'I am Inevitable'
I stared at the carnage surrounding me, bodies scattered across, some crushed into the floor, others torn apart by stone spikes that still peeked from the ground like jaws.
My Haki-coated fist dripped red, the dark coating fading back to normal skin as I flexed my fingers. Asia's green eyes locked on me with an expression caught somewhere between terror and desperate hope.
Her white ceremonial robes bore splashes of blood that weren't hers, and her small frame trembled against the grount. Those blonde strands of hair stuck to her tear-stained cheeks, and when our eyes met, she flinched but didn't look away.
"M-Motohama-san..."
Can't really blame her for that, considering what she just witnessed.
"You okay?"
She nodded quickly "I... yes. Thank you. Thank you for saving me, Motohama-san. I thought... I thought they were going to..."
"Kill you? Extract your Sacred Gear and leave you dead on that cross?" I finished for her, watching her face go pale further "Yeah, that was definitely the plan. Raynare had a whole ritual setup and everything. But, she didn't know I knew the plot"
Asia's green eyes welled with fresh tears, and she looked down at her trembling hands "I don't understand. Why did you come for me? We barely know each other. I led you here, told you about this place... I helped them without knowing..."
"You're too trusting and naive, Asia" I said with a smile "You see the good in everyone, even when they're planning to murder you for your abilities"
Her breath hitched, and I saw the exact moment my words hit home, the way her shoulders hunched inward, how her fingers clutched at the bloodstained robes. Guilt. Shame. All the emotions a gentle heart experienced when confronted with their own naiveté.
Time to make my move.
I knelt down to her eye level, forcing her to meet my gaze "Asia, you have two choices right now. You can go back to the Church that excommunicated you for having compassion, the same Church that cast you out for healing a Devil—which, by the way, was a setup designed specifically to get you kicked out and vulnerable. Or..." I paused, letting the weight of that revelation sink in. "You can come with me"
Her eyes went wide, shock replacing fear for a brief moment "A... a setup? But that's... how could..."
"Doesn't matter how," I cut her off "What matters is that the Church abandoned you. They threw you away the second you showed actual compassion instead of blind zealotry. You healed someone who needed healing, and they punished you for it"
Asia's face crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks "But... but the Lord's teachings say to help those in need. I was only following His word. I don't understand why—"
"Because the Church is run by hypocrites who are more interested in maintaining their image and influence than actual faith" I said "They wanted you as a tool, Asia. When you showed independent thought, you became a liability to them, so they abandoned you"
She shook her head weakly, but I could see the doubt creeping into her expression. Good. Doubt meant she was actually thinking instead of just accepting what she'd been told her whole life.
I softened my tone "Listen. I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm some saint who rescued you out of pure goodness. I came here because you're valuable, your Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, is useful. But I'm also not going to use you and throw you away like Raynare planned. Stay with me, and I'll keep you safe from anyone who wants to exploit you. Fallen Angels, Devils, zealots, anyone. You'll never be a sacrifice again"
Asia looked up at me, those green eyes searching my face for... something. Truth, maybe. Sincerity. Some sign that I wasn't just another person using her for her abilities.
I extended my hand, palm up, waiting.
"I..." She hesitated, gaze dropping to my bloodstained fingers "What if... what if the Church realizes their mistake? What if they want me back?"
"They won't" I said bluntly "You're excommunicated. That's not something they reverse on a whim. To them, you're already damned"
Her expression shattered at that, the final fragile hope crumbling. She stared at my offered hand for a long moment that felt like eternity, before her trembling fingers reached out and grasped mine. Her hand felt small, delicate, the grip weak from exhaustion and fear.
"I'll trust you, Motohama-san," she whispered.
I pulled her to her feet, steadying her when her legs nearly gave out "I won't let no harm come at you. You have my word on that"
Asia stumbled slightly, catching herself against my arm, and I felt her Sacred Gear glow with a brief flash of warm green light that instinctively reached out to heal the minor cuts on my hand from the devastation. Twilight Healing, reacting to her emotional state and proximity to injuries. Interesting. The Sacred Gear had its own awareness, responding even when Asia wasn't consciously activating it?
