Devil’s Whisper (4)

Chapter 54: Devil's Whisper (4)

[Underworld: Grigori's Headquarters.]

"That's everything that happened before we arrived..."

"We searched through Pythagoras' cave based on what Va-kun said, but there was nothing special about it..."

"Although, it was apparent that Azrail erased all evidence and runes..."

"He must have done it when Va-kun and Arthur were unconscious since it seemed quite rushed..."

"What do you think, Azazel?"

After hearing Tobio and Lavinia's explanation, Azazel held his chin, leaning back against his desk.

"The Runes, Gleipnir, Caliburn, Excalibur Ruler, Pythagoras and King Arthur's descendants — Azrail Astaroth took everything with him..." Soon, his lips curled into a small, sly smile, and he crossed his arms. "That brat has a big appetite, that's for sure..."

It was no wonder why Lavinia and Tobio asked Azazel to meet them on such short notice, but he told them to wait until Vali returned.

'But to think Gleipnir and Pythagoras survived despite being hunted down by the Greek Pantheon...'

That was what surprised him the most.

Naturally, Azazel had heard of Glepnir and Pythagoras, but he didn't know how much of the rumours were true.

Some rumours said Pythagoras' control over time surpassed Chronos, the Greek God of Time, while some said he stole Gleipnir from the latter and got killed by the Greek Pantheon for this crime.

In the end, Azazel had no method to confirm what was true and what wasn't.

After all, the rumours about Pythagoras ended as soon as they began. Most of the stories regarding him emerged after he disappeared from the world.

'However, if Gleipnir can create a separate dimension, its potential shouldn't be lower than a Longinus...'

'No, considering it can help the user's soul to exist in the physical world without a body and control time-space to some extent, it might be better than [Dimension Lost] and [Innovate Clear] combined based on how strong Pythagoras was...'

'But it isn't as invincible as Arthur and Vali made it sound since the dimension collapsed and Pythagoras died when Azrail got his hands on Gleipnir and teleported out of that place...'

'Although, his mastery of [Transportation Magic] must be leagues above the average user to teleport out of a secluded dimension...'

As numerous thoughts passed through his mind, Azazel commented, "Azrail erased the runes not to hide himself but to make sure no one else would find anything of value there."

It was no different from him saying, 'Even if you know I have Gleipnir and the Rune Language, what can you do about it?'

If Azrail wanted to hide himself, he wouldn't have saved Vali, Arthur, and Le Fay's lives.

'Such stinginess. That brat is Ajuka's brother, no doubt about it...'

Both brothers were pieces of the same cloth.

'But I can't blame him for being stingy. In the end, he came back to save Vali's life and risked his safety. Wanting to have something in return is natural...'

Azazel had raised Vali like his own son. It'd be regrettable if something happened to the latter.

For that, he felt grateful towards Azrail.

'If anything, it would have been suspicious if Azrail didn't take anything in return for saving Vali's life...'

Azrail demanding Vali not to recruit Arthur and Le Fay wasn't an unreasonable request.

As for Pythagoras' descendants, Gleipnir, and the Rune Language, Azazel had nothing to say about those.

They rightfully belonged to Azrail.

"Hey, Tobio..." After thinking about it for a few seconds, Azazel spoke, "You said Azrail detected you when you were moving through shadows... Do you have any idea how he did that?"

Tobio shook his head. "He's proficient in [Darkness Magic], so I guess he must also know how to move through shadows like me..."

"I see."

'The last time I heard of Azrail Astaroth was after his engagement banquet with Rias Gremory, but I never expected him to be this strong...'

If Azrail managed to hide such strength from the world, there was a chance that he was somehow related to the disappearances within the Underworld.

However, now that the disappearances stopped after the main culprits got caught, no one would bother pointing fingers at a child for potentially being an accomplice.

'If he can move through shadows, it'll explain how he stayed out of sight for everyone other than his brother. His involvement in the disappearances throughout the Underworld isn't impossible, although a bit far-fetched...'

