The Way it Ends (High School DxD x Male Reader x Shinmai Maou no Testament)

Prologue

Third Person POV

Circa 931 B.C.

Jerusalem, United Kingdom of Israel

"The Time of Birth hath Come, He is the One who Masters All.

"The Time of Crowning hath Come, He is the One who Begins All.

"And -- The Time of Parting hath Come, He is the One who Lets Go of the World.

"Ars Nova."

An aged man dressed in royal clothes finished his chant. He raised his head and reached up with his hands. The ten golden rings on his fingers started to slowly lift up and off of his fingers.

As the king watched the rings rise, tears were brought to his eyes. Of course, he knew what this event meant. He could already feel his life force drain away the farther the rings got. The king closed his eyes one last time. . .

"Oh no you don't."

The king was startled by the voice, or rather, voices that seemed to speak as one.

"Solomon you fool. Did you really think we would just stand by as we are about to be destroyed?"

"No, no it can't be!"

Suddenly, King Solomon became frightened. A dreadful red aura began to creep up his body. He tried to use his magic to ward it off, but now that he had surrendered the rings, he was just an ordinary human that was on the verge of death.

Solomon panicked as he felt the demonic energy creep onto his face. His eyes burned and became red,  his graying hair became stark white, and black scars appeared on his face. At the same time, he could feel his body somehow become younger once more. His skin tightened, his bones straightened out, and his muscles became toned by themselves.

Soon, he was completely encased by the demonic aura. All around him, 72 figures rose from the ground. They all looked up at the same time and stretched their hands towards the rings.

The ten rings rings abruptly stopped their ascent and remained stationary in the sky.

"H-how? It is God's will in those rings!"

"Yes, but you sent them with your power, God will do nothing until they reach his kingdom, which is too far for you."

The rings condensed until they were a single ball of light, and then it exploded into ten fragments, nine of which were sent into the distance.

"No!"

Solomon reached out with his last bit of power, but the 72 Demon Gods stopped him. But, for a split second, King Solomon's eyes turned gold once more. In that short moment, he saw a future filled with hope and success, but also sadness and despair.

With his last breath, he carried out one final act of defiance.

He took a knife and plunged it into his heart.

"You. . . have. . . already. . . lost. . ." he said with a final laugh, before he breathed his last breath.

"What a fool. Does he really think we can be stopped without the rings?"

"Shouldn't we have obtained the rings for ourselves? It would've helped our cause far more than without them."

"We do not need them, we only need to observe them and nurture the evil of the Earth that comes into contact with them, with only a bit of our power. In the meantime, we shall rest in the heir's body."

The 72 talked amongst themselves, planning and strategizing. Unbeknownst to them, the final ring that did not fly away, more specifically the one that rested on his right middle finger, slowly floated down and rested on Solomon's lifeless hand.