15 Chapter 15: Coldblooded
[Third Person's Point of View]
Ameing, the small town located at the northern edge of Clan Belial's land, was full of beautiful scenery, surrounded by mountains on three sides.
However, at the moment, this charming but politically unimportant town was in utter chaos. A district had been destroyed and wiped off of the face of the underworld.
Miraculously, casualties were kept to a minimum, owing to the fact that the destroyed part of the town was one of its old, abandoned districts.
The devils of this town were running around like headless chickens, trying to piece all things together.
The situation was not improved by the fact that when they finally arrived at the location, the fight - if it could even be called that - had already ended. Lifeless bodies were strewn about, and there wasn't a living soul in sight.
As if that wasn't enough, there was a metal tarot card with a familiar design, stabbed into the head of a disfigured devil's corpse, resting in the centre of a large crater.
*
On the other side of the town, near the outskirts, there stood a sizable two-story home surrounded by a large plot of land. In the shadows, a woman could be seen making her way towards the house, quickly flying through one of the open windows on the second floor.
The girl, with her long blond hair, pulled back into a ponytail, undressed as soon as she entered the room, her gorgeous figure reflected in the mirror, clad only in her underwear..
She murmured thoughtfully staring at her reflection, "Not bad at all. I'd give it an 8 out of 10." Then suddenly a burst of light enveloped her.
As the light faded, a 6'1 man appeared where the woman had been, his hair as dark as ink and his eyes a vibrant shade of amethyst.
Augustus made his way to the wardrobe in search of comfortable clothing. He quickly threw on an oversized T-shirt and loose pants.
He then slumped down on the bed, his gaze fixed on the black bracelet in his palm.
Memories and emotions flooded his mind that he had been pushing down, trying to keep suppressed during the entire ordeal.
Tears fell from his eyes, wetting his cheeks as he held the bracelet tighter against his chest. Soft sobs escaped from his mouth in a low cadence.
He was not knowledgeable enough to know the exact nature of his transmigration, be the memories he got upon his first arrival, memories that were like movies at first, was slowly integrating them into himself.
At this point, Augustus struggled to distinguish between his actual life in his previous world, and the 19 years of life the original Augustus lived in the current world
To him, he lived both equally.
All the emotions associated with those 19 years, bled into his consciousness.
The devil Augustus being rather introverted, as opposed to the extroverted persona of his earth's counterpart, had a particularly strong bond with his parents. To him, they were not only his guardians and role models but also his closest companions.
Especially, he always had a closer bond with his mother, Emma. He couldn't tell if it was just him, or if it was universal that mothers were closer to their sons while fathers were closer to their daughters.
After nearly half a century of trying, they finally conceived a child - a rare occurrence among devils due to their low birth rate. As a result, he was spoiled and pampered beyond measure.
They showered him with an abundance of love and he felt content, not wanting anything else.
Augustus' cries grew louder, as he clutched the wooden frame holding a family photo from his bedside table, close to his heart. He pressed it against himself, along with the bracelet, and released all the pent-up emotions that had been building inside of him for months.
Several hours ticked by, and Augustus remained frozen in that same position. His tears had dried up, but his gaze remained fixed on the wall with an empty expression.
He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table and saw that it was only two hours until sunrise. His stomach growled in protest, still feeling the effects of the intense fight he had engaged in a few hours earlier.
Augustus rose from his bed and made his way to the kitchen, preparing to cook something to satisfy his hunger.
He chuckled as he basted butter onto his sizzling steak in the pan, "Trey will be dearly missed," he snorted.
After he took out Finnley, he commanded Trey to flee and find a place to conceal himself. With all the chaos and explosions, it was assumed that he had perished as well.
Augustus had no intention of using Trey as a weapon, as his demonic energy would easily give him away if he were to approach anyone carelessly.
But as the fight dragged on, Mauricio was mainly focused on keeping Augustus at bay until reinforcements arrived. In his distraction, his guards dropped down briefly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Augustus pretended to be desperate and went for a direct confrontation. This caused the group to focus their attention on him, leaving them vulnerable to Trey's surprise attack.
The plan was executed flawlessly and as a result, Mauricio was stabbed through the back before being split in half from his chest down.
Done with phase one of his revenge, Augustus decided to eliminate all loose ends and spare no one, including Trey, whom he ended quickly and without unnecessary suffering before departing.
He served himself a portion of food and sat down at the dining table, ready to satisfy his hunger.
He savoured the juicy steak, cooked to a perfect medium-rare and complemented by the zesty cranberry sauce. The creamy mac 'n' cheese on the side added the finishing touch to this mouthwatering meal.
"System, show all the pending notifications", Augustus said to no one in particular as continued to savour his meal.
[Ding! The user has reached 100% progress in his sequence]
[Ding! The user has completely assimilated Sequence - 9, Criminal of the Abyss pathway]
[Ding! The user is now eligible for promotion. Continue? Y/N]
He calmly gazed at the notifications that appeared in front of him, hovering in the air.
When he took out more than a dozen devils in an instant after the first round of attack, his vision was flooded with numerous notifications. However, he didn't have the time or ease to read them at that moment, so he instructed his system to hide and display them for him later.
Augustus didn't immediately accept the promotion, instead, he finished his meal before placing the plate in the sink. He took his time cleaning them, then made his way up the stairs to the library. As he stepped into the familiar restricted room, he felt a sense of calm.
He walked up to the table, where it all began. His fingers traced along its edges as he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
"Continue"
[Ding! Continuing advancement....]
