28 Assimilation's End

AN: Sorry for the week hiatus as I fell ill the night after I published the last chapter, I was ill for the entire week and I couldn't write a coherent chapter so I decided to wait for the end of the week to make another chapter,this chapter will be extremely small as I am still ill and I don't have the will to write a 2k or 3k chapter in my conditions 

I hope that you'll enjoy the chapter, see you soon

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Within the abyss of absolute darkness, a cocoon crackled with lightning, revealing numerous fractures on its surface. Seated on a throne within this stygian realm, a man casually perused a manga. The illustrated pages depicted the Chaldeans triumphing over a demon god pillar in the final Singularity.

"It appears they lost Chiron, but the casualties are within acceptable limits. I took care of him personally – poor Centaur," the man declared, closing the manga as the Chaldeans vanished with the Rayshift.

Glancing at the cocoon, a smile crossed the man's face. "It's time to awaken, Friedrich Braun. Your assimilation of the Schrifts is nearing completion!" he exclaimed. The cocoon exploded in a brilliant blue light, red lightning dancing in the encompassing darkness.

From the luminosity emerged Friedrich, draped in a crimson lightning-infused coat, his spear conspicuously absent. The man noticed and inquired, "Where is your spear? I'm certain you entered the cocoon with it."

Friedrich gazed at the man for a moment before responding, "I tested a theory. Knowing that Quilge can use the reishi of living beings to empower himself, I deconstructed my spear and absorbed the pseudo-Schrift within." As he explained, Friedrich transformed his hand into an iron-like substance, prompting widened eyes from the man.

"Doesn't that take a toll on your soul?" the man asked, conjuring a table for them to sit.

"During my assimilation of Thunderbolt, I felt my soul expand. I presume Gerard's mission was a success?" Friedrich replied, and, as the man materialized food and drink, added, "What else could we expect from our best soldiers? He annihilated everyone. If I hadn't intervened, his powers would have destabilized the singularity, causing its collapse." The man chuckled at the seemingly obvious answer.

Friedrich observed the man intently and spoke, "I want to fight, to test myself against you." Lightning crackled around his fist, and the table disintegrated from the intense heat generated by the electrifying energy.

A smile crossed the man's face, and he responded, "I accept, and I'll only use the Visionary. It should be sufficient against you." Friedrich stood up as the surroundings shifted, transforming from pure darkness to a modern city with towering skyscrapers.

"This is all an illusion. We can unleash our full power without consequences," the man informed Friedrich. He then launched a pure beam of reishi from his hands toward Friedrich. In response, Friedrich dodged the beam by transforming into lightning and reappeared high above the man.

"Sky's Fall," Friedrich declared, summoning an enormous lightning bolt that descended toward the man. However, the bolt halted just before reaching its target, seemingly parried by an invisible shield enveloping the Visionary. Despite the shield, the destructive force of the bolt shattered windows in nearby skyscrapers, creating a cascade of broken glass.

"Interesting!" the man exclaimed, impressed by Friedrich's attack. "You've just acquired your Schrift, and you use it more cleverly than Candice! But you'll need a stronger attack to even damage me!" With that proclamation, he conjured a dozen missiles, launching them promptly toward Friedrich.

Friedrich narrowed his eyes as he anticipated the incoming attack. In a fraction of a second, he harnessed the true strength of Thunderbolt—speed.

"Thunder's Step," Friedrich thought, vanishing and reappearing behind the man. The Visionary, caught off guard, turned just in time to witness Friedrich's fist, enveloped in a construct of red lightning, connecting with his face. The impact propelled the Visionary through a dozen buildings before coming to a halt.

"He caught me off guard. Has he truly become stronger with the Schrifts?" the man pondered, making the ground tremble as he summoned a colossal golem made of the earth. The golem, towering at a height of five kilometers, sent its massive hands hurtling toward Friedrich.

Unfazed, Friedrich raised an eyebrow, noticing a red crystal on the golem's torso. "Is this his weak point?" he wondered. Employing Thunder's Step once again, Friedrich materialized in front of the golem, conjuring a spear of lightning and iron through his manipulation of reishi. The spear struck the crystal, shattering it, causing the golem to crumble into pieces and trigger a cataclysmic event.

However, the man reappeared behind Friedrich, his fist raised high. In a swift motion, he delivered a devastating blow that sent Friedrich soaring into the distance. Despite his use of Blut and Iron to defend himself, the impact proved overwhelming, even bypassing his defensive measures and striking him directly.

"Urghh!" Friedrich grunted, feeling the impact of the devastating blow that left his body badly damaged. In response, he conjured a bow made of reishi and fired lightning arrows toward the man. However, the Visionary teleported, reappearing in front of Friedrich to effortlessly dodge the arrows. The man then raised a newly created sword made of reishi to strike Friedrich.

Just as the sword descended, an enormous bolt of lightning came crashing down, damaging both the sword and Friedrich. Seizing the opportunity, Friedrich used the Iron on his fist to launch a powerful punch, shattering the sword. He continued with a flurry of punches aimed at damaging the man, but the Visionary had grown considerably faster since the start of the fight, effortlessly parrying each strike.

"He imagined himself faster than me?" Friedrich wondered as he observed the sudden spike in the man's speed. The Visionary then proposed a new challenge, increasing the gravity of the environment by five times. Buildings crumbled under their own weight, turning the once bustling city into a desolate wasteland in seconds. Friedrich, adapting, remained standing and conjured a dozen bolts of lightning from the sky to rain down on the man. However, with a wave of his hand, the Visionary shattered the entire sky like a spider web.

"It was fun. You've grown much stronger," the man said with a smile as gravity returned to normal, and darkness enveloped the desolate landscape. "Rest for a bit, Friedrich. The cocoon was a way for you to adapt to the Schrifts, and your body needs to recover."

Friedrich looked at the house that appeared behind him, opened the door, and glanced back at the man. "How strong am I now? Compared to the other Stern Ritter, I mean."

"You're as strong as Askin without his Schrift. If he had Thunderbolt like you, the fight would be grandiose," the man replied, conjuring another house for himself. As Friedrich entered his house and closed the door, it started to disappear.

The man observed where Friedrich's house had been before coughing up blood. "You must grow stronger, Friedrich, and defeat Him for your full legacy. But this world is far more dangerous than I thought."

He gazed at an image of a man on the wall. "So, you're the one who wants to burn humanity, huh, demon?" the man murmured, making the image disappear. He entered his house, closing the door.

Inside his dwelling, he spoke, "Well, it seems that my successor is growing for the better. But it appears you forgot a house for me." The image of a young Yhwach, smiling, took shape in the shadow. "Thanks," he murmured as the house began to vanish.