The Protagonist System

Odin of the Norse, head of their Pantheon, lay in a growing pool of his own blood as he stared up at the divine form of his restored wife. She had somehow appeared within the realm without warning and looked like a wrathful goddess as she decimated the troops guarding the castle, then she laid into all of their best warriors and beat them to a pulp.

That wasn't enough for her anger to be sated and she proceeded to do the same to all of the minor and major gods of their entire pantheon. They fought against the beatings, only to fail and had been pummelled even harder for defying her teaching them a lesson. Her final target had been Odin himself and she had shown him that she was the queen of the Valkyries for a reason.

Lightning crackled over Frigga's hand as she held Thor's hammer as if it had always been her own. She had slammed it dozens of times into Odin's head to try and beat some sense into him over his idiotic decisions that had reduced their once proud warrior race into the pathetic lumps they currently were. Even her trueborn son Thor, was a fat and lazy slob, which angered her to no end.

“How stupid are you to plan an attack on the devils when all they've done is sue for peace?” Frigga asked him.

“W-w-wife...” Odin said with a groan.

“Don't wife me, you lying cheating bastard!” Frigga shouted and her hand moved in a blur as she slammed the hammer down onto his family jewels.

“OWWWWOOOOOOOOO!” Odin howled as lightning coursed through his nether region and ensured he wouldn't be getting it up for a very long time.

“Quit your whining!” Frigga exclaimed and kicked him in the gut to cut off his breath. “You and I are going to have a nice long talk about what you've done to MY people and what has to be done to fix it!”

Odin tried to blink away his tears as he looked up at the face of his angry wife. He didn't know how she had come back and he didn't much care at the moment. All he really understood was that his years of fun and indulgence were over and he would lament that loss for the rest of his days.

*

The embodiment of the Vermillion Bird of Eternal Fire, Shuri Himejima, stood over the remains of the Five Principle Clans of the Shinto Pantheon that she had decimated in her anger. It had taken years for her to uncover the plot that had her own baby secretly murdered at birth, and not stillborn like she thought, to ensure that when she passed on the power, either naturally or after some kind of accident, it would be to someone the Clan Leaders fully controlled.

That pathetic woman was now a pile of ashes at her feet, because she was unable to handle even a quarter of the power the sacred beast could infuse into someone. Whether it was because she didn't want to fully accept the bird into herself because she was ordered to, brainwashed to do it, or her own magic ability wasn't up to the task, was immaterial. She was dead and Shuri was triumphant.

Teleportation circles by the hundreds started to appear around her, which was clearly an attack by one of the other pantheons. Shuri let her anger at her life being manipulated fill her as her righteous flames flared to life around her. The taint of devil magic almost stung her skin and she let out a low growl from the back of her throat. If anyone thought she would be weakened after a fight like that, they had another thing coming.

Shuri froze and her flames stilled when she felt an immense power appear above her without warning and then a wave of magic flowed out and shattered all of the teleportation circles like glass. The screams of the dying devils in mid-transport was music to her ears and Shuri tried to not give in to her joy at them being dealt such a devastating blow that ended the fight before it began.

She had a much more worrying thing to be concerned about at the moment and she readied her flames to lash out at the newcomer and hoped that she could overcome the threat before he killed her as easily as he had the many devils that tried to overwhelm her in her moment of weakness.

“Be at peace, Host of the Sacred Phoenix.” A sexy male voice said.

Shuri felt a wave of warm energy flow over her and her flames retreated, her wounds somehow healing ten times faster than her normal healing allowed. Again, she tried to not let her emotions sway her as she looked up at the glorious man floating above her.

His skin-tight and mostly white outfit made certain parts of Shuri react at seeing such a prime specimen of masculinity. Her mouth went dry at the knowing look on his face, because she knew that he knew she wanted him and could treat her the way she liked to be treated.

He floated down and landed in front of her, right on the pile of ash that used to be her quite laughable rival. “My name is Atlas and I'd like to make you an offer.”

*

Serafina Lucifer sat in her empty office and thought about her life up until this point... and she was disappointed. She had sacrificed so much, given up her family ties, and even fought off her love for her adorable little brother and gave up on her desire to have his children, only for it to all fall apart.

The peace talks had failed and the renewed war with the Forces of Heaven had gone terribly wrong from the start, because the Fallen Angels had reconciled with their angelic brethren and turned a three prong war into a two-on-one. That wouldn't have been too bad, except a majority of those forces were redeemed during the battle and increased the amount of Holy energy the other side could produce.

It turned the battle from a normal engagement to a slaughter, leaving her to take revenge for all the devils that had perished in the battle. She did not feel like a victor when it was over, even though she did technically win. That wasn't the worst part for her, though. No, it was because no one had told her that her brother, the noble idiot, had drafted himself into the ranks of the cannon fodder and had died during the first skirmish attacks that tested their defenses.

