Raynare led Allen to the park. Along the way, her heart felt tight with a strange anxiety.
All Fallen Angels were originally angels who had committed sins or abandoned Heaven and its strict rules. However, this system was far from perfect.
Raynare looked up at the sky. Even the slightest lustful thought could cause an angel's wings to turn black. The harsh reality was that angels had little freedom of thought, unlike humans, whose sins could be forgiven through sincere repentance. It was unfair, terribly unfair, that God had placed such severe restrictions on beings who worshiped Him with their lives.
The worst part was that even questioning this, or having any thoughts along those lines, could cause their wings to turn black and, consequently, lead to their expulsion from Heaven.
That was how much control Heaven had over the thoughts of angels. So it was no wonder so many of them indulged in becoming Fallen Angels. But even then, there was something far worse: God was dead, so it was no longer His will that could not be questioned, but rather the laws of Heaven and the archangels—which led many angels to leave Heaven upon learning of this.
It was no wonder Raynare had chosen to become a Fallen Angel. Of course, she wasn't a good person.
Within the faction of Fallen Angels, there were two types: those who simply disagreed with Heaven and those who were genuinely evil or, at the very least, corrupt.
Raynare leaned more toward the second group... and yet, for the first time, she was beginning to doubt her mission.
...
Allen walked through the park alongside Raynare.
"Tell me, do you have any hobbies?" Allen asked, he genuinely wanted to get to know Raynare better.
"I..." Raynare didn't know how to answer.
The driving force behind all of Raynare's actions was her desperate desire to be useful, attract attention, and earn the affection of Grigori's supreme leaders, especially Azazel and Shemhazai. She suffered from a deep inferiority complex because other Fallen Angels looked down on her due to her low rank (she had only two wings). Her main "obsession" was fantasizing about raising her political and military standing within Grigori by stealing Sacred Gears...
Raynare stood still...
"Yuuma?" Allen asked when he noticed how strange Raynare was acting.
"...It's nothing."
Angels were ranked according to the number of wings they possessed, with a single pair being the lowest rank of all. Jealousy and envy were what had originally turned Raynare into a Fallen Angel. She had come to believe that God would never love her and that she was nothing more than an ordinary angel.
Even after falling, she had continued seeking recognition and love... to the point that her actions were nothing more than a reflection of her inferiority complex.
She realized this at the worst possible moment...
"I'm sorry... Allen-kun... Can we end our date here? I'm not feeling well," Raynare said.
At that moment, Allen didn't know why, but he reached out and gently patted her head.
"I don't know what's wrong, but you don't have to carry it all by yourself. Come on, tell this handsome young man about it. I'm sure you'll find a solution, or we'll end up blowing ourselves up trying~."
Hearing that, Raynare widened her eyes and laughed. She genuinely laughed. At the same time, the warmth of Allen's hand filled her in a way she couldn't understand... and, without even realizing it, a tear rolled down her cheek.
"You're honestly too naive to be real." Raynare took a step back and shook her head. "You shouldn't trust bad girls. See you, Allen. This was a wonderful memory... perhaps the only one I have."
"Ray..."
Allen didn't finish speaking. He watched as a pair of black feathered wings emerged from Raynare's back. She rose into the air and smiled sadly at him. Her hair covered her face, but Allen could still sense her feelings.
"See you..."
Raynare left, and Allen remained silent. Strangely enough, he wasn't surprised to discover that she wasn't human.
"See you? What a selfish girl," Allen said with a faint smile.
...
Back in his apartment, Allen took a bath, ate dinner, and did his homework. When he finished, he lay down, ready to sleep.
Once again, his mind was transported to that cybernetic world, but this time he understood more about his life there.
He was a traveler who had arrived in that world with Rebecca. Together, they had created a merc crew in Night City, and over the course of three years, that crew had grown.
Maine, Dorio, Pilar, Sasha, Lucy, Rebecca, and him...
During that time, his legend had grown. He had become involved in alliances and conflicts with Night City's gangs, eventually rising to become a living legend in the city. In fact, because of his silver arm, he had been nicknamed the successor to Johnny Silverhand, to the point that people called him Allen W. Silverhand without a hint of mockery or irony. However, his fame had attracted the attention of the corporations, which could no longer afford to ignore him.
Allen was often hunted by assassins and mercenaries from rival gangs. This situation would have been an apocalypse for anyone else. However, for Allen, it was just another Monday morning... or at least it should have been, until Adam Smasher appeared one day.
Adam Smasher was another legend, a man who had replaced almost his entire body with implants and, despite that, had never succumbed to cyberpsychosis.
Allen faced Smasher in an absurd battle in the middle of the central district.
"Fuck You, Smasher!"
