Chapter 168
Unable to conceal her smile at their rather close relationship, she was happy that not only had Igor gotten stronger, but he also got a very strong companion, a companion in the form of Trihexa. What sort of possibilities that would open up, only time would tell.
[As long as you are happy, Igor. It brings me joy to see you smile like this.]
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|DxD|
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Aurelia was standing in front of Igor with obvious intrigue on her face. Just a few moments ago, his aura suddenly surged which had caused her to nearly panic. The brief, but violent fluctuations had such power that even the tree behind him had almost been torn asunder.
She was forced to put a lot more of her mana into the massive barrier surrounding them so that his massive energy signature would not leak out. With the power gap between them, her barrier was almost not strong enough, but she eventually managed.
Having strengthened the barriers even further, she instantly made her way back to him only to be confronted with the sight before her.
He was still hovering above the ground with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed with his crimson aura causing his equally crimson hair to billow like it was in a gentle wind. The most intriguing change was the nature energy surrounding his body. Previously it was like little black streaks individually entering his body, similar tadpoles surrounding an egg.
Now, those streaks had turned into long strands that were converging at the centre of his forehead like a vortex. It was mesmerising just as it was unnerving. His aura had become absent of the thin film of malevolent nature energy surrounding him. But he wasn't getting weaker. Not in the slightest.
Aurelia could feel it very clearly that his power had outright doubled compared to before. At his level of power, this was already comparable to almost three years of solid training in her estimation.
This sudden strength increase wasn't enough for him to jump directly to high-supreme class, but it inched him ever closer.
[Just what did you do, my lord?]
If she wasn't paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed that his power had grown at all. That little release of power would've been treated as just that- a release. And that was the thing.
If he had actually gone with her suggestion and killed this entity inside of him, the increase in power would not have gone so naturally that it almost evaded her senses. *
In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if half the forest would've been flattened by his rapid increase in power instead of that little wind he made.
But if he didn't kill the girl, then what would be causing his power to rise?
[Hopefully it isn't of negative consequence.]
Yet right before her eyes, another sudden change occurred. The long strands of tainted energy which had been gathering on his forehead suddenly coalesced at a much higher rate. The black vortex suddenly spun faster and faster, its radius expanding dramatically for a few seconds before gradually, it stopped.
Like the last vestiges of water circling down a drain, the radius of the vortex gradually shrunk until the remaining strands finally entered his forehead. The most surprising aspect however, was that a small black diamond tattoo had been left on his forehead. It was so small that even a baby's finger could cover it, but it was there nonetheless.
Before she could decipher the sudden appearance of this mark, her attention was immediately drawn to his eyes that had suddenly opened.
"?!"
GRUUUU!
The shockwave he released was immense, so mighty that she found herself stumbling momentarily. The same couldn't be said for the trees however. A few of them had outright been torn from their trunks during that momentary hurricane of power. Even she could've been blown away had she not secured herself to the ground using gravity magic.
The only fortunate outcome was that the barrier held itself strong.
[My lord…]
His eyes, ever crimson as always, had gained a small but noticeable black ring around them. Her mind had briefly entertained the thought that he was possessed. But no matter how magnificent his external changes were, she would never mistake that warm yet immense lifeforce he naturally radiated.
"Lord Dimori."
She bowed slightly in respect.
"Welcome back."
Hearing him land on the ground, she lifted her head to inspect his features, but was surprised when she saw an annoyed expression on his face.
"Tch. Should've read the terms and conditions."
"?"
Watching him rub the back of his neck, she wondered what terms and conditions he was talking about.
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|DxD|
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"Waaah! The air feels nice! Oooh…so this is how clothes fee- Heyy! The trees are damaged! That's cool! Do it again! I want to see them go 'woooosh' and 'boooosh'!"
"..."
Vein Twitch!
Normally, Igor would consider himself a children's person. After all, he enjoyed having Asia and Akeno around him and would gladly spend time with them. However, that did not extend to old hags with thousands of years under their belts.
Triny was incessant in her chattering. Ever since he had regained consciousness, she had been flooding his head with her constant commentary. Even worse, he didn't know how to shut her off.
Gently landing on the ground, he scratched his neck in irritation.
"Tch. Should've read the terms and conditions."
Gradually, he powered down to his base state. His hair flopped down to his side while his aura disappeared. However, the diamond mark remained on his forehead.
He was happy to find that with his transformation undone, she had quietened down, however temporarily it might b-
{Hey! I know you like me. I can feel it!}
[I wish I didn't.]
{Yaayy~. You admitted it!}
[No. I…goddamnit.]
Palming himself on the forehead, a massive part of himself was starting to regret merging with her.
{Liar! I know don't. In fact, I can feel you're excited.}
[...annoying hag.]
Their bond was one that was forged through the soul. As such, she was able to know his true thoughts and feelings, something that irked him to no end. What was worse, he couldn't do anything about it.
{And you won't because I'm staying. Hmph!}
Resisting the urge to palm his forehead again, Igor seriously considered why he even went through this.
[It would've been better if it was a pretty woman. Not an old hag.]
{I'm not an old hag!}
[You are.]
{I'm not!}
[You ar-]
{I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!}
[You are-]
"Lord Dimori?"
Aurelia was concerned when Igor just stood on the spot with a blank gaze. Him palming his forehead as the veins on his forehead bulged did not help in removing her concerns. But it seemed her call was enough to bring him back to reality.
Lowering his gaze to meet hers, Igor placed Triny's whinings towards the back of his head.
