A Fleeting Moment of Ascension
Summer vacation—a mere fleeting instant. The contents of the grimoire flooded into his mind one by one. It went beyond simply reading and memorizing; he fully comprehended even the damaged sections. A realm transcending mere talent. Perhaps it was because he'd personally experienced the supreme realm of Star Manifestation.
It felt like recalling something he already knew.
"Master is just..."
Before Dante could even register it, his heart began to pound wildly.
Talent: The Owner of Myth assists your comprehension.
A familiar blue window appeared, and a surge of mana naturally seeped into his body.
'...Ah, this feeling.'
It was unfamiliar, yet a sensation he knew. The alien feeling of another circle forming in his heart.
Yes. He'd finally reached the 7th Circle realm.
"Don't make that face. I'm flustered too."
"...If the world was full of humans like Master, maybe all the demons would have vanished long ago."
"It might've really been like that."
Half a year after forming his first circle, he'd jumped straight to the 7th Circle. The monumental realm where a mage was finally acknowledged as a grand mage.
And now, Dante had ascended to it.
'Even after reaching this level, the restraints feel like they're lifting...'
Was it because of his temporary experience in Star Manifestation? Though he was undoubtedly stronger, it felt like reclaiming his original power.
"Did you plan this from the moment you entered the secret vault?"
"...Even I wouldn't go that far. I figured I'd at least memorize the grimoire."
As he'd just said, this was an unexpected boon even for him, the possessor. His plan had only been to memorize the grimoire through Insight. He hadn't imagined it would automatically repair the damaged parts and grant full understanding.
No matter how top-tier the talent, there were limits.
"The 7th Circle... At this rate, you could even beat that big sis from earlier, right?"
"Yeah. Not guaranteed, but I could give her a fight."
It felt like shackles on his wrists and ankles were snapping off one by one. In this world, including the Empire, he now stood among the clear elite. Considering the highest existing mages were 8th Circle...
He'd reached that realm in terms of circles.
"Five minutes left."
Ash's voice came from outside. Unknowingly absorbed, 25 minutes had already passed.
"What are you planning to pick?"
"I was gonna take a grimoire at first, but..."
Having fully memorized it and reached the 7th Circle, he no longer needed one. What he needed now was equipment or a useful item—not just something valuable, but the most helpful for him.
Talent: Insight appraises the designated targets.
He would've struggled to choose otherwise, but he had Insight.
"Master... You're really gonna pick that?"
"Yeah. Seems like the best option right now."
What Dante chose was a single black bracelet, heavily rusted.
*******
"...That's what you picked from in there?"
Ash's words as soon as he emerged from the secret vault.
"Yes. I felt something from it."
"I don't think it's a great choice. Being in the vault means it has some effect, but..."
Ash trailed off, shaking her head.
He could understand. 'Honestly, even I thought it was just a normal magic tool at first glance.'
Magic tools that assisted mages were typically jewelry. The ring on his finger now was one such example.
"Fine. If you're happy with it, whatever. Go report to Father and head back."
"Yes, understood."
He bowed politely to Ash and entered the family head's chamber.
"Did you pick something good from the vault?"
Joshua's question was pure curiosity. He had no intention of giving him anything truly valuable anyway. Just wondering what he'd chosen.
"Yes. I picked this bracelet."
"Veritas? A staff in bracelet form. Excellent support performance. Not bad."
"I'll treasure it. Thank you."
"Good. You're done here—go rest."
With his curiosity satisfied, life returned to Joshua's eyes... no, they went dead again. The so-called dead fish eyes. Or maybe disappointment. As Joshua said, there were more valuable items than this.
"Looks like that guy can't see it."
"Yeah."
In the corridor heading to his room from the family head's chamber, Lilia, walking beside him, muttered casually.
"It's total chaos."
As she said, immense demonic energy poured from the black bracelet on his right wrist.
'...Not "pouring out," but it's demonic energy itself.'
He hadn't noticed at first, but appraising it with the Seal of Original Sin made it clear.
The first fragment of what was once the most perfect truth.
Shattered in the hands of the Demon Archmage upon the truth's breaking, now complete.
Assists the owner's magic and strengthens demonic energy.
The description was long, but the point was simple: It assisted magic and strengthened demonic energy.
'To most mages, it's poison.'
Mages used mana, not demonic energy—succumbing to it ruined them.
But as always, exceptions existed. Like him, a being halfway between human and demon.
"At this state, you might even beat that 8th Circle human now?"
"...Well, if I play it right, I could mix it up."
As she said, purely in combat power, he now approached 8th Circle level. Stacking buffs and items on a 7th Circle base made it natural.
'But victory's not guaranteed.'
The difference between circles was absolute for mages. Just one circle apart, yet a gulf like heaven and earth. No wonder mages staked their lives on advancing circles.
"Ah, but home really is the best."
Back in his room, the first emotion was comfort. The family was a pain, but his room wasn't. Confined to it, it even felt more cozy.
"This is Master's room...?"
"Yep. Why?"
"...Definitely noble. A room like this."
Fair enough. Even the best dorm couldn't compare to the main house. As the North's top family, his room was almost imperial in scale.
"It really hits now that I see it..."
"Right? Lie down."
"...Are you seducing me?"
Huh? Did it come off that way?
Lilia smirked and slowly lay beside him. The warm glow through the devoured blankets. Was it okay for a demon to be this warm?
"Wasn't seducing."
"Kidding."
Her beaming smile held no malice. Despite the demonic shell.
Lately, he sometimes forgot she was a demon. She just seemed like any girl her age.
"Oh, more importantly, did you feel it earlier...?"
"Feel what?"
"...The 8th Circle human. Your father."
Joshua? What was there to feel?
"Nah. Didn't sense anything special."
Lilia's face hardened instantly. The smile toward him vanishing like a lie.
"...That human. I felt demonic energy."
"What?"
Demonic energy. If he'd heard right, Joshua wielded a power humans couldn't handle?
"...You sure? Not mistaken?"
He used demonic energy like meals now and knew its feel intimately. He'd even demonized before.
'But I felt nothing like that.'
Just the Joshua from his memories.
And above all, Insight hadn't detected it. The talent that never betrayed him once.
"No. It was astonishingly refined, but definitely demonic energy."
"...Then this isn't something to brush off."
This was the head of Vergilius. A man with ducal power in the Empire.
Him being a demon host wasn't a light matter.
"......Ah, headache."
Why did so many things unknown even to him, the possessor, keep piling up lately?
As a sigh escaped—
"The family disgrace youngest is back."
Right outside the door, the second voice he least wanted to hear after Joshua boomed.
"...Brother."
"Yes. Your second brother has returned."
Ah, fuck. His head really hurt now.
I just wanna go back to the academy...