Chapter 11 - Superhuman progress

[Re-Edited: 07/07/2024]

Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

Time could be very fleeting when one was in the pursuit of a certain goal. Following that truth, two weeks passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye for Demian. Every single day, from morning to night was filled with either physical or mental training, with learning the guitar being a mix of both. His only respite was the meals he shared with his family, helping him defuse the tension that was beginning to stack. Be that as it may, the result of such intensive training was nothing short of spectacular. Especially if one took into account his physical condition from two weeks ago. Going from 'malnourished' to his current muscular look in only two weeks was honestly incredible. Not only that, but he also noticed the change in his height, which was now 1m75. 'How is that in feet? Something like 5ft8, right? Or is it 5ft9? Forget it, I'll just use the metric system from now on. It's much simpler.' He inwardly decided as he admired himself in the mirror until he caught the look on Bryn's and Adeliya's faces.

The two seemed shocked to see his physical transformation, a sentiment he honestly shared. 'My Perk is really overpowered... And I like it!' He thought before exclaiming playfully. "If you keep looking at me like that, the two of you are going to make me blush, you know?" His quip made Seraphine who was sitting a few meters away on an empty bench giggle. Despite her current hilarity, Demian was sure that if she could see his body, she would have the same expression as her sister's and mother's on her face. Nonetheless, he decided to keep quiet, instead looking toward the two oldest women while awaiting their reaction. As the youngest redhead's laughter resounded in the room, the two awoke from their daze with two different reactions. Bryn tried to portray a calm demeanor, although the slight twitching of her lips betrayed what she really felt inside. Unlike her, Demian noticed the strong delight filling Adeliya's face. He also spotted some relief hidden behind.

Bryn's reaction aside, which he attributed to the collapse of her beliefs in her knowledge of the human body, Adeliya's reaction made him feel a warmth he desperately craved after what happened recently. To be loved by someone you care about was, in his opinion, pretty magical and that was something he intended to protect with everything he had. While the smile on his face grew slightly bigger, a rush of confidence surged through his mind, partly alleviating the doubts and fears he had accumulated from his two lives. 'I haven't reached my target yet, but I'm on the right path. It's exhausting, but I can't deny that feeling myself grow stronger step by step does feel nice.' He thought, slightly absentminded. However, his attention swiftly returned to the present with Bryn's sharp words of warning. "I may not know how you progressed so quickly, but don't let it go to your head. There are still many people out there who could easily deal with you, so you need to keep up your training. You never know if you might need to deal with someone like that one day." Nodding firmly, he responded. "I know, don't worry." His serious expression then turned into a delighted one as he added. "But I can still be happy about my progress, now, can't I?"

Rolling her eyes, she replied a bit grudgingly. "Do whatever you want, I don't care." Her reaction turned his happy smile into an amused one, giving him the urge to tease her. However, he instantly realized who he was about to tease and wisely decided that he would wait a bit longer. At least, when his thigh became visibly bigger than her biceps. 'Let's not get carried away, figuratively and literally.' He determined half-jokingly. Out loud, the young man declared. "I'll go take a shower. I'm beat." Without even waiting for the three's answers, he swiftly walked to the upstairs bathroom, leaving the three women chatting with each other. On the way, his body gave him a sensation of lightness, something akin to a feeling of freedom that he had been lacking since he recalled his previous life's memories two weeks prior. His lack of strength had made him feel heavily restricted to the point of suffocation in everything he did. However, what bothered him the most was something different. 'Always fearing that those men would come back... With how I was, I wouldn't be able to do anything...' He remarked wryly as hot water fell on his reddened skin filled with half-healed scars.

Glancing at his own body, he mused. 'All my life I'd been powerless. Every time the people close to me were in danger, I couldn't do anything...' Closing his eyes, he silenced his mind for a bit, focusing his attention on enjoying the sensation of the water washing away the sweat covering him and warming him up. 'I could stay like this forever...' He noted before adding. 'But that's not wise, now, is it?' At that point, he was not sure if was still thinking about the shower or something else entirely. However, he did not really care, instead calmly turning off the water before moving to dry himself with one of the towels hanging close by. Finally squeaky clean, he then subconsciously searched for the clothes he prepared before realizing that he had forgotten to bring any clean ones. Shaking his head, he muttered wryly. "I keep forgetting things..." Wrapping the wet towel around his waist, Demian then started walking toward the door before freezing briefly as the sound of knocking reached his ears, followed by Seraphine's voice. "Dem, I want to talk to you. Do you have a minute?"

Seraphine's P.O.V.

