Highschool DXD : Gacha Life

The carriages came to a final stop in front of what could only be described as a mansion—if mansions were designed by someone with a fetish for gothic horror and an unlimited budget. The building loomed over the town square like a malevolent shadow, its black stone walls adorned with gargoyles that looked far too lifelike for comfort.

This has to be where the boss lives.

I pressed myself against the bars, trying to get a better view of our surroundings. The vampire crowd had grown larger, easily over fifty of them now surrounding the convoy. Their red eyes gleamed in the torchlight, and the hunger in their expressions was unmistakable.

Okay, think. I've got my devil fruit powers, water manipulation, the rock smashing fist technique, Born to Blow, and Incursio. That should be enough to handle a few dozen vampires, right?

The massive doors of the mansion swung open with a groan that echoed across the square. A figure emerged that made every vampire in the vicinity immediately bow their heads in what was clearly reverence mixed with fear.

He was tall, probably around six and a half feet, with pale skin that seemed to absorb the torchlight rather than reflect it. His hair was long and black, flowing past his shoulders like liquid shadow. But it was his eyes that made my blood run cold—they weren't just red, they were like looking into pools of fresh blood that seemed to swirl and move of their own accord.

That's definitely the head vampire.

"Welcome back, my children," he said, his voice carrying across the square with unnatural clarity. Despite the distance, I could hear every word as if he were speaking directly into my ear. "I trust the harvest was... bountiful?"

One of the vampire guards from our carriage stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Lord Marius Tepes, we have brought forty-three fresh specimens as requested."

Marius Tepes. So he's got delusions of grandeur about being related to Vlad.

Marius smiled, revealing fangs that were longer and more prominent than those of his subordinates. "Excellent. Have them processed and prepared. I want the strongest ones kept fresh for the ceremony tomorrow night."

Ceremony? That doesn't sound good.

"What about the usual stock, my lord?" another vampire asked.

"Ah yes, bring out some of the reserves. My army grows restless, and we must keep them well-fed if they are to serve properly."

Army? How many vampires are we talking about here?

My question was answered moments later as more vampires began emerging from various buildings around the square. Not dozens—hundreds. They moved in organized formations, clearly disciplined and battle-ready. This wasn't just a nest of bloodsuckers; this was a military operation.

Holy shit. There have to be at least three hundred of them.

But what made my stomach drop wasn't the sheer number of vampires. It was what came next.

Another set of doors opened on the side of the mansion, and vampires began herding out groups of humans. But these weren't prisoners like us—these were the broken ones. Men, women, and children who moved with the vacant stares of people who had given up all hope. Their arms and necks were covered in bite marks, some fresh, some old and scarred over.

They're keeping them as livestock.

I watched in growing horror as the vampires began to feed. Not killing, just taking enough blood to sustain themselves while keeping their human cattle alive for the next meal. The victims didn't even resist; they just stood there with dead eyes as their life force was slowly drained.

There have to be over a hundred of them. Men, women... Christ, there are kids in there.

The tactical part of my brain was still trying to work out a strategy. Hit-and-run tactics using Incursio's invisibility. Pick off the leadership first. Use Born to Blow to create chaos and confusion. Water manipulation to control the battlefield.

But there are too many. Even if I could take out Marius and his lieutenants, the sheer numbers...

That's when I saw her.

A little girl, couldn't have been more than eight years old, standing in the group of human cattle. A vampire approached her, grabbed her small arm, and sank his fangs into her wrist. She didn't even flinch. Just stared ahead with those same dead eyes as the monster fed from her.

She's the same age my sister would have been.

Something snapped inside me.

All thoughts of strategy, of careful planning, of tactical superiority—all of it burned away in an instant. What replaced it was pure, undiluted rage that felt like molten iron in my veins.

Fuck tactics. Fuck being smart about this. These monsters are going to die. All of them.

"Incursio," I whispered.

The bio-armor flowed over my body like liquid mercury, but something was different this time. The rage burning in my chest seemed to feed into the Teigu, making the transformation more intense than I'd ever experienced. The familiar weight of the spear materialized in my hands as the armor's consciousness merged with mine, but there was an edge to it now, a hunger that matched my own fury.

Time to send these bloodsuckers back to hell.

I activated the invisibility function and became a ghost. The lock on our cage was pathetic—a simple metal mechanism that shattered like glass under the enhanced strength of my armored fist. The other prisoners looked around in confusion as their cage door swung open, but I was already moving.

The first vampire never saw me coming. My spear punched through his chest from behind, the bio-metal blade piercing his heart and emerging from his ribcage in a spray of black blood. He had just enough time to look down in shock before I twisted the weapon and ripped it free.

One down. Two hundred and ninety-nine to go.

The vampire standing next to him started to turn, probably wondering why his companion had suddenly started screaming. I didn't give him the chance to figure it out. My fist, enhanced by the Water Stream Rock Smashing technique, caved in the left side of his skull. Black blood and brain matter splattered across the cobblestones.

Two down.

But I wasn't done with just killing them. These monsters had been feeding off innocent people, treating them like cattle. They deserved worse than a quick death.

I pressed my hand against the mansion wall and activated Born to Blow, marking it with explosive energy. The golden light was invisible to everyone but me, but I could see it pulsing like a heartbeat. Nine more marks to use.

