"Arise."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the blood moved.
Not out, but it pulled inwards.
Every drop of cursed blood trembled, then reversed, dragging itself back toward the corpse. The ground darkened, shadows stretching unnaturally as something answered.
And from the Pool of shadow, a figure crawled out, as the shadow took form.
Opening his eyes opened.
Varre inhaled sharply. "…Ah."
There was no confusion in his voice. No panic. Only understanding.
His body morphed as the last traces of cursed blood settled into something new...
Something darker and obedient.
"So this is what lies beyond," he murmured, his tone quieter but deeper. A soft chuckle followed. "I see it now."
Slowly, he lowered himself to one knee, "War Surgeon Varre, Greets The Lord of Shadows"
"..."
This Guy.....I looked at him for a while before saying,
"Stand"
His gaze lifted and met mine. For the first time, there was no mockery in it. Only clarity.
He grinned behind the mask, "It Feel Good to serve a True Lord. I thank thee for giving me a chance"
I am taken aback listening to him, "huh....This is new, seeing you talk without a quip"
He chuckled, "Oh, not to worry, my lord, it's just I can see better..." he said, keeping it vague.
"...ok", I decided to leave it at that.
[DING]
[SHADOW SOLDIER ACQUIRED: WHITE MASK VARRE]
[RANK: HIGH CLASS DEVIL (PEAK)]
[AUTHORITY: SANGUINE REVERSAL]
~…Grey, you sure about him? I can't trust him....Look at his face, so sketchy~ Ddraig muttered.
"… It's Alright, Partner. Shadows can't betray their own Liege," I replied quietly.
Varre is a medic by class. To think I got myself a healer this quick...
I smiled as I turned to the Elders, "Let's go home, we are done."
The next two days, I didn't rest. I stabilised.
Agheel's flame still burned within me, raw, violent, and unstable. Ddraig guided me through it using Fire Ritual....
~Control it, not suppress it. Flame is not destruction. It will give form.~
Again and again, I pushed the fire through my veins. It burned, tempered, and reforged them. By the end, it no longer lashed out wildly. It obeyed.
Varre remained nearby the entire time, silent and observant. At one point, he spoke.
"Your circulation has stabilised."
I glanced at him. "…You can tell that?"
He tilted his head slightly, speaking in vague riddles, "Blood speaks far louder than anyone may believe"
…Yeah. That was going to take some getting used to.
Kuoh, Japan.
I walked out of the Portal into my room, "...FUU~~~"
My body finally gave out.
I dropped onto the bed and passed out almost instantly.
beep~ beep~
The Alarm rang, waking me from my sweet dreams...
Sunlight filtered through the window.
For a moment, I just stared at the ceiling, letting everything settle.
Buzzzzz~~~ my phone buzzed.
--
Kuoh Academy-
Admission Confirmed.
Transfer accepted.
The Start of the academic year will be notified soon....
--
"Finally! It kept me on edge," I said in excitement as I quickly got up, my sleep now gone.
I scrolled through the rest of my emails, then paused.
---1 New Message from Uncle--!
"Eh?... Uncle messaged me?"
The previous owner of this body barely spoke to him, just occasional greetings during festivals.
Seeing a message now was… unexpected.
I opened it.
"Heard you broke through. Core Formation, huh? Not bad."
My eyes widened "!!…How did he?!"
He wasn't in Japan.
Fuck I wasn't even in this world until a few hours ago.
And yet… he knew.
"What the hell? Who is he....?"
I typed back a simple reply.
"Thank you"
The response came almost instantly.
"Didn't think you'd reply."
"You've never asked me for anything all these years.
Good.
A man should learn to stand on his own legs."
I paused, reading it...
"But don't be stupid about it.
If you need something, you ask.
You've got an uncle for a reason"
"…."
That was unexpectedly genuine.
Another message followed.
"On This Special Occasion. What do you want?"
Straight to the point, huh..
If he knows cultivation.....Then he definitely knows more.....
I hesitated briefly before replying.
"Can you get me into the Underworld? Just for a few hours."
There was a longer pause this time.
"…That's random."
"…Wait."
"Ah."
"I see...."
I could practically hear the grin.
"¬‿¬ hehe...Devil girls, huh?"
"Good taste. Is youth blooming, eh? hahaha"
I sighed quietly.
Then his tone shifted, not losing its playfulness, but gaining something sharper beneath it.
"Alright. Timing's not bad, actually."
"Year-end festival coming up. The Devils are hosting."
"All factions. All pantheons."
I straightened slightly.
"They're showing strength. Building alliances. And looking for talent."
Another message followed.
"A friend of mine's attending."
"Medicine pill freak. Calls himself some 'Pill God of the East'...."
"Xu Dog."
"I'll get you in as part of his entourage."
"Carry some boxes. Help him out while you're there."
A brief pause.
"And listen carefully."
The next line came slower.
My gaze sharpened slightly.
"Devils respect strength. Show it."
"Fight if you have to.
Win if you can.
Don't crawl.
Make a name and get what you want"
Then, just as quickly, the teasing returned.
"And don't come back without wooing at least one pretty devil girl, hahaha"
…This guy....
"Enjoy yourself."
The messages stopped.
I stared at the screen for a moment, then let out a small breath.
Underworld....
"Rias..."
With that, I went to take a Bath....