[Asura's Siphon and Asura's Wrath cannot be strengthened as they are already at maximum capacity for your current level.]
[Asurafication is a skill that evolves on its own and cannot be upgraded manually.]
That made sense. I had awakened those after reaching Satan Class.
That being said, I still had quite a few skills left that could be upgraded.
So—
[Asura's Flesh]
…Right.
There was just one small issue.
I was supposed to eat a piece of flesh. And not the normal kind.
The fragment that appeared in my hand was tiny. Its texture was impossible to properly describe. The color shifted every few seconds depending on the angle, like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. But when viewed directly from above, it was perfectly white.
Completely pure.
"Here goes nothing."
Ingvild had gone to get me actual food, and Bova was out informing the others that I'd woken up. Which meant this was the perfect time to experiment without an audience.
I closed my eyes, tossed the fragment into my mouth, and swallowed before my brain could protest.
The reaction was instant.
I felt it disappear the moment it went down.
No. Not disappear.
Melt.
It liquefied the second I swallowed it and spread through me like it had always belonged there.
Warmth flooded my body, seeping into every vein.
[Asura's Flesh has been consumed.]
[Asura's energy is violently flowing inside your veins.]
Sweat broke out across my skin almost immediately. My shirt began sticking to me as the heat intensified, uncomfortable but not exactly painful. Just… overwhelming.
[Strengthening skills: Mind of Asura, Body of Asura, Eyes of Asura, Mark of Asura.]
[Mind of Asura has been strengthened.]
[Mind of Asura: Allows you to ignore and negate any and all mind-affecting abilities and skills.
Additional Effect: You may choose to reflect the mind art used against you, making your enemy suffer the same effects.]
…That was different from what I expected.
I had assumed the skills would change entirely. Maybe even evolve into something with a new name. Instead, they gained additional effects.
Honestly?
That was even better.
[Eyes of Asura: Allows you to see the Race and Rank of anyone within your line of sight.
Additional Effect: Allows you to peek at their strongest skill or ability.]
That wasn't just useful.
That was absurd.
Up until now, I'd relied heavily on meta knowledge. I knew most of the key players, their strengths, their tendencies. That information had saved me more than once.
But against unknown enemies?
This would be invaluable.
Imagine facing someone on Sirzechs' level without knowing their specialty. I'd be completely screwed.
This erased that blind spot.
[Body of Asura: Allows you to recover from any and all injuries as long as even a single cell of yours survives. You will be immune to sickness and disease, but not immune to physical fatigue or depletion of demonic energy.
Additional Effect: You may heal anyone and everyone instantly, be it physically or mentally, as long as they are not dead with just a drop of your blood. Their fatigue will not recover immediately. Additionally, you may revive dead individuals back to perfect health as long as they have not been dead for longer than a day.]
…Now this.
This was the one with the most drastic change.
Previously, the skill allowed me to recover as long as I didn't die instantly. If my head was cut off, that was it. Game over.
Now?
As long as a single cell of mine survived, I would regenerate.
That wasn't full immortality.
But it was close enough to make death feel like a technical inconvenience.
It didn't extend my lifespan or anything dramatic like that, though that hardly mattered considering the lifespan of a High Class devil. The only real way to kill me now would be something that erased matter entirely.
Something like the Power of Destruction.
Anything less?
I'd crawl back from it.
Is it the strongest skill in my arsenal now?
It has to be one of them. Especially the reviving the dead part.
That upgrade alone had me grinning like an absolute idiot.
And finally… the Mark of Asura.
[Mark of Asura: Feeding someone your blood leaves an invisible mark on them. With the presence of the mark, you can locate them instantly with a thought. They cannot sense your location.
Additional Effect: As long as you possess Demonic Power, you may trigger the effects of Asura's Body on marked individuals to heal them immediately without requiring them to drink more of your blood. However, reviving them will still require direct blood consumption.]
So now I was a long distance healer too.
Amazing.
Letting out a deep breath, I dropped back onto the bed. This was the first time I genuinely felt powerful.
Because if I'm being honest, while my Barbatos and Valefar abilities were ridiculously strong, even more so with Wield, they still didn't feel as outrageous as something like the Power of Destruction or the so-called Worthless skill of the Belials. Barring the Wield ability, everything else could be mimicked through advanced magical formulas.
The Power of Destruction could not.
So it always felt like my pillars had drawn the short straw when it came to bloodline abilities.
That changed when I unlocked Wield.
And even before that, to some extent, with Cognition.
Now, with the Asura skills evolved, and with Demonification and Asurafication added to my arsenal…
I finally felt it.
Like I could genuinely be called overpowered.
Not that it came for free. I nearly died multiple times clawing my way to this point. But standing here now, I could honestly say it was worth it.
