A few hours later, Henry woke up, feeling refreshed. He also felt rather hungry, so he headed down to the kitchen. Once he was close to the door, he saw Mirna's figure inside. Henry ran towards the figure he saw.

"Dear..."

However, once he blinked, the figure was gone.

"Mirna...I heard that if a person's soul is eaten by a demon, the soul does actually pass on normally, but without its memories. It's missing a piece of it that it can only regain if the demon who ate it dies. And I swear on your honor and mine that I will slay that Sitri."

After pondering in silence for a few minutes, Henry boiled a few eggs and ate them, as well as some leftovers from the day before. They were cold and tasted rather bland, but to Henry, they might as well have been food from Heaven. This was, after all, the last meal cooked by his wife he would ever eat.

After eating, Henry decided to head to the Cathedral to meet Priest Rico again. He held his sword, which was greatly damaged from the fight with the demon, put on the casual shirt and pants he always wore during military training, and went there. Once he entered the grand cathedral, he now realized just how beautiful it was. The roof was painted with a beautiful painting of the Holy Light Purge, a tale told in the Book of Light, which was the Church of Light's holy book. It stated that in ancient times, lower demons and middle demons roamed the overworld freely, tempting and killing the innocent people there. However, Lord Lurius heeded the prayer of the saint of that era and descended in all his glory, purging all the demons in the overworld, and creating a barrier of holy energy that prevented all lower and middle demons from entering it.

'I wonder why he didn't also purge the ones in Hell. Are they of use somehow? Or is it that he has no power in Hell? If they are of use, should I really obey the system and exterminate them?' Henry thought to himself.

After seeing Henry appreciating the painting, a middle-aged nun walked towards him.

"It really is a beautiful painting, isn't it, young man? It was drawn by Ellera Morus, the greatest living elven painter more than a thousand years ago. It really puts into perspective how long elves live. She drew this back when the empire was formed, and yet she still lives."

This snapped Henry out of his trance.

"A-ah, yes. It really is beautiful. Umm, by the way, is Priest Rico Ovius here?"

"Oh, Father Rico? Are you Mr. Henry Hellwalker? He told us that when you come, we should lead you to him. Please follow me."

"Alright."

Henry followed the nun as they walked deep into the Cathedral. He saw many doors with signs that said things like "Potion Research Facility" or "Holy Water Spring". Eventually, the nun stopped in front of a door whose sign said "Demon Hunter Corps Training Ground".

"Alright, Father Rico is waiting for you inside."

"Thank you."

Henry walked into the room. It was a very large room which contained many magitech training dummies and targets he had only seen in the central military base of Wolfsburg. He also saw many men and women training with different weapons, each of them emitting holy energy. He then saw Priest Rico standing deeper inside the room.

"Good afternoon, Father Rico."

"Good afternoon, son. Have you come to start your training?"

"Yes."

"Alright, Archbishop Eve Forger, the captain of the Demon Hunter Corps, will be here to train you shortly."

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Hearing the name, Henry was slightly shocked.

'Eve Forger....That's the name that was stated in the quest. But how did the system know her name before I did? Just how far does its influence go?'

After chatting with Priest Rico for a while, a tall and muscular woman who looked to be in her 40s or so walked in. She had shiny golden hair and eyes, which Henry had heard was an effect of prolonged use of the Holy Energy of Lurius. She was wearing a thick suit of golden armor with the insignia of the Church of Light, a golden sun. Overall, she looked very beautiful, but also had a splendor that made her seem difficult to approach. She extended her hand towards Henry.

"Welcome, young soldier. I am Eve Forger, captain of the Demon Hunter Corps. Priest Rico has informed me of your Unique Energy and your desire for revenge. I will help you get ready for Hell and its unwelcoming climate."

Henry shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Forger. My name's Henry Hellwalker, a soldier."

Seeing this, Priest Rico decided to leave and let them train.

"Alright, I'll go now. Archbishop Eve, I leave Henry in your care."

After Priest Rico left the room, Eve turned to Henry.

"Show me what you can do, young man." Captain Eve unsheathed her sword, a clearly very well-made artisan sword.

Hearing this, Henry picked up his sword and emitted his Demon Slaying Energy.

"Interesting. The last time I saw a Unique Energy, it was held by the 45th demon king. What's with that sword though?"

"It got like this when I was fighting that higher demon."

"Ohoh, say, did this higher demon state his name?"

"Yes, he said he was Sitri, the twelfth demon king."

Eve seemed shocked.

"Sitri? Strange....He isn't usually into deals of power or giving Stigmata. I mean, he is the manager of the best succubi in Hell, and usually just takes souls from people who summon his succubi. Anyways, let's finish this spar and go get a good sword commissioned for you. My treat."

"Aren't custom-made swords very expensive though?"

"Haha, don't worry, being an Archbishop pays well, and I don't have anything to spend my money on except gear."

"Alright. Thank you."

With this, Henry lunged at Eve. He no longer had the physical boost of 8-star aura, just the meager boost of his level 1 Demon Slaying Energy. Thus, he depended only on his Sword Mastery.

Meanwhile, Captain Eve didn't activate her aura at all, but with a masterful counter stance, she held her sword upside-down and met Henry's strike with its blade, which caused Henry's sword to simply slide down hers, the already half-broken sword suffering even more from the friction. Then, Eve readjusted her sword in a fraction of a second and stabbed in Henry's direction with fearsome might. As her sword tore through the air, it made a "whoosh" sound that everyone in the large training room could hear.

'Fuck. Even if I had my 8-star aura, I'd barely be able to dodge this.' Henry tried to roll out of the way, but Captain Eve's sword was too quick, and it slashed his back mid-roll. It created a horizontal cut across his back, which started bleeding heavily.

"Enough. I'd put you at mid-level squire. Is that the case?"

"Yes..." Henry was disheartened and in pain.

"Here" Captain Eve extended her hand down to Henry as it shone with golden light and his wound healed immediately. Herny grabbed her hand and pulled himself up.

"Thank you, Captain."

"No problem. Also, cheer up. You've got some talent to reach this level at your age with the shitty training methods of the military. And hey, I'm sure you'd last much longer if you had your aura."

"Thanks." Henry was still disappointed, but he appreciated Captain Eve cheering him up. He could tell that under the two meters tall, muscular exterior, there was a pure, kind heart.

"Alright, let's go to the blacksmith district now. I know a great artisan who can make a fitting sword for you. Plus, you should learn sword maintenance and repairs from him. Ain't no way you'll find a blacksmith in Hell."

"Can't I just come back here?"

"Hah, you think leaving Hell is easy? Even the Demon Hunter Corps only actually enter hell once per year, and we stay there for three to six months each time."

"I see. Well, let's go then."

Captain Eve and Henry walked towards the busy markets of Wolfsburg. Henry was used to this place, and he was sure he never actually saw any good blacksmiths here. Most of them were just average smiths that made locks and such.

"Captain, are you sure there are artisans here?"

"Not here. You'll see."

Henry decided to follow her quietly. She led him towards a back alley that he didn't even know existed, despite having lived in Wolfsburg his entire life. She walked towards the wall and put her hand on it, emitting her aura. A portal then opened in the wall.

"What?"

"This is the Powerholders' Market. It's a secret market which specializes in things that aura masters and mages would be interested in. To enter, aura masters just have to register their aura the first time they enter, and their aura then becomes a key, as each aura is unique. As for mages, they are taught a secret key spell."

"I see. To think there was such a place hidden in the liveliest place in Wolfsburg."

Captain Eve walked into the portal, and Henry hesitantly followed in.