"I'm not teaching you magic anymore," Rias said flatly.
[Come here.] Orion chuckled and turned his host around before wrapping his arms around her. [If you don't, I'll flood your body with even more of my energy. The moment you climaxed, it wasn't just you that fully recovered; I did as well. More than that, my magic capacity has also directly doubled. I wonder what would happen if I sent all of my energy into your body… Would your brain completely melt from the arousal?]
"Let me go," she struggled weakly, trying to push him away, but was unable to muster any strength. The orgasm had clearly been intense enough to leave her weak and powerless.
[Never. Just shut up and let me hold you. That's your only option right now. Once you recover, we can continue the magic lessons.]
"Fuck off, I'm not teaching you anything anymore," she grumbled, clutching his t-shirt. "You cheated…"
[I didn't cheat. All I did was stake my claim.]
"Asshole," she huffed. "Make me some clothes, will you? Hugging you like this makes me feel like a cheap slut…"
[Just because I'm clothed?] Orion sounded confused but still complied with her request, creating a uniform over her body. [Would you like some stockings?]
"When have I ever worn stockings in front of you, Orion? If you want to see me wear them, the least you could do is to be upfront about it."
[I want to see you in a semi-transparent sheer bodysuit that covers you from your toes to your neck but doesn't hide anything.]
"Damn pervert…" She weakly punched him in the gut as her lip twisted in an annoyed scowl. "Just when I thought about giving you a little reward."
Her words made Orion laugh lightly as he refrained from saying anything further. The two of them shared a hug for a few more minutes before Rias pushed him away and looked up at him—of course, in the void, actually seeing was another matter entirely.
She raised her palm, and her Demonic energy condensed into a faint orb that soon began to glow with increasing brightness. She raised her palm a little, and the orb started floating above both of them, finally shedding some light in the endless darkness of the void between realities. She didn't stop and conjured another sphere, a transparent bubble of sorts that she once again tossed up into the air, but this one, instead of floating around, expanded rapidly, passing through her and Orion and enveloping both of them.
"We can talk normally now," Rias said with a sigh.
"Can you sustain the consumption?" Orion asked, glancing at her panel.
Prime Host: Rias Gremory
Species: Devil
Sync: 2%
Magic Capacity: 9,468/10,000 [58,439] (High-Class Devil — Suppressed)
Innate Ability: Power of Destruction
Stats (Expand)
Oh, hey…the sync percentage also increased by one… nice. I guess that's why my max energy reserves doubled.
"Not for too long, but a few hours should be fine. The initial cast usually takes more energy than sustaining the spell."
"I—"
"Is this all you could come up with?" Rias asked suddenly, looking down, pinching the fabric of her corset as she observed Orion's choice of outfit. "My usual school uniform?" She looked up at him with a look that said, 'Are you kidding me?'
"Would you perchance like something more revealing? Like a succubus cosplay? Or maybe just a sexy swimsuit? Oh, what about just pasties?"
"…" She gave him a dead-eyed look. "Get help…seriously. I wanted to wear something comfortable. Like a large T-shirt or something…"
"Coming right up," he nodded as Rias felt her clothes stir, turning into a large round-necked shirt that hung on her shoulders, going down to just below her butt, only a little shorter than the skirt she had been wearing moments before.
"Much better…" She smiled. "We were testing your energy, right? I think it's safe to say that it possesses the same underlying pattern as any general magical energy."
Seeing the pensive expression that she was trying to suppress, Orion couldn't help but chuckle. "You didn't even have the chance to examine my energy."
"I believe my intuition as a mage," she said, crossing her arms. "Don't interrupt me, again."
Orion let out a mocking laugh and nodded, putting up a serious expression that screamed sarcasm, earning him a scowl from Rias.
"Let's move on to what I just showed you. You didn't see any magic circles, right? That's because I cast these spells by modulating my own Demonic energy."
"What do you mean by modulating Demonic energy, exactly?" Orion asked.
"Glad you asked," she smiled. "Demonic energy, or any magical energy for that matter, possesses a particulate nature. Which means that they are composed of infinitesimally tiny microscopic particles."