As if Sirzechs and Ajuka weren't enough to completely shatter the power balance between the Three Factions, the Devils now had another such genius.

'And no matter how much I think, it seems like something is missing in Arthur and Vali's story...'

To confirm his doubts, Azazel turned towards the last person inside his office — Vali Lucifer, Grigori's White Dragon Emperor.

"Did anything else happen before Tobio and Lavinia arrived, Vali?"

"No."

Azazel smiled at Vali's short yet precise answer.

'He's lying. From how quickly he replied, he came prepared for anything I might ask...'

No matter how much Vali tried, he couldn't deceive Azazel's eyes.

'Is it because he promised Azrail to keep some details hidden from others? That's possible...'

If Tobio and Lavinia hadn't appeared outside Pythagoras' cave, Vali might have never told them about what happened.

'But in that case, I doubt he'll tell the truth no matter how much I ask...'

Vali was too prideful to go back on his words.

Since that was the case, Azazel instead asked, "You spent the last five days with Azrail Astaroth, right? What do you think of him?"

"His nonchalant attitude and interest in magic items reminds me of you, but..." Vali paused for a few seconds before continuing in a tired, somewhat exhausted tone. "He's way more unpredictable and chaotic. Even during our time together, he asked me numerous questions about [Divine Dividing], [Absolute Demise], and [Canis Lykaon]..."

"He's interested in Sacred Gears?"

That little detail pleasantly surprised Azazel.

"Not just Sacred Gears but all sorts of magic items and weapons. Azrail's main reason for recruiting Arthur was to study Caliburn and Excalibur Ruler..." Vali turned towards Azazel, looking into the latter's eyes. "He wanted to use the Holy Swords as a reference and convert Arondight into a perfectly balanced Holy-Demonic Sword..."

"A Holy Demonic Sword?" When Azazel heard those words, he unintentionally let out a heartfelt laugh. "That brat has big aspirations..."

Despite the absence of God, Azazel doubted the possibility of a Holy Demonic Sword's existence.

It'd be impossible for Holy Power and Demonic Power to coexist because of their opposite natures.

Not to mention, God's Holy System, the current source of all Holy Power, still upheld his values of standing against the Demonic.

The system wouldn't allow the Holy Power it created to coexist with Demonic Power.

'If it were the by-product of some Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker, a weapon with both Holy and Demonic attributes might appear, but creating it artificially...'

As of right now, Azazel doubted the possibility.

A Reincarnated Devil possessing a Holy attribute Sacred Gear — that was the closest Holy Power and Demonic Power could get to coexisting.

However, balancing and utilising them together wouldn't be possible unless something extraordinary happened.

It wasn't something a child could accomplish just after studying Caliburn and Excalibur Ruler.

"He must have tried to do this because Arondight is a Holy Sword turned Demonic Sword with traces of both elements... Failures do lead to massive breakthroughs. I wonder if this discouraged him case..."

Azazel was curious about what Azrail could accomplish since he was Ajuka's brother, but before he could continue—

"He succeeded."

His movements halted at Vali's words.

"What...?"

"I said, Azrail succeeded in creating a Holy Demonic Sword..."

Azazel slowly turned towards his son with a frown. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

Following that, Vali explained everything that happened after he left with Azrail, from the time he spent inside the latter's laboratory to the Holy Demonic Sword's creation.

"When Arondight became a Holy Sword, it regained its original abilities, and... Also their Demonic counterparts in its Demon Sword form..."

Vali's words left Azazel dumbfounded, and from the side, Lavinia asked, "Demonic counterparts?"

"I only saw it once, but Arondight's [Holy Slash] became [Demonic Slash]..."

'The original Arondight could absorb [Darkness] and [Demonic Power], so does that mean its Demon Sword form can absorb [Light] and [Holy Power]?'

Wouldn't that make Arondight the perfect weapon against Angels and Fallen Angels?

But that wasn't what concerned Azazel the most.

"No. That's not good..." Azazel placed his hand over his mouth, looking down at the floor. "If this becomes known, it'll be troublesome..."