Her heart had been broken when she found out and she was devastated. Her bitch of a mother barely comforted her, because she knew of her daughter's sinful thoughts about the young man. Serafina barely had the energy to curse at her for being so insensitive and told her she never wanted to see her hateful face again. That was mere hours ago.

When the door to her office opened, the Satan Lucifer didn't bother looking at whomever it was. She was too busy crying with her head down and rested on her arms that were braced on her desk. Her tears rolled down her cheeks freely and without restraint. Who knew that severe depression could affect a powerful devil like her so much?

“I know what you're going through.” A deep male voice said.

Serafina didn't react, even though she thought the voice was a sexy one.

“I can't really give you your brother back. It's been too long.” He said and she let out a soft sob, not bothering to wipe at her still flowing tears. “How would you like to have a sister instead? One that needs your guidance, your support, and your love.”

Serafina lifted her head from the desk and her long crimson red hair flowed down her back. “Why would I want that? I lost everything that meant anything to me.”

“Because she lost her brother, too.” He said.

Serafina blinked her eyes at him for a moment, then her eyes widened. “Is she another me?”

He shook her head. “No, she's an alternate version of your little brother.”

“What...” Serafina paused and swallowed, giving herself a moment to compose herself. “What's her name?”

“Rias.” He told her and handed her a picture of her.

“Rias.” Serafina whispered and stared at the picture of a girl that could have been her little brother's twin. The only difference was the longer hair. “Rian, Rias, Rian, Rias.”

“What do you say?” He asked her. “You have nothing left for you here.”

Serafina stood and hugged the picture. “Tell me what I need to do to get another chance.”

The handsome man smiled and held out his hand for her to take. “You just have to accept that your family is much more welcoming where we're going.”

Serafina wiped at her eyes and took the hand.

*

Yasaka watched the video for the second time and she couldn't stop her body from reacting to it. Her attendant had reluctantly shown it to her, on the advice of the cat-people's representative. She hadn't been sure that she wanted to, considering the looks both of them were giving her.

Their explanation that she needed to see it, to understand why they were finally going to retract their demand that the devils give them some satisfaction over the treatment of their people, make her not want to see it.

Now Yasaka was glad she had, because it was such a huge turn on to see someone stand up to those arrogant assholes. Dealing out appropriate punishment as well, flipped her switch and made her purr. When the video ended, her eyes went to both cat-people and saw their own eyes were dilated slightly and they were rubbing their thighs together.

“I should declare this a state secret.” Yasaka said and both of them snapped out of their slight trances.

“Your highness...” The cat-people representative paused and sighed. “It's much too late for that. Nearly all of my people have seen it already, from the teenagers to the elders.”

“Some of the kittens have as well.” Yasaka's attendant added, looking embarrassed. “They were playing nearby when a group of teens watched it at one of the parks. Once they knew about it... well...”

Yasaka sighed. “Have any gone into premature heat after seeing this?”

“Only a few.” The cat-people representative said. “They were handled discreetly and only with touches and scratches in certain areas. There were no violations, even when they begged and screamed for it.”

Yasaka took a deep breath and let it out. “You need to restrict it, since it seems to be useful as an inducer.” She gave the cat-people representative a pointed look. “I do not want to hear about any males abusing it to take advantage of any females, let alone teens and children.”

The cat-people representative sat up straighter. “I've already told our fighters about that possibility and they have passed it on to those they trust. Anyone found abusing it like that, will be publicly executed and the reasons for it widely broadcast.”

Yasaka relaxed and smiled. “I'm glad. I knew you were the best choice to lead your people on the council.”

“Th-thank you, your highness.” The cat-people representative responded.

Yasaka smiled at her. “After seeing it for myself, I should inquire about the young man to see if he will visit our territory again.”

Both cat-people took in sharp breaths and their pupils dilated slightly. Their tails swished happily and low purrs could be heard.

“He might be quite busy if anyone knew it was him on that video.” Yasaka teased and both cat-people nodded several times. “You are dismissed.”

The nodded again and tried to hide the wet spots on their pants when they stood. Their walk was a little awkward as well as they tried to not let more wetness escape.

Yasaka muffled her laugh picked up her cell phone again. She clicked the video to start it again and she enjoyed it just as much as she did the other two times. Little did she know her industrious and quite sneaky daughter had been hidden outside her office and overheard the link's address and memorized it.

Kunou retreated to her own room and didn't bother with a cell phone and ordered a servant to bring her a computer. It was set up a few minutes later and the servant was dismissed. Once she was alone, she typed in the link and gasped when the video everyone was talking about played.

Her mouth felt dry and she licked her lips, felt tingly all over, and watched as her mother's handsome lover tore apart the youkai's enemies. She didn't know why her tails were all fluffed out or why she was leaking. She didn't need to pee and yet there was a little puddle on her seat, so she ignored it and watched intensely and memorized how powerful the clawed swipes were.

