154 Complications

Seeing Paul staring at his Vision, Kishirika couldn't help asking what it was. When he explained it to her, she asked if she could try and analyze it before returning it to him and flatly stating, "That's a neat little trinket, but I don't think it has anything to do with your ability to absorb the essence of others."

Looking toward Venti, Ei, Jean, Eula, Xinyan, and Ganyu, Paul asked, "Any ideas? Or is it something you can't tell me until I figure it out on my own?"

Speaking on behalf of the group, Jean shook her head and assured, "This is the first we're hearing about this. Before now, all we knew was that you grew stronger the more you had sex. Like you, we assumed it was related to your heritage. If it's something 'more,' we're as in the dark as you."

Incapable of restraining her curiosity, Kishirika promptly inquired, "Oh? Is there something special about your heritage...?"

Adopting a wry smile, Paul replied, "It's rumored that the Greyrat Houses are descended from a powerful Succubus, potentially even Lilith herself."

Placing her finger on her chin, Kishirika adopted a thoughtful pose as she offhandedly remarked, "I do recall Lilith being enslaved and falling in love with her captors. However, while it's stated that Succubi have the power to absorb the essence of other creatures, they specifically absorb vitality and feed on positive emotions. Besides, as far as I can tell, your 'core' is human. If you do possess Lilith's blood, it's extremely thin; nowhere near enough to lead to a mutation."

Shrugging his shoulders, Paul helplessly replied, "Well, that's that, then. If my lineage has nothing to do with it, I have no other ideas."

Sensing no falsehoods within Paul's words, Kishirika offered a shrug of her own before arguing, "Well, it's not like it matters where it originated. The important thing is what you do with it. If your power functions as I suspect, you could become a chimera that possesses the strengths of all races. That's something not even Laplace could achieve."

As intriguing as the notion was, Paul couldn't help asking, "Are you sure? If that was true, shouldn't I possess the enhanced olfactory senses of a beast person?"

Shaking her head, Kishirika retorted, "You might have if you had absorbed their essence completely. Instead, your power seems to be taking a tiny, almost inconsequential portion of a person's essence and incorporating it into your own. That's actually a good thing, as the 'essence' we're talking about is essentially a person's soul. If you absorbed all of it, I imagine the people you slept with would dry up and dissolve into ash."

"..."

Taking advantage of Paul's silence, Kishirika added, "Right now, I'd say you have about 3-4% of a typical beast person's essence. Even if your senses of smell and hearing have improved, I doubt you would be able to notice unless they experienced a sudden and drastic increase."

Though he was still reeling from the revelation that he was effectively absorbing people's souls, Paul managed an understanding, "Ah..." when he heard Kishirika's explanation. If it was true that his senses had only improved by 3-4%, likely over a period of two years, there was no way he would notice.

Exhaling a deeply profound sigh, Paul dryly muttered, "Once again, I find myself in a position where I need to fuck to grow stronger..."

With everyone else, even Venti, falling silent, it was left to Kishirika to ask, "What's your problem? Their libido is one of the defining characteristics of humanity. If anything, you should be happy. You have an army of Spirits at your disposal and an ability that will allow you to rule the world if you feel so inclined. No one is forcing you to use it maliciously, so be glad it wasn't someone else who obtained your gifts. Just imagine such an ability in the hands of your greatest enemy."

Prompted by Kishirika's words, Paul briefly envisioned what someone like Prince Grabell or Darius would do in his place.

It wasn't pretty.

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Paul forced a smile and said, "I see what you mean. Still, I can't help feeling it's 'wrong' to make use of such an ability. That won't stop me from doing so, but...yeah..."

Demonstrating a rare moment of compassion, Kishirika's expression and tone softened as she said, "If it's any consolation, I can't sense anything wrong with the human girl and beast person in your Party. Everyone else has a kind of 'fractured' essence, but I don't think that has anything to do with your power. It's more like they're...incomplete."

Unable to suppress his shock, Paul's expression revealed his disbelief as he remarked, "You're ridiculous perceptive. How the hell did someone like you lose a war...?"

Adopting a scowl, Kishirika groaned, "Uuuuugh. Did you really have to ask such an insensitive question?"

Before Paul could even think to apologize, Kishirika flared up and violently exclaimed, "We didn't lose, okay!? That bastard Hitogami betrayed us! We Demons were just minding our own business and doing our best to rebuild our society when that bastard convinced humans to declare war on us! All we wanted was to secure a place for ourselves, but so-called Heroes kept coming to attack us, labeling us monsters and slaughtering my people...!"

Raising his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, Paul replied, "It wasn't my intention to upset you..."

Flaring up even further, Kishirika shouted, "I'm not upset! I'm furious...!" with an expression to match. "That bastard convinced humanity that all the other races were trying to encroach on their territory when it was his actions that forced us into the Human World! In the wake of the so-called Great Human-Demon War, do you know what happened? Well, I'll tell you! Humanity went on to declare war on every single other race, forcing even the most peaceful and pacifistic among them beneath their heel! When I finally revived, what was-"

Since Kishirika was flaring up right in front of him, Paul felt compelled to pat her head. When he did, she immediately fell silent, the fury in her expression turning to confusion and then annoyance as she asked, "What do you think you're doing...?"

