Zen's eyes widened. The ritual had failed. Even though he had brainwashed Rei into becoming Piers, he was sure Rei's body would have attracted at least one devil. Yet, Piers had failed.
"He failed. Now he has to die," the old man said, as the black sword in Piers's stomach took its toll.
Suddenly, a dark crimson energy enveloped Piers. The old man was surprised. "What? This boy can use devil powers, but the ritual failed!" Then he noticed something else and was even more astonished. "Wait... there's no corruption. It's pure devil power."
Zen, too, was in awe. "Even though Rei has lost all his consciousness, he is still unique as Piers," he thought.
Piers clutched the black sword. "Get it out," he demanded. Fire covered his hand, and the old man's eyes widened. "That's Hellfire! Mephisto's signature power! No... it's a purified Hellfire." The old man calmed down.
He knew Hellfire had the power to consume souls and bodies, to drive people insane, and to corrupt anyone who looked at it. It could burn through anything. He assumed that since this Hellfire was purified, its corrupting power was gone. It could now only burn what it touched, serve as a protective shield, consume an opponent's stamina, show a person's lies and deceptions, trap them in an illusion until they repented, and guide paths in unknown areas. He didn't know that because of Piers's guardian angel, the Hellfire now had angelic properties.
Zen thought, "Hellfire? Did he make a contract with Mephisto, the Demon Emperor? He's Rei's other consciousness, so I shouldn't be surprised. But didn't the ritual fail?"
As Piers used the Hellfire to burn the sword, it vanished in a second. Piers got up from the altar, feeling light and powerful.
"How were you able to get this power?" the old man asked. "The ritual showed failure."
"I don't know," Piers said. "The devil Mephisto seemed late, so he was only able to put a mark on my soul."
The old man exerted his aura. "Don't play dumb," he snarled. But Piers felt nothing. The old man's eyes widened. "What is happening?"
"I'll show you," Piers said, using his own aura, not to attack, but just to show. "I really don't know."
Suddenly, the old man felt like Mephisto was standing in front of him. "It's impossible! You not only inherited Hellfire but also his full power!" The old man knew the extent of Mephisto's powers: Temptation and Bargains, Shapeshifting and Illusion, Knowledge of Hidden Things, Summoning and Commanding Lesser Spirits, Control Over Fire and Shadow, Corruption of the Soul, Longevity/Immortality, and granting temporary magic to others. Even purified, Piers still had access to many of these powers.
"Well, Mephisto is known to play tricks on others," Zen said. "Besides, Piers, you might be tired. Let's take you to the dorms now that you are a true devil holder."
As they walked, Zen said, "I can't believe you got Mephisto's full power. I mean, Mephisto is a big shot. His full power is equivalent to having the power of an emperor in your grasp."
Zen smiled, but Piers replied, "I might have the full power, but it requires some kind of activation to draw it out."
"I see," Zen said. "Then there will be a problem. You would need to increase your body strength to manifest the true power of Mephisto. However, even 1% of the power is enough to beat low-level devils." Zen continued, "Promise me you'll use it to protect everyone."
"I promise," Piers said with a smile.
Zen took Piers to a private training room. "Since you have Mephisto's full powers, does that mean you have his knowledge too?" Zen asked.
"Yes, I have his knowledge too," Piers replied.
"Okay, wait here." Zen left and came back with a long black cloak with big collars and fur on the edges. "Here, take it," he said.
"Why are you giving me a coat?" Piers asked.
"It's not a coat, it's a cloak," Zen corrected. "It's called the Thousands Demon Cloak. When a person wears this cloak, it shows that they are very knowledgeable, and I think you deserve to wear it."
Piers smiled. "Okay," he said, putting on the cloak. He looked like a demon lord.
"It looks very good on you," Zen said. "I have something more for you." Zen took out a sword. "Take this."
Piers looked at the sword and saw a demon on the hilt. He drew the sword, and the blade was completely black, but suddenly, it began to change color. "What is happening?" Piers thought. The hilt and blade turned a lighter shade of black. He looked at his reflection, and his reflection stared back and smiled, even though Piers wasn't smiling.
"Don't worry about it smiling back," Zen explained. "It was made by an expert blacksmith using the dead body of a devil, so there's some devil energy inside. This sword will change color to match your personality."
"I see," Piers said.
"Now, let's see how much you can push yourself in this body. Time for your training. Use your Hellfire at 1% power." Piers produced a small flame, but his body started to heat up.
"Master, I feel my body getting hotter by the second," he said.
"Stop your Hellfire and eat this," Zen said, giving him a blue fruit. Piers ate it, and a wave of coolness washed over him. "Try to use it at 0.1% and slowly increase the power." Piers did as he was told, and he stopped at 0.3%. "I'm comfortable at 0.3%," he said.
"We have a lot of work to do," Zen said.
In a town, Daina and Sigil walked through the streets, looking around the stores. Unbeknownst to them, two men were walking behind them. They saw a third man walk into an alley and smirked, following him. After a while, they came out, leaving a half-eaten corpse behind.
"Lord Fate Demon, was the meal satisfactory?" one man asked.
"Yes, more than so," the other, the Fate Demon, replied. "But the only problem was that he reeked of alcohol."
Sigil and Daina had no idea they were in the same city as the Fate Demon.