Power X Progressive [DXD/CSM AU]

Important Note: You are my Special~ 😈

Second last chapter before Arc 1 ends.

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(3rd POV)

Reze pulled the grenade pin embedded in her neck.

What followed was the same explosion Aleks had experienced in their first duel.

But this time, instead of her body rupturing, she stood there in a completely different form, transformed into her Bomb devil hybrid form.

(Image)

Her head now resembled the Fat Man atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki during the last moments of the Second World War.

She looked terrifying, to say the least. Even the devil standing at the main entrance froze mid-step, visibly stunned by Reze's monstrous transformation.

"Heh. You think your explosions will work?" he sneered, though there was a tremor in his voice. "I've heard about you."

"The most brutal hunter of Public Safety. But water is your weakness, isn't it?"

He lifted his hands as demonic magic circles glowed and hovered above his palms.

"You see…I'm exceptionally good at manipulating water."

Before he could do anything else, Reze suddenly appeared in front of him.

Her hand, packed with explosive force, smashed into his head.

The impact launched him across the yard and slammed him into the wall—like Mahoraga tossing Megumi in the Shibuya Incident.

THUD

His skull cracked upon impact. His neck dislocated. He struggled to make sense of anything around him.

Fucking Satan…how is she this strong? the devil thought, panic rising.

Reze walked up to him without a word. She grabbed his head in her hand and lifted it as if it weighed nothing.

"You're not even worth fighting," Reze taunted, her voice echoing under the helmet.

"Why are you so weak?"

Her fingers tightened around his cracked skull.

"Well…you'll make a good punching bag to vent my frustrations," she continued.

"I'll make sure you experience a lot of pain, devil-kun~."

The devil's eyes widened in fear.

"This won't end well for any of you," he hissed. "Let me go—"

BOOM

Reze exploded his left arm, ripping it clean off in a spray of blood.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"He shrieked in agony, but Reze didn't even flinch.

"One hand down. Three limbs to go~."

Then she focused her explosions on his right leg.

BOOM

It blew apart instantly.

BOOM

His left leg followed.

BOOM

The right arm.

In seconds, he was a limbless, wheezing corpse—alive, but ruined beyond recognition.

"Would you look at that?" Reze said as she crouched down, tilting her bomb-shaped head. "All high and mighty before…and now you can't even walk."

The devil glared at her with blood running from his mouth.

"Go to hell…you whore," he spat.

Aleks and Kobeni watched the scene unfold, their expressions stunned.

Damn, Reze is really brutal. No mercy, Aleks thought.

S-Senpai i-is r-really s-scary… Kobeni thought, trembling.

Reze lifted her hand again, about to explode the rest of his body, but Aleks spotted something odd.

A black, ominous crystal, radiating a dark magical aura, sat hidden in a charred pocket of the devil's burned suit.

Aleks felt dread crawl up his spine. His instincts screamed—don't let that crystal explode.

But before he could warn her, Reze had already detonated the rest of the devil's body.

Aleks's stomach twisted.

He knew this wasn't over.

He didn't waste another second.

"REZE GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THERE RIGHT NOW!" he screamed with all his strength.

Aleks took a step forward—but then everything changed.

A crushing pressure swept over the entire compound like a tsunami. The air grew heavier and thicker. As if the very atmosphere of this place was being forcibly changed.

Something… no—someone—immensely powerful had arrived.

He hovered ten feet above the ground, defying the laws of gravity as if it held no meaning for him.

A tall man, dressed in a black trench coat that fluttered in the air. His hair was a unique blend of black and blonde. . His eyes—heterochromatic—glowed faintly. One gold, one black.

And his ears…

Pointed. Like an Elf.

Not a devil. Not a human. Something else entirely.

Aleks stopped in his tracks, every nerve in his body locking up. His breath caught in his throat.

Kobeni let out a choked gasp—and without a word, she gripped Aleks's arm tightly and hugging him from behind.

She was trembling and scared for her life. She knew she will die as she believed they stood no chance.

They didn't need to say it.

They both knew.

The real fight hadn't even started yet.

(1st POV)

Not again.

What the hell is this?

Am I cursed?

Why does this shit keep happening?

The moment I looked at him—looked into him—I knew.

He wasn't just dangerous, he could force me into using a tier 2 character.

I had to think smart and find a way out of this situation.

His gaze dropped to the charred remains of the devil Reze just killed.

For a second… there was silence.

Then—his expression shifted. His brows creased, just slightly.

