HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Chapter 17 - The Soul?

[ — Private Chat — ]

[ Rias Gremory: You are a Devil??? ]

[ Alistair Davis: Apparently? I got the black, bat-like wings, and I can understand different languages since my wings appeared. I tested it out in the Library Labyrinth. I can read languages I haven’t learned before. ]

[ Rias Gremory: How? That shouldn’t be possible! ]

[ Alistair Davis: What am I supposed to say? All my life, I thought I was a Squib, then I suddenly got magic. And now I am a Devil. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Uh, are you sure your parents aren’t keeping a secret from you? You know? ]

[ Alistair Davis: While that was my first idea too, I am pretty certain my parents are indeed my parents. I carry physical traits from both of them. So I don’t believe one of my parents, or rather my Mom, cheated on Dad. ]

[ Rias Gremory: That’s awkward to say now. Devils often unconsciously change their appearance to their ideal selves. That’s why most of us with normal tastes look so attractive. ]

[ Alistair Davis: I was always unnaturally attractive. This is bad… My Mom cheated on my Father. I can’t believe it. She got all that Pureblood education and did something like that? ]

[ Rias Gremory: Now let’s not be so fast. I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this beyond something that may end up as family drama. How did you discover your Devil nature? ]

[ Alistair Davis: Kishirika touched me. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Sorry!? I think there was a typo in your message? ]

[ Alistair Davis: I worded that weirdly. You know Kishirika Kishirisu, the Great Empress of the Demon Realm? She told me I am some kind of Demon. After I told her that I am a Human, she denied it and brought out a Demon Eye I didn’t know about and touched me. Then my Devil Wings appeared. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Do you know what that Demon Eye does? ]

[ Alistair Davis: Good point… Give me a moment! I am going to ask her. BRB. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Ask her? Is she staying with you now? ]

[ Rias Gremory: Hello? ]

[ Alistair Davis: Back! Yes, she is with us. I made a deal for two Demon Eyes. I am going to get my second one once I adapt to the Foresight Eye I got. ]

[ Rias Gremory: You can see into the future now? That’s so unfair! ]

[ Alistair Davis: Yep, I know. Anyway, the Eye is called the Awakening Eye. It brings out hidden traits, powers, and abilities. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Huh, that could be really valuable in our World. Someone with that Eye could awaken dormant Clan Traits. Can you get one as a second one? That would guarantee you a ton of Status and Power. ]

[ Alistair Davis: I had the same idea. Unfortunately, it’s not an eye she can gift right now. ]

[ Rias Gremory: That’s too bad. On the other hand, I have a theory on how you awakened your Devil Nature. ]

[ Rias Gremory: It has to do with the origin of Wizardkind and also why it is commonly believed Witches and Wizards are unable to gain a Sacred Gear. Your Race originates from the time before the Great War, long before our time, even before my parents. Wizardkind can be said to be the precursor to the Evil Pieces, even if they were created thousands of years before that. ]

[ Alistair Davis: Wait, you mean we are Devils in the first place? ]

[ Rias Gremory: Not exactly. I recently asked my Brother about your People since I met you. Based on what he knows, back then, Lucifer ordered his best researcher, the Ancestor of House Malphas, who has a gift for all magic, to find a way to create more Devils since the original method of creating Devils had a limit. Lucifer knew that it would sooner or later come to a war with Heaven, and they needed the numbers for it. And apparently, Wizardkind was the result of an attempt to turn Humans into Devils, which ended up creating a Race of magical Humans with a watered-down version of our Demonic Power, who formed their own unique way to create magic. ]

[ Alistair Davis: Okay, that’s a lot to take in. Who would have thought Wizards had such an origin? I see where you are going with this. You believe Kishirika awakened the dormant Devil parts inside of me, which Malphas failed to do when he created Wizardkind. And people thought we couldn’t awaken Sacred Gears since we are a twisted version of Humans, like Devils are a twisted version of Angels? ]

[ Rias Gremory: That has been the common theory. Sacred Gears are bound to the Soul, and they supposedly pick out Human Souls, which Wizard Souls are not. Their Souls got twisted into something else during the creation process back then. It is also supported by the fact that there has not been a single Wizard in your several-thousand-year-old history who awakened a Sacred Gear. You are the first case I have ever heard of. And I asked my Brother. He has access to a lot of information about all that. ]