The fact that a Pure-Blooded Devil like Azrail Astaroth could wield a Holy Sword should never be public knowledge, much less the existence of a Holy-Demonic Sword.

In the worst-case scenario, it might reveal the absence of God and throw the entire Christian Pantheon into chaos.

'Let's contact Ajuka and Sirzechs before Azrail does something with Arondight...'

No matter what, the Biblical God's death was a concerning topic for the Three Factions.

"You don't have to worry about that..." Vali spoke after noticing the frown on Azazel's face. "Azrail warned us not to reveal Arondight's existence to others, as it'll cause needless conflict between Heaven and the Underworld..."

'A needless conflict between the Heaven and the Underworld? Does that mean Azrail attempted to create a Holy-Demonic Sword without knowing about God's death?'

Although weird, it somehow made sense.

No matter how lenient the Four Great Satans were towards Azrail, they wouldn't reveal such a significant secret to a child.

His figuring it out on his own was also unlikely.

'That brat is as much of a monster as his brother...'

After a few seconds of silence, Vali's eyes moved away from Azazel, glancing towards Lavinia and Tobio. "I'm only telling this because it's you guys..."

'If Vali's willing to tell us about the Holy-Demonic Sword, why'd he lie about what happened inside Pythagoras' cave? Or could it be that I am mistaken?'

With those thoughts in mind, Azazel turned towards the White Dragon Emperor. "If you fought Azrail, how close would it be?"

"If we fought..." Vali's expression turned sore at that question, and he unknowingly clenched his fists. "I will lose..."

That detail piqued Azazel's interest.

The only method to defeat Vali was to end the battle before he could use [Divide] on his opponent.

If Vali fought someone around his level and managed to use [Divide] on them, he would win.

And from what Azazel heard earlier, the difference between Vali and Azrail wasn't much.

The reason Vali failed against Pythagoras was because the latter was a spirit.

After all, [Divide] was useless against someone physically untouchable and less effective on those far above its host's level.

"What makes you say that?"

"At first, I thought if I could use [Divide] on Azrail, it'd be my victory, but inside his laboratory, he effortlessly moved at a speed I couldn't even follow. I have no idea if that was his full speed or not..." Vali took a deep breath and sighed, releasing his fists. "Albion said that as it currently stands, I have no chance against Azrail unless I unlock my Balance Breaker..."

From how Vali phrased it, even unlocking Balance Breaker didn't guarantee victory against Azrail, only that his chances wouldn't be zero.

However, despite those words, he didn't seem dismissive or disappointed in himself.

If anything, Vali's eyes were more determined than ever, which made Azazel smile.

'But seriously, I take it back. Calling that brat a monster is an understatement...'

As if creating a Holy-Demonic Sword wasn't enough of an accomplishment, his strength also surpassed Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor with the highest potential in history and someone who has trained harder than most people his entire life.

'First Ajuka and now Azrail. What the hell is up with those genes?'

Azazel knew life was unfair, but wasn't this too much?

"Vali, can you do me a favour?"

"What is it?"

"Keep in touch with Azrail for the time being..."

"Huh?" Vali's expression worsened at Azazel's words, and he continued in a reluctant, somewhat annoyed tone. "Why?"

Azazel expected him to be reluctant, but such an intense reaction caught him off guard.

"Do you hate Azrail Astaroth?"

"I'm indebted to him for saving my life, but I don't like him all that much..."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter. All I care about is surpassing and defeating him in the future..." As Vali spoke, a [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared under him. "I'm going back to train. I must unlock my [Balance Breaker] as soon as possible..."

With those words, he disappeared.

It seemed like Vali knew that if he stayed any longer, Azazel would somehow force him to comply with his request.

And he was correct to believe that.

"Am I missing something...?"

"Va-kun and Azrail were getting along before... I wonder if something happened during the last few days..."

"I think you are the reason, Lavinia..."

"Me...?"