"Thank you for watching over me, sister. Everything went well, though I wish I could reverse time."
{Hey! I can feel you're lying, you know? And I'm not an old hag!}
{A young hag then?}
{Nooooo!}
Ignoring the whining girl in his head again, he pushed aside an annoying strand of hair that was hanging over his nose. He could tell his sister was curious and he didn't keep her waiting.
"You remember the girl I showed you in my memories? I didn't kill her. Hell, she might've killed herself on a long enough time basis."
{I can't kill myself. I…tried.}
[...]
Filing this away as a conversation he would have with her later, he continued.
"So I did the next best thing. I absorbed her and now I'm stuck with a girl in my head who may possibly talk me to death. Though, some good did come out of it."
Raising his hands, Igor formed a ki blade on his right hand.
Zuuuuuuu
It was a smooth white with a spectral yet glassy appearance. Without hesitation, he used it to cut a deep gash on his arm, nearly severing his hand from the rest of his arm.
Forcing herself to inaction, Aurelia watched with wonder as a black mist covered the wound before it regenerated rapidly in real time.
"Amazing…"
"I know. Want to meet her? I'm sure you're curious about her."
"..."
She couldn't lie. She was very curious in meeting this Triny.
"Yes, my lord."
"Good."
Grabbing her cheeks, he closed the distance between them before placing his forehead against hers.
"Brace yourself."
Slightly taken aback by the sudden contact, she composed herself.
"Yes, my lord."
At her word, Igor slowly brought her into the deepest recesses of his mind. Black tendrils spread from his forehead and connected to hers. Aurelia felt like an ice cube had been pressed against her head, making her react unconsciously.
"Ah?"
"Bear with it, sister."
"...yes."
Slowly, she could feel herself lose consciousness, her mind falling into what appeared to be an endless abyss of white.
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|DxD|
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Gradually the white light blinding Aurelia's view dimmed. After having been sent through what seemed to be a wormhole, she was glad to have exited that dizzying landscape. When she opened her eyes, she was in a lush field expanding as far as the eye could see.
With no trees in sight, the rays of the sun were free to spread their radiance without consequence. However, barring her new location, she was surprised to be confronted by a peculiar sight.
Igor stood in front of her as always. What was different was that on his shoulders was the same girl she had seen in his memories. Her luscious golden hair cascaded around her shoulders like a mane while her dress as dark as the night was modestly adorned on her body.
Interestingly enough, the girl seemed to be trying to bite through his skull with all the fervor of a lion cub. Unfortunately, she would have to get through his hair before she could sink her teeth in.
Whether Igor noticed the attempt on his life or not, he didn't show it. Or if he did, he didn't care.
"Triny. Meet my sister, Aurelia. Sister. Meet Triny."
Lowering her head respectfully, Aurelia greeted the little girl.
"A pleasure to meet you, Triny-sama. Please take care of my lord."
Igor offhandedly scoffed at her words.
"I wonder who's taking care of who…"
"?!"
Angry, Triny sat ramrod straight on his shoulders with an angry expression on her face.
"Heyyy! I heard that!"
"What a surprise. Seems like despite your age, your ears do work."
"Meanie!"
The little lass then proceeded to try and bite his skull again, a futile effort since once again, his hair got in the way. Not caring in the slightest at her second attempt to scalp him, Igor shrugged his shoulders as he looked at his sister.
"See what I have to deal with?"
Chuckling lightly to herself, Aurelia replied.
"Fufu~. I see, my lord."
Despite how his words could be interpreted in multiple different ways, Aurelia could hear from his tone that he was joking. In fact, the way these two acted seemed to be more along the lines of brother and sister.
[It is surprising how familiarly they act with each other.]
From what she's seen of the girl, Igor's off-handed comments should've no doubt hurt her, especially if their merger was recent.
But…
"Maaa! I'll bite you. I'll bite you. I'll bite you to death!"
"More like talk me to death. If only you came with an off-switch."
"Meanie! You're bad!"
"And you're annoying. Day one and I'm already thinking of going to buy milk. " *
"Liar! I'll bite you!"
Unable to conceal her smile at their rather close relationship, she was happy that not only had Igor gotten stronger, but he also got a very strong companion, a companion in the form of Trihexa.
Though, after seeing the fabled Beast of Apocalypse like this, her worldview certainly has been shattered.
Regardless…
[As long as you are happy, my lord. It brings me joy to see you smile like this.]
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AN
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Now, for some explanations.
If he had actually gone with her suggestion and killed this entity inside of him, the increase in power would not have gone so naturally that it almost evaded her senses. *
Explanation: Note that there is a difference between building up power and releasing power. Normally, when someone abruptly powers up, pressure accumulates within their body. This pressure is then released in a shockwave that depending on the person's power, may or may not cause noticeable damage to their surroundings.
As for what happened with Igor, his power outright doubled. Meaning, his Demigod State that gave him a 100x boost in power suddenly became similar to a 200x multiplier. To clarify, the power increase was to his base state, not his transformation. Hence, the comparison.
Moving on, his power increase was seamless as stated above. Well…not totally seamless. The rapid increase in power did release a minor shockwave. But like a chimney, the moment when he opened his eyes was when the pressure from rapidly building up his power was truly released in one great burst.
"And you're annoying. Day one and I'm already thinking of going to buy milk. " *
Explanation: Self-explanatory. Still don't get it? It's a joke where a father tells their child they're going to buy milk, only to never come back. Essentially, they abandoned their family.