Definitely saving that information.
I turned toward the shattered window where Kalawarner still stood frozen, those eyes glazed with the DISC's compulsion. The Fallen Angel hadn't moved an inch since I'd implanted the disc, black wings half-spread like she'd forgotten they existed. Her blue hair hung limp around her face, and her usual arrogant expression had been replaced with empty compliance.
I walked toward her slowly, each footstep deliberate, letting the sound echo through the ruined sanctuary. Asia followed a half-step behind, her hand still clutching my sleeve. Kalawarner's eyes tracked my approach, but her body remained motionless, a puppet waiting for strings to be pulled.
"Kalawarner" I said, voice dropping into something cold and sharp.
"Yes." Her response came immediately, flat and emotionless.
I stopped directly in front of her, close enough to see the slight tremor in her hands that the DISC's compulsion couldn't quite suppress. Fear. Good. The mind control handled obedience, but the underlying personality still existed, still capable of processing terror even if it couldn't act on it.
"You're going to serve me from now on" I said, each word precise. "Understand?"
She nodded , the motion stiff and unnatural "Yes"
I leaned closer, dropping my voice to barely above a whisper "And don't even think about betraying me. If you do, I'll find you...and what I did to the other two will look merciful compared to what I'll do to you"
Kalawarner's eyes widened, genuine terror breaking through the compulsion's blank mask. Her breath hitched audibly, wings twitching involuntarily as her body tried to flee even while her mind remained locked in place. Those brown eyes darted down to my blood-covered hand, then over to Raynare's corpse with its crushed chest in the pooling blood.
"I..." Her voice cracked, replacing usual arrogant tone "I won't. I swear, I won't betray—"
"Good girl" I cut her off, straightening up and letting my expression shift from menacing to casually neutral "Your first task: cook dinner"
Kalawarner blinked, confusion shattering the fear for a brief moment "...What?"
"You heard me. I'm starving, and someone needs to make dinner" I pulled another DISC from my inventory, this one containing culinary knowledge I'd watched earlier, basic cooking skills and recipes condensed into installable data.
I tossed it at her forehead.
The DISC dissolved on contact, merging into her skin like water absorbed by sand. Kalawarner's eyes rolled back briefly, her entire body going rigid as information flooded her neural pathways, knife techniques, optimum temperature, flavor combinations, all of it cramming itself into her brain in the span of three seconds.
When her eyes refocused, they held a new awareness mixed with complete bewilderment.
"Now go cook" I ordered.
Kalawarner opened her mouth, closed it, then nodded jerkily and stumbled toward the exit. Her wings folded against her back automatically, and she moved like someone learning to walk in a different body, which, in a sense, she was. The culinary DISC had given her muscle memory for techniques she'd never actually practiced, creating a disconnect between knowledge and experience that would take time to reconcile.
Asia watched the entire exchange with wide eyes, her grip on my sleeve tightening "Motohama-san... what did you do to her? Is she... is she okay?"
"She's fine, Asia" I said dismissively "Just making sure she's properly motivated to not stab me in the back"
"But what if she betrays you...Will you kill her?" Asia's voice carried genuine concern, because of course it did. The girl couldn't turn off her compassion even for someone who'd literally tried to kill her twenty minutes ago.
"I am gonna give her few more tasks to keep the fear in check" I said bluntly "Afterall, Fear keeps people honest when loyalty isn't an option"
Asia flinched at that, and I felt her hand loosen slightly on my sleeve. Right. Too harsh for the gentle nun who still believed people were inherently good. I'd need to be better with my approach with her.
The brutal honesty would work for establishing dominance with Kalawarner, but Asia needed a softer approach. Gotta keep that in mind.
"Come on. Let's get you out of this place. You've had a rough night"
She nodded mutely, following as I led her toward the exit. Behind us, the sanctuary remained a monument to violence, corpses embedded in stone, blood soaking into cracked floors, shattered pews and broken altars scattered like children's toys. The ritual circle that had been meant for Asia's execution still glowed faintly, its light slowly fading as the magic dissipated and was long gone.