After hearing Lavinia and Tobio's small conversation, Azazel turned towards the latter, raising his eyebrows to demand an explanation.

"Well, you see... Azrail likely fell in love with Lavinia at first sight..." Tobio spoke with an awkward smile. "At the very least, he has a crush on her. It wasn't hard to tell from how he behaved..."

'So that's how it is...'

Vali saw Lavinia as an older sister and was protective of her, so his reaction made more sense in Azazel's eyes now.

"Eh... Are you sure, Tobi?" However, the one most surprised by that revelation was Lavinia herself. "He didn't do anything strange when we met..."

"Didn't you see how mesmerised Azrail was when he first saw you? He kept sneaking glances at you the entire time..."

"Really?" Lavinia tilted her head a little, a bit oblivious and lost. "Why would someone like Azrail see me that way?"

Azazel stared at Lavinia with a bland expression.

'Sometimes, I wonder if she's faking her oblivious nature or not...'

Weirdly enough, Lavinia reminded Azazel of Gabriel — being so painfully oblivious to how her own beauty and charms affected others.

Gabriel still had no idea how much she and her breasts contributed to Azazel's fall from heaven.

He didn't regret it, though.

But one thing was sure.

'Although young, that brat has fine taste in women...'

Azazel's evaluation of Azrail rose a bit higher.

It was regrettable, but Vali never showed interest in anything except training, including women.

Alas, Azazel always wanted to guide a young man into the pleasures of women, something that didn't happen with Vali.

A shame.

"If that's the case..." Azazel interrupted Lavinia and Tobio's conversation, gaining their attention. "Can you befriend Azrail Astaroth instead, Lavinia?"

"I don't want to lie to him like that... He is a bit chaotic, but he's not a bad person. And he saved Va-kun's life, so approaching him with ulterior motives is wrong..."

"I'm not telling you to pry into his life or seduce him..." Noticing that Lavinia misunderstood his intentions, Azazel corrected himself. "Just maintain a friendly relationship with Azrail. He can be a powerful ally in the future, so it doesn't hurt to be on good terms with him..."

He wouldn't be ungrateful enough to move against Azrail for no reason, especially after the latter saved Vali's life.

After all, Azazel had been worried about Vali's safety for the last two months.

No matter how much he searched, he couldn't find anything, and he only relaxed after Tobio and Lavinia contacted him.

Not to mention, Lavinia's character wasn't the best for seducing someone.

Her seduction techniques would boil down to buying plushies for her target or chatting with them.

Azazel doubted that'd seduce Azrail, even if he had a crush on her.

After pondering for a few seconds, Lavinia agreed with a smile. "If that's the case, I can do it..."

'It looks like she had a pretty good first impression of Azrail even outside of him saving Vali's life...'

No wonder Vali was so salty earlier.

"You too, Tobio. If you can, try to build a positive relationship with Azrail..." Azazel glanced towards Tobio. "I'm sure he'll be interested in knowing you two since Vali said he's interested in Sacred Gears... There's no need to rush it, though. You two can take your time since this isn't a mission or anything..."

"Yes, sir."

"Got it."

In all honesty, Azazel wanted to meet Azrail, too.

He wanted to see what kind of person managed to accomplish something even he considered impossible.

But it was too soon.

He was sure they'd meet each other someday.

.

.

.

[Human World: Rome, Italy.]

"It seems like your efforts to make them believe you feel in love with Lavinia bore fruit..."

"You knew it was an act?"

"Please. You falling in love at first sight is the last thing I'd believe."

Lyra and Azrail sat across each other at a round table, and he smiled at her rude remark. "That's cruel..."

"Why act like that, though? Does that girl's [Absolute Demise] interest you? Or is it because you want to snatch her away from Grigori over time?"

"I'll leave it up to your imagination..."

'It's most likely a bit of both...' Lyra scoffed at Azrail's words, and she repeated what he said earlier. "What was that about starting a new life together — one based on trust and affection?"

"The fact that I'm showing you this is already far more trust than you deserve..."

