A way to handle divine power better, and to attain a realm.
The demon had explained it as if it were something grand, but its meaning was simple.
In other words, it was saying it would make me stronger.
‘Hmm…….’
I thought back on the ways I had handled divine power until now.
Either I simply slammed divine power into things blindly, or I used it unconsciously, like some passive ability……
‘……Mm.’
No matter how I thought about it, it was hard to say I was using it efficiently.
To make an analogy, my level of utilization was about that of a primitive man who had just discovered fire for the first time.
Of course, it had not been long since I acquired this power, and realizing such varied applications in the meantime was impressive enough, but……
“You can hardly say you’re using it particularly well, can you?”
The demon said so with a bright smile.
For some reason, I felt pricked by that and avoided its eyes before abruptly asking,
“…Then what must I do?”
“Why, raise your stature and solidify your realm.”
The demon’s answer was simple.
But it was not something easily understood.
The demon seemed to notice my confusion as well, and said with a soft chuckle,
“Stature means, quite literally, the might of the soul you possess. As for what you can do when that stature rises…… well. Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.”
With those words, the demon’s bright yellow eyes flashed.
That was all I could perceive.
At the same time, the demon’s aura changed.
‘…This is.’
Tremble—.
My body shook on its own. A sensation as if every fine hair on my body had stood on end.
It felt similar to when I had faced colossal beings. A fear that welled up by itself, something close to instinct.
But compared to those beings, the fear was lesser.
Was that why? Rather than freezing, my body began to respond to that aura.
Snap—!
The wings that extended from my shoulder blades wrapped around me as if to protect me.
At the same time, the divine power guarding my mind warned me of that being.
A demon.
That being possessed a power fundamentally opposed to divine power.
Of course, its total amount and potential itself were inferior to divine power, but it was a power that stirred an instinctive revulsion.
No, rather than revulsion, perhaps it was closer to fear……
But why? Even though divine power felt like a completely superior version of that power, I felt as if victory could not be guaranteed.
‘Demonic energy… should I call it that?’
Since it was an existence opposed to divine power, calling it that roughly would do.
That was how ominous a power it was to me.
And yet, for some reason… I did not want to reject it outright.
Contradictory, and lacking consistency though that was.
[How is it? Can you see it?]
The demon spoke to me.
As if it had thrown off the human mask it had been wearing until now, the voice it produced could hardly be called a living voice.
Hearing its voice to that extent, fear suddenly rose in me.
Something that was not human. A being that had left humanity behind, possessing a power opposed to mine.
At any moment, it could……
[Hehe. You’ve become an angel, so what are you so afraid of? When you possess that remarkable divine power?]
At those words, I suddenly opened my mouth.
Though my body could not overcome its fear and trembled, my mouth alone seemed unaffected.
“…How do you speak as though you know so much about divine power?”
The question that burst from my mouth was not entirely out of nowhere, but it was not exactly what I should have asked here either.
There must have been many better questions.
But I asked it anyway.
Believing that the topic I had just brought up would resolve the question I had held about demonic energy until a moment ago.
[…….]
The demon was silent for a moment, then gave an answer.
[What would become of a demon if it did not even know the power of its adversary?]
At first glance, it was a reasonable answer, very much from a demon’s perspective.
But the one second of silence before it proved that it was a lie it had fabricated.
The pieces began fitting together in my head.
The reason the demon would not view divine power from a demon’s perspective.
The reason divine power, a complete superior version of demonic energy, would feel not revulsion toward demonic energy, but fear.
And… even the reason I did not want to reject it outright.
[…Tell me. What are you thinking?]
The demon, who had so far seemed almost omniscient, personally asked my intent.
I gladly returned an answer to that question.
“Your power… I will call it demonic energy. Is that power not a branch that extends from divine power?”
The demon asked immediately, without a pause.
[More. That cannot be all you thought of.]
“…I believe demonic energy is divine power in a corrupted form. Divine power contains boundless possibility, and that means it can proceed in any direction. It would not be strange for it to become demonic energy.”
