NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Death was never something I thought about much. It wasn't that I felt invincible, just… ordinary. So when it happened, it wasn't dramatic. One moment, I was crossing the street, and the next—BAM. Truck-kun did his thing. It was fast, at least. No pain. No flashes of life. Just darkness.
And then, light.
When I opened my eyes, I was staring at an opulent ceiling painted with gold trim and phoenix motifs. Confusion hit me first. Where was I? Slowly sitting up, I noticed the luxurious room—silk sheets, ornate furniture, a massive mirror hanging on one wall. What kind of five-star suite was this? I reached up to rub my head, but froze.
"What the hell?" I muttered. My voice wasn't my own. It was deeper, smoother, with a faint arrogant edge that wasn't there before.
[System initializing… loading data… complete.]
A digital screen popped into existence before me, glowing faintly blue. I gawked. It floated there like something straight out of a video game.
[Welcome to your new life as Riser Phenex, host! The System is here to guide you.]
"Riser who?" I frowned, the name tickling at my memory. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I groaned. High School DxD. The arrogant, pompous Phenex heir. The punching bag for Issei Hyoudou's rise to power. That Riser.
[Correct! You have been reborn as Riser Phenex. Your task: rewrite the story of this world. The System will assist you in achieving your goals.]
"Rewrite the story?" I repeated, my head spinning. "Why me?"
[You were chosen at random. Congratulations!]
"Lucky me," I muttered sarcastically. A mirror caught my eye, and I turned to face it. There he was: Riser Phenex, in all his smug glory. Blonde hair slicked back, golden eyes radiating self-importance, and that godforsaken smirk.
"Nope. Not happening. I can't walk around looking like this. He looks like a third-rate villain."
[Host has one free appearance change available. Would you like to use it?]
"Hell yes," I said without hesitation. Images and sliders popped up, allowing me to customize my look. A grin spread across my face as inspiration struck. If I was going to rewrite Riser's story, I might as well do it with style.
"Make me look like Alucard from Castlevania," I said. "But do it gradually. I don't want anyone freaking out."
[Processing… Transformation set to progress over several days. Changes will occur subtly.]
I glanced at the mirror. Already, the smirk was gone, replaced by a more neutral, enigmatic expression. Good. I could work with this.
[The System introduces the Gacha mechanic! Dialy you can use this feature to draw a random reward. To start out, you've received a free Gacha box. Opening now…]
Five items materialized in the air before me, each desplayed in a floating card with their description on display.
Summon Card Pack – A pack of 10 cards that allow you to summon anyone or anybeast from any universe, those summoned by you are loyal to you alone.
Mera Mera no Mi – The Mera Mera no Mi is a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to create, control, and transform into fire at will.
Skill Rune: Voice of the Ruler – A power common among Rulers, by infusing your voice with power, you can command others to do your will.
Skill Rune: Ruler's Authority – A power common among Rulers, granting the ability to control physical items without actual contact.
D.N.A Vial: Anos Voldigoad – Consuming the liquid in the vial, grants the drinker the abilities of the Demon Lord, Anos Voldigoad.
I stared at the items, as I reached up as my hands moved inside the card containing the Mera Mera no Mi and I could feel it in my hand as I pulled it out and looked at the orange and red fire looking fruit.
[Consume the Mera Mera no Mi?]
Wow I guess that makes things alot simpliar than actually eating the fruit.
"Yes," I said, and the fruit vanished into a burst of flames. A rush of power coursed through me as descriptions of my new abilities flashed across the System screen.
[Congrat's you have consumed the Mera Mera no Mi, you have been granted the abilities of the Devil Fruit. Your control over fire has rose, several new abilities have been unlocked.]
Next, I grabbed the DNA Vial.
[Consume DNA Vial: Anos Voldigoad?]
"Hell yes." The vial dissolved in my hand, and a deep, resonant energy filled me. My body felt heavier and lighter at the same time, as if the world itself bent to my will.
[You have been granted the abilities of Anos Voldigoad.]
"Okay, this is awesome," I said, flexing my fingers. "With Anos's power I will be quite powerful."
[Would you like to use the Character Summon Deck now?]
"Not yet," I replied. "I need to figure out the lay of the land first."
Later that week, I was summoned to the family dining room. Sitting at the long table were Riser's parents, his little sister Ravel, and his peerage. They all turned to look at me as I entered.
I had gone through Riser's memories and it seems that there are several differeances than in the anime. First off being that it was just me and Ravel, and our parents that made up the Phenex Clan. Second was that most of the other devils looked down on us because of what Ruval. He had later died during the Faction War causing the title of Heir naturally to fall to me, like the anime Riser had the same Peerage, nasty attitude and same morals. If I was to become the next Lord of the Phenex I was going to make sureto do it my way, I will need to spread and grow the influence of the Phenex Clan and that meant that I will take on several wives and grow the Clan in power until everyone bows to us.
"Brother, you look alittle different," Ravel said, tilting her head. Already the changes were starting, already I had grown from 5'11 to 6'0, I had gained some muscles and my hair had grown longer. Checking with the System, I was 60% complete with my transformation only about four weeks left before my body completly changes. In the past week that passed I had trained my new powers.
First of the Devil Fruit that I had consumed has inhances my Hell Fire. I could control a godly amount of flames and could heal twice as fast as before. I could control any fire, mold it to my use. Could transform into fire itself... something that I took a painful amount of time to reconstruct so that when I turned into fire it was into the form of a flaming bird.
Now Anos's powers had changed in this new world, with Origin Magic it rewrote itself to fit the magic of this world. Certain spells I had to rewrite and recreate to fit the worlds narrative, though when all was said and done... I had completly rewrote the very foundation of this worlds magic. I was the origin of it all, would any believe that the once arrogant and lustful Riser now controlled magic itself? Probably not, but this did not mean that I planned to hold back.
"Do I? Well thank you." I smiled as I made it looklike I was thinking before speaking up. "I've made some decisions, I'm giving my peerage to you, Ravel."
Gasps echoed around the room.
"What?" Ravel asked, her eyes wide. "Why?"
"Because you have earned the right to lead your own team," I said simply. "But do not worry I will help you out if you ever need it."
My father's brows furrowed. "Riser, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, I actually have several people in mind for a brand new Peerage." I responded as I sat down.
"Very well, I shall have a new Peerage Set, send to your room later when we finish transfering your Peerage to your sister." My Fathe responded. "Now, have you been preparing for your engagment to Rias Gremory? We need to make sure that our family flurishes."
"No I have not but I shall get it done. And speaking of the matter of our family, I have decided to take Ravel as one of my wives. I want to keep our family pure, and I believe that I can be a better husband for her than some pathetic nobel devil." I respoded, Father and Mother looked at each other as if to have some silent conversation before looking at Ravel.
"The choice is your sisters." Mother muttered. "We are devils, inbreeding is very common."
We looked to Ravel who looked down. "I... I'm okay with it."
I just smile and stand up having done what I needed to as I walked out of the room.
[Congrats, you have changed Ravel's future as Issei's Bishop. You earned +100 points]
[Congrats, you have changed Ravel's future as a member of Issei's harem. You earned +100 points]