Devils were beings known through dungeons, and outside of that, nothing else is known about them. The information we've managed to gather usually came from people contracted with devils, so we couldn't really confirm how much of it was true.
"A war against heaven, huh," I muttered to myself as I watched the devil's frantic smile.
"That's right. We both have something to gain from this," she replied, her face returning to a calm smile as she looked at me.
"What's in it for me? Do you expect me to agree just because you'll help me out of this predicament?" I shot back with a frown. The situation with the Giant Killer was bad, but it wasn't something I couldn't handle. As I had said, it might take hundreds or even thousands of tries, but as long as I could win once, I would still be fine. Why would I make enemies of all the gods just to free myself from a minor inconvenience like this? It didn't seem like a fair trade.
"Well, I'll be blunt. You're a terrible fighter," she replied, causing my heart to skip a beat in surprise.
"What makes you say that?" I asked curiously. I certainly wasn't a top-class fighter when it came to combat, but I always got the job done. As if reading my thoughts, she sighed as she explained,
"You certainly have an interesting approach to combat, but when faced with opponents like the Giant Killer, you will never win without prior preparation. Even if you were given the same skills and physical build, you would still lose to that man 100 times out of 100 as long as it's a random encounter. Of course, this may be because you cannot match him in skills and talent, but there's another factor you lack that sets the two of you apart: a warrior's instinct," she declared, looking at me.
A warrior's instinct? I thought to myself in confusion, but she quickly continued,
"When you first saw the Giant Killer and the masked woman, the first thought that ran through your mind was how to kill them as quickly and efficiently as possible, am I right?" she asked, keeping a small smile. I simply nodded in agreement.
There's no point in dragging out a fight if…
"'There's no point in dragging out a fight if you can win it quickly,'" she interrupted my thoughts, causing me to look at her with a sour expression on my face.
"You're very predictable. You've seen many battles in your lifetime—battles between the weak and battles between the strong—so you know exactly what I'm talking about. Tell me, why do you think everyone starts off a battle with light moves? Why not enter the battle and attack with your ultimate move right off the bat?" she asked, looking at me for an answer.
It was true. Whether a battle had a time limit or not, fighters always seemed to start small, no matter the conditions. The exception would be assassins, who simply go for the kill without hesitation. As these thoughts ran through my mind, I answered her question.
"It's to feel out the opponent and measure your abilities against theirs, which can help you determine how much power you need. I'm not sure what that has to do with me, though. I already had a good measure of both of their skills after the first few exchanges," I replied, giving my two cents about the situation as well. You wouldn't want to use your ultimate skill where it wasn't necessary, or you risk exposing it to others who may later take advantage of it. Feeling out the opponent was always an unspoken rule in the battle handbook.
"See, that's the problem. You're constantly thinking of how to kill someone instead of fully understanding the battle. Both the masked woman and the Giant Killer could've easily killed you at any time they wanted, but they still chose to fight you on equal grounds. It wasn't because they wanted to have fun or because they were obligated to follow their mission instructions. No. They did it because that is the natural instinct of every warrior when they enter the battlefield. Roran and Lithe, who already knew they were vastly outmatched, still took the same approach. They didn't use their Authority against the Giant Killer because they were waiting for you to come and help them, but because they were following the natural progression of all combat," she said, widening her arms in a dramatic stance.
Well, it's true they may not have necessarily been waiting for me since I wasn't even that effective when I joined the fray. Lithe must've already realized he was much stronger than I was, so there was no doubt he wasn't even thinking of me. As for Roran, he may have only wanted me as a strategist for the team. It kind of hurt that I was able to more or less tell their thought processes, but as a veteran leader, I'd never really led a team where I myself was the strongest.
But did this mean what the devil was saying was valid? I thought as I finally answered,
"Well, then I guess it's not that effective, is it? Because the last time I checked, that masked woman is dead," I shot back in a slightly agitated tone. She chose to follow the so-called warrior instinct instead of killing her opponents and paid for it with her life. Hearing my answer, the devil didn't seem surprised as she retorted,
"And what about you? What exactly did you gain after killing that woman? Can you now confidently declare that you would be able to counter anyone with a similar Authority in the future? Killing that woman was a complete waste of life. You and all those students in that cave could've grown a lot through this fight, but you chose the most cowardly approach—one completely devoid of any emotion or instinct. Such an approach will never induce growth. Ten years from now, the only thing you'll be known for is your underhanded tricks and nothing more because in those ten years, you will not achieve any growth as a fighter. You rely too much on your intelligence instead of your abilities. When it comes to combat, people like the Giant Killer are what we call true geniuses, not someone like you—a cowardly fighter who relies on their Authority for everything. It's really pitiful that a talentless nobody like you was given this power." She spoke without pause, looking down at me with a disgusted expression.
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Talentless.
I wasn't sure if it was because of the things she said or because she had Eliana's face while saying them, but my heart rate immediately quickened, and a sour feeling hung in my head.