"Silverhand!"
Allen punched Smasher, who caught his arm. However, Allen immediately released an electrical discharge, forcing Smasher to let go.
Allen took advantage of the opening and fired at Smasher, damaging his body. But Smasher raised his rifle and fired back. The bullets from his anti-tank rifle pierced Allen's skin, but failed to penetrate his muscles.
"Impossible..." Smasher said. "Bioware?!"
In the Cyberpunk universe, cybernetic technology, known as "Cyberware," became more widespread than genetic engineering, mainly for commercial reasons, as well as speed and corporate control. However, genetic modification did exist in that world, under a process known as Bioware.
"So that's why your Cyberware level is so low... You chose genetic modification, you piece of trash," Smasher growled. Who would have thought his nemesis would be his complete opposite?
"Trash?" Allen mocked him. "Aren't you just jealous, Arasaka's dog?"
There were several reasons why Bioware wasn't popular in Cyberpunk.
For example, cybernetics were immediate: If a mercenary needed superhuman strength or night vision for a mission the next day, they could visit a ripperdoc, pay a few eddies, and leave the clinic with metal arms and optical eyes ready to use within a couple of hours.
Genetics were slow: Advanced genetic engineering often required interventions at the embryonic level or long-term gene therapy treatments. In Cyberpunk's dystopian, fast-paced world, nobody had time to wait years or generations for results.
Planned obsolescence: Megacorporations like Arasaka and Militech preferred Cyberware because it worked just like modern technology, such as phones and software. They could sell you an upgrade the following year, charge you subscriptions for your optical software, or force you to buy replacement parts.
Ownership and control: A metal implant could be remotely disabled, confiscated, or hacked if an employee betrayed their corporation. A change to someone's DNA, on the other hand, was permanent and hereditary, meaning the corporation would lose control over its "product."
Visual social status: In Night City, style was everything (Style over Substance). Chrome implants, shiny robotic limbs, and subdermal LED lights were symbols of status and power. Genetic modification was usually invisible to the naked eye, which went against the hyper-consumerist and superficial culture of that universe.
It was extremely expensive: Modifying biological organs, cloning tissue, or implanting organic nanobots was far more expensive and complicated than mass-producing plastic and metal components.
Elite military and corporate use: High-ranking executives and corporate spies preferred Bioware because it was undetectable by customs and airport scanners. This allowed them to maintain a "pure" human appearance while enjoying enhanced reflexes and health. However, that was precisely the problem right now.
Allen's strength and endurance made no sense.
"Not even the most advanced Bioware could stop one of my bullets! Who are you?!" Adam Smasher growled.
Advanced Bioware could make someone superhuman compared to an ordinary civilian. However, standing before Adam Smasher, a cybernetic monster with the capabilities of an entire army, any human, whether equipped with Bioware or not, should have been reduced to a bloody mess. They shouldn't have been capable of fighting him.
"Does it matter?" Allen said as he lit a cigarette. "You and I are going to kill each other. That won't change."
Smasher scoffed and laughed...
"That's true..."
There was nothing wrong with Allen's words. He would kill Smasher because, even though he didn't fully understand what was happening, he didn't want that vision of Rebecca dead to become reality.
Smasher would kill Allen because his very existence was an insult to him...
The fight was about to resume. Allen, who should have been worrying about angels and demons, was filled with rage and decided to finish Smasher off. He didn't care whether this was a memory or whether his soul had traveled to another world while he slept. It was as if he had become someone else. The moment he saw Smasher, a bloodlust he had never felt in DxD began to surface... or perhaps this was the real Allen.
Lucy: "Be careful!"
Lucy appeared on a holographic screen in the lower corner of his vision.
"What's wrong, Lucy?" Allen asked.
He had a different kind of relationship with Rebecca, Sasha, and Lucy. He had realized that the previous time.
Rebecca and Sasha seemed to be his girlfriends, lovers, or something similar. However, he still didn't know what kind of relationship he had with Lucy. She called him master, so he must have been teaching her Netrunning. But she had also been present in his previous dream when he had been intimate with Sasha, and she hadn't seemed uncomfortable at all. In fact, she had even been wearing one of his shirts.
Lucy: "It's them! MaxTac!"
Allen turned his head and saw a ship approaching. Its hatch opened, revealing four men and women in full combat suits staring down at them from the sky.
"MaxTac..." Allen muttered.
The toughest and strongest law enforcement force in Night City. Every member was a controlled cyberpsycho equipped with military-grade implants. In individual combat, neither Allen nor Smasher would lose to a squad of them.
It was estimated that it would take three or four squads to kill Smasher, and Allen himself wasn't far behind.
"Tsk... So that's how you want to play?" Allen mocked.