We'd barely made it three steps when the familiar blue screen materialized in my vision.
Asia couldn't see it, of course, the system interface was visible only to me, a private heads-up display that overlaid reality without actually existing in physical space. The text appeared in crisp, glowing letters that seemed to hover in mid-air from my perspective.
```
[INVENTORY: Rank 7 Gacha Ticket]
Use Ticket? [YES] [NO]
```
I mentally selected YES without hesitation.
The screen flashed, transforming into a spinning roulette wheel of possibilities. Icons blurred past too fast to identify, showing weapons, abilities, items, all potential rewards cycling through at dizzying speed. The wheel slowed gradually, tick-tick-ticking through options before finally stopping on a single glowing icon that expanded to fill my vision.
The texts finally solidified beneath it.
```
[REWARD OBTAINED]
Skill Name: Essence Alchemy
Description:
Grants the ability to perceive and manipulate the fundamental properties contained within materials. When examining any substance, the user gains intuitive understanding of its inherent attributes like regenerative qualities, elemental affinities, energy, biological compatibility, and other intrinsic characteristics.
The user can extract these essences in liquid solutions aka potions and can also combine them manifesting the combined properties. Success depends on three factors:
• Material Quality - Stronger ingredients produce more potent effects
• Compatibility - Some essences reinforce each other; others conflict and destabilize
• Technical Control - Precision in extraction ratios, temperature regulation, and mana infusion during synthesis
You can advance through repeated practice, deeper understanding of material interactions, acquisition of rare ingredients, and refinement of synthesis techniques.
Higher mastery allows stabilization of more complex multi-property potions and extraction of stronger concentrations from the same materials.
Limitation: Can only achieve effects supported by available ingredients. Cannot generate properties that don't exist in them.
```
I read the description once, then twice, then a third time as the implications crashed into me like Death punch of Saitama to Genos.
"Damn!"
My mind immediately began racing through possibilities, strategic applications, economic potential, all of it unfolding in rapid-fire succession.
Phoenix Tears were legendary healing items in this world, absurdly expensive and controlled by the Phenex clan. With Essence Alchemy, I could potentially replace them in Underworld, and get not just finance but influence as well in tenfolds. Fallen Angel blood almost certainly contained light-based essences I could extract. Devil biology had some natural regenerative properties. Dragon or any other individuals parts, scales, blood would be invaluable for power-boosting.
Combat enhancement potions could boost my Haki essence to achieve for temporary power spikes. Resistance serums against holy, demonic, and dragon-based attacks by extracting immunity properties from relevant materials. Compatibility potions to prepare my body for handling additional Sacred Gears or abilities without rejection.
The potential was vast, but so was time and ingredients to achieve all that.
The economic angle alone was staggering, and not just underworld, any other faction would pay fortunes for quality potions. I could trade with Devils, Fallen Angels, even Yokai factions. Use potions as currency for information, alliances, favors. Create dependency among powerful factions, making myself indispensable. But only through a strong representative who would do it instead of me.
Combining God-tier essences from likes of someone such as Ophis's blood with the Great Red blood. Creating permanent enhancement potions instead of temporary buffs. Let's not get into that, I was nowhere near to achieve that right now.
One step at a time.
"Motohama-san?" Asia's voice pulled me back to reality "Are you alright?"
I dismissed the system screen with a thought, refocusing on the present "Yeah. Just realized I got something very useful to fund our little group"
She tilted her head questioningly, but didn't press. Good. The less she knew about my system, the better. At least until I determined exactly how much I could trust her. For now, she'd seen enough to be compliant without understanding the full scope of my abilities.
First things first.
I looked back at the carnage surrounding us, specifically at Raynare and Mittelt's corpses. Fresh materials, still saturated with Fallen Angel essence. Wasteful to just leave them here when I could harvest what I needed for my first alchemical experiments.
"Asia" I said, keeping my tone casual "Wait by the door. This'll just take a minute"
She nodded hesitantly, releasing my sleeve and moving toward the exit. I heard her soft footsteps fade, then stop far enough away that she wouldn't see what's about to happen next.
