Kapitel 28: Ashikaga Takauji, 1st Generation Demon King
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"You did well, really well," Takauji said as he laid Raynare down on his bed, Azazel had already made sure there were no complications that came with her awakening.
He pulled a blanket over her and ran his fingers through her hair affectionately before returning to the underground training chamber, where the Governor-General was patiently awaiting him.
"By the way, Villain-kun, there's something important you should probably know about Raynare."
"Hm?" He raised a brow.
"She'll be turning 703 next week," Azazel waited for a reaction.
"Dude, you're not supposed to talk about a woman's age…" Takauji facepalmed. "You should've just told me it was her birthday and left it at that."
One would imagine that the leader of possibly the most lust-fueled race, would be an expert at handling women.
Little did he know, Azazel had spent most of his recent life as a research-obsessed hermit.
Still, I should probably put that down on my calendar. Maybe I should get her a chocolate fountain or something as a present?
"Villain-kun, this is supposed to be the part where you freak out about sleeping with someone 40 times your age…"
The Governor found his poker face extremely boring, hoping that Issei would be far more entertaining.
"18, 703, what's the difference?" He shrugged.
Older women are better anyway. Or at least that's what Dad said.
"The number… the number is the difference Villain-kun…"
"Ah nonsense, she's my cute Primera and that's all that matters."
For someone dubbed "Villain-kun," he wasn't exactly acting very villainy at the moment.
"I give up…" Azazel wisely decided to relent. Raynare must have been blessed with some otherworldly luck in her past life to end up with such a master despite having done what she did.
"As you should, now make good on your end of the bargain." Takauji held his hand out expectantly.
The Governor brought out the cage of light again, revealing the writhing mass of goo within it.
"It's probably redundant of me to ask this, but are you sure you want to go through with this? I wasn't the researcher in charge of the last host, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to help should anything go wrong…"
Takauji had value in Azazel's eyes, both with the potential he held himself, and his ability to bring it out of those around him.
Losing him was not on the agenda.
"If something goes wrong, then that's on me." Worthy or not worthy, that was all it was to him. "However, I am intrigued by the last host, is there any way I can get in contact with them?"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible… he died a few years back."
Well, that's a shame.
"What happened?"
"I think the idiot went punching above his weight class or something silly, anyhow the alteration ended up in his death so… yeah. But I could get you in contact with the researcher responsible if you'd like?"
"I'd appreciate that. But first, let me actually assimilate with the thing."
"Alright, hopefully this goes well for you."
"Hopefully," he replied with a dry smile.
Azazel took hold of the cage door, waiting until Takauji was close enough to grab it before opening it up.
"Well, that's… unexpected."
However, the parasite didn't act as Azazel had expected it to.
Takauji had been able to grab it with absolutely no resistance, it didn't squirm anymore, and it made no attempt to escape or force its way into him.
It just sat in the palm of his hand patiently, like an obedient pet.
"I take it this didn't happen last time?"
"No, the report stated that it vehemently tried to resist the last host, or any host for that matter."
Azazel scratched his goatee, wondering what to make of the situation.
"It's almost like it's… accepting you?"
Its eyes were fixated on Takauji, emotionlessly staring at him as it awaited its fate.
"Well, that's not very parasite-like."
"Yeah, it isn't."
The soon-to-be host wasn't sure what to think either, but ultimately it was a matter of little concern. If it didn't mind being absorbed, then so be it. That just made things easier for him.
"Welp, down the hatch you go."
Azazel flinched as the Mage swallowed the parasite without hesitation like it was just an afternoon snack.
"You really just did that…"
"Well, how else was I supposed to do it?"
"Fair enough. So, do you feel any different?"
They both waited in silence for a bit, Takauji having expected more of an internal reaction.
"Uh… not really–"
CRACK!
The ground beneath Takauji started to crack.
A visceral aura surged out of his body in all directions as he fell down on all fours, coughing hoarsely as he put his hands around his throat.
"Good luck," was all the Governor could say.
My entire body… is on fire! No, that's an understatement, it's like someone's constantly pouring lava into my flesh!
In a matter of seconds, the pain he was experiencing became so great he had already lost the ability to speak.
