[NOTICE: Memory Fragment 02 Detected]
Hah? What do you mean a memory fragment is detected now? I thought, wincing as the crimson text flared across my vision. This is not the time for this, Kallisto.
[Acknowledged. However, the fragment is in your immediate vicinity.]
Fine. Later, I promised myself. If the system was right, there was a piece of my Sin pathway's lost history somewhere inside this very room.
Isaac and I pushed open the heavy, ruined doors and stepped into the cathedral nave. The sight that greeted us was grotesque. The cavernous ceiling wasn't painted with religious frescoes; it was completely obscured by severed heads. They were suspended in mid-air, floating and bobbing against the vaulted stone like macabre, blood-drained balloons.
Sera and Arthur were already inside, standing near the center aisle.
"Oh, Luci, you're here," Sera said, glancing back at us. His usual carefree demeanor was entirely gone.
"Yeah. And I have something you'll definitely want to see," I said, thinking of the Tier 6 artifact safely tucked away inside my Cenotaph.
"Not now, Luci. Later," Sera interrupted, his voice uncharacteristically tense.
"We have a rather serious problem," Arthur rumbled, his arms crossed over his chest.
"What do you mean, 'some problem'?" I started to ask, but Isaac stole the words right out of my mouth.
"It seems the Stele the Devil is using for his ritual has a very specific defense mechanism," Arthur explained, his draconic aura bristling with irritation. "It is emitting a localized domain that actively suppresses our Ether. Specifically, it is blocking the Virtue Pathways. Both Sera and I are heavily restricted right now."
Wait... what?
If the Virtue users were being blocked, that meant the Stele was radiating an inherently dark, opposing energy. And if Kallisto had just detected a memory fragment here... the pieces suddenly clicked together in my mind.
Kallisto, does that mean the Stele this Devil is using is actually a memory fragment for the Sins? I asked internally.
[Affirmative.]
That doesn't make sense. Aren't Steles just ancient artifacts that hold the formulas and rituals for Tier advancement?
[Correct, for standard Pathways. However, for a user of the Seven Deadly Sins, a deeply corrupted Stele can serve a dual purpose. It acts as both an evolution catalyst and a vessel containing a Memory Fragment.]
Alright then, I thought, a confident smirk briefly touching my lips beneath my mask. If Virtues were blocked, it was time for a Sin to take the stage.
"So, how can I help you, Sera?" I asked, walking confidently toward the Angel. "And more importantly... where is the Devil?"
Sera raised a hand and pointed toward the far end of the massive cathedral. Beyond the pews, leading up to a grand, iron-wrought gate, was a sweeping dual-staircase. Hovering right beside the towering gates was a massive, pulsating cocoon of pure, suffocating darkness.
"Why isn't he attacking?" I asked, keeping my hand on my revolver.
Arthur's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "It seems he is in hibernation. He has consumed enough hearts to complete the prerequisite sacrifices. Right now, he is using the Stele to undergo a complete evolution. He is attempting to become a Demon Lord."
A Demon Lord? I thought.
[NOTICE: Devils follow the Pathway system differently than humans and other species.]
What does that even mean, Kallisto?
[Devils are born from the Sea of conepts without intellect or a voice. The more they kill, consume, and absorb ambient Ether, the more sentient they become. If a highly sentient Devil acquires a Stele that perfectly matches its specific Tier and sub-pathway, it can trigger a hibernation state to evolve into a Demon Lord—the apex ruler of its specific lineage.]
What specific Stele? I thought, doing the math. So a Devil either has to have astronomical luck to find the exact Stele that matches its evolution path, or it just stupidly tries the ritual hoping it works?
They really are just gluttonous animals, I concluded.
"So," I said aloud, drawing Bad News from its holster and staring up at the pulsating cocoon of darkness. "What do we do now, Sera?"
Sera's amber eyes glinted with cold, divine judgment.
"We kill him."
Arthur didn't hesitate. Unfurling a pair of massive, crimson wings—a physical manifestation of his Draconic Pathway—he launched himself directly at the dark cocoon.
He threw a devastating, high-speed punch, but the moment his fist made contact, the cocoon pulsed. It completely absorbed the kinetic force and magical weight of his strike, violently repelling him backward across the cathedral floor.
Arthur landed heavily, his boots skidding against the stone. "Nothing," he grunted, looking back at us with clear frustration. "The cocoon's defense mechanism is absolute. It simply absorbs and redirects my Ether. I can't scratch it."
"Wait," I interjected, an idea sparking in my mind. "Why are we trying to break the armor when we can just unplug the power source? We just need to steal the Stele."
And by doing so, I'll secure my Memory Fragment, I added mentally.
"You might be right," Sera agreed, his amber eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
I turned to Isaac. "Use your Hunter vision. Pinpoint exactly where the Stele is hidden inside that mass."
Isaac closed his eyes, channeling his golden Ether. A moment later, he opened them, shaking his head in frustration. "Nothing. The Stele is emitting too much dark interference. It's scrambling my divination. I can't locate it."
Damn it, I cursed internally. Kallisto, can you find it?
[Yes.]
Why didn't you say so earlier?!
[Because you did not ask me.]
...Fair enough. Just tell me where it is.
[Because it is intrinsically linked to the Sin's Stele, I can track its resonance. It is not inside the cocoon. It is located behind it, suspended past the grand iron doors.]
Got it.
"I know where it is," I said aloud, drawing the attention of the group. "But don't ask me how."
"We won't," Sera said smoothly, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Where is it?"
"It's not inside the cocoon," I explained, pointing past the pulsating mass of darkness. "It's behind it. Past those grand iron doors."
[However...]
However what, Kallisto?
[There are multiple lesser Devils guarding it. The Stele is floating in the air, and they are actively circling it in a defensive formation.]
So much for them being unintelligent beasts, I thought.
[It appears the ambient Ether of the Demon Lord's evolution is granting them rudimentary pack tactics.]
"Be careful, though," I warned the group, stepping forward. "There's trouble waiting behind those doors."
Isaac shifted his position, squinting through the gaps in the iron-wrought gates. His golden eyes widened slightly as his vision finally pierced the gloom. "Yeah, you're right. I can see the silhouettes now. There are at least twenty creatures back there."
"Devils," I corrected, tightening my grip on the hilt of Bad News. "Twenty Devils."