After Ravel went to get some rest, Alear turned his gaze toward the horizon of the vast plain created by his Longinus. Mio and Maria were still immersed in their individual training sessions, each one located in a different region of that artificial world. He decided not to interfere for now. Both were still focused on the first stage of training... and, honestly, he also wanted to use that time to work on some of his own projects.
With that in mind, he calmly walked toward a more isolated area of the plain, surrounded by enormous rock formations that rose like natural walls, forming something akin to a gigantic arena. The location was far enough to avoid interruptions, yet still within the range of his senses, allowing him to continue monitoring the three girls while training.
Since he had already succeeded in evolving the bloodline trait of the Häagenti family earlier, his focus was now directed toward another extremely interesting demonic characteristic: the power of the Gäap family, the so-called [Transposition].
However, there was an obvious problem with that ability. The original [Transposition] possessed an extremely irritating limitation: it depended directly on the user's vision. In other words, he could only swap positions with something or someone within his field of view.
Because of that, he decided to completely abandon that version of the ability.
With a calm gesture, Alear activated a [Binding Vow].
An intense pink light slowly enveloped his right hand as he deliberately sacrificed the current version of [Transposition]. The ability began to come apart before him, dissolving into countless luminous particles as though it were being dismantled on a conceptual level. In exchange, something new began to emerge within his soul.
A familiar sensation coursed through his body.
And then, [Flash Air] was born.
Unlike the simple [Transposition], [Flash Air], also known as [Displacement Magecraft], was a form of magecraft derived from Alchemy. Its fundamental rule consisted of the fact that any object or phenomenon subjected to Displacement would inevitably suffer some degree of degradation. Because of this, the technique was considered basic and low-level magecraft by the majority of magi, rarely used seriously. In its common application, [Displacement Magecraft] functions by physically or conceptually altering something through instantaneous substitution. In simple terms, it is a "shortcut" created through magical energy to provoke chemical, spatial, or conceptual changes in the target. However, the process is never perfect. Degradation always occurs. For example, if someone repeatedly replaced a spoon with a fork, and then a fork with a spoon, both would gradually begin to lose their original forms until they eventually became something intermediate and distorted, like some kind of shapeless metallic spatula.
One of the fundamental principles of this magecraft was precisely the so-called "Form Substitution," which allowed the properties and structure of one object to be exchanged with those of another. A spoon could assume the form of a fork, a stone could be converted into metal, or even a simple flower could be reconstructed into an extremely detailed rose. In essence, Displacement was magecraft focused on altering relationships, forms, and positions through artificial substitutions imposed by magical energy.
So why would he trade a valuable ability for something considered "low-level"? Simple. Because the version he possessed was absurdly beyond the original concept of the magecraft. His [Flash Air] had evolved to a point where range, precision, and application possibilities simply ignored the common sense of modern Magecraft and even that of the Age of Gods.
Through the version he had created, he could alter entire spatial relationships, swapping the connections between doors and windows within a building regardless of the actual distance between them, causing a window to instantly connect to another room or displacing a door so it would lead someone to an entirely different location. He could displace entire mountains alongside castles and gigantic structures to anywhere else, redirect attacks coming from any direction by swapping spatial coordinates, make projectiles appear behind the enemy, alter trajectories mid-motion, and even accelerate shots by displacing the very space around them to drastically increase speed and impact. His physical attacks could also ignore conventional logic, causing his arms to instantly appear elsewhere or deflecting sword strikes by subtly inverting the coordinates of the contact point, creating the illusion that he had blocked blades using nothing but his own skin.
Furthermore, he could manipulate space to teleport freely, become intangible through the partial displacement of his own body, displace light and sound to become invisible or completely silent, create extremely convincing illusions, and even make the space surrounding those illusions intangible in order to confuse enemies. His voice could be projected anywhere, his appearance could be altered through spatial distortion, and he was capable of rendering entire locations invisible and inaccessible by creating [Bounded Fields] specialized in Displacement Magecraft. Within those fields, anyone attempting to enter would automatically be displaced elsewhere without even realizing it.
He could even displace the space around someone's body to directly rip out the target's heart, open instantaneous portals to any location within his perceptive range, and freely move his body through them. Among many other applications....
Thanks to the [Binding Vow], he directly obtained this perfected version of [Flash Air], and it ended up becoming a characteristic of the Gäap family itself within that world. Due to the properties of demonic bloodlines, its capabilities were strengthened even further.
He spent the next entire hour testing it to confirm his hypotheses.
And the results surpassed even his own expectations.
Alear wiped the sweat running down his forehead with the back of his hand, the movement casual and slow as his breathing gradually returned to normal. He stood still for a few seconds, feeling his body heated from continuous exertion, though far from exhausted.
His rose-magenta eyes gleamed faintly.
"Good... now for the next experiment...."
He raised his right hand once more. An intense pink light began gathering around his fingers as he activated the [Binding Vow] again. His idea was to accomplish something he had never managed to do in his previous life due to the limitations of Magecraft in that world. Here, without the restrictions imposed by the Root, magic flowed with far greater freedom and potency.
This time, he declared the vow out loud instead of mentally:
"I sacrifice all future gains in physical strength obtained through conventional training. In exchange, my body shall strengthen itself directly proportional to the increase of my [Demonic Power]. As balance, the growth of my [Demonic Power] shall become fifty percent more difficult from this point onward."
The pink light exploded around his entire body, forming a complex magic circle that rotated rapidly before engraving itself into his soul like an indelible mark.
For an instant, nothing happened.
Then, a warm and powerful sensation invaded every fiber of his being.
