Flames seared Samuel's body, black smoke billowing from him, burn marks spreading across his skin.
These "burns" weren't physical but conceptual, and the smoke… was "sin."
Genesis, City of Sin.
As the flames consumed him, Samuel's computational power dissected them. This was the fire of knowledge, of judgment. The burning was both a transfer of wisdom and a test of his capacity to bear and spread it.
He parsed the wisdom, intercepting spells, cross-referencing them with extensive ability programs and translating them with fragments of magical knowledge.
These were angelic spells, wielding mystery with ease, far surpassing human-crafted magical spells.
Under Samuel's rapid computational analysis, their secrets unraveled.
Authored by the angel Abraham, the grimoire aimed to guide humanity toward virtue and alleviate sin. Abraham, once human, had ascended to angelhood. He witnessed Sodom, steeped in human sin, cleansed by heavenly fire, and his wife, defying him, turned to a pillar of salt.
He recorded this tale to warn future generations, but in angelic spells, its truths were incomprehensible to fools and unspeakable by the wise.
Those with wisdom who understood it were burned by heavenly fire, for the sinful could not bear the responsibility of spreading such knowledge.
They had to be purified by fire, their sins incinerated.
Step…
Samuel advanced—one step, then two.
Golden flames raged, turning him into a "man of fire." Sulfur's stench filled the air, his skin beginning to "saltify."
Gleaming salt crystals fell from him, the sulfur burning his eyes, the searing flames reducing his flesh to ash.
Step.
Samuel reached Genesis, City of Sin and seized the book.
"Not enough? I've… seen through you!"
In that moment, complex angelic spells were simplified, restructured into programs.
Samuel converted them into ability programs, then into plain text even mortals could read.
…
The flames surged, but Samuel's body became a vortex, drawing them in. Fire became flesh, salt reformed as bone, sulfur smoke ceased. He was reborn.
His body neared angelic purity, a "Righteous One" in Cross Church terms.
Genesis, City of Sin ignited, becoming flame that merged with Samuel, its wisdom now part of him.
The grimoire had chosen him—or rather, he had mastered it.
It no longer existed as a book but lived on in Samuel, the living Genesis, City of Sin.
His angelic proximity partially lifted his soul's restraints, accelerating his computational capacity to thirty times a Level 5's. By Academy City's metrics, he'd be classified as Level 6, as they'd never seen a true one and would base it on his ability to crush Level 5s as easily as they did Level 4s.
But Level 6—"a mortal hearing God's will"—wasn't his yet. His intuition told him he fell short.
Genesis, City of Sin replaced one Level 5 program. With Mugino Shizuri's Meltdowner nearly analyzed via her AIM field particles, Samuel needed one more.
"Hey, 'me'! Tell me… what's next?"
Samuel whispered, but nothing happened. As if he'd said nothing, he left the room.
When he emerged, Tatemiya Saiji bowed in submission.
All Cross Church followers felt the sanctity radiating from Samuel—a sinless Righteous One, on the cusp of becoming a Saint.
"Bring your collection, your knowledge, here. Don't hold back."
Samuel's voice was gentle but carried undeniable authority, compelling Tatemiya to obey.
In conquering the grimoire, Samuel's programs had fused, building a ladder toward Level 6. He was on the path to transcendence.
Powers he once had to simulate were now his, woven into every action.
His "Mental Suggestion" became passive, like a medieval Righteous One or ancient sage, exuding an eerie charisma that inspired instinctive trust and admiration.
Electromagnetic force and Meltdowner merged, granting him effortless control over atomic electrons.
The new program from Genesis, City of Sin became his body—or rather, divine power.
As an esper, Samuel had usurped divine power, claiming it for himself.
One more… his intuition insisted.
And it was close.
"Please."
Tatemiya, with reluctant followers, brought their entire collection of treasures and texts.
Their reluctance faded upon seeing Samuel.
His every move was graceful, appearing differently to each observer but universally inspiring awe.
"So that's it, 'me.' No wonder I was drawn to the Amakusa-Style Remix of Church."
Samuel's gaze locked on a sealed box, his intuition surging. It held what he needed—the key to true Level 6, to "hearing God's will as a mortal."
***
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