"So…magic atoms?" Orion asked.
"More or less, but even smaller," Rias nodded. "Though I'm surprised that you are aware of the concept of atoms."
"I believe that we've already established that the backstory I gave you was flimsy at best."
"…moving on, then," Rias shook her head. "Since you are aware of atoms, we can draw parallels between physical matter and magical particles. You should also be aware of how different atoms interacting together can form unique molecules, right? Ultimately, these molecules serve as the basis for most matter. Magical energy of any type, be it Demonic, Holy, Natural, or any other form, all of which I will consolidate under the term mana, for simplicity's sake, behaves similarly. You arrange the individual particles of mana in a certain structure, and you get magical effects. Certain types of mana are more suitable for certain types of magic. Such as Demonic Energy, which is more suitable for more negative aspects like shadow, space, mind control, and more. Holy Energy, on the other hand, is more suitable for healing, judgment, etc. Of course, that isn't to say that energy-based effects can't overlap. For example, Demonic energy has a passive effect of healing when cycling between two Devils. And space is a neutral concept, yet it is easy to interact with by using Demonic Energy. Considering you terming your powers under Tantric, your energy is most likely specialized for more sexual things… Does any of that make sense?"
"I think so…"
"Good enough, when we put things into practice, it will all become much clearer," she said. "Speaking of practice. Can you guess how we are supposed to modulate mana such that it takes different forms?"
"Our willpower?" He asked. "Considering how my magical energy seems to simply move on instinct based on what I want, I should be able to simply think what I want it to do, and it should do that, right?"
"Something as simple as making it flow somewhere, I agree that such an effect only requires a simple thought. But if you want to go beyond that, the willpower threshold increases exponentially. Mana won't just transform into lightning if you think about crackling or high-voltage arcs. It needs to be guided meticulously into a specific atomic pattern to transform into lightning, or water, or fire, or anything else."
"Wait… doesn't that mean…"
"Yes. You have to study every single element and aspect individually," Rias said flatly. "Why do you think I told you that even I've never had any formal education about real magic? That's because real magic is practically dead in our world due to the sheer complexity involved. First, we have elements that go from basic ones like Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Traditional elements. These are ones that most forms of mana are inherently familiar with and can produce, lowering the threshold of willpower a little if one wants to practice them."
As if to make a point, Rias released four different orbs from her palms corresponding to each element, immediately attracting Orion's gaze.
"You can sense the movement of energy through my body, right? Did you pay attention to what I did?"
"Not exactly… Does this willpower imposition involve cycling mana through your body in a certain way?"
"It helps. Instead of directly modulating mana, channeling it in a certain way through the body makes things a little easier," she said. "Then come the more complex advanced elements such as Light, Shadow, Metal, Lightning, etc. Almost all non-basic elements that don't touch upon conceptual aspects have a similar level of complexity and a significantly high threshold for willpower. Finally, we have conceptual aspects. Space, Time, Life, Death, Fate, and more. These concepts function entirely differently and are almost impossible to produce without specialized means."
"I guess that makes sense…"
"Consider teleportation magic, for instance," Rias said. "Historically, the first Devil, the original Lucifer, held an unparalleled affinity for space. All the following Devils inherited that affinity for space in a fragmented form through our innate Demonic energy. It is very compatible with spatial magic."
"But don't the other pantheons have teleportation as well?"
"That's why Territorial Authority is such a cheat, Orion," Rias said. "Used correctly, it can even affect the concepts that I mentioned before. Of course, beyond space, none of the other concepts have ever been explored due to the immense complexity and resources required. Even space was researched and generalized because of the pressure every opposing party felt from the Devils, who could teleport freely wherever they wanted. Delving further into history doesn't serve much of a purpose anymore. Let's move on to defined magic."
"I get it… How about we take a little break now?" Orion asked. "This is too much theoretical stuff for my easily distracted brain. I need a minute to process everything. In the meantime, you can sit on my lap."
He created a comfortable and fluffy sofa and sat down before patting his leg invitingly.
"Grr…" Rias created a sphere of Destruction in her palm, threatening to hurl it at him.
***
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