Finishing the healing spell to the best of his newly learned mastery, he slowly opened and closed his hand. It was still exceptionally weaker than usual.
"Heh. How's it feel now that yer brain came back from vacation? Hurts, don't it?" Felt teased.
"Says the person without a body."
"Hey, shut yer mouth."
Toyota ignored her, eyes narrowing as he pulled up his status screen. After the Yang Magic mission, it should have changed.
[System update has been initiated. Many skills and abilities have been altered, along with definitions and enhancements.]
[TOYOTA CRIMSON — STATUS SCREEN]
Souls Synchronized: 5 / 7
Titles:
Crimson Prince — Given to the 7th son of the Scarlet King.
Child of War — After synchronizing your soul with Envy Route Subaru, you've inherited aspects of his ability and karma.
False Father — After synchronizing your soul with Sloth Route Subaru, you've inherited aspects of his ability and karma.
Harem King — After synchronizing your soul with Lust Route Subaru, you've inherited aspects of his ability and karma.
Purge King — After synchronizing your soul with Wrath Route Subaru, you've inherited aspects of his ability and karma.
Hollow Devourer — After synchronizing your soul with Gluttony Route Subaru, you've inherited aspects of his ability and karma.
Stats:
Strength: C+
Dexterity: C+
Constitution: D
Intelligence: S+ < (EX+)
Wisdom: S-
Charisma: A-
Current Weapons: Mana Constructs
Martial Arts: Swordsmanship, Fa Jin, Whip-arts, Flow Method, Gravity Propulsion
Overall Threat Levels:
Physical: A+
Magical: SS
Total: Not Quantifiable (due to numerous complex factors)
Mental Skills:
Envy: Subaru's Mentality — Adapts emotional and logical behavior patterns similar to Subaru Natsuki. Increases resistance to trauma, improves perseverance under despair, and leans toward self-sacrificing tendencies.
Gluttony: Subaru's Perfect Memory — Grants perfect memory and recall from past lives.
Passive Proficiencies:
Envy: Subaru's Whip Proficiency — Grants instinctive familiarity with whip-based weapons. Mirrors Subaru's improvisational mastery later in his journey.
Sloth: Subaru's Teaching Proficiency — Grants instinctive skill when teaching those with lower intelligence.
Sloth: Subaru's Parenting Proficiency — Grants instinctive familiarity with parenting.
Lust: Subaru's Bedroom Proficiency — Grants instinctive familiarity when in the bedroom.
Passive Skills:
Gluttony: Soul Seer — Interact with the souls of those you've killed, directly or indirectly.
Wrath: Grey World — Perception enhanced, but emotional color fades; only those you trust retain their hues.
Sloth: Subaru's Appraisal — Able to appraise an opponent under specific conditions.
Lust: Subaru's Kingly Aura — All who look upon you feel a regal presence.
Dragon Monarch — All draconic beings feel fealty and loyalty to you; they will never harm you intentionally.
Regressor's Assistant — When Subaru dies, you die. Your soul is tethered to his by the Witch of Envy, bound to his fate loop after loop.
Currently Sealed — Bloodline of Khahrahk (Locked) — Requirements unknown.
Eyes of Madness — Hypnotize others with your memories, forcing them to experience your life through all five senses.
Absolute Evil — Your presence strengthens proportionally to the fear, hatred, or respect of others.
Active Skills:
Fragment of Sloth (Evolving)
Fragment of Greed (Evolving)
?????????? (Locked) — Requirements unclear. May need emotional catalyst, system evolution, or another soul fusion.
Sin Authority of Blasphemy (Locked) — Not meant to exist in this world. True nature, cost, and origin are sealed.
Mana:
Control: SS
Pool: F-
Purity: Perfect
Type: Origin
Magic Affinities: Yin/Shadow, Yang/Light, Reality, Imaginary, Conceptual, Desire
Spell Slots:
Vita — Amplifies gravity (Lv. 4)
Murak — Decreases gravity (Lv. 4)
Minia — Creates constructs (Lv. 5)
Shamac — Distorts space (Lv. 2)
Abilities Learned:
Gravity Emission — Exudes controlled gravitational fields from fixed mana checkpoints (Lv. 1).
