Chương 66: A welcome surprise

"Why are we here?"

Rias inquired from beside him, her voice brimming with curiosity as she surveyed the surroundings.

After witnessing Rias use a teleportation circle, Adam analyzed it thoroughly with the Alpha Stigma. Subsequently, he employed it to teleport all three of them to a different location—Haven Academy.

While he possessed the ability to use his semblance, it would be excessively energy-intensive to teleport three people over such a distance. Therefore, utilizing the Devil's race teleportation circle proved to be a more efficient choice in terms of energy consumption.

The Devil race's magic circles... Such an intriguing concept, but he would research deeper into its intricacies in the future

"We should have come here for the relic of knowledge, right Adam?" Rimuru chimed in from the side

With their link, the slime had absorbed all the plot knowledge he possessed about RWBY- although not much, it is still sufficient, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the tasks at hand in this world.

"Indeed, we need to obtain it first before confronting that woman" Adam affirmed, his eyes scanning the distinctly yet strangely familiar Far Eastern architecture of Haven Academy.

The pedestrians around them paid no heed. Manipulating the minds of ordinary civilians was a simple matter— a combination of a telepathic 'Notice-me-not' aura and some hypnotic magic sufficed.

"I don't get it" The red-haired devil spoke up, her head tilted to the side as she looked at both of them with a questioning look "What does a 'relic of knowledge' have to do with defeating the most powerful woman in Remnant? Shouldn't we be already strong enough to defeat her?"

Adam halted, turning to Rias with an incredulous gaze that conveyed an 'Are you stupid?' look in his eyes

"What?!" Irritated by his look, Rias shouted as she demanded an explanation.

Shaking his head, Adam resumed walking briskly, opening the door ahead and entering the Academy.

Seeing that the silver-haired boy didn't answer her, Rias opened her mouth to question him once again

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Still walking through the hallways of the Academy, Adam addressed her unspoken question "Do you know the location of that being? Rimuru and I certainly don't. This 'relic of knowledge' is the easiest way of finding her location"

The Relic of Knowledge, one of the four relics created by the brother gods, held immeasurable power….. Though the last claim was not entirely true, this particular relic remained useful.

According to Adam's knowledge, this relic houses Jinn- a spirit capable of answering 3 of your questions every 100 years. A century is a lengthy duration, but this Jinn will answer any of your 3 questions absolutely correctly, and those questions can be about anything except the future

"Really? Can't you... I don't know, find her location on your own?" Rias, after a bout of hesitation, followed up with a question

Obviously, this Jinn can only answer questions related to Remnant. If you take her out of this verse and ask her a question, she won't be able to answer

"Erm... Rias-san, searching the whole Remnant for one person is a bit..." Rimuru answered on Adam's behalf, her voice trailing off as she attempted to articulate the obvious.

He was quite interested in the relics. He wanted to collect them all and completely analyze them… actually using them is worth a try, too

"Haah... I get it. Even my brother wouldn't be able to find one person on the whole planet without using his authority as the current Lucifer"

Adam was wondering what questions he should ask. After all, a spirit that has limited- omniscience (Regarding events in the past and present) is very valuable, and the questions he will ask need to be phrased smartly

"Yeah, I don't think my [Magic sense] can cover the whole Remnant either...."

Otherwise, he will need to wait another 100 years to ask questions... Or devour the spirit of knowledge, and use telepathy on her in order to obtain all her memories, and her knowledge subsequently

"Maybe flaring out your Aura will attract her attention? Admin-kun did say that Grimm are attracted to Aura"

Actually, screw that. While Adam is very greedy, it doesn't mean that his desire overwhelms his logic- so messing with a creation of God's, even a weak one, is still out of the question

"Really?! Salem does seem like a Grimm lady... So it should work!"

"... We are here"

The two chatting ladies stopped in their tracks as Adam's voice echoed through the surroundings

"Uh...."

A murmur escaping her, Rias looked at the statue of a woman in front of her, her expression being one of confusion as she saw the seemingly ordinary statue

"Ah! So that's it!"

Differently from the busty devil, Rimuru's expression was one of understanding as she looked toward the statue, her gaze seemingly peering through the structure and glancing at something else

"Watch this..."

The silver-haired boy voiced out, walking through the hallway as he stopped in front of the statue, narrowing his eyes slightly as he gazed at the statue's chain

"Don't we need to teleport now?" The slime girl, who appeared beside him asked as she also looked at the statue's chain

Without the matching pocket watch, they couldn't unlock the secret passage and proceed forward, so...

"Right. Rias, come closer"

Motioning Rias to come closer, Adam's whole body glowed in a golden Aura with blue highlights, a similarly golden magic circle with intricate patterns appearing on the ground beneath his feet

"Ah? Sure"

Seeing no way forward, the redhead didn't hesitate and came beside the Admin without any questions asked

As his Aura enveloped all three of them, a flash of light burst forth as they disappeared from their previous spot

...

"Ugh...."

Appearing in place, Adam put his hand on his forehead as he grimaced, a strained expression marring his face

Although his semblance only works to places in his memories... He can still teleport to places inside the range of his perception, that in itself isn't a big deal, but when you add [Magic sense] into the mix...

So indeed, everywhere he can sense with [Magic sense], he can teleport there too

Opening his eyes, his eyes widened

In front of them was an elaborate orange doorway situated in a rock wall. Behind it is a large tree with glowing orange flowers, the doorway seemingly constructed out of golden fans layered on top of each other, decorated with a floral pattern

"Oh..."

A surprised sound escaped Rias as she found herself suddenly teleported in front of this. Although she was warned, she was still surprised by the drastic change of scenery

"That's pretty cool!"

