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"Haah… Haah…" Seir panted heavily, raising his hand as the modified pitching machine launched a [Water Dragon] toward him.
[Crack!]
Activating his trait, he targeted the core of the incoming attack, fracturing it instantly. The [Water Dragon] split apart, its momentum dissipating, leaving it no longer a threat to him.
Soon after the [Water Dragon] was perfectly dealt with by Seir, Roygun pressed the 'Stop' button on the pitching machine, halting any further magic attacks at Seir.
"Alright," she said, "this should be enough for Stage 1. You've successfully understood and applied Precision while using [Crack]."
"Hmm…" Seir hummed in response as he floated back down to the ground. Retracting his wings, he asked between breaths, "So that means we can move to Stage 2?"
"Yes, it's time for Stage 2," Roygun nodded. However, instead of starting immediately, she observed Seir's exhausted expression and added, "But let's take a break first, shall we? We've been training for hours, and honestly, you look completely worn out."
"Okay…" Seir nodded with a shrug before walking toward Roygun. The two then made their way to the gazebo together to rest.
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"Want me to give you a lap pillow?" Roygun asked, patting her thighs. A hint of shyness colored her smile, and her eyes sparkled with expectation, as if hoping he would say yes, and added, "It will help you relax quickly…"
Naturally, Seir wouldn't refuse such an offer from Roygun. Without missing a beat, he nodded and said, "Yes," then lay down on the sofa, resting his head on her lap.
"Fufu~" Roygun chuckled, a bit smug, as she ran her fingers through his long white hair, channeling her Demonic Power to help him relax both mentally and physically.
For Devils, close skin contact with someone who shares a similar nature of Demonic Power can accelerate healing. This is how masters can heal their servants, and close blood relatives can heal each other. At this moment, Roygun was doing precisely that.
Although this method of healing was slow and not as immediately effective as something like [Twilight Healing] or Phoenix Tears, it remained one of the primary ways Devils recovered from exhaustion and minor injuries.
'Skinship really does seem to be in the roots of Devilkind…' Seir mused, feeling the soothing effects of Roygun's Demonic Power. Letting out a relaxed sigh, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to unwind in her care.
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A short while later, lost in thought, a question suddenly popped into his mind. He opened his eyes, thinking, 'Come to think of it… why doesn't she?'
Gazing up at Roygun's face past her twin peaks, he said, drawing her attention, "Say… Sister, there's something that's been bugging me for a while…"
"Hm? What is it?" Roygun asked, gently holding his cheek.
"I've been watching recordings of quite a few of your Rating Games over the past few days… and I noticed something specific when I focused on your fights—or more precisely when I watched you use [Crack] in those matches," Seir said.
"Oh?" Roygun raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "And what exactly did you notice about my use of [Crack]?"
"Why do you always use [Crack] only on magic, Demonic Power attacks, or other aura-based techniques?" Seir asked.
Roygun tilted her head in confusion. "Only on them? What do you mean?" She didn't quite understand what he was getting at but countered his words anyway, "Don't I also use [Crack] on weapons, landmasses, and other things as well to secure my win?"
"Oh… right, you do use crack on objects as well," Seir acknowledged. "But then why never directly on your opponent's body? Instead of using [Crack] to inflict damage on them, you rely on some magic or raw Demonic Power bullet attacks to wound or retire them."
"Ah… well…" Roygun was genuinely taken aback by Seir's question, so much so that her hand, which had been stroking his hair, froze for a moment.
"Well?" Seir pressed.
Roygun remained silent for a moment before finally answering, "It's not that I've never tried… but it doesn't really seem to work. [Crack] isn't a trait that seems to affect living beings in that manner."
"That shouldn't be the case…" Seir muttered with a frown.
'She definitely had that ability in the canon…' he thought, recalling her battle against Lint Sellzen, where she inflicted severe wounds that even Sephiroth Graal couldn't heal easily.
'Did she not have that ability before the [King] piece was confiscated?' he wondered.
'Maybe losing the [King] piece and much of her strength prompted her to develop [Crack] further… yes, that seems plausible since she needed to somehow improve her strength, even if a little bit. Roygun must not have developed the [Tear] aspect of [Crack] before then…'
"But it is," Roygun emphasized.
Seir shook his head. "I don't think so…" He then added, "The reason must be that you haven't tried hard enough."
After all, the potential of a Devil's inherent trait is only as vast as the user's imagination and Demonic Power. With a clear vision, proper imagination, sufficient reserves of Demonic Power, and proper training, something like that should be entirely possible.
Heck, Seir believed that with enough reserves of Demonic Power, it should theoretically be possible to create Cracks in the mind, soul, gravity, space, time… and even in the very fabric of reality itself. The only true limitation for the Belphegors was their Demonic Power.
'If a Super Devil like Sirzechs or Ajuka—or perhaps even a Dragon God-class being—had [Crack] as their trait, they might have been able to achieve such feats…'
But, naturally, Roygun didn't see it that way. Hearing Seir say, 'The reason must be that you haven't tried hard enough,' she felt a twinge of annoyance and narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling your elder sister lazy…?" she asked.
"Maybe…" Seir murmured under his breath.