Let's see how they like having their home blown apart.

A vampire near the human cattle looked in my direction, his enhanced senses probably picking up the scent of his comrades' blood. I dropped the invisibility just long enough for him to see me, to see the death waiting for him in the form of bio-organic armor and a spear dripping with vampire blood.

The look of terror on his face was beautiful.

I reactivated the invisibility and moved like a shadow of death through their ranks. The spear became an extension of my rage, piercing hearts, severing heads, opening throats. Each kill fed something primal in both me and Incursio, and I could feel the Teigu responding, becoming more efficient, more deadly.

They can't see me, can't predict where I'll strike next. I'm their worst nightmare made manifest.

But stealth was only part of my arsenal. When a group of vampires clustered together near one of the carriages, I let them see me. Their red eyes widened as I raised my right hand.

Let's see how tough vampires really are.

I snapped my fingers.

The explosion tore through them like a divine judgment, their bodies disintegrating in the blast. The shockwave shattered windows throughout the square and sent other vampires flying. But I wasn't done—I had eight more marks to place, eight more explosive surprises waiting to be triggered.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Marius Tepes's voice boomed across the square. "WHO DARES ATTACK MY DOMAIN?!"

I turned to face him, dropping my invisibility completely. Let him see what was coming for him. Let him see the instrument of his destruction.

"I'm gonna kill you, you sick bastard!" I snarled, my voice distorted by the armor's faceplate.

Marius's eyes narrowed as he took in my appearance. "A Sacred Gear user. How... interesting. I haven't tasted the blood of one of your kind in decades."

Taste this, you arrogant piece of shit.

Water began rising from the fountain in the center of the square, responding to my will. I shaped it into dozens of razor-sharp tendrils and sent them lashing out at every vampire within fifty feet. The enhanced water cut through undead flesh like it was paper, severing limbs and opening arteries.

But Marius was faster than his subordinates. He moved like liquid shadow, dodging my water attacks with inhuman grace. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me, his clawed hand aiming for my throat.

The spear intercepted his strike, bio-metal meeting vampire claw with a shower of sparks. He was strong—stronger than any opponent I'd faced so far. But I was beyond caring about strength differences.

I'm going to tear you apart.

I pivoted and drove my knee toward his ribs, but he twisted away and countered with a backhand that would have taken my head off if not for Incursio's protection. The impact still sent me skidding backward across the cobblestones.

"Impressive," Marius said, flexing his claws. "But you're outnumbered three hundred to one. Even with that armor, you cannot possibly—"

I cut him off by marking the ground beneath his feet and snapping my fingers.

The explosion launched him twenty feet into the air, his perfect composure finally cracking as he crashed into the side of his own mansion. Black blood leaked from multiple wounds as he struggled to his feet.

Not so talkative now, are you?

But even as I focused on Marius, the other vampires were regrouping. They moved to surround me, their red eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. Some had weapons now—swords, axes, even a few with what looked like primitive firearms.

Good. Let them all come at once.

I activated my devil fruit powers, feeling the transformation ripple through my body beneath the armor. My physical capabilities multiplied as the leopard characteristics merged with Incursio's enhancement. Speed, strength, reflexes—all of it amplified beyond what should have been possible.

The first wave of vampires reached me as a coordinated assault. But coordination meant nothing when your opponent moved faster than your eyes could track. I became a whirlwind of death, the spear cutting through their ranks like a scythe through wheat. Bodies fell around me, painting the square black with vampire blood.

More. There are still more of them.

I marked every surface I could reach—walls, fountains, even some of the vampires themselves. Golden lights invisible to everyone but me began dotting the battlefield like a constellation of destruction waiting to be born.

That's when I noticed something changing in Incursio itself.

The bio-armor was evolving in real-time, responding to the intensity of the battle and the depths of my rage. The familiar design was shifting, becoming more angular, more predatory. Additional bio-metal was growing along my arms and legs, forming blade-like projections that turned my entire body into a weapon.

What's happening?

"Evolution," came Incursio's voice in my mind, clearer than it had ever been before. "Battle forges us stronger. Your fury feeds my growth. We are becoming something new."

The armor's faceplate was changing too, the organic design becoming more skull-like, more terrifying. But with the evolution came power—so much power that I could feel it threatening to overwhelm my senses.

Let's see what this new form can do.

Marius had recovered from the explosion and was charging at me again, moving faster than before. But in my evolved state, he looked like he was moving through molasses. I sidestepped his desperate lunge and drove my spear through his back, the bio-metal blade emerging from his chest in a spray of black blood.

"Impossible," he gasped, looking down at the weapon protruding from his torso. "I am Marius Tepes, Lord of the Night. I cannot be defeated by a mere—"

I twisted the spear and ripped it upward, splitting his ribcage open like a wishbone. His words dissolved into a gurgling scream as his own blood filled his lungs.

"You're nothing," I said quietly, watching the light fade from his ancient eyes. "Just another monster that needed to be put down."

With their lord dead, the remaining vampires began to panic. Some tried to flee, others attacked with the desperation of cornered animals. It didn't matter. I moved through them like an avatar of destruction, my evolved armor making each kill easier than the last.

When the last vampire fell, I stood alone in a square painted black with undead blood. The human prisoners—both the fresh captives and the broken cattle—stared at me with expressions ranging from awe to terror.

...

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