Start in DxD as Motohama: Leveling Up in Another World-Chapter 36: A level (I) beatdown.

During class, he was vaguely staring out the window. He was instinctively copying the contents of the chalkboard into his notebook without paying attention to the teacher's words.

Looking outside, another class was having P.E. on the sports field at that moment. When he focused, he could also spot Kaori out there. He was watching a scene like that when their eyes met; she waved at him with her small hand. He waved back on reflex, but then remembered he was in the middle of class and quickly tried to snap his focus back to the board.

"—Hey!? What the hell are you all doing!?"

Suddenly, the sports field erupted into chaos. The commotion reached the classroom, and it wasn't just him—other students noticed it too.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

When everyone peered out the window, they saw a group of flashy-looking men tearing across the sports field on motorcycles. There were dozens of them. Most of the bikes were two-seaters, and the riders were clutching baseball bats studded with nails and other dangerous weapons. The students on the field panicked, and their teacher tried frantically to calm them down, but before anyone could process it, the flashy men had already surrounded them.

"What are you all doing?"

"You're annoying—shut up!"

One of the men swung his bat mercilessly at the P.E. teacher who'd stepped forward to warn them. Being a P.E. teacher, he somehow managed to dodge the attack. Then, several other teachers rushed out from the staff room.

"Kids, keep studying on your own."

Shinji's homeroom teacher hurriedly left the classroom after telling them to study independently. But with everyone on edge, no one could focus—they all rushed to the window to look outside.

"What? What's happening?"

"Hmm? That demon emblem... I feel like I've seen it somewhere..."

"Isn't that the 'Red Ogre' emblem?"

"Red Ogre!?"

Those words hit Shinji like a shockwave. Why? Because that was the gang Araki belonged to—the guy who'd bullied him back in middle school.

As he watched the teachers desperately trying to reason with the thugs on the sports field, he spotted familiar faces among them.

"Wha—... Youta... Sora...?"

There were Youta and Sora, standing behind the delinquents with smirks on their faces. And when he looked closer, he also recognized the guys he'd beaten up a few days ago while saving Murayama and Katase.

Shinji was overwhelmed with shock, unable to wrap his head around why they were here. Then Kaori spoke up, her voice firm despite being surrounded by the delinquents.

"What do you want with our school? Sorry, but my dad's not here right now..."

"What do we want? To mess things up, obviously. It's already decided, you know?"

It wasn't one of the delinquents who answered Kaori's question—it was Youta.

"You're..."

"Oh, you remember me. I thought the elite-sama had forgotten all about me. But since you do, I don't need to explain, right?"

"...What would you even do about this? The police will be here soon. Why are you doing this...?"

"But you can't do anything until they show up, can you? We've got more guys here than you have teachers over there. And above all, we've got plenty of hostages—you guys!"

Kaori flinched at Youta's words. Just as he'd said, there were only about a dozen teachers, and they weren't exactly in top shape to deal with the entire "Red Ogre" crew. Youta grinned nastily at the teachers, Kaori, and the others, all frozen in place.

A particularly burly man among the delinquents called out to Youta.

"Oi, Youta, you sure about this? It'll be a hassle if the cops show up. If you're after that chick over there, why not just grab her and go?"

"Yeah, true... but if he's really here, I've got some unfinished business with my damn big brother too. Oh well, let's just take her with us then."

"Hell yeah! Let's make it flashy when we roll out!"

A guy with a wild glint in his eyes started closing in on Kaori to grab her.

The teachers tried to intervene, but the other delinquents held them back. They couldn't rush in either, since the thugs were making moves to hurt the other students.

"Wait, this is awful!!"

"B-but what do we do?"

Ryo and the other students felt the situation spiraling out of control, but they were too scared to move.

Watching this unfold, Shinji's body began trembling violently.

"Hmm? Hey, Shinji... you okay?"

"You look pale, man."

"Want to hit the nurse's office?"

Seeing him shake, Ryo and the others showed genuine concern.

What would his grandpa say if he saw him like this?

To think his past would come back to bite him at the happiest point in his life.

He just couldn't forgive anyone who got in his way.

Like Tsukasa had said before, he had to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions.

Then his grandpa's words echoed in his mind.

"Hitting and running isn't cowardice. But you've got to make sure you're strong enough to crush the enemy the next time you face them."

Those words fit this moment perfectly.

"Eh!? Shinji!?"

"Hey, hold up, what—!? Whoa!?"

His body moved as the thought hit him. He planted his foot on the window frame and leapt...

"Uoooooh!? What are you doing!?"

"Shinji-kun!? You're on the fourth floor, you know!"

Ryo and Kaede shouted, leaning out the window, watching him jump right before their eyes. But Shinji landed on the ground unharmed after dropping from the fourth floor.

"You okay!? Shinji!"

"I'm fine!"

"Oh, good—wait, that's not the point! Hey, what are you doing!?"

"I'm stepping in for a sec!"