Pained tears flowed from his eyes as the sound of bones cracking viciously rang through the atmosphere.
His muscles started to tear themselves apart, rearranging his flesh and adjusting his cartilage.
"That doesn't sound very pleasant…"
Takauji then began to regurgitate large volumes of blood, staining the soil beneath him red.
But even so, it didn't feel like he was losing any blood. The warmth in his body was still there.
Something's pouring into my body… is this new blood? But if that's so then where is it coming from?
Wait, could it be creating it out of Mana?
Even processing his own thoughts had become a chore, the burning now spreading to his face as he felt two slits opening up below both of his eyes.
"Hang in there Villain-kun…" Azazel tried to offer some encouragement. Finding the scene disturbing despite the plethora of grotesque sights he had been exposed to throughout his long life.
But Takauji's internal screams were so loud that he couldn't hear him.
His height started to increase, and the size of his body gradually started to grow.
It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!
A tortuous migraine hit him, Takauji resisting the urge to rip the skin off his face as he felt his second pair of eyes start to grow in.
He allowed his body to flop to the floor, deciding to put all his energy into staying conscious. Takauji could not allow himself to faint, he didn't know why, but he just knew he couldn't.
His muscles started to bulge, veins throbbing all over him as his metamorphosis continued.
He clawed at the ground, trails of blood being left behind by the scraping of his nails. However, his body would repair any of the damage done within a matter of seconds.
"I see, the report did say the last host could regenerate to a certain extent…" Azazel muttered under his breath, having noticed it with his keen eyes.
Destroy, repair, destroy, repair, destroy, repair.
His body continued that process for what felt like ages, endlessly rearranging and replacing parts of his body until it was satisfied.
Both the quantity and density of the Mana around him had reached a point where the average High-Class Devil would receive a major injury at the very least just by breathing it in.
The choice to put Raynare in his bedroom before beginning the assimilation had been the right call.
But after a half hour of raw agony, which felt like an eternity to Takauji. The pain finally started to subside.
"Villain-kun?" Azazel called out to him.
With his breath still heavy, Takauji started to haul himself to his feet. Holding his arms out and examining himself.
So this is my new body…
The first thing he noticed was the changes in his vision.
His glasses had already fallen off while he morphed, but he could see clearer than he ever had before.
Not only was his field of view wider, but each of his eyes operated like ultra-high resolution cameras, able to see hundreds of feet into the distance and capture every little microdetail they were exposed to.
These eyes are… perfect! Absolutely perfect! This goes beyond even a 20/20 vision!
And then he noticed his height.
He had moved up to about 6'1, his muscles having become even more pronounced than they already were.
"It seems like the parasite pushed your body to its physical prime. Meaning biologically, you're probably in your 20s now."
"Interesting…"
He no longer looked like a teenager, now appearing like a full-on adult.
"Here," Azazel handed him his phone which had been set to selfie-mode.
"Thanks."
Noticing that his hair was immensely disheveled, Takauji decided to slick his hair back with his fingers, with a single stand falling down the middle of his forehead and reaching his upper lip.
Hello handsome.
His eyes were now a bright amethyst color, the same going for the two smaller ones that were under his main pair.
I should be able to close them.
He successfully managed to shut only his smaller eyelids, causing the mini-eyes to appear as slits on his face.
I might have a future in modeling, hehe.
After admiring his appearance for a little longer, Takauji handed Azazel back his phone. Shifting his focus to the actual power of his new form.
WHOOSH!
Without making use of [Shadow Step], he had moved faster than he had ever moved before. Almost tumbling over his own speed had the balance of his body not been improved.
It's like I'm a living, breathing, bullet train. Hold on, what would happen if I actually used [Shadow Step] with this body?
BOOM!
Takauji ended up crashing into one of the boulders, making it abundantly clear that he was not yet in control of his new power.
However, he had taken no damage from the impact. At all.
Not a scratch, not a bruise, nothing.
This defense… just how much damage could I actually take just with my raw durability alone?
His fighting style had put great emphasis on avoiding hits due to the fragility of his human frame, but that passiveness appeared to no longer be necessary.