As she heard the door closing, the young woman let out a small sigh. "What are you even sighing about, Sis?" Bryn asked curtly. Knowing that she was probably still frustrated with how quickly Demian was progressing, she did not comment on her tone. Instead, she replied wistfully. "I just wish I could see... It feels a bit unfair that I'm the only one who can't see how much Demian progressed..." Her words plunged the room into silence prompting her to shake her head before claiming in a wry tone. "You don't have to feel bad for me. I was just curious. That's it." Maybe due to the loss of her sight, her ears seemed to have become a lot sharper. Coupled with her quick wits, she could instantly sense the change in others' emotions to the point that, unless one was supernaturally gifted for lying, trying to fool her would only end up with the other person being seen through instantly. That skill turned her into a great 'listener' for the people close to her, but it also made her feel a bit isolated. She understood others, but could others understand what she felt? After all, what she showed and what she felt was diffe...

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the feeling of her mother's arms pulling her into a hug against the latter's bountiful chest. "You don't have to act tough in front of us, you know? It's okay to share how you feel with us." A sigh escaped the young woman when those words reached her ears, prompting her to reply in a low tone. "I'm fine, Mom. I just feel a bit down at times. But it doesn't last long." She then felt Adeliya gently kissing the top of her head before saying. "I know that both of you are amazing women, so I'm sure you'll be fine. But I won't stop hugging you when I feel like it, whether you like it or not." Those last words were uttered in a playful tone, making Seraphine and Brynhild giggle gently. The younger woman then replied. "Fine. I'll grudgingly accept your offer." This time it was her mother's turn to chuckle before she started to stroke Sera's silky red hair. "That aside, I'm sure that the two of you noticed." Unlike Bryn who failed to catch their mother's meaning right away from her question 'Notice what?', Sera quickly understood what, or more accurately of whom she was talking about. "You mean Demian?"

"Exactly." Adeliya responded while Bryn uttered. "Oh! That's what you meant! Of course, I did. I'd be b..." She suddenly coughed to cover her 'faux-pas' before resuming. "...Anyway, it's pretty obvious." Her reaction made the other two women giggle, even Sera who was very clear about her condition and would not be hurt by its mere mention. "It is. But that's not what I meant. I simply wanted to hear your thoughts about it." Adeliya corrected. While Seraphine was pondering on her response, Bryn exclaimed. "From what I can tell, he should have awakened some kind of physical superpower. When you think about it, it's impossible to get that kind of results in two weeks for a 'normal' human. That's unless he's not 'normal' anymore." To which Adeliya remarked. "I guessed as much. I wonder why he hasn't told us about it." Shaking her head, Seraphine pointed out. "He isn't exactly hiding it, is he? I guess he must have his own reasons... It may even come from the big changes in his personality."

"Do you mean his sudden interest in working out? He told me that what happened two weeks ago was the trigger for his sudden motivation." Feeling slightly doubtful, Sera replied. "It probably played a part, but the changes are really exaggerated compared to the old Demian. I mean, although I love him dearly, he wasn't exactly a people person. But look at how he interacts with us now..." Unlike the reaction she expected, her mother and sister started to tease her. "Oh? Love you say?" Adeliya started before Bryn continued. "Is our Seraphine falling for a guy?" In a frustrated tone, Seraphine exclaimed. "Can't the two of you stop being so childish! We're talking about something important here!" Pausing for a second, she then thought disappointingly. 'It's impossible between us anyway... We're blood-related after all...' "Don't get mad, sweetie. We're just teasing you a bit. But back to what we were saying, I think you're right. There might be something Demian isn't comfortable sharing. Beside his new powers, of course." Adeliya commented before Bryn asked curiously. "So what do we do about it?"

Shaking her head, Sera declared. "I think we should let it be. He'll probably tell us when he's ready." "Or maybe you could talk to him? You've always been the closest to him. Maybe he'll open up to you." After a second of consideration, the young woman replied. "It might work. It cost nothing to try anyway." At that point, she left her mother's embrace before standing and declaring. "I might as well do it now." When she heard the two agreeing, she started walking toward the second floor where she knew her cousin would be at that moment. As her feet led her upstairs, her ears caught the sound of running water suddenly stopping. "He's probably done, right? Maybe I should wait a bit before knocking." Feeling a bit torn as to what to do, she only decided to knock on the bathroom door when she heard the young man's muffled voice. "I keep forgetting things..." "Dem, I want to talk to you. Do you have a minute?" She exclaimed before waiting patiently for his response. Thankfully, his cousin answered almost right away. "Coming!"

A second later, she heard the door opening and Demian asking curiously. "Hey, Sis. You're looking for me?" Nodding her head, she was about to answer before she was cut off by his next words. "If you don't mind, why don't we go into my bedroom? I forgot to bring clean clothes with me." As if the word bedroom had some kind of magical effect, the young woman's mind became filled with some not-safe-for-work images, all of them involving herself and her cousin with his current muscular body, although the latter mostly came from her own imagination. "Are you okay?" His voice woke her up from her fantasy, making her realize that she was actually blushing. Coughing to hide her embarrassment, she cooked up a flimsy excuse that would not even be able to convince a three-year-old. "I'm just not used to the summer heat." Her words were followed by a few awkward seconds before she heard him reply. "Riiiiight." While turning her body in the approximate direction of his bedroom, she exclaimed. "Anyway, let's go to your bedroom."