I twirled the newest Mutation Pawn between my fingers as I sat pensive upon the locker room bench, going over my training with a fine toothed comb after a Saturday morning's worth of torture.
It took me five months to get to middle Ultimate Class. Five months of back breaking, flesh rending, blood curdling horror of a boot camp, run by Ruval, every weekend. And the results showed, themselves.
A brand new Mutation Pawn, confirming my theory on the evolution of Evil Pieces, pushing me one step closer to jailbreaking that magic which had as yet been the exclusive domain of Ajuka Beelzebub. I was close now, I knew it. Another few years, four at most before we, of the Phenex Clan can begin producing our own, and then some.
Of course, I didn't plan on revealing those secrets to the masses, nor expose our capability to produce them. Not yet. I had other plans for that little piece of magic.
But this year was for training, and not just my own.
I guess his pathological sadism has some underappreciated benefits because Ruval himself had fully consolidated his power at low Satan Class in the same time, and raised even Rigal to Ultimate Class.
All in all, these past few months had been fruitful.
Not only had I reached middle Ultimate Class, gotten a new Mutation Pawn, and grown both my demonic power and physical strength but also broken through to low Ultimate Class in terms of Touki. Even my spells had progressed through the crucible of battle. I had mastered Forged In Fire, Hellfire Boost, and even Blaze Reap, though not to the same degree as Ruval.
If I fought Tannin now, I might even last a few minutes going toe to toe with him at his full power, half an hour even. This time he wouldn't have the choice of going easy on me. Compared to how fast he folded me last time, in one single move, this was quite the improvement.
Of course, that was only till then. The first five months. The next month, this month. The sixth month?
Fruitless.
Well, not entirely, I was still improving, growing fast and steady, faster than most, even faster than I did, the first ten years I grew up.
And those ten years? I was already considered to be growing at an astonishing pace. The surprise on Lady Misla's face back then was all the confirmation I needed. Bar Super Devils, no one my age was that powerful or growing at such a breakneck pace- and frankly, if being ripped apart and being forced to pull myself together hundreds of times a week couldn't do that, I'd be more than worried.
But it was nothing compared to the lightning speed I experienced in the previous five months. Growing measurably every single day, techniques refined, spells mastered, every bit, brick by brick, laying a foundation so solid, it was unbreakable. Nothing like the shaky bullshit canon Issei built his power on.
Yet, when you go faster, slowing down begins to feel like death, and baby I feel the need- the need for speed!
No wonder all those gym rats get jacked and still keep pushing.
That feeling of constant growth, the sensation, it was addictive, something… irresistible.
So was the crash I felt when the gains plateaued, the pace slowed and now I just have to settle for less than best?
How could I do that?
So here I sat, contemplating my next steps.
In truth, I knew what was the cause of this… stagnation. Complacency.
Not the overt kind, no. My ambition hadn't dulled, my passion burned ever-bright. No, the complacency was more subtle.
It came the moment I first held my new Mutation Pawn in my hands. That soft whisper, comforting and sweet that is born from achievement, from success.
It came in the satisfaction of a job well done, a timeline exceeded by days, A milestone broken, a pride fulfilled.
Most of all, it came with the assurance that the Mutation Pawn brought to me. Vali's recruitment in six months was no longer a problem, the horizons were clear and the path forward was lit bright and smooth sailing.
The mortal enemy of my cardinal sin of Greed- contentment.
The treasonous whisper of the subconscious mind, poisoning the well, leading me astray.
'I have done enough.'
'This is good enough for now.'
'I'm better than anyone else in my generation, even Ruval, when he was my age.'
'Maybe I can go easy now.'
I understand it, where it comes from. Can't even blame it.
I was truly on another level compared to my peers. Even those considered geniuses, like Vali.
This level of power, Vali would only reach after years of training and with the help of his Sacred Gear pumping an unending stream stolen power into him, pushing him to the peak of his limits, preventing him from running out of steam, even in dragged out battles of attrition.