Currently, both of them had their forearms resting on the table, and Azrail gently held Lyra's hand.

Although it looked peaceful on the surface, Lyra was on high alert since Azrail had tried to crush her hand twice in the last fifteen minutes.

"I had no idea Grigori relocated their headquarters. The last time I checked, it was on the other side of their territory..."

It was understandable, though.

Lyra hadn't paid much attention to the Fallen Angels after the Great War ended.

"But I'm surprised... For someone whom Krens called the most sinister of the Fallen Angels, Azazel seems like a nice person..."

"He's better than you, at least."

As Lyra's words finished, her eyes met Azrail's, and the two maintained eye contact for a few seconds before—

Whoosh!*

She hurriedly pulled back her hand, causing the image of Grigori's headquarters in her mind to disappear.

Azrail had been transferring the information he received from Lavinia's shadow to Lyra through physical contact for almost half an hour now.

From what he said, he 'marked' Lavinia's shadow before the two separated after their last meeting and had kept tabs on her ever since.

Clench!*

The moment Lyra retreated her hand, Azrail's fist clenched.

Had she reacted slower, her hand would have been crushed completely.

As if he didn't just attempt to crush her hand, Azrail glanced at Lyra with a curious expression. "Have you met Azazel before?"

"Yes. I took quite a few assassination requests from Grigori during the Great War. Most of them came from him..." Lyra leaned back on her chair, crossing her legs and resting her hands above her thighs. "But the disguise Azazel knew me as died during the Great War..."

"What do you think... How does Azazel feel about me?"

Lyra stared at the pizza table on the table before picking a slice and taking a small bite.

'He wasn't lying. Although simple, it's strangely delicious...'

The pleasant taste surprised her, and she placed her fingertips on her lips, staring at the pizza slice in her left hand.

'Human cuisines have developed a lot in the last few millennials...'

Maybe supernaturals restricting contact with humans and letting them develop on their own wasn't a bad thing?

On the surface, the reason for that restriction was the immense number of human casualties that happened because of the supernaturals.

Most Gods approved of that, so other races like Devils, Fallen Angels, Youkai, Vampires, and Monsters had no choice but to comply.

After all, who would want to oppose a decision made by beings including the Biblical God, Shiva, Jade Emperor, Brahma, Vishnu, Hades, Odin, Indra, and Lugh?

The restriction forbade supernaturals from directly intervening in human civilisation on a massive scale, and over time, their existence became a myth within humanity.

This allowed humans to reproduce without much harm, which meant that Gods could harness more faith from them to strengthen their powers.

That was how the current world came to be.

"How Azazel feels..." Lyra's opinion of humans rose ever so slightly, and after a few seconds, she continued. "Gratitude for saving the White Dragon Emperor, interest towards the Holy-Demonic Sword, uncertainty about your engagement banquet, vigilance because of your immense potential, and a bit of camaraderie..."

"Camaraderie...?"

"Yes... Knowing him, he must have thought, 'That little shit has excellent taste in women.' or something along those lines because you 'fell' for Lavinia, whose demeanour resembles Archangel Gabriel..."

"That 'little shit' felt a bit too personal..."

Azrail narrowed his eyes at Lyra, and she gave him a sweet smile. "I simply answered the question. You don't have to believe me."

While everything she said was her true thoughts, the 'little shit' part was indeed personal.

"Hmm..." Azrail leaned forward, placing his elbow on the table and resting his face against his palm, staring at the pizza slice in Lyra's hand. "Aren't Pure-Blooded Vampires unable to consume anything except blood?"

"We can not digest anything besides blood; consumption is no problem... Except for finding blood delicious, our sense of taste is similar to any other species out there."

All it took was a simple spell for Pure-Blooded Vampires to consume regular food, but it wouldn't help them maintain their immortal bodies, so consuming blood was more of a necessity.

Somehow, Pure-Blooded Vampires stopped consuming anything except blood over time because it was something that half-breeds would do.

Lyra liked eating food occasionally.

She still hated the taste of garlic, though.

