Demonic Advent: Multiversal

Arc 1(Prologue Arc)

Chapter 6: Spoils

***×××***

Cain POV

Erst Family. You could say they were the core of the Empire, it's sword and honor. They were most famous for both their swordsmanship and their achievement of pushing the Wyverns out of Human territory.

Their legion of magic swordsmen was one of the most contributing factors of the army of the Empire. In other words, they are the loyal top dogs of the empire.

And I was once the heir of such a family. That was in the past, though. I've given up my status, my rights, my position, my name, everything; just for one woman. Miyuki.

I didn't know when it happened. Maybe it was when we were just students, maybe it was when we became partners in adventures, or maybe it could be when I was at my lowest, when I was in despair, when nobody was on my side. She was there for me.

Maybe it was that time, I don't know. Even now, I don't know what led me to go against my family for her, ignoring them and following my selfish desires.

From birth till that moment, there was never a moment I disobeyed my father, my family. It was the first.

She, Miyuki, made me feel so many first times that I simply can't help but feel like I can sacrifice anything for her and our daughter.

I may not have any reason for disobeying my father, but I know for sure that there is one desire that caused it all; Love. After all, love is like counting the stars, you would never see the end to it.

Just like how I would never see the end to my resolve when it comes to my 'new' family.

Now don't get me wrong...

...I don't particularly hate my family.

They fed me, raised me, and I could become the person I am today only because of them. Though, that doesn't mean I am fond of them.

After all, I've completely cut ties with them. They are but strangers to me now.

And I am sure they wouldn't see me any better than I do. Most importantly, I didn't blindly disobey them and left with Miyuki.

I am not that much of an idiot to not know that money is needed to feed a family. That problem was naturally resolved since I had a history of being an Adventurer; of course, that is a secret.

I had a lot of achievements during my time as an adventurer, so you could say I saved a lot of money...

...Enough to live a luxurious life for, not one but two generations, I must say.

But as much as I made a fortune, I have enemies just as much.

Well...I am now past my prime, so I am living silently near the slums after buying a small land here. I was never lazy and prioritised accuracy and efficiency, so Imagine my surprise when one day I passed out while driving and hit a child!

No, the most surprising thing was that the child only had mild injuries; but I guess that's a relief. I didn't know what I would do if Miyuki found out...but everything turned out well, the kid's very mature but he is, after all, a kid; rebellious and hard to control.

Anyway! I decided to adopt the child since I had a feeling he had potential, a great potential.

It was a letdown to find out he couldn't use magic, since he cannot form a core in his body. Perhaps, he's a bit different? Maybe he needs to find his own path, hard to say.

Though, that isn't a problem since he could be a powerful Melee combatant.

Magic strengthens the body, yes. But no child his age could survive being hit by a truck at full speed even if Magic enhances them. It would be even more impossible for someone who cannot form a Core, let alone feel Mana.

His body was toned, to the point he didn't look humane. His muscles are as tough as steel, to put it simply.

Heh, he is a little monster, I guess.

*

'Now it hasn't been a week yet, but he's already causing trouble?'

The day before yesterday, I adopted a kid named Douglas—a rather uncommon name around here—because I had to take responsibility for my actions. I may not be a noble anymore, but I still have my honor.

And what did I hear from my sweet child, that he stole candy from a child and he even threatened my cutie pie?!

'Now that isn't something that could be ignored, I need him to have a talk with me, father to son! I need to teach him how to properly treat his siblings.'

He was late for dinner. We ate dinner without him, and the dinner talk was all about my cutie pie ranting about my adopted son. A strange situation, to be honest. I still can't get used to it.

*Sigh~*

Why does he have to be so complicated? Is it normal for boys his age? My cutie pie never causes me any trouble!

"Mom, dad is eating the last piece, again!!"

"Dear, what did we talk about? Have you forgotten?"

W-wait, that was the last piece?!

"Oh yeah! We did talk about it, didn't we? Hahahahah..."

Oops...

***

Douglas POV

It's currently noon and after a great night's sleep, I finally could look through what I obtained last night.

Now that I'm looking at the loot, it seems like there is something behind that fight. Something more than just a conflict between mages.

From the Wind Mage, I got a few bottles of water, which I assume is Holy Water; it glisters golden ever so slightly, so I came to that conclusion, but I can't be sure yet.

This doesn't feel like a coincidence, it could be that the Wind Mage is from an organization like a Church, or a Cult, which is more unlikely. So I think its the church.

I mean, which organization is popular for holy water if its not the church? Even before all these strange things happened, me waking up in a strange place and all those shenanigans, the Church I knew have holy water. Its validity, I'm not so sure.

'But what arose my suspicion is this...nametag? I think it is a nametag or an identification of sort. The fire magician had this on his body.'

It was metallic, as most tags are. What confuses me, though, is the number '63' embedded on it. I don't understand what it means; its just a random number to me right now.

And then there's this pouch that defies all logic I know, containing weight and space it shouldn't possibly have. It belonged to the fire magician.