If she could achieve something like that even after losing the [King] piece, then the issue wasn't the impossibility of the task, nor was it a lack of reserves of Demonic Power, imagination, or vision. The real issue was likely that she simply hadn't tried enough—either because she never saw the desperate need to develop such an ability or because she was just too lazy to push herself to such an extent.
Roygun's eyebrow twitched at his response, and with a hint of annoyance, she pulled his cheek while complaining, "It seems my doting nature has made you forget how to respect your elder sister… Looks like I need to teach you a lesson on how to be respectful towards me, don't I?"
Seir, struggling with his pinched cheek, protested, "Twats not thwe khase…" (That's not the case.)
"Oh? Then what is the case?" Roygun asked with a dark smile.
Despite her ominous expression, Seir remained honest, though once again, his pinched cheek made his words slur, "Zou aree choo ldazy, sistah…" (You are too lazy, sister…)
Twitch marks appeared on Roygun's forehead as she giggled ominously. "Fufu~ It seems we have a different kind of lesson awaiting us today, don't we?"
"Dat vont—" Seir tried to respond but quickly grew annoyed at speaking like that. He pulled her hand away from his cheek and continued while lightly rubbing the sore spot, "That won't change the truth, sister."
"Hmph… what do you know?" Roygun scoffed, turning her face away with a huff. Then, under her breath, she muttered, "You're just a child who only recently started learning how to use [Crack], and yet you already want to teach me… I have centuries of experience… Father has a millennium… and then there's Grandmother, and Great-Grandfather before her… In short, you're far too young to be lecturing me on this."
Seir was momentarily speechless at Roygun for bringing their father and ancestors into the discussion. However, seeing that she truly didn't believe such a thing was possible, an idea sparked in his mind. With a smirk, he proposed, "Then how about we make a bet?"
"A bet, you say?" Roygun raised an eyebrow.
"Yup." Seir nodded confidently and elaborated, "I'll develop [Crack] to the point where it can create cracks in an opponent's body. What do you think?"
"Hm… I see…" Roygun responded, her expression turning thoughtful. Intrigued, she leaned in slightly. "And what are the stakes?"
After all, a bet without anything at stake was meaningless. Naturally, she was curious to hear what he had in mind.
Seir's smirk widened. "An absolute order. If you win, I'll do anything you want—no complaints, no resistance. But if I win… you'll have to do whatever I say, no matter what."
"Wouldn't that be a bit…" Roygun murmured, slightly taken aback by the stakes Seir had proposed.
"What's wrong, sister? You're not afraid that I might win, are you?" Seir teased, trying to goad her into accepting.
Naturally, Roygun saw through his attempt to goad her, but as she considered the stakes, a thought lingered in her mind.
'Anything, huh? But it goes both ways… and if he really wins… then…'
She pondered what kind of order Seir might give her if he came out victorious. Her mind drifted back to an earlier conversation—
'Perhaps… the erotic dreams Lord Seirios is experiencing… involve you.'
A faint heat crept up her face as a possibility crossed her mind.
'If he ends up winning… would he…?'
Various thoughts swirled in her mind until Seir's voice snapped her out of it—
"What do you think, sister?" he asked.
"Alright… fine… let's do it," Roygun nodded, temporarily pushing aside her thoughts. "Let's make this bet." She paused briefly before adding, "But… there's a time limit."
"Hm… a time limit?" Seir murmured, then asked, "Alright… how much time are you giving me?"
Roygun pondered for a moment before raising her hand, holding up three fingers. "Three years… I'll give you three years in terms of the human calendar. If you don't succeed within that time, you lose."
Hearing her say, "Three years," Seir nearly burst into laughter.
"Pfft… You must be joking. Three years?!"
Roygun shook her head. "No… Three years. That's the most I'm giving you." Then, with a smirk, she asked, "Or do you think three years is too little?"
Seir, unable to hold back his laughter any longer, shook his head. "Hahaha… On the contrary, three years is way too much. Sister, you're seriously underestimating me, aren't you?"
Seeing his confidence, Roygun briefly wondered if three years might be too much. 'Should I shorten the time limit?' But her pride wouldn't allow her to change what she had already declared. So instead, she said, "Well… if you think I'm underestimating you, then just prove me wrong."
Seir smirked and nodded. "Oh, I intend to."
In Seir's opinion, three years was far too much time. He didn't believe he needed that long to develop the [Tear] aspect of [Crack]. 'A year at most… and even that might be pushing it…' he thought to himself.
Although it would still take some time before he could focus on the [Tear] aspect of [Crack], he first needed to complete his [Crack] training with Roygun. However, he was confident that he could develop the custom magic [Tear] in less than a year.
'Or maybe I should train for [Tear] in private? Hm… That might not be a bad idea either. Though, I'd still need to figure out the best way to train and develop it…'
"Alright then," Roygun said, a hint of anticipation in her voice. "I look forward to it… Let's see if [Crack] can really do what you claim."
"Yeah… I'll show you, sister," he nodded, thinking to himself, 'I'll show you something you were destined to develop on your own…'
"Hmm…" Roygun hummed in response before saying, "For now, shall we get back to your training? It's time to begin Stage 2…"
"Yes… let's do it," Seir nodded, rising to his feet.
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That's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading this one!
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