Chapter 8 - Absolute Demise

"Hi." Ryuuga greeted the little girl with a smile. He didn't know who she was, but he knew she came because she needed help.

This is the reason he created the door that would lead to his dimension with those requirements. Even when she entered the door, he already gained 5,000 Destiny Energy. Now, he has 20,000 Destiny Energy, 15,000 from saving Cleria from getting killed.

That she could give him 5,000 Destiny Energy just by coming into Arcadia means that she is a very important character, and he just altered her future.

"H-Hello… May I know where this is?" Lavinia saw the boy who was younger than her greet her and asked with uncertainty.

As she spoke, Ryuuga understood what she said, although they spoke different languages. This is because of one of the functions of Devil Energy that could help him manifest a power called Language that is able to translate his words into the mother tongue of his interlocutors and vice versa.

"This is my home. Well, if you could come here, then you must need some help. How about you introduce yourself first?" Ryuuga answered and got straight to the point. From his point of view, the girl must be extremely confused right now, maybe because something bad happened to her before entering Arcadia.

"A-Ah! Where's my manners? My name is Lavinia Reni." Lavinia suddenly remembered that she had not introduced herself yet and proceeded to do so while bowing slightly, raising the hem of her sleeping dress. She carried herself like a princess of a kingdom.

"My name is Kamiya Ryuuga." he answered briefly.

"Um… you mentioned that I need help… Can you help me fix my problem?" Lavinia said with hesitation. She didn't want the boy in front of her to think that she was weird. She didn't want to be outcasted anymore.

Although he seemed younger, she felt like she was talking to her father. He was calm and composed, not like the boys around her neighborhood.

"Hmm… you tell me about your problem first, little girl." Ryuuga said, feeling somewhat irritated. She seemed to be beating around the bush in this conversation. He just wanted to help her for goodness' sake! Wait, I'm the former god here…

"T-Then, let me explain about my problem." Lavinia nodded, although she felt weird being called 'little girl' by someone younger than her. She decided to tell him about her problem.

As she explained her problem, Ryuuga only nodded, understanding her issues right away. The thing is, her Sacred Gear had been awakened ever since she was six years old, and she was afraid of it because it didn't look human.

Maybe it's also because of her suffering and sorrow that she couldn't channel to anyone after her parents' death. Her brain decided to blame the doll for killing her parents, even though her Sacred Gear's intention is to protect her from evil existences.

"I see. The doll you mentioned must be the one right there, right?" Ryuuga said, pointing to the right corner of the room.

As he said that, Lavinia glanced quickly in the direction where he pointed, and he was right. The doll was standing there.

"You!" Lavinia glared at the ice doll. She didn't know why the doll could even follow her here.

"Girl, don't look so fierce. It ruins your beauty. How about calming down?" Ryuuga said, observing Lavinia's glare at the doll. Her beautiful face really turned ugly when she got angry like that.

"B-But!" Lavinia wanted to refute, but she saw Ryuuga's eyes glancing at her coldly. Immediately, she felt a chill run down her back and stopped glaring at the ice doll.

The ice doll noticed that Lavinia was afraid and wanted to attack Ryuuga, but it found out that it could not use its power.

"Sorry, no foreign existences could use power here without permission." The coldness in Ryuuga's eyes disappeared, and he said with a smile towards the ice doll.

"Haha. I find both of you funny. One wants to protect the other, while the other blames the one who wants to protect her." he said, chuckling at the situation.

"???" Lavinia couldn't understand what he meant. From her perspective, the ice doll was a curse that ruined her life.

"Let me explain simply. The ice doll there is not a monster. It is something called a Sacred Gear, and it exists inside you. That's why wherever you are, it would also be there."

"Sacred Gear?"

"Yes. Sacred Gears are items created by the God of the Bible to help humans grow in power so that they won't become slaves to supernatural beings. The strongest among them are given the title of Longinus, which befits them because their full power could even kill gods."

"G-God? Does God really exist? And more than one?"

"Of course. There are countless of them roaming around out there. Well, your Sacred Gear is called Absolute Demise, and it is one of the Longinus. It is based on the concept of Fimbulwinter and Absolute Zero. Am I correct?" Ryuuga continued to explain as he glanced at the ice doll.

"!" The ice doll was startled. It didn't expect Ryuuga to know about its origin. It thought only its creator knew about this matter. The spirit manifested as the Sacred Gear was created, making it an Independent Avatar-type.

"It's foolish to hate your own power." Ryuuga said, glancing at Lavinia with a mocking tone. After all, she had been given such power and refused to use it. It's quite dumb.

"B-But! It killed my parents!" Lavinia said agitatedly. The lie she made had already become a truth in her mind.

"Did you see it with your own eyes, or is it because you have no one else to blame? After all, it can't be far from you since it exists inside you. I guess you weren't there when your parents died, right?"

"... Wuuu! Wuuu! Shut up!! You don't know anything!" Lavinia realized she might have made the doll the scapegoat for her parents' death. She cried, losing her mental support, and shouted at Ryuuga.