And what's even more disturbing is what is inside.

A human heart, eyeballs and many other parts I can't exactly confirm because they were all entangled up. This isn't my first time seeing human organs close up, but it sure as hell isn't pretty.

'Hmm...then this isn't just a conflict between mages, but is it something like a religious conflict? Then I don't really have a reason to interfere.'

Douglas chose to remain neutral in case of future confrontations mainly because it doesn't interest him, but also because it is better to not take sides in a religious conflict. Not that he would interfere in any conflict.

Humans are capable of doing anything as long as they have faith.

The most Christian person you know would be perfectly fine with killing you if he received a 'revelation' from God.

In other words, they are fanatics who would stop at nothing to serve their Gods. So it's better to not have an enemy either from a cult or the church.

Perhaps the church would be even worse since their reputations are good world-wide, so they could do much more annoying stuff.

In this sense, cultists could be finished off quietly, but the church? He would be the enemy of the whole world no matter which route he chooses, destroy or not.

*Sigh~*

'Is there nothing more? Nothing here is worth much...hm?'

*Thud!*

A spherical ball of red color fell out from the fire magician's pouch. Somehow, he felt like throwing that away as far as possible.

It felt revolting, like something that should never have existed. That's what his senses are telling him.

"How peculiar..."

At first, he just observes it, but then he had an idea.

At times like these, aren't magical balls usually power-up opportunities? So perhaps, this could be his ticket to using magic.

Although there is the possibility that this is a demonic Artifact and it probably isn't healthy, he had this urge, like he had to get in contact with it.

He placed his hands on top of the ball and tried to sense something.

His senses were exceptional. He has trained his senses enough to call his danger sense a 6th sense. So he could feel slight shifts in every corner his room if he concentrated. He was reaching the limits of human sense and bordering animalistic instinct.

Not longer than a minute later, he could feel a peculiar energy. One that makes his hair stand in a shivering delight!

Next thing he knew, he instinctively tried to greedily absorb the whole thing!

But after all, he was new to this, so he could only slowly absorb it bit by bit. Mind you, it was very very slow.

It was like trying to empty a bowl of water with a spoon. But he could wait, it was a chance to use magic, after all.

Then he noticed a problem. He hadn't been absorbing all of it, and it was going to waste. He was blindly absorbing, not knowing where to direct it, but he couldn't stop now.

He couldn't control it how he wanted to.

He'd thought that magicians usually form their cores in their abdomen, but the magic he absorbed wasn't going to his abdomen, nor was it forming anything.

From his fingertips to the end of his toes, the magic was distributed evenly. His blood was warm and his veins enlarged. But he didn't stop.

He couldn't afford to stop it. Not after knowing what kind of opportunities it held.

Half an hour later, it was finished. The whole process took an hour, and it was somewhat uncomfortable.

Douglas felt like his veins would pop, but it doesn't hurt. He could feel his blood somewhat boiling, but it was barely uncomfortable.

He felt it. His blood being mixed with something vile.

Then he let it loose, all that power. It came out in the form of a feeble flame, but he wasn't discouraged.

After all, he could use Magic!

It was a man's romance, or fantasy!

He could work his way up, no problem. He had the resolve to start from the lowest, he could wait.

He will surely burn mountains and dry oceans! Or well, as close as he could get...

But he didn't care, because what was in front of him...

...was even more fascinating!

[Unlock requirement: Use Mana 2 days after transmigration!]

[You have accomplished what was believed to be impossible: Possessing Mana while being so unnaturally talentless in Magic that Hell freezing over would be a more likely outcome than you being able to wield Mana!]

[SSS Ranked Achievement Acquired: Overcoming Fate]

[Check status to see it's effect]

[Available System Paths: From SSS to H Ranked Systems!]

'What the fuck?! What the hell is this? It looks like a hologram, this is some future tech shit right here!'

Douglas didn't know what a system is. He hadn't played rpg games because he couldn't afford Playstation or even Nintendo.

Plus, he hadn't the time before, all fictional knowledge he had came from controversial theories he watched and some online debates. Sometimes from his friends, too.

So he was quite clueless.

'So, what is a system?'

[...]

'No answer? Well...I have to go in blind, I suppose. So, what are my options?'

[Systems available!]

[SSS] [SS] [S] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H]

'Sooo...from certain debates I see, things that are ranked A,B,C are usually the mid ranks, not great not bad, and the truly good stuff starts from S to either SSS or higher. Let's go to SSS options first.'

[SSS ranked systems!]

[Saiyan System]: [Origin: Dragon Ball]

[Hades System]: [Origin: Saint Seiya]

[Saitama System]: [Origin: One Punch Man]

[Dante System]: [Origin: Devil May Cry]

[Sparda System]: [Origin: Devil May Cry]

[Zeno System]: [Origin: Dragon Ball]

[....]

[.....]

[...]

'That's a lot. That's all I can say. There's a lot, but I have already decided which I'm gonna pick. After all, it's the only character that I'm familiar with.'