Arrival

Barthiz screamed in pain as she received Artemis's power, she felt as if her entire body was burning up while ripping itself apart. If it was not for Artemis making sure she did not explode then and there she would already long be dead. The most unfortunate thing for Barthiz though is that the pain would not stop even after the transfer was over.

Her body was being forced to accommodate power that it absolutely was not ready for as the veins and muscle fibers all over her body repeatedly exploded and regenerated stronger with the demonic power. This was a similar effect to what Lucas had just done not that long ago. The difference is that this would only be done to someone that one did not care about suffering.

This was actually a way of execution in hell for ones that committed grave offenses they would be kept alive forcefully as more and more demonic power was forced into their bodies. In the end, they would seemingly be freed with a larger amount of power than they had before. The result being that they would try to take revenge for their suffering.

The moment they took the first step though trying to use this newly found demonic power of theirs it would send off a chain reaction resulting in an even more fearsome pain before finally exploding while being laughed at for their stupidity. This is not what Artemis was planning though he needed her to accompany and look out for his son this would be her mission.

Immediately after the transfer was over Artemis told her not to move as he prepared a seal that would keep the chain reaction from occurring.

"You are much stronger than before but you must not be reckless this power is not your own. I've placed a seal on the rest of it that will automatically be undone as your body is ready for it. A small portion though will be sealed consistently, this portion is the purest power I have given you and will come undone to give you the power needed to escape quickly with my son should the need arise.

Go now and train your body, get used to the new power as to not raise suspicions by accidentally breaking down a door and such. Before I forget the seal will also keep you from tapping into the raw demonic power and using it externally. This way your body will not give off the aura of a demon only granting you the passive physical strength that comes with it."

Hearing the last part Barthiz was slightly disappointed she wanted to see how her new amount of power could affect her surroundings. The pure physical strength that was granted to her though was enough to offset her disappointment. In the past she had to be seductive and use her body to get out of bad situations now she finally had the ability to fight if need be.

Barthiz quickly ran off eager to test her newfound strength as Artemis slight shook his head before entering the house. Upon entering the house Artemis quickly noticed a problem the amount of demonic aura spilling from his son was absolutely outrageous, and this was in his sleep.

When he woke up the effect would be stronger as he would inadvertently affect the demonic power with his thoughts. In normal circumstances, a demon would know how to restrain their demonic aura to a minimum amount so that only especially powerful people could detect it. Due to his son not having past experience though this was a problem for him.

Although since this power was his own he would be able to control it well when using it unlike Barthiz controlling the passive aura given off unconsciously would take training and time to properly master.

'It seems I will have to do something similar to what I did to Barthiz to him, no point in thinking about it now though I will discuss it with him when he wakes up.'

With this the hours passed by quickly and in what felt like no time at all evening had already arrived. Lucas awoke feeling tired and sore all over but he quickly forgot about both as the smell of delicious soup entered his nose. He quickly got off the towel that Barthiz had laid him on preparing to rush to the kitchen before looking down at himself and realizing how dirty he was.

His clothes and body were crusted over with large amounts of dry blood. Each move he made would result in dried blood flaking off and falling to the floor, as the sight stared setting in Lucas realized how uncomfortable this was as he started feeling itchy all over. He quickly rushed into the bath that had just been reheated by Barthiz not long before in anticipation of this.

As Lucas entered the bath and the blood started leaving his body he felt completely relaxed almost falling asleep again then and there the only thing keeping him awake beeing the amazing smell of the soup. He quickly washed his face and the rest of his body before drying off and preparing the get dressed.

Just as he was about to get dressed though he looked down and realized he looked much more muscular and frightening than before. He quickly found a mirror and pulled it out before looking at his own face noticing that his features had become much sharper than before. His cheekbones were more defined and his skin was much smoother.

Combined with his short black hair and his silvery eyes he was sure that all he would have to do is approach any lady and they would throw themselves at him. Of course, he would never have the confidence to even try to do such a thing given he has no experience with romance. Deciding he took enough time appreciating his new looks he threw on his fresh clothes and went to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen a weird sight greeted him it appeared that the roles of Artemis and Barthiz were reversed as she was at the table and he had an apron on as he stirred the soup occasionally adding in seasonings. After staring for a moment he grabbed a seat at the table and waited for dinner to be done.