His [Demonic Power] began circulating automatically, refining muscles, bones, tendons, and internal organs in real time. In a matter of seconds, he reached a physical level that, according to previous calculations, would have required at least an entire year of arduous training within the world of his Longinus.
He slowly flexed the fingers of his hand, feeling the new level of power flowing naturally throughout his body. The sensation was strangely nostalgic. In general terms, his current strength was already comparable to the time when he had first entered Chaldea. Perhaps he had not yet recovered everything he possessed at his peak, but it was already more than enough to crush an entire mountain with a single punch or kick if he truly wished to.
Realizing this, a genuine smile slowly formed on his lips.
"Perfect, it really worked!"
From now on, all he needed to do was increase his reserves of [Demonic Power]. His body, as a consequence, would automatically strengthen itself to keep up with that growth. Physical strength, endurance, speed, durability, regenerative capacity, senses... everything would evolve proportionally together.
Of course, that also came with an extremely high cost.
After performing that [Binding Vow], he had practically lost the ability to obtain conventional physical growth through pure bodily training. No matter how many push-ups, runs, battles, or brutal bodybuilding sessions he went through, his body would no longer strengthen "naturally" as it once had. Furthermore, the growth of his [Demonic Power] itself had become more difficult and demanding, since his entire body now depended directly on that energy in order to evolve.
Even so, he considered the exchange entirely worth it.
After all, his body now strengthened itself in an absolutely uniform and perfect manner across every aspect. Normally, in conventional training, even when using magic, it was still extremely difficult to improve certain specific parts of the body with the same efficiency as others. There were always limitations, imbalances, or underdeveloped areas. However, through that [Binding Vow], any increase in his [Demonic Power] automatically refined his entire being as one singular and complete whole.
Even possessing [Idle Transfiguration], capable of manipulating the soul itself and correcting such issues, the efficiency still did not come remotely close to that automatic solution created through the ritual of equivalent exchange. After all, constantly altering the soul demanded precision, continuous concentration, and meticulous control over every detail of one's body. The [Binding Vow], on the other hand, transformed that entire process into something practically automatic....
Furthermore, his [Demonic Power] also increased far more efficiently whenever he delved deeper into his own demonic nature. The more he acted in accordance with the instincts and concepts associated with Devils, the faster his energy grew.
Even simple actions contributed to that process.
Sleeping deeply allowed his body to accumulate energy passively. Eating excessively out of pure gluttony also strengthened his [Demonic Power]. The same applied to pride, acknowledging his own achievements, feeling superior to others, or deliberately feeding his own ego. And naturally, there was also desire and carnal pleasure, something directly tied to the nature of Devils since ancient times.
In other words, the more he accepted and explored his own desires, emotions, and demonic instincts, the faster his power would grow.
So honestly, making the growth of his [Demonic Power] fifty percent more difficult could hardly be considered a true limitation for someone like him....
Eager to test his new physical capabilities.
He activated [Life Imitation]. A significant amount of [Demonic Power] surged forth as a colossal figure began to materialize before him, obviously the Berserker the girls had fought earlier. The bronze-skinned giant, with absurdly developed muscles and savage eyes, emerged with an overwhelming presence while wielding a massive stone club.
Alear smirked.
"Come!"
The imitated Heracles roared and charged forward like a hurricane, crossing the distance in an instant with a devastating punch.
Alear did not retreat.
He took an explosive step forward, his right foot striking the ground with such force that the earth cracked within a ten-meter radius. Using Heng (explosive movement), he deflected the colossal punch with his forearm and counterattacked with a Beng Quan, an extremely short yet powerful straight punch that struck the giant directly in the sternum.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact was like a bomb.
The Berserker was launched backward like a projectile, tearing through the air for hundreds of meters before violently colliding against a nearby volcanic mountain.
The rock exploded. Half of the mountain collapsed in a gigantic avalanche of stone and dust!
Alear did not wait. Using [Flash Air] solely for movement, he instantly appeared in front of the giant before it could recover.
The close-quarters battle truly intensified.
He alternated between Pi Quan (axe-like cutting strikes), Zhou Da (explosive elbow strikes), and Kao (shoulder strikes). Every movement was short, brutal, and filled with the explosive force characteristic of Bajiquan.
Heracles retaliated with titanic fury. His punches were like war hammers capable of pulverizing steel. One of them struck the ground where Alear had been standing, opening a fifty-meter crater.
Alear twisted his body, using Dian Jiao (explosive stomp), and counterattacked with a brutal sequence of Liu Da Kai, breaking through the giant's guard with elbow and shoulder strikes before finishing with a Ba Da (eight-direction strike) that smashed into Heracles' jaw with devastating force.
CRAAAAACK!!
The giant was sent flying once again, colliding against a second mountain. The entire structure trembled violently before half of it collapsed into a gigantic cloud of debris.
Alear leapt into the dust without giving any quarter. His body moved like a precise machine of destruction. He grabbed the Berserker's arm, pulled him downward using the opponent's own strength against him, and unleashed a brutal rising elbow directly into the solar plexus.
The impact was so powerful that a visible shockwave spread outward, destroying what remained of the second mountain's base.
The imitated Berserker fell to his knees, his body trembling. Even as an artificial creation, the imitation clearly struggled to keep up with Alear's new physical level.
Alear stopped in front of him, breathing steadily, his body covered in a thin layer of sweat and dust. His eyes shone with satisfaction.
"Good test."
With a casual gesture, he dissolved the Berserker imitation, which transformed into luminous particles before disappearing.
He wiped the sweat from his face and began walking back toward the central area of the plain, where Mio, Maria, and Ravel continued their individual training sessions.
He had to train the girls....
__________________
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