I approached Raynare's body first, kneeling beside the spreading blood pool. My hand hovered over her chest wound, and I activated Essence Alchemy for the first time.
The world shifted.
Suddenly I could see things I'd never perceived before, glowing threads of light essence woven through Raynare's blood.
Light essence appeared as golden threads, pulsing faintly even in death.
I could instinctively understand the properties too, the light essence would be excellent for creating illumination or anti-devil potions.
"Fascinating" I muttered, already going through various methods.
I pulled empty water bottle from my inventory and began the harvesting process. Blood first, drained carefully from major arteries and separated into light-essence-rich samples versus taint-heavy samples. Then organ tissue—Fallen Angel hearts contained concentrated essence that could serve as premium potion bases. Wing feathers for their inherent flight properties. Even bone marrow had applications for creating skeletal reinforcement elixirs.
The work was done smoothly, completely divorced from the fact that I was literally dismantling a corpse for components. My hands moved with practiced precision, and I noted with distant amusement that I felt absolutely nothing about it. No guilt, no revulsion, just pure fascination for resource collection.
Mittelt's body yielded similar materials, though her essence concentration was slightly lower, younger Fallen Angel, less developed abilities. Still useful, just not as potent.
Ten minutes later, I had a respectable collection of sealed vials and tissue samples stored in my inventory. The bodies looked... worse. Significantly worse. But I'd collapsed this section of the church anyway to bury evidence, so it didn't really matter.
I stood, brushing stone dust off my pants, and activated my earth manipulation. The floor responded immediately, stone flowing like liquid as I commanded it to consume the evidence. Pillars collapsed inward, the ceiling groaned, and within thirty seconds the entire ritual chamber had caved in on itself, crushing bodies, destroying the magic circle, erasing any trace of what had happened here.
Asia just stood there with expression of quiet acceptance that suggested she was rapidly adjusting to her new worldview.
Good. She needed to understand that staying with me meant accepting a certain level of moral ambiguity.
"Time to go" I said, walking past her toward the exit "Rias's peerage will investigate eventually. Better not be here when they show up"
Asia nodded and followed without question.
---
My apartment smelled like cooking when we arrived.
The scent of sautéed vegetables and searing meat wafted from the kitchen, surprisingly appetizing considering it was being prepared by a mind-controlled Fallen Angel with forcibly implanted culinary knowledge. I could hear the rhythmic chop-chop-chop of a knife on cutting board, the sizzle of a hot pan, the occasional clatter of dishware.
Kalawarner had actually followed orders.
What's more interesting was my home was now cleaned up and restored to its formal glory. It seems time of command disc has been elongated significantly after my earlier fight, because three minutes had been passed 15 minutes ago.
Asia stood in my entryway, looking feeble and lost in her bloodstained ceremonial robes. She clutched the fabric nervously, green eyes darting around my apartment like she expected more violence to materialize from the shadows. The nervous energy practically radiated off her in waves.
"Bathroom's down the hall" I said, pointing "There should be spare clothes in the closet, well they'll be too big for you, but better than wearing blood-soaked ones"
She nodded gratefully and hurried off, clearly relieved to have a task that didn't involve watching me dismember corpses or threaten supernatural beings.
I headed straight for my bedroom, the harvested materials weighing heavy in my inventory despite having no physical presence. My workspace consisted of a cleared desk, with no equipments since I wasn't prepared for this kind of experimentation. It might not be a proper alchemical laboratory by any stretch for now, but it would serve for initial testing.
I pulled out one of Raynare's blood samples, the bottle filled with crimson liquid that shimmered with barely visible golden threads. Activating Essence Alchemy again, my perception shifted to show me the internal structure in vivid detail.
Light essence concentration: approximately 63% by volume, The rest was baseline Fallen Angel biological material cells, plasma, proteins, all saturated with supernatural energy that made them distinct from human blood.
I could extract the light essence, condense it into a usable form. Combine it with a stabilizing agent to create an illumination potion or weapon coating.