A battle to kill someone.
A friendly battle between friends or colleagues.
A battle to survive.
A battle to protect.
While I'd always seen them as completely different things, many people around me saw them as one and the same. 'Are you even taking this seriously?' I've overheard someone say, covered in bruises and bleeding from head to toe despite fighting in a friendly duel with a friend. Inconceivable. The whole concept completely escaped me. I'd tried to understand this many times, but it ultimately led me to the conclusion that I simply didn't enjoy fighting—not one bit.
A means to an end, that was my understanding of combat.
“Well, I don’t blame you. Your sister completely messed up your head, didn’t she?” she suddenly said while I was deep in thought, casually shrugging her shoulders.
“What are you talking about?” I shot back, confused.
What did Lily have to do with this?
The devil let out a small chuckle before responding.
“I’m sure you’ve already realized you could use [Recall] to revisit your childhood memories. And yet, it seems you’ve been subconsciously avoiding that. Maybe you should learn to take your own advice and face your traumas before you can force others to face theirs,” she said, taking a step back and slowly moving her finger toward her face, pointing to her left eye.
As far as I remembered, nothing overly traumatic had happened between Lily and me as kids. Although I used to hate her to the point of almost slitting her throat while she slept, I didn’t think those kinds of emotions were present anymore. I had my own reasons for not wanting to remember the past, but they had nothing to do with my ability in combat.
“You’re diverting from the topic again,” I said calmly, looking back at her as she shrugged. She let out a sigh as she concluded her explanation.
“My offer is simple. Whenever you feel like a fight is too impossible to win, give me control. Let me fight for you.” She extended her hand forward, wearing an excited smile. At the same time, a status window suddenly popped up in front of me:
[Congratulations. You have completed the dungeon, Golem’s Nest.]
[You have been rewarded with [Blink Lv. 2] and [Combat Sense Lv. 1]
[Combat Sense Lv. 1] – Allows the user to enter a state of complete combat awareness, where their body moves on its own for a duration of 5 minutes. [Restriction] – Maximum of 1 use per week.(168 hour cooldown)
[Blink Lv. 2] – Allows the user to teleport up to 2 seconds into the future or past. [Restriction] – Maximum of 5 uses per day.(24 hour cooldown)]
I looked at the skills that appeared in front of me. Since the new ‘objective’ listed for clearing the dungeon was to ‘accept the invitation to the dialogue,’ it meant I had technically cleared the dungeon. By exploiting this loophole, the devil had granted me the skills as if I had simply received a reward from the dungeon itself.
“Using [Combat Sense] will give me temporary control of your body for the duration of the skill. But I’d still appreciate it if you trained on your own and reached at least A-rank before I start fighting the gods,” she said casually. It didn’t really make sense. An image of Eliana, who was around the same rank at the time, popped into my head as she fought against the Evil God.
Completely powerless.
“Hehe. You seem doubtful, but I can assure you. I’m far stronger than any of the gods,” she said with a confident smile. That might have been true in her own body, but she would have to use the skills in my arsenal to achieve those feats. This was an agreement between two parties and not a contract for power, so I wouldn't be receiving any boost or increase in stats from this. Even if she claimed to be the strongest, could she fight at that level with limited skills?
“What happens to me when we switch?” I asked, causing her to nod before replying.
“Good question. You’ll have an out-of-body experience, so you’ll still be able to watch from the sidelines. Oh, and you’ll have some residual negative mana, so be cautious of who’s watching you.” She added an ominous warning. I had thought that since this wasn’t a strict contract, there wouldn’t be any traces of negative mana, but it seems I was mistaken.
Professor Pierce and Anthem might sense it, I thought, letting out a sigh. I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
I stood up from my chair, stepping forward and reaching my hand out. The devil, still wearing Eliana’s appearance, smiled proudly as she took my hand.
“Then we have a deal,” I said.
“Good,” she replied with a nod, before adding, “But I should give you a piece of advice. I’m not humanity’s ally. Everything I do will only help you, not humanity, so keep that in mind when you try to switch with me.” Her tone was casual, but her words were ominous.
It sounded more like a threat than a warning, but I was already thinking along the same lines. If I found her useful, I’d continue to use her as she used me, and if not, I’d simply stop using the skill. A simple solution. Though I had a feeling she designed it this way, without a binding contract, to make me feel like I was in control and to lower my guard.
“I understand,” I finally responded.
“Good. Now then,” she said, stepping back and stretching her body a few times before turning to me with a smile.
“Let me demonstrate what combat truly is. Switch with me,” she said casually, her words as confident as ever.
Could she escape the Giant Killer? I wondered as my vision darkened and a familiar scene unfolded before me. My sword had just sliced through the blade protruding from the Giant Killer’s stomach, and he immediately caught the cut off tip with his bare hand, twisting his body and aiming at my foot.
Now then…
[Combat Sense]
Let’s see how well this devil can dance.