"On that note, whose memories did you read except Elmenhilde?"

Lyra had expected such a question, so she replied with a small smile. "For one of the 72 Pillars, it certainly wasn't hard to sneak into the Astaroth Castle and extract memories from their clan head's soul..."

"Wait a minute..." Rather than worrying about how Lyra snuck into his home, Azrail frowned. "You can extract memories from a soul?"

"Yes...?"

That was how she extracted the actual memories of people Ajuka and Alice used [Memory Manipulation] on to cover for Azrail's crimes.

"Why didn't you use it on Elmenhilde?"

If Lyra had done that, she would have extracted Elmenhilde's actual memories and not the altered ones.

"Because it is difficult to extract memories from the soul, and I never thought she had her memories altered."

In Lord Astaroth's case, his strength far surpassed Elmenhilde's, and he passively resisted Lyra's [Mind Reading] spell, so she had no choice but to extract memories from his soul.

Azrail stared at Lyra for a few seconds before his back hunched, and he sulked. "If we had this conversation before, I could've read Pythagoras' memories..."

"Don't overestimate me..." Lyra lightly shook her head at that statement. "Pythagoras' mastery of [Soul Manipulation] was incomparably higher than mine; probably one of the best to ever exist. A trick like this wouldn't have worked on him..."

"That was a joke, you know..." Azrail chuckled, crossing his arms on the table and resting his chin on them. "The moment I saw his soul surviving inside the Dimensional Gap without external support, I regarded him as too dangerous to mess with..."

"Trust me, that was for the best."

.

.

.

For the next few minutes, Lyra quietly devoured the pizza under Azrail's gaze, and after she finished, he asked, "I have a request..."

"What is it?"

"Can you look into the Naberius Clan and find the Nekoshu I previously mentioned?"

'Rather than ordering me to do it, he's asking...'

At least he had some tact.

"What if I don't want to?"

"In that case, I'll have no choice but to look for them myself... No matter what, I still need to heal my depleted lifespan..."

"Well, I agreed to work for you. It wouldn't be right for me to refuse such a simple request for no reaction..." Lyra smiled at Azrail, interlocking her fingers. "Sure. I'll look into both of them, but I have one question."

He gestured for her to continue, and she spoke, "How do you know about those two Nekoshu?"

"I can't tell you that."

Azrail was firm with his reply.

"I see."

It didn't take Lyra long to give up on this matter.

The look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he wouldn't answer her question.

And it wasn't like she could force him to do something he didn't want to.

"I'll leave it to you, then..."

Azrail soon stood up from his chair and walked towards the centre of Lyra's room.

"Where are you going?"

"To create an actual perfect safe haven for myself..." Azrail grinned at Lyra, and his shadow rose from the ground, enveloping his body. "The one below the first laboratory has already served its purpose..."

With those words, he vanished under the effects of [Shadow Teleportation].

'The mark on his 5% body...'

As soon as Azrail left, Lyra's mark on his 5% body, which was inside the deepest parts of the first laboratory, disappeared.

Now, the only Azrail she could monitor was the 25% in Bucharest.

'I doubt even I can find his last body's hiding spot this time around...'

Now that Azrail knew about Lyra's true capabilities, it'd be nearly impossible for her to find his last line of survival.

No. It might as well be impossible.

'Sure enough...'

Lyra stared at the spot Azrail disappeared from without blinking, recalling everything that happened ever since she met him.

'Compared to when we first fought, he feels like a completely different person now...'

Michael Kezess and Azrail Astaroth.

'If I have to say that this person has a principle, then his principle is to have no bottom line....'

'And if I say this person has a bottom line, then his bottom line is to have no principle...'

The epitome of selfishness and greed.

That was her evaluation of Azrail.

A person not held back by emotions and desires — he was the worst matchup for Lyra, who excelled at abusing her opponent's mental and emotional weaknesses.

'I'll lose all leverage against him when he decides he doesn't need Azrail Astaroth's identity any longer...'