Was that… grief?

"I see…" he muttered, almost to himself. "Adramelech is dead, huh…?"

He closed his eyes.

"I suppose he was the only friend I'd made in the last three centuries."

His voice was soft and genuine.

And then—he opened his eyes again.

His sorrow was gone.

Like he'd flipped a switch, his entire demeanor changed. A mask peeled off. The creature beneath it smiled, wide and cruel.

"How sad," he said with a chuckle. "You're all so… weak. It's almost insulting. I expected more."

And then he said it.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

His voice turned almost mocking. The kind of tone that made your blood run cold.

"I am Crom Cruach, the strongest Evil Dragon. Nice to meet you all~"

He smiled wider—too wide. A playful grin soaked in venom and bloodlust.

He scanned the surroundings with his draconic eyes, pausing for a second.

Then, a cruel grin spread across his face.

"Let's play a game, shall we? I don't want this to get boring, so please… cooperate~"

As he spoke, his hands slowly raised, each one pointing in a different direction.

One aimed at the house.

The other—at Reze.

Then he turned to face me and Kobeni, smile widening.

A dark magic circle appeared in each of his palms, glowing with strange, arcane symbols.

"Since you two seem the weakest here, I'll give you a choice."

He sounded playful, but the weight behind his words felt like a loaded gun to the head.

"Pick who dies last. I'll give you a chance to save one of them. Think of it as mercy before I kill you all~"

"This girl…" he said, pointing his right hand toward Reze.

"Or…" he tilted his head, the smile still plastered across his face.

"…those innocent humans inside the house? Still clueless to the situation?"

His left hand now aimed at the compound—where the Yakuza family still waited, scared and unaware.

Kobeni's barrier shattered under his magical gaze. Just his eyes.

"Since all of you are so weak, this spell guarantees a true death. It's no ordinary fire spell—it deals spiritual damage."

He paused, grinning wider.

"Normally, that wouldn't matter to stronger beings. But to someone like you? It means not even their soul will remain."

He laughed. Loud. Mocking.

Almost like he was enjoying our fear.

My heart sank.

Spiritual damage? That means Elixir's resurrection won't bring them back.

I'd have to use a Tier 3 character to bring them back. But if I do that…

The Overseer.

Fuck.

I was conflicted.

I looked at Reze. She looked back at me. She had no fear, even with death right in front of her. 

All she did was smile.

My heart tightened so hard it almost stopped.

And then I remembered the conversation I'd had with that little girl I'd promised to protect.

"Big brother…?" she'd asked, her voice so small. "Are you here to protect us?"

I'd crouched down so I could look her in the eyes.

"Yes," I'd said, smiling just a little. "Big brother's here to protect you. As long as we're here, you don't have to be scared. Alright?"

I was lost.

I didn't know what to do.

If I wanted to, I could end this right now.

I could use a Tier 2 character and solve everything in an instant.

But then…

…the bloody ten-day cooldown.

I couldn't take that risk.

My morals were screaming at me to choose the innocent humans.

To protect the ones who couldn't fight back.

But my heart…

My heart was telling me to choose Reze.

To choose her smile.

Each choice would leave a scar I'd never be able to erase.

A memory that would follow me till my death.

I laughed—nervously, bitterly.

I thought that after I got that blessing, after I regained the ownership of my soul, I could just steamroll through this world.

That nothing could faze me anymore.

It was all a power fantasy to me.

I'd taken everything too lightly.

I never took the stakes seriously.

And now, here I was, paying the price.

In this moment, I finally understood the weight of life.

No matter what I chose…

No matter who I saved…

One thing would never change.

…I am a murderer.

***

I made up my mind.

My choice was utterly selfish, devoid of any moral obligations.

I…I chose to save Reze.

"I…choose her," I said, pointing towards Reze.

The dragon smiled, his expression playful, with a hint of arrogance.

"…I see. You chose to save your lover, huh? Humans are really amusing," he taunted me.

Reze looked surprised by my choice, her words stuck in her throat.

I started walking towards her, slowly but steadily, while Kobeni walked behind me, still scared out of her mind by this situation.

She held my arm, as if to anchor herself to something real.

Every step I took felt like I was losing something within me.

The dragon didn't move, just watched with fascination, as if this was a show made for him alone.

As soon as I reached Reze, I hugged her. She was too stunned by everything to react.

Kobeni still clung to my arm, tears building up in her eyes.

And then I looked back—at the house.

BOOOOOOOOOOM

The dragon's spell ignited the house in an instant, fire and shockwaves tearing it apart.

All twenty people inside died without ever understanding why.

My heart shattered. My promise—broken.

I could hear the voices of those dead in my mind:

Monster.

Murderer.

You're nothing but a murderer.

You broke your promise.

You're not human.

I didn't react. I didn't let myself fall apart.

Right now, my only priority was to get the two of them away from here.

I had the perfect template in mind to deal with this evil dragon.

But I couldn't endanger them.

At that instant, I activated Gojo's template. That cold, invincible feeling returned, wrapping around my mind and dulling the pain.

I was still hugging Reze, while Kobeni held my arm like she was afraid to let go.

"…Perfect," I whispered.

Reze heard me and lifted her head, her eyes puzzled in the middle of all this.She had long since reverted back to her human form.

Space distorted around us—and in the next heartbeat, we vanished from that Japanese compound.

We appeared in the room where we'd first teleported from Tokyo to Yokohama. The massive magic circle still glowed faintly beneath us.

I let go of the two.

"Reze, Kobeni…go back to Tokyo. This city is dangerous," I warned them.

I turned, ready to teleport back—

But Reze grabbed my arm, stopping me.

Her hair fell over her face, so I couldn't see why she wouldn't let go.

"…Why…" she said in a small, broken voice.

"Why…choose me? Why let those people die?"

"We only met yesterday…we don't even have a real bond yet. So why…why would you save me?"

Her voice cracked as she forced the words out.

"I'm…just a murderer. I've killed so many innocents. I was trained as an assassin since I was a child. So why would you save a criminal like me, Aleks?"

She acted tough even in this situation.

But even then, in this moment, I almost couldn't recognize her.

Was this really the Reze from Chainsaw Man?

She looked…more human than I ever thought she could be.

My heart was in a mess. I still felt the weight of abandoning those innocent people.

But I chose to look at the woman I'd decided to save.

The woman I chose.

"…Isn't it natural?" I said quietly.

I reached up and brushed the tears from her cheek with my thumb.

"Because…I love you."

I didn't know if what I felt was truly love. But I knew I cared about her more than anything else in that moment.

Reze looked stunned, like she didn't understand how any of this was real.

I pulled her closer. Our lips met in a soft, tentative kiss.

She didn't resist.

She kissed me back.

Kobeni stood there, watching us in silence—awkward, her eyes still wet—but she didn't say a word.

After a minute or two, we separated, her gaze never leaving mine.

"Inform Makima about…our failure. Tell her I went back to deal with that dragon alone," I said with confidence.

"But…he is really strong. His power is at least God-Class level. We are outmatched! How…how will you deal with him? Do you have a death wish? You will lose!" Reze spoke her mind, her voice shaking.

She was still oblivious to my true power, so it made sense.

"Nah, I'd win." I said, with a massive grin.

"I will be back. I promised to take you on a date, remember?" I teased her.

"God…ugh…you are too much." She groaned, covering her face with her hand.

"But…I hope you make it back." She recovered and smiled, her face blushing.

I will definitely make it back. It was impossible to kill me after all.

Without wasting any more time, I teleported a few blocks away from the compound.

I still had to wait ten seconds before I could switch templates.

My steps were slow and steady.

My Six Eyes stared at the now burnt house in the distance.

I waited.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

•

•

Ten.

I activated a new template, and partial memories of this character flooded into my mind.

All his skills. His experience. Even the affection of spirits—

I gained it all for this moment.

But most importantly—

Now I held a divine weapon in my left hand.

A weapon of the same origin as Excalibur from the Fate series.

Arondight.

A divine construct which was also the bane of dragons.

I was using Lancelot's template right now. Not the servant, but the actual Lancelot from the flashbacks I saw in the Fate series.

I climbed the stairs and slowly arrived at the main entrance.

Looking around, everything was wrecked, devoid of life.

The dragon still never left his original position.

"…Oh? You're back?" he said, his tone mocking. "I was going to track you all down and personally kill you, but you made my job easier."

"Now then. Come on. Show me what pathetic power you've got."

Then his gaze fell on the weapon clutched in my left hand.

I looked at him, my eyes devoid of any emotion, brimming with rage.

"You should choose your words carefully…"

I raised Arondight, overloading it with my mana.

"…after all, they will be your last."

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Author's Note: Please vote and comment! I appreciate the support! See ya next time!