"Well then, we can go out to eat," Heiter suggested with a smile on his face.
"Obviously this is a lot to take in," he continued. What a cliché line.
"Not really. I just need to rethink my next moves," I said.
We left the cathedral and stepped into the sunlight. Strahl's streets were bright with the color of banners and busy with travelers, merchants and horse carts. Yet none of it reached my senses. One thought remained persistent in my mind. My reincarnation, or transmigration, or whatever I was supposed to call it.
If the goddess herself had already spoken of my existence, then someone or something was pulling strings long before I arrived here. The idea that I simply appeared by chance no longer made sense. Fate was a word far too convenient for what was happening.
"I feel like you need to relax a little, Gojo. Being in the Goddess's scripture should be an honor," Heiter said as he led the way through the crowded streets. His attempt at a light tone only made the weight heavier.
People greeted him with respect and admiration. Some called his name, others bowed deeply. A few recognized me as well. Children approached us with paper and quill, asking for autographs. Adults smiled as if witnessing something divine.
I did not enjoy the attention. I did not despise it either. It simply meant my anonymity was fading faster than expected.
"Relax? I am perfectly calm. I just have a lot to consider," I replied as we stepped inside a small restaurant. Warm air, roasted meats and the scent of fresh bread greeted us. After Heiter exchanged a few friendly words with the cashier, we found a table in the corner. It was quieter there.
"I would imagine that you are stressed," Heiter said softly.
"The scripture does not necessarily mean anything," I stated. "I am not a believer of the goddess and I kill demons. That is all it says. But the first sentence is what bothers me the most."
"Oh? And why is that?" Heiter leaned forward, his eyes fixed on mine.
"Are you not of this world?" he asked.
"Well... sort of not. I mean, I possess mana, so I guess I am," I replied. A small flame formed above my palm, hovering and dancing on my fingertips. A few nearby patrons gasped quietly.
Honestly, I did not care if anyone discovered my abilities. If someone wanted to threaten me, they would learn quickly how reckless that was.
"After all, they are weak," I muttered.
"What was that, Gojo?" Heiter asked. His confusion was genuine.
I ignored the question and continued eating. Meat, bread, soup. All tasted dull beneath the weight of unanswered thoughts. Was it the goddess who reincarnated me? Or another being entirely? A higher existence? A curse? A mistake? Why was I brought here at all?
The question should not matter. Yet it did. In ways I could not explain, it clawed at the back of my mind.
"Giving me the cold shoulder… how rude of you," Heiter said. His tone was mocking, but not unkind. "You seem deep in thought. If you wish, I can help answer your questions." He extended a hand to me.
"It is not important. Maybe for another time," I said.
—
Heiter tried easing the subject by abruptly changing it, as if the previous conversation had never existed.
"So. Mind telling me how your student defeated the demon?" he asked, lifting his cup for another drink. His cheeks were slightly red, eyes hazy with a forced calm. "He must have been terrified. Demons can be frightening, even for adults."
"That is your seventh cup," I muttered.
He ignored me, waving a hand casually and swallowing another mouthful of alcohol. Heiter might have been a bishop, but restraint clearly was not his strong point.
"But to answer your question," I continued, "he is a kid, but he is not to be taken lightly. His potential is off the charts, and when he is angry, he becomes someone entirely different."
"Scary?" Heiter raised a brow.
"More than that. When he gets serious, he forgets fear. When the demon was weakened, he stopped me from finishing the job. He wanted to end it himself."
Heiter leaned forward, expression curious. "Then what happened?"
I opened my mouth.
The restaurant walls exploded.
Wood splintered outward, tables shattered, dust swallowed the room. Screams broke out instantly. Patrons fled in every direction, crying to the goddess for protection.
When the dust settled, a single figure walked through the wreckage.
A tall man with long blonde hair, flowing like a calm river. His clothes resembled a medieval noble's suit, dark velvet with gold embroideries. On his head, curling black horns marked him unmistakably. His eyes held no anger, no malice, no emotion. He simply stared.
I exhaled softly. "And you are?"
Heiter clenched his jaw. "That is the demon spotted two nights ago."
People continued to run, stumbling over broken chairs and overturned plates. I stepped forward and cracked my knuckles.
"Ready for a beat-down?" I asked, closing the distance at a relaxed pace.
The demon watched me, expression unchanged. "Your mana is less than Bernard's. It is small, insignificant. Yet you instilled fear in him. I do not understand."
He spoke as if reciting a report rather than threatening my life.
"He was weak to human emotions," the demon continued. "I begged him to take a demon body, yet he refused. His arrogance killed him."
"So you are Bernard's student? Or something like that," I answered.
"And you are his killer. A pity. To lose to a weakling."
Heiter stepped beside me. "Weakling? Gojo is nothing close to that."
The demon turned its gaze toward him. "His mana is pathetic."
"Is that so?" I let out a slow breath. Until now, I had been suppressing my mana to stay unnoticed. Five percent, no more. The moment I released it to half strength, the air itself trembled.
Heiter felt it, eyes widening. The demon paused mid-step.
"So you had more. Why conceal it?" it asked.
"To kill vermin like you," I answered.
The demon blurred forward. A single instant of movement, its fist raised to crush my skull. But its arm halted inches from my face. Not by force. By limitation. Infinity stretched between us, quietly, untouchable.
"If you can't even hit me, you'll never avenge your master," I taunted.
The demon's eyes narrowed. "I did not sense magic."
Heiter whispered, "So that is your ability…"
"Quiet, weak priest," the demon snapped, and blood spears formed at his fingertips. They shot toward Heiter, aiming straight for his chest.
Heiter did not move. The blood mid-flight dissolved into particles, fading like smoke.
"My existence has no value? Who decided that?" Heiter spoke calmly, the warmth gone from his voice.
The demon blinked. Its expression tightened for the first time.
"I have seen demons one hundred times more terrifying than you," Heiter continued, rising from his seat. The air around him shifted, holy mana pulsing. "And every one of them disappeared before the light of the goddess."