A deep purple light emerged from his chest, and it slowly enveloped Augustus, forming a cocoon around him, pulsing slowly as if synchronised with his heartbeats.
*
Augustus's mind was at peace as if all of his troubles had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt weightless and unburdened like he was floating on a cloud. But in an instant, he was snapped back to reality. The purple light faded away and he realized that he no longer felt the same as he did just five minutes before.
He clenched and unclenched his fist, sensing the air subtly vibrate around it.
[Ding! You have successfully ascended to Sequence - 8, Unwinged Angel (Coldblooded)]
[Ding! New Abilities of Unwinged Angel are added successfully]
[Ding! Error detected. Two abilities are unable to manifest]
[Rectifying errors...complete]
[Merger of the abilities complete]
[Innate technique successfully manifested]
[Congratulations! You are one step closer to godhood!]
Augustus was taken aback when he saw the notifications pop up on his screen; apparently, the system was experiencing some minor glitch. 'That's not something you see every day,' he mused as he continued to read. His attention was drawn to a particular term - 'Innate Technique'. It seemed like a strange coincidence, as he was familiar with the 72 Pillars having a characteristic known as 'Clan Trait', not 'Innate Technique'.
He was even sure that he didn't belong to the 72 Pillars.
'Status', he called out, couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this situation.
[Status]
[Name- Augustus Ashford]
[Title- Low-Class Devil, The Chosen One, The Tarot Killer]
[Race- Devil]
[Pathway- The Abyss]
[Tarot-The Devil]
[Sequence-8, Unwinged Angel (Coldblooded)]
[Progress-34%]
[Abilities- (Strong Body-Medium) (Keen Instincts-Medium) (Weapon Mastery-High) (Killng Mastery-High) (Crime Knowledge-High) (Evil Desire-Medium)*
Racial Abilities- (Demonic Power - C+)
Innate Demonic Technique - Eternal Limitless Imagination (**)
*Reduce due to influence of #$&*%@#
**Select to read the technique explanation and a note from the system]
Even though the increase may not seem like much, it was more than sufficient, concluded Augustus at a glance. What he was super curious about, was the fancy-sounding 'Innate Demonic Technique' he got.
Unable to hold his curiosity any longer, pressed his finger on the hologram-like status box floating in the air, as more text appeared before him.
[(**Note- This Sequence was supposed to grant the user two or three racial abilities typically possessed by a devil. However, since the user is already a devil, the system merged and enhanced two existing abilities to create an Innate Technique, a skill unique to the inhabitants of this world, as recompense)
Eikyū Mugen Sōzō (永久無限創造) - Eternal Limitless Imagination
Type: Innate Demonic Technique
Description: The user of Eikyū Mugen Sōzō can use their reservoir of Demonic Energy, which allows them to manifest any form of magic they can imagine. This technique is not bound by the traditional limits of energy conversion efficiency, enabling the user to cast complex and powerful spells with ease.
Abilities:
*Imagination Manifestation: The user can bring any magical concept into reality, limited only by their imagination, their current reality's law, and the amount of Demonic Energy
*Efficient Casting: Any spells that can be cast with this technique, will always be cast at maximum efficiency, only using the minimum amount of Demonic Energy realistically needed to cast the spell. Multi-casting is also possible.
*Sustained Enchantment: Once a spell is cast, it can be maintained effortlessly, allowing the user to focus on strategy and combat without worrying about upkeep.
*Low Latency Casting: The difference between casting and the actual manifestation of the spell will be 0.0001 seconds within 50 meters of the user, increasing by one decimal point every 10 meters, till the absolute lowest of 0.1 seconds
*Adaptive Magic: The technique evolves with the user, growing in strength and versatility as they encounter new magical challenges and spells.
Limitations:
*Imagination Dependency: The effectiveness of the magic is proportional to the user's knowledge, imagination and creativity. A deeper understanding of the laws of reality further enhances the power and efficiency of the spells.
*Demonic Energy Limit: The user cannot use a spell, whose original energy cost would exceed their actual demonic energy pool.
*Mental Strain: While the demonic energy cost is minimal, the cognitive load of designing and executing complex spells can be mentally taxing in the long run.
*Balance of Imagination: Overreliance on the technique without proper training can lead to unpredictable outcomes, as the magic is as wild as the user's thoughts.]
"Haxx!! This is absolutely broken! Someone called the GM!", Augustus yelled in elated surprise as he took in the description of his totally broken innate technique.
'Magic Circle? What is that obsolete shit?'
A generic magic circle required at least one full second to conjure up any kind of magic, and that was only under the most optimal conditions. Even the most advanced magic circles in the underworld could only achieve an energy conversion rate of 91%. But compared to his own abilities, they were mere child's play.
[Ding! Completed hidden mission- Promote to Sequence - 8. Due to getting a taste of ascendence for the first time, the user has been gifted a one-time additional reward]
[Skill Observe has been added]
'This day keeps getting better and better'.
********************************
Author-san here.
Broke my previous chapter record with an even longer chapter.
Another 2000+ words of beautiful chapter hehe.
(Note- The moment Augustus disguises as a female, I'll use 'she' instead of 'he' to denote him)
Those who were waiting for JJK to start, wait no more fam. It's starting...
Let's talk about our Powerstone goals
We came close to our 50 stone goals for the previous chapter, currently standing at 32.
But for this one, Let's get to 70 stones.
So go ahead and VOTE.
70 powerstones for this chapter.
Trust me, it helps a lot. And as I said before, we are going for the ranking this week. Let's go we can do it!!!
The next chapter is on Thursday.
(If you guys complete the power stone goal, I'll post early)
Okay bye :)