"How could I not know? My parents died in an accident too." Ryuuga smiled wryly. Although they weren't his real parents and he felt nothing for them, he still respected them as the parents of the body's original owner.

"Eh…?" Lavinia stopped crying as she heard what he said. She didn't expect that the boy had a similar experience.

"I-I'm sorry…" She apologized, still with tears flowing down her face. She didn't know what to do anymore.

"Your parents didn't die in an accident. They said the plane they were on was burned with purple flames, right? Even the sea water couldn't extinguish it." Ryuuga said. He remembered this because his parents had mentioned it while watching TV when he was younger.

At that time, Ryuuga was too young to understand, but he remembered what his parents had said. Those memories still lingered in his mind.

"Y-Yes. But they said it was just a false rumor…"

"There's a powerful witch known as the Witch of the East. Her name is Augusta, and she also holds the title Augusta of the Purple Flame."

"E-Eh? D-Do you mean…"

"Yes. She has a Longinus called Incinerate Anthem, based on the Holy Cross where Jesus Christ was crucified. Its ability is to generate inextinguishable purple holy flames. I suspect she's the one who killed your parents."

"..." Lavinia stopped crying as she heard that. It seemed the death of her parents was more complex than she thought. She didn't know what to do anymore.

The ice doll in the corner of the room disappeared and reappeared behind her in an instant. Sensing Lavinia's distress, it gently placed its hand on her head and patted her to calm her down.

"I'm sorry… really… sorry for blaming you…" Lavinia felt the warmth of the doll's hand on her head and looked up with tear-filled eyes. The doll was gazing at her with concern. Somehow, she wasn't afraid of it anymore, and her resentment vanished from her heart.

It's quite funny that she could feel the warmth of an ice doll, she thought.

As she apologized, Ryuuga noticed a change in the aura of the ice doll. It seemed happy that Lavinia had finally accepted it.

"Well, it seems like your problem has been solved." Ryuuga said with a smile. He wasn't smiling just because they had reconciled but because he had earned 1,000 Destiny Energy for resolving her emotional conflict earlier than in the original timeline.

"W-Wait… You said you could help me with all of my problems… I want revenge!" Lavinia said with determination. She wanted to avenge her parents' wrongful deaths.

"Well, I never move without any benefits. What can you give me?" Ryuuga asked with interest. He had never said he would help her for free.

"I don't know…" Lavinia muttered, her head bowed. She had no idea what she could offer him.

At that moment, the ice doll moved in front of her. Both Lavinia and Ryuuga looked at it in confusion.

"Help her, and I will be yours." the ice doll said in a cold tone. Its voice sounded like that of a woman, hinting that it had a gender.

"No!" Lavinia shouted. She didn't want to be separated from the ice doll. She couldn't bear to lose it after losing so much already.

"... Well, it would be too cruel for me to take Absolute Demise away from you. How about lending it to me for a year? I want to do some research on it." Ryuuga suggested. He didn't want to take Absolute Demise from her completely since Lavinia herself was an asset, being tied to the plot of the *Slash/Dog* novel, the prequel to *High School DXD* with a different protagonist.

"This..." Lavinia glanced hesitantly at the ice doll.

"Agreed." Absolute Demise said, then vanished from the room. Something emerged from Lavinia's chest, shining with a blue-silver light. It was the Absolute Demise within her. As an Independent Avatar-type Sacred Gear, it could leave its host and choose a new one.

"Hnnh!" Lavinia groaned, clutching her chest. It felt as if something precious had been taken from her.

Fortunately for him, he didn't need to use any Destiny Energy to separate Absolute Demise from Lavinia since it could move on its own. Now, he even gained 2,000 more Destiny Energy for obtaining Absolute Demise temporarily.

With a smile, he took out the Caster Card and raised it for Lavinia to see. Knowing her potential to become a powerful witch, he decided to use the Caster Card on her so that her talent wouldn't go to waste.

"Activate." he muttered, and the Caster Card entered Lavinia's body. Just like Cleria, her base power increased exponentially.

"Well, congratulations, you're not far from reaching Augusta's power." Ryuuga said with a smile. It was true. As long as Lavinia could reach the same strength as him, she would be able to defeat Augusta. However, even though she was now as powerful as Cleria, she still needed to train using her power and learn its applications, such as mastering magic.

Though her current energy was Qi, Qi had good compatibility with other types of energy. Lavinia was naturally inclined toward Magical Energy because of her talent, which would make her even more adept at using magic.

"Ryuuga-sama, I'm back." Cleria said, appearing in the room with diamonds and mithrils.

"Oh? Who is this?" she asked curiously upon seeing an unfamiliar face.

"She is a new companion. My Caster." Ryuuga explained with a smile.

"Oh." Hearing his answer, Cleria nodded with a smile. Then, she introduced herself to Lavinia and started a friendly conversation.

"Cleria, do you know someone who could teach her magic?" Ryuuga asked. Nobody in Arcadia knew how to use magic. Cleria knew a little, but she mostly relied on her Devil Energy.

Despite being a wanted person, Cleria used to have a significant background and many connections.

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A/N: Last chapter for today, I'm sleepy...