of divinity with other races, I required demigods, which I already had. Since devils were considered inherently evil, I also needed to study evil gods, as there might be similarities to explore. From my understanding of the original work, I had another goal in mind: the snakes that Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, gave to her subordinates in the Khaos Brigade. Infinity was what I planned to incorporate as my original divinity before combining it with my devil powers.

Infinity would not only complement my space-time manipulation but also significantly amplify my abilities. I personally believed that Ophis's use of infinity was crude and inefficient. I was confident I could surpass her. Of course, all of this required meticulous planning and a bit of luck. For experimental subjects, I already knew the perfect place: Africa. It was home to countless tribal gods and several evil gods, often overlooked by the major powers. Capturing a few of them wouldn't offend anyone significant. While I also considered the Hindu pantheon, their top echelon was untouchable for now. I doubted even Sirzechs could hold his own against Shiva, given their respective destruction powers.

Thus, caution was essential. I wasn't a fighter or a hero. I never considered myself brave, nor did I crave widespread recognition. You might call me a coward, but I believe true victory lies in outliving your opponents. If needed, I would take everyone I cared about and hide in a dimension. I wasn't a savior aiming to protect everyone—my priority was myself and those I held dear. Besides, since the world of Highschool DxD existed, other fictional worlds might exist too, and I wanted to explore them. My space-time powers were perfect for such endeavors, especially when combined with infinity.

But enough overthinking. At least in this life, I didn't blank out while lost in thought like I used to in my previous life—a habit that had critically hurt my communication skills. Now, I could ponder anything, anytime. Space-time manipulation for the win!

"A world tour?! That sounds amazing! I've never been out of America. Are we going to Europe too? I've always wanted to visit there. Oh, and also India and Japan! I've heard about so many kinds of magic in India, and as for Japan, I've always been an anime fan," she babbled excitedly.

"Well, we'll certainly visit those places. It wouldn't be much of a world trip otherwise. We're not aliens exploring Earth that we'd only visit the USA. Though technically, we might be… since I'm a devil and we live in the Underworld. So, I guess you could call us aliens. But yes, we'll definitely go beyond the USA," I replied, my mind already distracted by the question: could devils and gods be considered aliens? Most of us didn't live on Earth, after all. It was a fascinating thought. Perhaps I should explore space for other inhabited planets in the future.

"Alright, let's go. I'll introduce you to my companions, and then we'll continue our journey. Pack up anything you want to bring. There's no need to pack clothes or essentials; we'll buy those along the way. And don't hesitate to tell me if there's something specific you'd like—I can store it in a separate space. For now, let's meet the others," I instructed.

With that, I teleported with her to a grand villa, our residence in New Orleans.

"Wow… teleporting is so convenient," Zephine murmured, awestruck. I smiled and led her inside. Lavinia was the only one in the hall, seemingly waiting for me. Though I'd mentioned it might take hours to return, she was still there… silly girl.

"Maximus! You're back! You were gone so long, and you didn't even take me with you… Sure enough, the movies are right—men are all liars. So much for promising I'd be your queen and share everything! And who's she?! Are you having an affair? Do you like older women?!" she pouted dramatically.

Sigh. Mom's a bad influence. My cute and shy Lavinia had turned to the dark side—and somehow became darker than me.

Anyways, it was time to introduce Zephine.

---End of chapter 20---