And here I was. Not even eleven years old yet, and middle Ultimate Class. It would be a lie to say I wasn't, just a teeny tiny little bit, proud.
Yet, it left me unsettled, restless, aching for more. A whirlpool of tormenting desire slowly swirling in the pit of my stomach. Like I was doing something wrong. Like something was missing. An uncanny effect of indulging in my sin of Greed, using it as fuel to motivate me, uninterrupted for so long.
At least it helps me complete my Sin Theory further, so I suppose I should look for silver linings.
Though it is quite interesting, this thing, this Corruption, as I had come to call it. Like an itch I couldn't quite scratch. Eroding your sanity.
Ruval had said something similar to this, about his time developing the Black Flames, something that pushed him to make that deal for Zimbabwe with the church. If they had had the patience to negotiate, they'd have gotten a better deal, at a lower price. 240 Phoenix Tears was simply paying at a premium.
Still, he never mentioned the feeling of being ill at ease, this nervousness. A queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
His version had simply blinded him to patience. Made him more impulsive, less rational- something that was completely in line to my expectations and the records of the Civil War- and yet I feel wholly so.
Clear headed, rational. In control.
Could it be from the interaction between my past human self and my devil nature?
After all, humans were greedy and selfish creatures. As Gandhi once said, 'There is enough in this world, for every man's need, but not for a single man's greed.'
And devils by nature are creatures born to corrupt, to tempt humanity into sin and depravity. It was literally built into us, even proven by my theory of Sin. The more human's you tempt into depravity, into wasting their potential, the more potential you gain to grow.
But being both in one package- a human soul and a devil nature, it could be that this paradox turned into a perpetual motion machine, cannibalizing on one's own self and desries for growth.
Something more similar to a contract or feedback loop of potential stolen. It still corrupted, yes, but nothing like what I expected.
Could it explain why reincarnated and half devils grew stronger faster, at least when they tried, like with Issei or Vali? Even canon Sairaorg was a good example of this.
Or maybe it's just speculation and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and this is just withdrawal from having growth so fast. Mere growing pains that will subside eventually.
Well, I suppose I can always test my theory later, when I get my hands on one of the Malebranche.
I ran a hand through my hair, self-soothing as I considered what to do now.
The last time I plateaued, I developed a new spell, the Black Flames Of Judgement, to get over the hurdle and then fought Tannin to break through that bottleneck.
Maybe I just need to repeat that. A new spell, maybe something fresh, to get over this mental block, this dullness. Then a fight against a worthy opponent, someone who wouldn't stop at the last moment or hesitate at the killing blow like Ruval, taking away that sense of safety that keep me latched to this notion of contentment.
Anything to get out of this rut.
I am on a timeline after all. I need that extra Mutation Piece.
In another year I will have the perfect opportunity to recruit the twin dhampirs. I had planned on recruiting them next year for a reason. Valerie I could comfortably slot with a Bishop Piece, even with her yet unawakened Longinus, especially now that I had risen to middle Ultimate Class.
But Gasper? He was a being born with the same potential as Sirzechs. As Sirzechs was born, less a baby and more a mass of destruction, so was Gasper. A blot of darkness emerging from the corpse of his mother, taking the life of any being who met its eyes or faced its dark tendrils.
His birth heralded death to all who dared stand before him, only forced into the facsimile of a child by the sealing of his power- a power so great even his father lived in fear of the day it overpowered his seal and broke through. Not to mention his Sacred Gear, the Forbidden Balor View, which was capable of evolving into a new Longinus.
That is power I cannot contain, even with two Rooks, the highest possible combination of Evil Pieces I could make, and I'd be down a Rook entirely. Even with his power sealed, at the brink of death, Rias needed a Mutation Bishop to reincarnate him.
But what else can I do?