In this messed up world?
I was finally a real threat.
Of course, there were still monsters stronger than me. And if I wanted to face them, I'd need to keep climbing.
So let's not get carried away.
There was still one more thing.
[Asura's Blood Droplet]
This one was meant to upgrade an item.
And I had two candidates.
Bracelet of Imagination.
Pendant of Resistance.
Upgrading the pendant would obviously be useful. Greater resistance, maybe even immunity to certain negative effects.
But when I really thought about it…
I use the bracelet far more.
And with Asura's Body upgraded, I already had a defensive fallback.
So…
Fuck it.
Summoning the blood droplet, pure white and unnaturally dense, I let it fall onto the bracelet.
The reaction was immediate.
The bracelet glowed white, then ripped itself off my wrist. It floated in front of me and began shifting, twisting, reshaping like molten clay being molded by invisible hands.
The transformation lasted nearly a full minute.
When it finally settled, it wasn't a bracelet anymore.
It was… shapeless.
Or rather, constantly shifting. A mass of white metal that refused to commit to a single form.
I reached out to grab it.
Bad move.
It shot straight into my chest and seeped inside me.
For a split second, I panicked.
Thankfully, the system chimed in.
[Congratulations! Bracelet of Imagination has evolved into Metal of Creation!]
[Metal of Creation (Soulbound): A mythical metal capable of taking any shape or form at the wielder's will, from a simple ring to full body armor. The metal cannot be destroyed by anyone weaker than its wielder and grants 50% resistance against elemental magic and 60% resistance against blunt, cutting, and piercing attacks. Additionally, creations formed from this metal can be used to channel your powers and abilities. Due to being soaked in the Blood of Asura, the metal's color has permanently changed from black to white.]
Yeah.
That was worth it.
[Metal of Creation: Shaping, Dragon Flames, Samael's Curse, Divinity Eater, Channeling]
I could only blink at the description.
"It… works the same way, right?"
Curiosity got the better of me. I extended my arm and imagined a sword forming in my hand.
And just like that, white metal seeped out from the pores of my skin. It flowed down my arm, gathered at my palm, and stretched outward, solidifying into a beautiful white blade.
So this was the Metal of Creation. The old Shaping ability was still there.
But now…
There was more.
[Channeling: Demonic Power]
The blade ignited with my Demonic Power, glowing with sharp, corrosive energy. I could feel it flowing cleanly through the weapon, amplified and focused.
I was channeling my power through it.
And it felt incredible.
Not only had I gained upgraded skills, I had also obtained an absurdly powerful item. On top of that, it reduced elemental damage by fifty percent and physical attacks by sixty.
That was insane.
Naturally, I had to test the next idea.
The sword dissolved back into my body, slipping into my skin like liquid light. This time, I imagined armor. Full knightly armor.
White metal burst from every pore, spreading across my body in a smooth wave before hardening into shape. Plates formed over my chest, arms, legs. A flawless white set of armor materialized, fitting perfectly.
It was brilliant. Bright. And most importantly, durable.
The description stated that no one weaker than me could break it.
Which meant it could withstand Satan Class attacks.
Asura…
You're a wonderful guy.
After finishing my upgrades, I laid back on the bed, waiting for Ingvild or Bova to return.
But after a while, I didn't hear their voices.
Instead, I heard someone else.
"Is it alright if we come in?"
That voice…
"Vali?" I frowned slightly. Why was he here? Or more accurately, why was he still here? I thought he had already left. "Yeah, of course."
I got off the bed immediately, the armor removed, wondering what he meant by we. I could sense another presence. Strong. Very strong.
But I couldn't quite place it.
Until the door opened.
And I saw the man standing beside Vali.
"So, this is the hero everyone's been talking about?"
He wore a lazy grin on his handsome face. A being far older than Sirzechs, Serafall… even Rizevim.
Brownish black hair with blonde bangs. Honestly, I couldn't tell which color was natural and which one was dyed. He was relatively tall, with dark hazel eyes that shifted between gold, orange, and red depending on the light. A pair of sunglasses rested casually on top of his head.
I knew exactly who this was.
[Race: Pure-Blood Fallen Angel]
[Ultimate Class (Sealed)]
[Special Ability: Sacred Gear Reconstruction]
Yeah.
Azazel.
The Governor General of the Fallen Angels.
A Cadre Class Fallen Angel.
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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters + Other Stories.
Also… Azazel is Satan Class, but I don't know why DxD downplayed him so much that he struggles with even weak opponents. Which is why I've labeled him as Ultimate Class (Sealed). It's practically Satan Class, just with his power levels contained. Think of it as an AU element to explain why he doesn't casually one-shot weaker enemies. At least, that's my take on it.}