Rimuru on the other hand, just smiled as she looked at the doorway before her. Her golden eyes sparkled as she glanced at what was behind that door once again

"...."

Adam didn't say anything, nor did he comment on his friend's thoughts. He, like the slime girl, could also sense what was behind this specific door

"Come"

Only saying one word, he started walking towards the door after a moment's notice, his blue eyes transforming into golden with a five-pointed star rapidly spinning around his emerald iris

Reaching the door, he intently looked at it and started examining it meticulously, looking it up and down countless times

"Haah...."

Seeing a part of the mechanism behind the doorway, Adam sighed

'[Great Sage], while I'm away, can you completely analyze this doorway?'

[... Affirmative!]

Hearing her affirmation, Adam closed his eyes, the world around him blurring into blackness as he sank his consciousness within his [Stomach] with the help of Psionics

Upon reopening his eyes, the silver-haired boy stood in the familiar void— the same realm that became the leader of the White Fang's resting place, and Cinder's current prison.

Waving his hand, Cinder emerged, bound by ethereal ropes, staring at him

Even though she was bound and couldn't move, the black-haired woman was looking at him with a mix of resentment and fear on her face

"Let's do another test..."

Eyes glowing in an eerie red light, a bird pattern appeared on his forehead as he activated his Geass, a similarly shaped bird coming out of his pupils, its glowing figure rushing at the woman in front of him at an incomprehensible speed

As the red bird sank into the bound Cinder, she underwent a transformation in demeanor.

"Master!"

Ethereal ropes dissipating into notes of light, the black haired rushed at him, kneeling in front of him as she looked at him with an adoring look of obsession

Adam's face conformed into one of disgust at this woman's behavior. Although he didn't want to use his love Geass on a human, it was necessary for this experiment- so he had to endure it

With strained movements, the silver-haired boy used his hand to grasp Cinder's chin and tilt it upwards

"Think only of me from now, okay?"

Even though he said this with a strained voice and a disgusted expression, the woman's reaction was still the same

"Yes!"

Her whole face lighting up, she rapidly nodded her head as a twisted grin emerged on her face

"Alright...."

His expression darkening, Adam raised his other hand as Crocea Mors, the silver sword he obtained from Jaune, manifested in his grasp

Shifting his center of gravity, he took a deep breath and prepared himself...

SLASH

Flicking his hand and slashing toward her, Cinder's head fell to the ground, a huge amount of blood spurting out of her wound as her head was cut off by him

With a little paleness on his face, his breath hitched a little, but there was no other intense reaction. He recalled the back the sword, the weapon dissipating into golden notes of light as it disappeared from his grip

Closing his eyes, a surprising change occurred to Adam that he didn't expect

[Skill [Chosen one] has been activated]

Placing a hand on his temple, Adam felt a sharp pain in his mind, the skill [Chosen One] in action for the first time since obtaining it.

The silver-haired boy felt the use of this skill...The sub-skill [Banner of the Supreme King] activating and replicating the abilities, memories, and experiences of one Cinder Fall inside himself

... Truthfully, he had forgotten about this particular use of the skill [Chosen One]. He also didn't think that it could work on another universe outside the Tensura verse, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. And strictly speaking, after her ego was distorted by his love Geass, she certainly counts as an 'ally'

Taking a deep breath, he finally opened his eyes as all that made Cinder valuable was copied by him with the help of this skill

"Now then..."

Alpha Stigma blaring to life, Adam's eyes turned golden as he looked at the intangible mass of 'Magic power' that escaped Cinder's body after her death, the five-pointed star in his eyes rapidly revolving around his iris as he analyzed this 'mass'

[Notice: From Master's memory, classifying this mass as 'The Fall Maiden's power']

As if having a consciousness of its own, the power of the Fall Maiden rapidly approached him, rushing towards his figure

[From analysis, this power wants to make Master the new Fall Maiden]

The reason Adam used his Geass on Cinder was to ensure that she thought of him when he killed her, it was a necessary step. Maiden powers are passed down like this, so he was forced to manipulate her into thinking only of him…. Otherwise, this power might have gone to Salem

If a Maiden thinks of a person in her last moments, that person will receive the Maiden's powers.... Except if the other party is a man or an old woman, the new Maiden can only be a young female

Normally.... Killing Cinder wouldn't make him eligible to receive those powers, but having CC's template and having replicated all of Cinder's memories, experiences, and abilities already makes him meet all the criteria to be the Fall Maiden

.... But that's not what he wants

Raising his hand, Adam commanded the Void around him that represented his [Stomach]

"Devour it"

The void closed in on the mass of magic power, surrounding it as the hungry blackness devoured and absorbed the Power of the Maiden

[Notice: The power of the Fall Maiden had been absorbed. Preliminary analysis shows that increased control over the elements has been acquired]

Adam's eyes glowed in a yellow-orange magical light, his skill absorbing the magical mass without any problem

"Nice"

He didn't want to become the Fall Maiden, but he wanted the power. Absorbing this magical energy and getting the power of the Fall Maiden was much better than directly becoming the Fall Maiden

Even though he has all the powers of Cinder because of the skill [Chosen One], he still doesn't want this magical energy to go to waste just because he has already copied it

It might not look that different at first glance, but... The power of a Maiden can be taken away, while absorbing it will make this power his own, so it infinitely better to use [Gluttony] on this power

The same can be said with Herscher cores back in the honkai universe. While becoming a Herscher is nice, your power still depends on the core inside your body, without it, most of the power disappears

Adam closed his eyes. Now that he obtained what he wanted here, it was time to finally open the doorway and get the relic of knowledge

...