[ Alistair Davis: I see… Thank you for the information. ]

[ Rias Gremory: It’s no problem. When will you be back? ]

[ Alistair Davis: In another week. Besides getting my second Demon Eye, I am pretty much done here. Just waiting for the cooldown to run out. ]

[ Rias Gremory: Once you get back, we should meet up. I will help you get your Devil Nature under control and figure out your new abilities. ]

[ Alistair Davis: That would be much appreciated. See you then, Rias! And thanks for the help! ]

[ Rias Gremory: Bye XOXO ]

That was informative... especially the part about Souls. I hadn’t considered in the first place that Human Souls, Devil Souls, and Wizard Souls were different in nature.

It’s true that Sacred Gears are Soulbound, and obviously, the Soul would play a part in the selection process.

Maybe the Souls of Wizardkind got twisted during the transformation Process that turned them from Humans into some kind of Devilized Humans.

At first glance, you would assume that the fact that Half-Devil, Half-Human Hybrids like Vali Lucifer exist and can awaken Sacred Gears would disprove the Theory that a Witch’s or Wizard’s Soul is the reason they can’t awaken a Sacred Gear.

But that’s exactly the point. A Hybrid is still half Human. Maybe they have the body of a Devil and the Soul of a Human, allowing them to gain a Sacred Gear. Meanwhile, Malphas tried to transform an entire Human into a Devil! And in the process, he also twisted the entire Soul.

The more I think about it, the more the Theory makes sense to me. Witches and Wizards really can’t get Sacred Gears, at least not naturally.

On the other hand, I awakened one because I am a Reincarnator in the first Place! I may have the body of a Wizard, but my Soul was Human in the first place!

Could that also be the reason why I didn’t awaken my Magic earlier? Maybe my Body had Magic the entire time, but my Soul was unable to access any of it until it adapted to my new body, since it is so different from the original me.

It’s just a hypothesis. Ancient Magic could still be the Reason why I am a Late Bloomer.

But I’ve been actively using Magic every day for almost six months now. I’ve been in several dangerous combat Situations, and there hasn’t been a single sign of me using Ancient Magic.

Plus, I’m eighteen years old. All known cases of Ancient Magic Users awakened theirs in their fifth year, when they were about fifteen years old.

My original reasoning for that was a bit far-fetched in the first place, because I lacked a better explanation. But I have one now...

Man, my own Body is so fucking mysterious.

...

Technically, I am an Isekai Main Character, I guess. That checks out.

———

A slash from the right next.

Thanks to my Future Vision, I barely manage to react in time with a slight jump to the right before attacking myself, which Ghislaine easily manages to deflect.

That’s a Sword Saint for you, or rather, someone who fights on the Level of a Sword King, if not higher. Even with the ability to see one second into the future, I can’t really keep up with her.

All I managed to do was make her fight me a bit more seriously than before. She still has no trouble beating and suppressing me. It just raised the intensity of my daily training since I can now react to things that I couldn’t before.

Unfortunately, one second is the usable limit of Future Sight. That doesn’t mean I can’t see further. In fact, I can, simply by channeling more Magic Power—or is it Demonic Power now?—into my eye.

But the further I look, the blurrier and harder to differentiate my vision becomes. After all, it isn’t like there is a single future. Every decision creates a new one, at least doubling the number of possible futures I see.

What if there are more than two outcomes for a decision?

Well, Ghislaine figured out that’s how you counter my Future Sight. It’s probably not easy to replicate, as her explanation makes it seem, but basically, if she fights me with the state of mind of making no conscious decisions and simply fighting me on instinct, the number of possible futures multiplies to such a degree that my vision blurs out.

Did she seriously just figure out Ultra Instinct to counter me?

Probably not, but the concept is similar. She is still a Genius with the Sword.

At least I managed to get a grip on my Foresight Eye.

Also, after turning into... or is it awakening as a Devil? Either way, I noticed a fundamental change in my Body.

