Inside a clearing, a man was throwing several punches and kicks into the air.
The man's movements were agile, yet carried within them an unsuspected strength.
The air trembled with each of his motions, until the moment he struck a tree and snapped it in two without much difficulty.
'I'm still having trouble using my Chi in sync with Kai's martial arts, but the result is already promising,' he thought to himself as he observed his power.
A week had already passed since his reincarnation in the High School DxD universe.
During all that time, Gorou led an ordinary life until he received his paid vacation authorization letter.
He had even gotten it a few days before Kaori, due to his seniority in the company.
A perk of being in the body of a man recognized as an exemplary worker.
'It's getting late; I'd better head home early today,' he thought before going to wash up in a river not far from the temple.
In one week, Gorou had undergone changes that were hard to hide from his wife.
His body had become firmer, taller, and more flexible.
His face, worn out by a grueling work pace, had smoothed out and regained energy.
So no, he hadn't suddenly rejuvenated from repeatedly expelling impurities from his body.
However, he had gained strength and vigor.
"Chi is really an interesting thing, but it won't be enough in this world," he said to himself while cleaning up in the river.
Gorou was confident in his ability to defend himself and face supernatural beings, able to rival a low-class or even mid-class devil.
Yet, deep down, he knew: He wouldn't surpass Rias and Rise's rank after completing Kai at 100%, but the ultimate-class devil level would remain hard to reach.
Many might find Gorou's estimate exaggerated, but the latter was based on solid grounds.
Issei Hyoudou could raze a hill during his training, before the match against Rias Gremory's current fiancé.
That was Issei, who had discovered the supernatural in barely two months, so totally inexperienced and without any power-up.
That's why Issei would surpass his father in terms of pure destruction as soon as he learned to use his power in a basic way.
A shocking and cruel reality, which wasn't enough to sum up the absurdity of the gap between father and son.
If Gorou took into account the imagination magic, demonic energy, and supernatural devil physique that naturally pushed Issei toward the best version of himself…
"Kai isn't weak; he was able to hurl two rocks the size of a small hill at Oogway. It's just that this world is absurd." Unconsciously, he clenched his fist.
Two hills? That wasn't enough in this universe, where the king of monsters (Typhon) could literally change an island's weather.
Yet, that creature was unilaterally defeated by Ddraig.
That's why Gorou got on his vehicle and headed back to Kuoh Town, with various thoughts in mind.
"For now, I can only rely on the System and training," he muttered while driving.
Bing!
A notification sound rang from his phone.
Gorou wanted to ignore it at first, since he was driving and didn't like being reckless. After all, unpleasant news could affect even an experienced person.
However, he quickly changed his mind.
The message came from the dark net, specifically from an information courier.
When had he contacted this man? It had happened between his training sessions and his married life.
'Finally, I'll be able to speed things up,' he thought with a smile, before replying to the courier and intermediary.
[Don't move, I'm coming to motel ### right away] Once replied, he temporarily blocked his wife and locked his phone.
He even changed the direction of his vehicle.
'Miki won't like it, but the dark net isn't just necessary for my personal growth, but also for us,' he thought before accelerating.
The dark net is a hidden side of the web, hardly accessible to the general public.
A lot of things happen there, but mostly scams and other illegal activities.
When Gorou entered it, he had three clear goals in mind:
• get in touch with the supernatural world,
• earn money,
• and gain more magical knowledge.
Even though he had chosen the martial path, Gorou didn't plan to give up the magical one.
A decision based on deep reflection, not just versatility. After all, Gorou is currently a mortal and doesn't have much time to waste on paths limited in potential.
Humans in the DxD universe aren't really the perfect example of the overpowered and independent magical human.
The most powerful among them are tied to devils through magical contracts (like Johann Georg Faust and Merlin), which restrict their freedom.
Gorou is interested in magic because he wants to learn more about his opponents and create his own tools, after mastering this art sufficiently.
For that goal, he needed money, reputation, and also a good contact in the supernatural circle.
It was in such a situation that he arrived in a rural village specialized in hot springs.
"Weird, isn't this the place Kaori-san mentioned during a conversation the other day?" Gorou was slightly surprised by the motel's location, but entered anyway.
He chalked it up to a coincidence…
"What does the dog regret?"
"Often entering the jackal's burrow."
Once arrived, Gorou gave the password indicated in his messaging to the manager.
The man at the reception narrowed his eyes at him before handing him a black key, while resuming his professional smile.
Gorou wasn't a magician and had no magical knowledge, but he could sense a strange energy emitted by the key.
'This energy is different from the two aspects within a living being that the Chi art teaches me,' he analyzed before leaving the reception.
He took the stairs and reached an ordinary hallway, which he crossed until the room at the end.
He knocked exactly seven times on the door and used the black key, as the instructions on his phone had ordered.
Silence fell, then a strange energy was emitted from the door, which finally opened.
"You got here very fast," resounded a deep voice, as Gorou found himself face to face with an imposing man.
The individual was 1.92 m tall and wore Western attire that complemented his appearance.
"From his accent, he must be Russian," Gorou thought as he entered the room.
The man didn't speak right away after his entry. He sat down on a chair and offered him a drink, but Gorou politely declined.
An act that made the man smile.
'He's cautious; that's already a good point,' he thought while eyeing Gorou from head to toe.
"What's the job?" asked Gorou, after losing two minutes in a staring contest with the Italian.
"Don't be so hasty," the man replied while lighting a cigarette after seeing his glass of alcohol.
"In this business, you have to make 'friends,' right? My name is Rasputine, and yes, it's a fake name," he declared in a calm tone.
(Image)
His voice was unpleasant, but Gorou got a bit used to it.
"You can call me BK-201 or Hei," he replied after a short pause for thought.
The man gave an approving smile before placing three photos on the table.
"You see these guys? Do whatever you want, but our client wants to receive a video of them in a state… not very saintly," he explained while looking for some documents.
He soon handed a file and a USB key to Gorou.
"There you go, you can start, my dear Hei," he added in a calm tone.
"How much is the bounty?" asked Gorou while reading the document.
"It all depends on the quality of your video, but you can make 5000 US dollars per head, and if you bring back the organs, it's even better," specified Jace, letting his malice show through.
An ordinary human might think the Russian was joking, but not Gorou. The family man, practitioner of Chi and by extension Senjutsu, immediately detected the malice in his interlocutor.
He wasn't joking, he thought as he stood up to leave the place.
Gorou asked no further questions to Rasputine and left the motel. His destination? The inn and hot springs that the targets frequented.