Additional Passives:
Instant Mana Regeneration — Any mana exuded is instantly regenerated.
Chantless Cast — Cast spells without verbal incantations; faster casting speed.
Karma's Reserve — The more pain you experience, the more your mana pool expands.
Mana Permanence — Constructs or mana creations can persist outside your awareness or control.
"Hm… so everything's different now." Toyota's eyes darted over the screen.
The first thing that stood out — Sloth Subaru's appraisal ability no longer showed the potential of other skills.
Overall threat level: not quantifiable due to too many factors.
"Yeah, that kinda makes sense," he muttered. "Even the system can't figure me out." Of course, calling it a system was just for convenience — he didn't actually believe in some game-like entity tracking his life.
His gaze slid to Intelligence.
S+ (EX+).
"What does that even mean?" Maybe it was because he could access other people's Books of the Dead through Gluttony's memories, temporarily granting him the knowledge he needed. But if holding centuries of wisdom wasn't enough, he also carried the curse of thousands of personalities — spirit entities, body-swappers, old memories that weren't his. Delve too deep, and he'd risk losing himself completely.
Then came the Magic Affinities. Yin and Yang were straightforward. But Reality, Imaginary, Conceptual, and Desire? All at once?
"What the hell…" He stared at the words. Was it altering reality into imagination based on his conceptions and wants? Some kind of illusory magic? Seduction magic, like a D&D bard? Or maybe like the Mist from Percy Jackson, where people saw reality as whatever they believed was true, a perfect veil?
He shook his head. "No… that's just spit balling. And if I overheat my brain on four words, I'm way dumber than I thought."
Origin Mana and Mana Permanence caught his attention next. From what he understood, his mana wouldn't dissipate after use.
"Wait, hold the phone, why the hell is my mana pool all the way back down to F-? What is this complete BS? Did it just exchange quantity for quality!?"
Maybe it was a fair trade if he could make permanent constructs. But it still stung knowing he was below an average non-magic user in total mana.
Then his eyes drifted to Bloodline of Khahrahk, sealed. Maybe it was tied to his father, the Scarlet King… or whatever freakish hybrid monster he actually was.
His physical stats were mostly unchanged. Average durability. Expected. Still hurt.
Thud.
"Ughhh…"
Shocked out of his thoughts by a dull impact to the back of his head, Toyota turned to find Felt standing right next to him, looking just as surprised. Her small fist was still frozen mid-swing.
They stared at each other for a moment.
Then Felt's left hook shot straight for his gut.
Instinct kicked in. An unseen hand burst from Toyotas lower back through his stomach, intercepting the blow mid-strike and wrapping firmly around her fist.
"This must be yer spirit familiar?"
Felt was strangely, not surprised by the blackish purple hand.
"What are you doing? Why, and how, did you hit me?"
She smirked.
"Dunno. Lemme do it again to make sure it ain't a fluke."
With one arm caught, she lashed out with her foot, aiming a point-blank front kick. Reflexively, Toyota raised his forearms to block in a desperate attempt to preserve his liver, only for her leg to pass right through him.
"Aww." Felt pouted, clearly disappointed. "Guess it was a fluke. Next time, ya shouldn't zone out when I'm talkin' to ya. I'll knock yer teeth in if you keep showin' me disrespect." She grinned wickedly. "That's what happens when you let your guard down 'round me 'cause you think I'm some kid… ah, but ya look like a kid, though. Hmm, I'm more mature though."
With a smile that came off eerie, Toyota spoke quietly. "Is that so? Since I'm immature… I guess I'll be petty."
Felt yanked her hand free from the unseen grip, crossing her arms smugly. That smugness only stoked Toyota's temper.
Despite her annoyance, Toyota couldn't help but admire how she stayed true to her character, which was an indomitable will and brashness that a child her age shouldn't be capable of.
Raising a lazy finger, he pointed at the smug girl like an Italian mob boss.
"Sic 'em."
The unseen hand shot forward like a coiled striking snake, clamping onto Felt's face, covering her vision before she could react. It thrashed back and forth, causing the slum dwelling soul to panic.