Kunou hoped that she could one day make her own claws grow like that and one of her hands went to her modest chest and scratched at her itchy nipples. She shivered at the feeling, not knowing why they itched or why she felt so relieved when she scratched them.

I should ask momma to invite Issei to my thirteenth birthday party. Kunou thought as her eyes slowly blinked. She realized she had somehow missed part of the video, so she started it from the first again and kept scratching at her itchy chest as her pupils dilated slightly.

*

Akeno Himejima was making tea when a letter dropped onto the table in front of her. She whipped her head around to look, since the last time she received a letter like that, Rias had destroyed the clubroom and half of the building. She couldn't feel anything happening, so she turned back and opened the letter. She sighed when she saw it was another summons that would take her outside the building.

She left the tea room and went to look at Rias inside the rebuilt club room. The bright walls and large windows had completely dispelled the previous dark atmosphere and gave the place a light and happy feeling, which was not what Rias was feeling at all. The sad look on her face was enough to let Akeno know that she wasn't going to freak out again.

Akeno left the building and walked over to the same table and chair that Grayfia had used. She saw a dark haired woman sitting there writing something and she kind of looked familiar, only she couldn't place where she had seen her before. It wasn't until the woman lifted her head and locked eyes with her that she knew who it was and gasped.

“M-m-mom?” Akeno stuttered.

“Akeno.” The woman said and her eyes were full of love and her voice was full of warmth. “My little girl. My baby. You really did grow up to become a beautiful young woman, just like he claimed.”

Akeno blinked her eyes at her. “Wh-what?”

Shuri stood up and they both discovered they were the same height. “I had hoped you would have taken after me.” She said and her eyes dropped to her daughter's large chest. “You really did. Ufufufu.”

“MOTHER!” Akeno gasped at hearing her own laugh and knew it was true. It really was her. She ran over to her and lunged into her mother's waiting arms. They hugged, they cried, and they both professed how much they had missed the other.

At the same time they were reuniting, another letter dropped onto Rias' lap. The despondent young woman sighed at seeing it with the Satan Lucifer seal and thought it was an official letter from the government about the death of her brother. He might have been a pervert and loved her a little too much for normal siblings; but, he was still her brother and she loved him dearly.

Rias cracked open the wax seal and started to read, only to catch her breath. It couldn't possibly be true. It couldn't. There was no possible way for it to happen!

The teleportation circle at the corner of the room lit up and Rias lifted her head from the letter and her shaking hands to stare at the flash of light. Even looking right at who had appeared, she didn't believe it. She couldn't believe she was staring at a gender-swapped version of her beloved brother.

“I think we have a lot to talk about, dear sister.” Serafina Lucifer said with a happy smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

*

With my retrievals done, to completely screw up the upcoming war between the Norse and the Devils, I decided I needed a headquarters to work from when I was in the Underworld. The plot of land I had been given by the Gremory Clan was at the very edge of their territory and I hadn't objected about the location, mostly because I figured I could do whatever I wanted to it and no one would object.

The problem was it was mostly forest and was inside a potentially disputed territory between the Gremory Clan and the Phenex Clan. They had essentially split the lands of an extinct clan that used to own the lands between them and became neighbors. I was now saddled with the land the Gremorys claimed, putting me between the two clans again.

Well, it was a good way to stop the Phenex from trying to push their way into Gremory Clan lands by making me a physical blocker that they would have to go through. So, I got what I wanted, some land to play with, and I also gained all the headaches that came with squatting on another clan's lands.

If any of the previous owners were found, like a hidden branch family or distant orphan cousin or something, I would have to give the land back without a fight. Ancestral rights were a big thing for devils and I couldn't do anything about it.

So, hiding it was what I was going to do. It was a huge piece of undeveloped land, even though I had only asked for enough space to build a mansion. It was Venelana that claimed a mansion needed enough land around it to support it, like farms and things, and I would need to hire staff to take care of everything, once the land was cleared out and properly prepared.

Instead of doing that, I would make huge walls all around my new territory to cut it off from sight. I followed the map she gave me, one that highlighted the border with the Phenex Clan, and I used locator spells and walked all along the border and raised twenty foot thick stone walls that were forty feet tall. It was easy to do with both earth manipulation and transmutation.

Also, just for the heck of it, I summoned hundreds of Stone Valkyrie Warriors, the spell I had learned way back in the Familiar of Zero universe and had modified to fix their deficiencies. It was a slight surprise when each of them gave me a grateful look when they were summoned, then they smiled when I ordered them to protect the wall and to attack anything that approached without an invitation, especially all of the deadly animals.

Once I had the entire land surrounded and protected with as many enchantments as the magical walls could hold, I could build the mansion the land was intended for. Did I need it? Not really. It was just an affectation I didn't really get to enjoy in the last world and figured it was time I started to enjoy my life for what it was. An opportunity to have as much fun as possible.