After sitting down Barthiz gave Lucas a weird look for a moment before they started talking about what happened when Lucas was asleep. Lucas had noticed that Barthiz seemed different than before. Her looks didn't change but she seemed to be happier and her words carried more confidence.

He soon understood the reason for this as she told him about what Artemis did and the strength she received because of it. She also emphasized many times how extraordinarily painful the process had been at the beginning even stating that death would have been a mercy at that time. Hearing what she said Artemis had a cunning smile as he looked towards her and spoke.

"Is that so? Well, I suppose it isn't too late for me to make up for my lack of mercy at the time. Come here and I will show you how truly kind and merciful I really am."

Hearing Artemis's words Barthiz slowly turned her head to face him before shivering after witnessing his malevolent smile.

"No need! Just a joke hahaha right Lucas?"

Lucas nodded his head with an awkward smile on his face as both of them remained quiet until dinner was finished. Seeing the bowl in front of him combined with the wonderful fragrance Lucas's mouth began watering profusely as it took all his willpower to stop himself from devouring the entire bowl immediately. The soup had chunks of potato and pork that were floating in a rich and creamy broth.

There was also green onion and carrot shavings mixed in combined with cilantro on the top which made the whole thing look extremely appetizing. After waiting for Barthiz to be served and for Artemis to sit down he finally took a large spoonful of the soup and put it in his mouth all at once. Immediately he felt a combination of wonderful flavors explode in his mouth as well as a warm feeling spread throughout his body.

Lucas's expression was one of absolute euphoria as he the soreness from before seemed to melt away. Barthiz had a similar reaction to Lucas causing Artemis to laugh before starting to eat as well. Dinner went on without a single word being spoken as all that could be heard was slurping along with occasional moans as Lucas a Barthize ate slowly appreciating the taste.

After dinner was over all three of them cleaned up as Lucas had a slightly sad expression on his face as he wondered if he would be able to taste this delicious dish again. After the cleanup was done Lucas prepared to head to bed as Artemis stopped him saying that they needed to talk with a serious expression on his face.

"Son, two or three days from now some mages are going to come to get you. They became aware of your existence when you caused that mana storm from before."

Lucas looked at Artemis with a confused expression as Artemis led him outside where he looked upon the devastation of the town. Lucas breathed in deeply as he took everything questioning if he had really caused such destruction. He quickly started to become worried as he thought that the mages were coming to kill him because of the destruction he caused.

Seeing Lucas's anxious look he patted his shoulder before speaking to reassure him.

"They likely aren't coming to harm you it would be foolish if they did and I would protect you. They likely want to take you as a student and teach you proper magic since you have such large potential. This is a very good thing since I don't know magic well I had been wondering how you would learn.

Although your demonic cultivation will have to temporarily come to a stop I believe you are already more than powerful enough to defeat any average enemy know. There is another thing though I will have to seal your demonic power from being used externally so that you can learn to control it yourself to keep yourself from being exposed.

Don't worry though you did not go through that pain for nothing your new physical strength will stay and the seal will be your responsibility. You will have free control over it so if something happens you will be able to use your power at will. I urge you to be careful though and not use it unless absolutely necessary.

Barthiz will also be traveling with you so with her physical strength as well and the protection from the mages there should be no threats besides being exposed. Here is what you will tell them when they arrive I will be leaving ahead of time but don't worry I'm always watching."

After Artemis and Lucas finished talking Lucas went on to bed. He had some trouble sleeping that night though due to some anxiety about what's going to happen over the next few days. The next day passed by quickly as Artemis placed the seal on Lucas and gave him a training regimen to control his physical strength and demonic power.

He was told that he should stop the demonic power at the end of that day to keep any surprises from happening like the mages showing up while he is using it and focus on physical strength after that instead. With that Artemis left Barthiz and Lucas at the town as he started to track down the demons from the other day starting with the strongest one, Krodden.

Two more days quickly passed by as Barthiz and Lucas trained to better control their physical strength before they finally saw some quickly approaching lights among the horizon. Although it was midday the lights were still more than bright enough to be seen flashing towards them.