At first glance, MaxTac seemed like a law enforcement agency, but Night City was controlled by corporations. Arasaka could definitely have stopped them from intervening, but it hadn't. They clearly wanted Allen Silverhand dead.
The reason?
It was simple. Smasher was a monster, and MaxTac's members were monsters too. However, they were monsters with an off switch, while Allen didn't have one. Arasaka, Militech, or any other corporation couldn't simply shut him down.
"Allen!"
At that moment, Rebecca appeared on a motorcycle and reached out her hand. Allen grabbed it, and they escaped. He wasn't about to fight Adam Smasher and MaxTac at the same time.
Unexpectedly, Smasher didn't stop him from leaving. He was annoyed that Arasaka had interrupted their fight, and despite the orders shouted by the higher-ups, he let Allen go.
"We'll meet again..." Smasher said.
MaxTac tried to pursue Allen, but he aimed his energy cannon arm to the aircraft, and they immediately called off the chase.
Allen was like a Yonko in Night City. It wasn't that he was invincible, but his strength was so overwhelming that killing him would require the corporations to sacrifice enormous resources. And in a world ruled by extreme capitalism, a bad investment wasn't worth it. As long as Allen didn't go too far, the corporations preferred not to mess with him.
Allen returned to the Afterlife. Upon entering, he greeted several people, including the Queen, before heading to his private room, a privilege reserved for his team alone.
Before reaching it, he stopped and looked at his futuristic cybernetic hand.
"Is this a dream? A memory? Or did I perhaps really travel to another world..."
Allen felt strange. Unlike the previous times, he could control his body completely. It didn't feel like a memory... It was as if his soul had traveled from his previous world to this one.
Just as he was about to open the door, he felt a tug on his consciousness, and his soul returned to DxD.
....
Allen opened his eyes, sweating from the bizarre experience. However, he soon felt warmth and softness surrounding him. When he looked to see what was happening, he noticed that Rias was embracing him in bed and that she wasn't wearing any clothes.
"What?"
Rias woke up to Allen's restlessness, but instead of covering herself, she showed a playful smile and pressed closer, burying Allen's face in her chest and letting her crimson hair spill over the pillow. Her blue eyes shone with possessive light.
"Good morning?" Allen said, speechless at Rias's shamelessness.
"Good morning, Allen... my dear King," she whispered in a voice hoarse from sleep. One of her hands stroked his hair. "I told you that starting today, privacy would be a concept of the past. Did you sleep well? I felt how your power fluctuated during the night... You seemed agitated."
"I had a very vivid dream," Allen said, ignoring Rias's breasts for his own good.
The door opened softly. Akeno came in with a tray of coffee and toast, wearing only one of Allen's shirts that was deliberately too big on her and unbuttoned, leaving little to the imagination.
"Ara ara, Allen-kun... it seems Buchou got ahead of me in saying good morning," Akeno said in her usual tone. "Good morning, Allen-kun. I hope you're hungry, because today you're going to need a lot of energy... Don't worry about the mansion we talked about yesterday... It's already half-built right next to the building."
"Mansion?" Allen opened his eyes. A mansion half-built in one night?!
"It's not that we built it from scratch. Several structures were teleported from the Underworld~" Rias laughed before kissing Allen. "Don't worry, the neighbors were very happy to receive compensation for twice the value of their properties."
"How rich are you, Rias?" Allen asked in disbelief.
"Allen, I can support you for ten lifetimes if you want~" Rias said with a flushed face.
Allen blinked, feeling an additional weight on his legs. Koneko was there. She hugged him under the sheets and was wearing one of his shirts like Akeno.
"You moved a lot during the night," Koneko said flatly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to be in his bed. "You almost threw me off the bed. You're a problematic sleeper. And you have the smell of someone strange on your clothes from yesterday... a fallen one. I'll take care of that later."
Rias hardened her gaze upon hearing the mention of the fallen angel and focused back on Allen with a mix of jealousy and protection. "Allen, you had a 'date' yesterday, right, and that girl showed you her true form. You're lucky to be alive. Fallen angels hunt Sacred Gear holders," she murmured, kissing his neck dominantly. "But don't worry anymore. I won't leave you alone. Today your training begins... and the construction of our new shared home."
"Rias." Sona's voice resonated from the hallway, followed by the sound of shoes. She opened the door and was left speechless upon seeing Akeno and Koneko in Allen's shirts and Rias naked. "You..."
"Don't be a killjoy, Sona. Just come to the bed with Allen. You know you want to."
"Don't compare me to you!"
"Wait a second!" Allen interrupted. "Koneko, don't blame Yuuma for anything. She's a fallen angel, and she could have killed me, but she didn't. I don't think she will in the future."