Having had daily workouts with Ghislaine for months now, along with generally living an active life as an adventurer, my fitness had improved constantly but eventually started to plateau.

It hadn’t stopped entirely, but my progress had slowed down considerably. After all, at some point, you’re just fit and need to use more extreme and targeted methods to grow stronger. Like a professional Athlete.

Or something supernatural like Battle Aura in this World, which I still haven’t figured out at all. And that’s not surprising, since it takes years to learn, or even just to reach the Level where I am now. I can’t be greedy. I’m already doing well in that regard.

Yet, since I am a Devil, that plateau has vanished, and my progress has accelerated to a similar level as before, if not slightly better. Which makes sense. A Devil is naturally stronger than a Human, especially if they actually put in the work. And who knows where their natural limit is.

The best example is Sairaorg Bael. He was born without the Bael’s legendary Power of Destruction, scorned by almost everyone, and yet, unlike the other lazy Devils, he put in the work, and his physical body reached a level where it equals or even surpasses Satan-Class without his Longinus Sacred Gear: Regulus Nemea.

Satan-Class is a level that can fight Gods. Sure, not the strongest ones, but many of them.

Reaching such a level with just his physical Body is insane.

Keeping up my training was definitely worth it, beyond just maintaining my Fitness.

Then there are the changes to my Magic Power. It’s becoming much denser and more concentrated. It isn’t changing in quantity itself, but in quality. It seems to be a gradual process that didn’t happen instantly.

It’s probably something a reincarnated Devil experiences as well.

Besides that, the Magic Power Network I gained here in this World, along with my Magical Core—or rather, my Demonic Core—have truly become one. Before that, they were two separate Pools of Magical Power that I could call upon, with each one recharging the other should one of them run empty.

But now, it’s a fully developed Network with a high concentration of Power in my Demonic Core that I can access all at once. The flow of Power has improved massively. The regeneration and overall amount have remained pretty much the same; they’ve simply been combined.

The most important fact is that I can use it fully, and the limited amount of Magic Power I could previously access from my Magical Core became uncapped after I gained Demonic Power.

Still, I lack a proper comparison to classify my strength.

Maybe Mid-Class or even High-Class Devil? Who knows?

Right now, my biggest issue is controlling my steadily changing Magic Power. As it turns into Demonic Power, it becomes harder to control with each passing day. It grows wilder, more untamed, and more destructive.

It’s a good thing that I seem to be able to maintain control over my changing Power by practicing Magic every day, especially the smaller Spells. Like creating duplicates of Books with the Geminio Charm all day long, while also dedicating a bit of time to practicing other Magic.

I’ll have to keep that up. I don’t want to end up as a complete wild cannon that can only cast large, destructive Magic.

Could that be the reason why Healing Magic is such a rarity among Devils? Phenex Tears are pretty much the only method of healing they have besides certain Sacred Gear Users, and even those are available in only limited quantities.

Healing Magic is considered to belong to the highest Class of Magic. I believe a lack of Control would make it extremely difficult to learn something like that.

Working hard is all I can do. It doesn’t change the fact that I still got beaten by Ghislaine once she raised the pressure in our Spar to a level where I simply couldn’t keep up with her.

“You are improving.” Ghislaine nodded approvingly as she pulled me up from the Ground.

“Thanks, but I can only fight on this level thanks to my new Eye.” I shrugged. Skill-wise, my improvement was still slow.

“Doesn’t matter. All that matters is how well you fight. Are you going to ask for the second Eye today?” she wondered. Ghislaine knew it was almost time for my departure.

“Yes, no point in wasting any time. I would love to get some control over it before I return home.” I sighed as I thought about what was waiting for me. “I already have enough to explain to my parents. No need to add some Vision Problems or an Eye Patch to it.”

“Mmm.” The sexy Cat Woman nodded as she turned around to return to our tent, her toned body catching my gaze.

Just damn.

Meanwhile, I decided to search for Kishirika Kishirisu. She should be hanging out somewhere in the Library Labyrinth. She pretty much only turns up for meal times, but she won’t be able to hide from me thanks to my Clairvoyance Spell.

Time for my Second Demon Eye.

[-- End of Chapter --]