Even my current spell progress, while it has reached a standard that is … satisfactory, it's far from what I need to make that leap into high Ultimate Class.
What do I do? What do I-
"Riser." A hand found my shoulder, a voice, soft and comforting, "What are you brooding over?"
"Just…" I sighed, letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, as my tapping foot slowly came to a rest, "wondering where I'm going wrong."
"Is this about your pace slowing?" Ruval laughed as he sat down beside me, patting me on my back, "Riser. You are two months from your eleventh birthday, and you're already at middle Ultimate Class. You went from low Ultimate Class to middle Ultimate Class in five months. Do you understand how insane that is? Do you know how long it took me?"
I shrugged.
"Fifteen years, and I was one of the faster ones. Most devils never even reach that level their entire lives, even nobles." He spoke, snaking his arm around my neck, "Relax. If you feel like you're in a rut, just stop and rest for a while. Change up your routine. Try something new, like those new wind spells you wanted to make."
"Maybe…" I whistled through clenched teeth, admitting begrudgingly that he might be right.
"Besides, you have a class to teach. Ray and Raven have been waiting on your peerage to catch up to speed so they can learn from Uncle Riser for so long~" He teased and I snorted dismissively.
Though I had promised his twins, my niblings, a seat at the lesson, after much pestering by Ruval, neither they nor I was particularly enthused about the addition.
Instead, it was a third party that had eyes on that particular prize.
"And this has nothing to do with you wanting to sit in on my lectures, eh?"
"Whaaaat? No~ Not at all. I'll just be there to supervise. You know, just in case something goes wrong." Ruval waved his arms in dismissal, though neither of us bought it.
I smiled.
Fine. Keep your pride as an older brother.
Can't blame him either. My lectures really were highly beneficial, to both the students and me.
They say teaching is the best way to master a topic and they- the eponymous they- aren't wrong.
Ruval certainly knows how much my ideas have helped him improve, even being the critical bit of leverage he needed to push into Satan Class.
His new and improved Blaze Reap, not only used the Black Flames Of Judgement and my Soul Flames as a base, but also incorporated the theory behind Surtr's World Destroying Flames into them- that since the reality is founded upon the World Tree, it can burn.
The result was a flame that reap the very soul of reality itself, burning bright enough to dim the Sun, the symbol of light and life in the world, as inescapable as death itself.
Yet, unlike his previous version which desecrated the fabric of reality in the region with demonic power, befouling it beyond measure, burning away all that was good, this version based on the concept of 'burning the chaff, after a harvest reaped' allowed for a more targeted attack that left the world still balanced in the cycle of nature, which in fact is much more of an accomplishment than the 'inescapable flame that can burn reality itself' given how abhorred devils and demonic power are, being outside the cycle of nature.
Even the hallowed grounds of the Nekomata Clan's mountainside have become permanently cursed by the leaching of my blood and demonic power into it over the past year.
According to Magari, they'd need to hold a long and arduous ritual of purification to cleanse it.
So not letting that happen; despite using Satan Class demonic power is an achievement even I had considered far beyond my current capabilities.
This family is just filled with geniuses huh?
"Alright. I'll table the brooding for now." I stored away the Mutation pawn with a flick of my wrist and followed Ruval to the garden where my peerage, and his kids, sat waiting.
"Sorry for the delay guys. Lets get started." I clapped my hands as we began.
.........................
So... Its been a while, hasn't it fellas?
Looks like I took a timeskip while writing the timeskip, lol.
Anyways, here's a new chapter. Another three chapters at six months into the timeskip and then, another six month timeskip to Vali's recruitment.
Thanks for reading.
Tell me what you thought of the chapter, any plotholes you noticed, errors, grammar mistakes, off character stuff. I've been off this fic for so long I may have ended up making a mistake or two.
Don't be shy. Correct me where you think you need to.
Also, don't forget to donate your powerstones!
Lets get back into the running shall we folks?
Till then, see ya!
Bye~