"They're not a convenience store you can just pop into!!"

He felt bad for Ryo and the others, but he charged toward Kaori and the rest anyway.

He was starting to get sick of these lowlifes who were only good as punching bags.

His gaze flicked to the side, catching a blonde guy holding a wooden sword.

Kiba Yuuto.

The other prince of Kuoh.

They exchanged a nod, as if reading each other's thoughts, before sprinting toward the delinquents.

"—Youta, Sora...!"

"Shi-Shinji-san!?"

"...Damn big brother."

"What's up? Saved us the trouble of hunting you down, huh?"

The teachers, Kaori, Youta, and the others were stunned to see Shinji show up. Then Araki grinned and turned to Youta.

"Hey, Youta. This kid—can I take him?"

"Yeah, go easy on him, then drag him along with the girl."

"Heh heh heh... Been a while, you little punk. I'm gonna mess up that annoying face of yours and put it back how it used to be."

Araki said that as he and the guys who used to bully Shinji surrounded him. Each one held a metal bat or a wooden sword.

"Alright then... First, I'll smash you with this one-strike...!"

Despite wielding a metal bat, Araki swung it full force without hesitation. The teachers and students around them screamed. But a completely different feeling hit Shinji.

Isn't this way too slow?

He'd been expecting more from this showdown. Looked like it'd end the same way it always did when he faced regular humans.

He knew the bat wouldn't hurt him, but the people around would freak out, so he decided to dodge.

"Yotto."

"Huh?"

He shifted forward to avoid it, and Araki's eyes widened for a split second, unable to believe he'd dodged, before his face twisted in frustration.

"You... What the hell are you doing, you bastard?"

"Oh, just didn't feel like getting hit..."

He shot back with a mocking grin.

"Huh? Don't get cocky... You dodged that by luck. I'll wipe that smug attitude off your face right now...!"

Araki swung the metal bat again, but none of it connected. Shinji had faced way tougher creatures than this guy. A sloppy swing like that wasn't going to touch him.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Stop dodging!"

"A-Araki? We'll jump in too!"

The other delinquents, thrown off by Araki's flailing, attacked all at once, but even with their numbers, none of them could land a hit. Unlike Araki, these guys didn't have any standout martial arts skills or superhuman stats.

"Oryaaa!"

"Gahh!?"

"A-Araki!? What are you doing!?"

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"Huh!? That jerk got in my way! It's his fault!!"

Araki ended up smacking one of his own guys instead of Shinji. Shinji had deliberately moved into a spot where they'd hit each other. Looked like that trick worked in this world too.

All Shinji was doing was using his surroundings and moving to his advantage. This time, the delinquents themselves were his tools.

Seeing Araki tire himself out swinging at nothing and hitting his own crew, the burly guy who'd been closing in on Kaori earlier snapped in irritation.

"What are you doing, you idiot? That's enough. Hey! You—go!"

"Usu."

A massive guy, built like a wrestler, shoved Araki and the others aside as he stepped up. He had dreadlocks, a ton of piercings, and a hulking frame that dwarfed the other delinquents.

"Ha ha ha, that dude was so brutal he got kicked out of the sumo world. Hey, take that guy down quick."

"Tough luck, bro. Oraa, lights out!"

The giant ex-sumo slapped at him. But...

"Oops."

"Huh?"

Shinji caught his wrist, stopping the slap cold.

"Th-this is—!"

He'd halted a giant who could smack anything flat, but the guy started swinging with his other hand. Shinji let go of the wrist and countered, slapping his hand back.

"Haahhh!"

"Guaahh!"

It was just a light tap, but thanks to the insane gap in their stats, the guy took a way harder hit than he'd expected.

"Y-you little...!"

The giant stumbled back after the recoil, then charged with his full body weight, his face twisted in rage. If Shinji were just a regular guy, it'd have flattened him. Worse, he might've ended up pinned under a mount. But instead, he caught the body slam head-on and held his ground without budging an inch.

"Guh—Gugigigi!?"

The giant dug into the dirt, trying to push him back. The burly guy who'd given the order scowled when he saw Shinji still hadn't moved.

"Hey! What are you doing!? Stop messing around and kill him!"

"U-usu!... Guuuu!? Why won't he budge!?"

The giant pushed harder, but Shinji's stance didn't shift one bit.

Shinji figured it was time to switch things up. He placed a hand on the giant's body and gave a slight lift.

"Hoo~"

"Uuaaaaahh!?"

He hoisted him up with ease. It was so light he lifted him one-handed on reflex, but the weight didn't change. And since it felt like nothing, he casually tossed him like a ball.

"Guoooohhhh!?"

The giant flailed and screamed as he sailed through the air—an utterly impossible situation.

"What's up with my strength...?"

"H-Help meeee!"

"Ah."

"Gyaaaaaaaahh!?"

The giant thrashed to break free from his grip, and Shinji lost control. The guy went flying with massive force, crashing to the ground from a decent height before passing out, eyes rolled back.