"If we're talking just brute strength, that body of yours is probably on par with an Ultimate-Class Devil now."
"Ultimate-Class…" Takauji murmured, unable to hold his ecstatic grin while looking at his own body.
"But what I'm more interested in, is the changes that have occurred to your Mana. Why don't you go ahead and test it out?"
Takauji nodded, starting to call upon his Darkness Mana.
Don't tell me…
Azazel noticed the change in his expression.
"What is it?"
"I don't need… calculations anymore…"
"Really now?"
Takauji blinked repeatedly at a few things, confirming the revelation as he used [Shadow Step] again, but this time not make any predetermined calculations.
"No… that's not exactly right. I can use spells without making any calculations, but they get even stronger if I add my calculations to them. It's like I've been given the choice to use them faster with less power, or slower with more."
Even if he didn't add any formulas to his spells, they would still be at least twice as strong as the ones he used when he was human.
"Hmm. I was going to say that your Mana has become similar to [Demonic Power], but that doesn't really seem to be the case to me…"
"I was thinking the same. Also, I think the amount of Mana I have has also increased."
"No, it hasn't."
"What do you mean?"
"As a human, you already had an insane amount of Mana inside you, but your body couldn't actually handle using all of its strength without injuring yourself, so your body put a subconscious limiter on it to protect you."
"And now that my body is stronger, that limiter is gone."
"Exactly," he confirmed. "You've basically unshackled yourself from the limitations of your humanity."
My limitations… are gone.
"However, there's still one more thing I'd like you to test out."
"And what would that be?"
"Do you feel like you've obtained a new ability? Or any special kind of skill you didn't have before?"
Takauji found the question rather random.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, the researcher in charge of the last host had a theory that a host with the same affinity as the parasite might obtain some special kind of power from fusing with it. It's honestly just a spitball hypothesis at best, but now that you're here I might as well confirm or deny it on the spot."
"I'm not exactly sure how to test for that myself… but I guess I can give it a try."
"Don't sweat it too much, I'm just asking this out of curiosity."
Takauji closed his eyes, searching within to see if there was anything peculiar he could call upon.
Wait a minute, what the hell is this supposed to be?
Almost as if he had put a lens inside his own body, he located the presence of some kind of core dwelling within him, enshrouded in Darkness all over.
The parasite definitely died… I can feel that for certain. But if that's the case, then who, no, what are you?
"It looks like you've found something," Azazel inferred.
"Yeah…"
I don't know why, but this thing seems dangerous. Should I really try using it…?
The Governor didn't interrupt his deliberation, patiently waiting for Takauji to make his decision.
I can't help it… I'm just too curious.
Starting from his head, a black shroud started to cover Takauji's body. Azazel hummed inquisitively as it started to progress downwards.
Eyes quickly started to appear on top of the dark cloak covering his skin, giving him the appearance of some sort of horrific creature from myth.
"That's quite the look, maybe I should start calling you Demon-kun from now on, mind telling me what that ability actually does?"
Though it was certainly a striking ability to behold, Azazel felt no changes around him whatsoever despite making no effort to resist.
"I'm not sure–!"
And then all of a sudden, the cloak disappeared. Takauji tumbled onto the ground, as he felt a sharp pain crawl up his body, his head starting to throb a little.
I guess it was a bad idea after all…
"That's unfortunate, it looks like you aren't quite ready to use that power just yet. But at least now I know that his hypothesis was correct, so I'll take that as a win."
Azazel then started to undress out of the blue, switching into an outfit more suited to exercise.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't let you go back up there until you've gotten control of your body, right now the amount of Mana leaking from your body is too dangerous for Raynare to be around, and might even prove fatal for the Gremory's."
The Governor started to do some warm-up stretches.
"So, you'll be sparring with me until you figure out how to get that explosion of strength of yours under control."
Sparring? With the strongest Fallen Angel?
How could I refuse?
"Do you think I could accomplish that within 4 days?"
"Is something important happening soon?"
"You could say that…" He had promised Akeno that he would watch their Rating Game.
"Hm. Sounds like an interesting challenge. Sure, let's do that."
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And now it begins.
10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x
Word Count: 2608
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein