High School DxD – "Shadow Level-Up!"
Chapter 6 – Necromancer's Gambit & the First Gate
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1 | Kuoh Public Library, Saturday 19:47
Rain pattered the windowpanes while ancient tomes lay open between Kazuki and Rias on the mezzanine table. The study session had been pleasant—quiet jokes, aura-balancing tips—until Issei burst in breathless, Asia at his heels.
"President, corpses are disappearing from the morgue and… and somebody just animated six of 'em behind the church ruins!"
Rias's eyes sharpened. "Stray devils don't puppet humans. Necromancer."
She pivoted to Kazuki. "Front-line?"
He was already rolling his sleeves. "Lead the way."
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2 | Old St-Agnus Churchyard, 20:31
Lightning spider-webbed the sky, silhouetting a hunched figure in ragged cassock. Around him shuffled half-rotted corpses branded with glowing runes. A cracked angel statue served as altar; stolen holy water steamed black in a brass basin.
Kazuki's HUD pinged Threat: Moderate (Necromancer Lv32) 140 XP. Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko fanned out, but she raised a hand—"Let Kazuki test his limits."
The necromancer hissed, hurling a volley of bone darts. Kazuki Shadow-Stepped, reappearing beside a corpse. Tauros erupted, hammer-first, pulverising two zombies. Soldier shadow tanked another volley. Arachnid Knight vaulted, severing rune-stitched limbs.
Yet the caster's sigils flared; broken bodies re-knit, rising again. Endless loop.
Kazuki exhaled, channeling both devil heat and fallen chill into unified command. "Shadow Suppression." A sable dome blossomed, muffling wind. Inside, undead staggered—sigils flickering.
Pipe gripped like a lance, he dashed, ducked under skeletal swipe, and drove the iron through the necromancer's chest. A burst of violet motes—enemy lifeforce severed.
> +140 XP → 450 / 450
LEVEL UP → 9
Gold circuitry wove through his veins—strength, speed, perception, each nudging 9 % closer to the legendary Solo-Leveling monarch.
A new prompt unfurled:
> "First Monarch Fragment unlocked – 9 % synchronisation."
"Shadow Extraction available."
He knelt by the cooling corpse, pressed two fingers to its sternum. Black mist spiralled… then condensed into a kneeling Soldier-Class Shadow, midnight armour plain, iron short-sword ready.
> [Shadow: Soldier-01] (Rank: Normal Footman)
Not flashy, but the first true piece of Sung Jin-Woo's army now saluted him.
System text blinked again:
> Reward: [Dungeon Key] obtained
E-Rank Gate — "Kuoh Aqueduct, valve 12-B"
Time limit to open: 72 hrs.
A slim silver key with a blue gem materialised in his palm, cool as moonlight.
He dismissed the interface before teammates noticed the reflection.
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3 | Cleanup & Questions, 21:04
Akeno's lightning finished the straggler undead. Koneko pulverised runic talismans. Rias approached, sensing a fresh weight in his aura.
"You levelled again."
He managed a casual shrug. "Little stronger, one new pawn." Soldier-01 melted into shadow at his heel.
Kiba whistled. "Looks disciplined—nothing like the monsters you've raised till now."
"Credit good training," Kazuki dodged.
Rias studied him, suspicion softened by admiration. Whatever she felt, she only said, "Kuoh sleeps safer tonight. Walk me back?"
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4 | Gremory Dorm Balcony, 22:10
Rain stopped; clouds broke to reveal a cratered moon. Rias poured two cups of hot chocolate rather than tea.
"A necromancer creeping this close worries me," she admitted. "But your growth reassures me more."
Kazuki sipped, contemplating the key now hidden in shadow-storage. A private Gate—perfect arena to test the 9 % boost without raising alarms.
"Tomorrow I'll patrol the aqueducts," he offered. "Just in case more strays hide there."
"Take Kiba?"
He met her gaze. "Prefer solo. Quiet work, dirty tunnels."
After a long beat she nodded, trusting. The intimacy of that wordless permission fluttered warmer than chocolate.
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5 | System Log (Private)
LEVEL 9 • Stat Points +5 (Unspent) • Sync 9 %
New Shadow ▶ Soldier-01 (Normal Rank)
Inventory ▶ Dungeon Key: [E-Rank Gate—Aqueduct 12-B] (72 h)
Total Shadows: 4
Shadow Storage cap: 80 kg
He closed the panel, moonlight glinting off heterochrome eyes. Tomorrow night he'd unlock the Gate, face whatever lurked beyond, and push toward Level 10—where legend said a hulking knight called Iron waited to swear fealty.
For now, the balcony lamp cast two silhouettes side by side: a devil princess and a half-devil, half-fallen hunter whose army had only just begun to march.
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End of Chapter 6
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