Soon, Lyra's lips curled into a genuine, honest smile. "It's a race against time..."

'Whether Azrail grows to the point where his identity becomes meaningless even if exposed, or I escape from his control before that...'

There was no in-between.

If Azrail won, Lyra would be at his mercy.

He could enslave her for eternity or kill her at a whim.

If she won, she would have her freedom back.

'But with half my soul and physical body under his control, that's extremely difficult...'

Both of these problems required a lot of time to solve.

Lyra needed a new vessel for her soul and a method to instantly repair it from the aftereffects of forcefully breaking her [Soul Corridor] with Azrail.

However, there was one problem.

'This isn't something I can easily do with my skill level...'

She wasn't Pythagoras.

'At the very least, it'll take me a few decades to devise a plausible method and make the necessary preparations...'

As numerous thoughts passed through Lyra's head, she placed her index finger on her forehead, and a Magic Circle appeared between them.

'Sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing...'

Within seconds, all five of Lyra's senses disappeared.

Since Azrail had control over her physical body, there was also a chance that he could control her five senses, too.

It'd be better to disable them now than regret it later on.

After a few seconds, Lyra surged her Demonic Power and continued, "[Magic Perception]."

[Magic Perception.]

[Category: Skill.]

[It allows the user to use Magic Power to perceive the surroundings and see 360 degrees around them without leaving a blind spot. With enough practice, the user can mimic enhanced versions of their other senses through it.]

For example, by observing the fluctuation of light and sound waves, the user can convert them into perceptible data, allowing them to see and hear their surroundings.

If an average person used this skill, it'd cause their brain to self-destruct due to the never-ending flow of information overloading it.

The skill's range and effectiveness relied heavily on the user's processing capabilities.

Even Lyra only used it in battles against opponents around or above her level.

'Considering this skill's consumption and my recovery rate, it'll permanently reduce my Magic Power Reserves by 4% to keep it active all the time...'

It also meant that if she used [Shadow Domain], [Magic Perception] would deactivate.

'As it stands, I might also need to look for ways to increase my strength...'

There was no guarantee that Azrail would let her leave even if she escaped.

With him knowing her primary abilities that allowed her to survive until now, it'd be difficult to escape from him if his strength surpassed Lyra's.

She had faced and killed countless strong enemies, but never once had anyone made her want to grow stronger beyond her natural limits.

It was an ambition she never had, as her current strength was enough to survive in this world... At least until he appeared.

"Seriously..."

Lyra's head dropped forward, and he placed her right hand on her face, letting out a high-pitched, ecstatic laugh.

"When was the last time someone pushed me this far?"

Never.

Not even Lilia or Hades invoked such dread and fear in her heart.

No, the two didn't even come close.

"Michael Kezess — No, Azrail Astaroth... I'm really looking forward to our time together..."

---

Words: 4950

This marks the end of the setting of Lyra and Azrail's current dynamic. We'll move on to different characters next chapter, followed by a timeskip.

I am starting to miss writing first-person POV xD.

A/N:

A chapter only after 16 days. I call it progress.

From the 30-day upload time, I almost halved it.

Next, the goal is to upload within 10 days (sooner if I finish it before), and then seven days and so on.

I'm trying to get back into writing on a regular basis and make a consistent upload schedule again.

Have some faith in me.

Please send powerstones xD.

-

To make something clear before we move forward:

[Divide] isn't absolute — the Longinus can't litteraly take half if the power of everyone, no. There is a basic requirement for that: The enemy needs to be weaker, equal or just a little bit stronger than Vali for it to work.

If Vali tries [Divide] against a vastly stronger enemy compared to him, [Divide] will not take half of his power, only a portion of it.

So [Divide] here scales upon the difference in power between Vali and his enemy, the stronger the enemy is compared to his him, the smaller the power Divide will take. If the enemy is weaker, then its guaranteed to take half of their power every [Divide].

Don't expect Vali to walk to someone like Shiva, use Divide, and then expect Shiva to lose half of his power.

Side note: I took this from DxD Rants.