[…….]
The demon fell silent. I took that to mean I should continue, and so I did.
“Demonic energy changes from divine power, and is in a state where it has lost that boundless possibility. That must be why it was regarded as an inferior version. And yet, even so, divine power fears demonic energy. As for the reason, I……”
[…….]
“…I believe it is because demonic energy can corrupt divine power. …Am I right?”
[…And your basis?]
Uh, when you put it that way, I had nothing to say.
“…Just a hunch.”
It was just a hunch.
It was not for nothing that I had only added “I believe” at the end.
[Ha……. What is that?]
As if drained of strength, the demon withdrew its power.
At the same time, the demon’s presence that had filled the space also vanished.
And at the same time, my wings, which had been on guard after being thoroughly intimidated, also lowered their guard.
At the very least, the demon did not seem to have any intention of being hostile right now.
“…I had no intention of showing you that much.”
The demon’s voice had already returned to that of a person.
Of course, it was still a voice in which a woman’s, an old person’s, and a child’s were all mixed together… but it was certainly better than before.
“…Did you not do that with the intention of showing me?”
“No, of course not. I only meant to explain the stature of the soul… but then you went and inferred all sorts of strange things on your own…….”
The demon shook its head as if dissatisfied and looked at me.
Those bright yellow pupils were staring at me as though dumbfounded.
“You…… no.”
“…What is it?”
“No, you aren’t a seraph with your memories sealed away or something, are you?”
The demon looked at me suspiciously.
Confused by the sudden subject, I asked back,
“…Um, what is a seraph?”
“…Forget it. I won’t bother.”
The demon waved its hand as if it found the matter tiresome.
“…What you guessed is correct. My power… yes, let us call it demonic energy, as you said. Demonic energy is a branch that extends from divine power, and it can corrupt divine power as well. Quite a fitting power for a demon, one might say.”
The demon readily admitted it.
And there was something that could only naturally be associated upon hearing those words.
‘…That demon was once an angel.’
It was practically the same as admitting that fact.
That demon had not viewed divine power from a demon’s perspective to begin with, which meant it had not once been a demon.
And since demonic energy could corrupt divine power……
“Well, let us move past that. We were talking about the stature of the soul, weren’t we?”
The demon said as if annoyed.
It meant we should set aside the conversation that had briefly strayed and return to the main subject.
Since the demon itself did not seem to want to mention it further, I nodded.
“Good. Then I will ask you. What did you see earlier? …Excluding anything about me.”
“…I felt a terrifying presence.”
“Yes, that. That was exactly all I had meant to show you…….”
The demon muttered as if dispirited, then continued.
“In any case, the stature of the soul is close to that presence. Do you remember how the other mutants feared you?”
“…Yes.”
“That, too, is because your stature is higher than that of the other mutants. Other ordinary humans do not even notice such a thing as stature, but mutants are different.”
Only then did I understand why the other mutants had feared me.
From their position, had facing me felt similar to what I had just experienced?
…Still, now I could control it to that extent.
“Then, if the stature of the soul rises, one’s presence increases. Is that all there is to it?”
“Of course not. The limit of the power you can handle increases as well.”
At those words, I looked back on my past battles.
Each time I purified a mimicry beast, I had fainted because I could not withstand that enormous power.
If I raised the stature of my soul and increased the limit of the power I could handle, would such things happen less often?
“Of course. The power you can endure will increase. But must you really use it in such an ignorant manner?”
“Then…?”
“Raising your stature is ultimately only a preparatory stage. Should I call it experience points? You can fill it up, but you cannot level up.”
The demon’s bright yellow eyes curved into arcs.
“You must raise your realm. If you wish to gain more authority to use divine power. If you wish to gain more power.”
“Mm… Then where am I, approximately?”
The demon spoke as if dumbfounded.
“You are, of course, a lower-grade angel. And among them, the ninth rank—an ordinary angel.”
If that had not been the case from the start, there would have been no reason for it to teach me, the demon added.
…Urgh. That was… true enough.