My hands moved almost of their own accord, following instincts granted by the new skill. Temperature regulation through precise flame control. Extraction ratios calculated automatically in my mind. Mana infusion timing based on essence compatibility matrices I just knew because of this skill.
It was like having centuries of alchemical knowledge downloaded directly into my brain, except it was better because it came with practical application instead of just theory.
Twenty minutes later, I had a successful extract sitting in a glass.
It had pure light essence, glowing faintly gold even without active illumination. The Properties it had was summoning light spears, enhanced visibility in darkness, superhuman strength and speed, wings of fallen angels, minor Devil-repellent qualities
Time limit : 1 minute.
1 minute?
This was a perfect start. A little win is always better than failure on first try.
With access to more diverse materials, I could create an entire arsenal of specialized potions. Healing elixirs, power boosters, resistance serums, enhancement formulas, all of it was suddenly within reach. The only limit was ingredient availability and my own skill advancement, both of which were solvable problems.
A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts.
"Motohama-san?" Asia's voice, hesitant and soft "Kalawarner-san says dinner is ready..."
Right. Dinner. I'd completely forgotten about while dismantling corpses and extracting essence from Fallen Angel blood.
I stored the bottle back in my storage and headed out to the dining area.
Asia had changed into one of my oversized t-shirts and sweatpants, the clothes hanging off her small frame. Her blonde hair was still damp from the shower, clinging to her neck and shoulders, and she'd scrubbed her face clean of the grime and blood.
Kalawarner stood in my kitchen like she'd been teleported there mid-task and hadn't quite figured out what happened. Her usual arrogant expression was gone. She plated food with hands that moved through practiced motions she'd never actually learned naturally. The culinary DISC had given her muscle memory, but her eyes held a distant quality that suggested she was still processing the disconnect between knowledge and experience.
"Dinner's ready" she said.
The table held three plates of surprisingly well-prepared food. The pan-seared chicken with roasted vegetables, rice with herb butter, and a simple salad that actually looked appetizing. Not bad for a Fallen Angel who'd probably never cooked a day in her life before having the skill forcibly installed.
I motioned her to take a seat as well, which she obeyed while still under the effect of my DISC.
We sat down in awkward silence.
Asia folded her hands and bowed her head, lips moving in silent prayer before eating. Kalawarner ate, not daring to look other than her plate. I just dug in, appreciating the fact that I'd successfully acquired a combat-capable servant and a personal chef in one convenient package.
The silence stretched, broken only by the clink of spoons against plates.
Asia kept shooting nervous glances at Kalawarner, probably trying to reconcile the terrifying Fallen Angel who'd helped try to kill her with the blank-faced woman now serving her dinner. Kalawarner noticed but showed no reaction, just continued eating with that same not giving a damn reaction.
"So" I said eventually, because someone needed to break the tension. "Asia, you'll stay in the spare room. Kalawarner, you get the couch until I figure out permanent arrangements"
Both nodded without protest.
Asia picked at her food, eating slowly, her green eyes distant with thoughts I could only guess at. Probably processing the fact that her entire life had been upended in a single night. Not exactly the fairy tale rescue she'd probably imagined.
But she was alive, and she'd chosen to trust me. That counted for something.
I finished my meal and leaned back, considering tomorrow tasks. Rias would definitely question of Asia. I'd need to handle that correctly, establish that Asia was already claimed by me before the Gremory heiress could make her pitch.
Then there was Kalawarner to consider. A Fallen Angel living in my apartment would need cover stories to explain how she chose to serve me. Keeping her hidden isn't an option when Akeno just keeps crashing in my home for dinners.
And Essence Alchemy opened up an entirely new bunch of possibilities. I had materials from two Fallen Angels. What would happen if I combined their essences with other ingredients? What potions would I get?
So many possibilities, and I'd barely scratched the surface.
I glanced across the table at Asia, who was staring at her half-finished plate with an expression of quiet joy, while Kalawarner washing dishes at the sink with trembling hands.
Life is good, you know what I mean...
. . .
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