"Ahhh, get off me, ya serpentine freak!" She dropped to the ground, rolling and twisting, trying to pry it off. "Damn it, why's it so hella persistent?!"
Thirty seconds of wrestling later, she finally gave in, whimpering.
"Okay! I'm sorry! Yer not immature, you're very mature! I won't hit ya," she paused as if that was too large a request. "without ya knowin' again… Call off yer devil snake!"
Retracting the unseen hand back to his lower back, Toyota couldn't help but wonder how Felt had managed to make physical contact.
The only thing he could think of was "focus", or rather, his lack of it, but that was too vague and unreliable.
She was a soul, someone only he could see and communicate with. She shouldn't have been able to exist outside his perception… yet somehow, she had.
"My my, I'm only gone for a little while, and here you are, alone for the first time in forever."
Toyota unintentionally flinched at that teasing voice. Elsa's tone dropped to a low pitch the moment her gaze landed on Felt.
Felt stared, dumbfounded.
"Yer my psycho employer who tried filleting' my insides!"
"Oh, pleasure to make an acquaintance," Elsa replied with a faint smirk. "It seems you can see me… which means little sister succeeded properly."
Before she even realized it, Felt had shot in front of Toyota.
"Run, replacement! Ya can't fight her, get yer kidnapper! That monster can beat her!"
Toyota ignored her and stepped forward, walking through Felt's body like she was a mirage.
"Where did you go off to, Elsa Granhiert?"
Elsa paused, visibly surprised.
"I was unaware you knew my full name and so much about me. I don't see why I shouldn't tell you… I was checking on my adorable little sister and mother."
Toyota's face went pale at those words from the woman in black.
"Your mother… is she close by?"
"You know my mother's true identity as well? Intriguing. Anyhow… mother's interested."
Felt, hating being left out of the conversation, cut in sharply.
"Ya jerks! Don't ignore me! And whatcha talkin' 'bout, whose employer's mother?"
"Ah, I don't see why I should tell a street rat such personal matters." Elsa's teasing smile widened.
"If I was still breathin' this place's filthy air, I'd kill ya."
"Is that a promise?"
Toyota's mind was already turning. Elsa's "mother" wasn't just anyone; she was the leader of an assassination organization… and also known as the Sin Archbishop of Lust.
Capella Emerelda Lugunica.
Felt's… aunt?
If that crazy woman were nearby, then things would be complicated. The more urgent matter was how he hadn't noticed Elsa's approach with his Grey World; did it get buffed in distance but nerfed in situational awareness, or could it not see souls while his eyes were open?
"Oh yeah, take this ya bitch."
Felt charged, a strange wind buffeting her from behind, feet pattering on the floor. Elsa's grin spread, sharp and hungry. She sidestepped effortlessly, twisting her leg out, and Felt stumbled over it, causing her to crash partially through a wall before slamming into an invisible barrier. The rebound sent her bouncing back, straight into Elsa's waiting fist for a gut-check, which was followed by the vampiric, cruel, satisfied smile of a blood-lusted beast.
How had things escalated this quickly?
Toyota jumped forward in a desperate attempt to stop it before it could worsen. He didn't know if souls could be injured or killed, but he'd rather not risk it.
Unseen hand stretching forward for Elsa's wrist, but she caught it with a monstrous reaction time, her grip shattered his unseen hand attempt like it was nothing, crushing it as if it was a mere child's hand.
"Elsa, that's enough, stop."
Toyota's voice became deathly serious, as the whites of his eyes began to spin hypnotically.
She ignored him, moving forward towards Felt, tilting her head innocently. "It's simply self-defense; she attacked me first."
Her fingers slipped around the hilt of a kukri knife hidden in the back of her open black dress. Felt lay wheezing on the floor as the phantom steel gleamed.
(AN: I put changes in the system as easter eggs. If you find one, don't be scared to point it out. There are a lot of implications I put with the souls I kept thinking to myself, if they are souls, why do they need clothes, but then I thought maybe I could fit in some Saiki K logic, so I don't have to describe the naked body of a 15-year-old girl.