While continuing to pat the diminutive Demoness's surprisingly soft hair, Paul stated, "You have every right to be mad. However, we're here to kick Hitoshit's ass. You don't need to flare up at us."

Snorting literal plumes of steam from her nose, Kishirika smacked away Paul's hand as she said, "I'll believe it when I see it. For now, you should focus on gathering your strength. At your current level, you wouldn't even be able to defeat Laplace, much less the people ranked above him on the Seven Great Powers."

Revealing a bit of his future knowledge, Paul said, "We have more than a hundred years until Laplace's revival. By then, even my kids will be able to give him a run for his money."

With a clearly interested expression on her face, Kishirika asked, "Is that something you've 'seen?' If not, I suggest you not underestimate Laplace. That man managed to conquer the Demon Continent and nearly take over the entire world in a hundred years, all while he was preoccupied with his research. This time around, I doubt he'll be nearly as lackadaisical..."

Since he knew Orsted and Perugius both had their sights set on Laplace, Paul just smiled and said, "It won't be an issue. Trust me."

Sensing no falsehoods in Paul's words, a rather vicious smile developed across Kishirika's face as she said, "Well if that's the case, you can count on me even more. Hitoga-Hitoshit and Laplace are at the top of the list of people I hate. If it's to ensure their defeat, there is nothing I wouldn't do."

Though he understood and appreciated the sentiment behind Kishirika's words, Paul replied, "Helping us locate specific people and providing us with information is more than enough. I'm not going to ask you to fight or anything."

Catching Paul a little off guard, Kishirika replied, "Good, because I suck at it! Bwahahahaha~!" Then, before he could chuckle alongside her, she left him feeling sucker-punched by adding, "I'll let you absorb my essence." in a firm, decisive tone.

Without needing to consider his response, Paul shook his head and said, "No thanks. You might be three hundred years old, but you're even more underdeveloped than a Migurdian. Besides, even if it's only a matter of time before we have to fight your fiance, I'd rather not have him showing up in the Fighting God Armor and hunting me to the ends of the world..."

Raising her brows, Kishirika remarked, "Hoooooo~? You even know about Badi's status as the Fighting God?"

Without waiting for Paul's response, Kishirika stated, "Well, no matter. I've already made up my mind, so just be grateful and accept it...!"

As Kishirika reached for his belt, Paul instinctually chopped the top of her stone-like cranium. He had held back quite a bit, so Kishirika wasn't even remotely injured as she looked up at him with a pissed-off expression and exclaimed, "Just who do you think you're hitting!?"

Adopting an annoyed expression of his own, Paul retorted, "A lecherous little brat who doesn't understand the meaning of the word no...!"

With her left eye twitching and her shark-like teeth bared, Kishirika practically growled, "You cheeky little..."

Standing his ground, Paul's expression became more severe than it had ever been as he stated, "I'm serious. I might have been willing if you were at least as developed as a Miguardian, but your current appearance is far too immature. I might be a pervert, but I still have my principles."

Realizing Paul wasn't going to back down, Kishirika clicked her tongue and crossed her arms in deliberation. She wasn't enthused by the notion of sleeping with a human, but, even if it would only increase his chances by a single percent, she would let Paul consume her very flesh if it meant defeating Laplace and Hitogami.

Believing she had come up with a solution, a devious smile developed across Kishirika's face as she looked up at the frowning Paul and said, "If my appearance is the only problem, there are plenty of ways to remedy it. If your Vision really does permit you to live for hundreds of years without issue, you should have plenty of vitality to spare. You certainly have more than enough Mana..."

Furrowing his brows even further, Paul asked, "What are you suggesting?"

Bringing her hands up to her face, Kishirika pretended to be bashful by cradling her cheeks and replying, "Jeez...do I really need to spell it out for you~?"

Interrupting the moment Paul attempted to answer, Kishirika burst into laughter, shouting, "Get your head out of the gutter! Its blood! Blood, you idiot! What, did you think I was just going to ask you to shoot it out on my face!? Bwahahahahahaha~!"

Balling his right hand into a fist, Paul barely suppressed the urge to smack Kishirika's head as he asked, "Blood can help you grow?"

Getting her laughter under control, Kishirika replied, "It's a little, well, a lot more complicated than that. You see, the act of drawing, or, in this case, sucking fresh blood, serves as the foundation for Blood Magic rituals. I'm not particularly fond of the taste of blood, but if your Vision functions the way you suggested, I should be able to accelerate my growth quite a bit by absorbing your excess Mana and vitality."

Before Paul could even consider a response of his own, Jean interjected to inquire, "And what if your actions cause irreversible harm? Paul already refused your offer twice. You shouldn't keep pressing him."

Furrowing her brows, Kishirika gave Jean a quick, narrow-eyed once-over before stating, "Your Master is capable of making his own decisions. You should just continue standing off to the side and observing."

Shaking his head, Paul stated, "No, Jean's right. While I trust in the power of the Visions, meddling with Blood Magic when it's not even necessary is just extreme."

Though she was a little annoyed that Paul sided with a Spirit over her, the daughter of the Demon God and the Great Demon Empress, Kishirika just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Fine. We'll go with Plan C."

Without bothering to explain, Kishirika dropped to her knees and held out her hands like a pauper begging for alms as she said, "Try and aim for my hands." with a no-nonsense expression on her face...

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