"What was that?"
"Spiritual power transformed into physical form. It's a technique I created by imitating this world's divine power" Kirito explained.
"And why didn't you just use divine power? Or mana?" Kaito asked.
"There is no mana in this world, it seemed like a good opportunity to develop a technique to use if I ever run out of mana.
As for using divine power, that's because once I leave this place I won't have divine power anymore.
If I can't use it all the time, then it isn't mine. And I won't use what isn't mine."
'I suppose that's the pride of a swordsman' Kaito thought. 'I would just find a way to make that power mine.'
"It looks like it's over." Kirito said as he watched both of them begin to disappear.
Kirito simply smiled and nodded at Kaito in farewell.
...
The next second, Kaito reappeared in Yukinoshita's ice castle.
Unlike when they had disappeared, the place was now completely filled with two specific races, dark elves and some kind of blue elves.
Both groups looked at Kaito as if they wanted to kill him, but at the same time they looked at each other as if they were afraid the other group would steal the treasure.
This only lasted less than three seconds before their attention shifted to the newly arrived Yukinoshita.
Just like in the anime, Yukinoshita had long dark hair flowing down her back, an elegant and slender figure similar to Kaguya's, and a distant, elitist attitude.
The curious thing, at least from Kaito's point of view, was that she was wearing what at first glance looked like a blue hooded cloak, but which Kaito recognized as folded wings.
'Are those the Neceofrigian wings?' he realized with interest.
"Lord Crystal!"
"Lord, are you alright?"
"Who are you?!"
"Identify yourself!"
"Someone..."
The attention of the groups split between concern for Yukinoshita and alarm toward Kaito.
Yukinoshita silenced the room instantly with nothing more than a raised hand. With a single movement, the entire room's temperature dropped by several dozen degrees, freezing even the air as snowflakes began to fall.
The cold struck the group like an icy storm that was difficult to resist.
"Silence! Leave the room!" she ordered irritably.
"...B-but Lord, he could be dangerous" one of them dared to say.
"He is dangerous, nobody here can defeat him, not even me" Yukinoshita said as if it were unimportant.
"W-what? That's..."
"I said leave" Yukinoshita interrupted, repeating her order.
Though hesitant, everyone eventually left the room.
Once only the two of them remained, Yukinoshita sighed and changed her cold smile into a kind smile that looked far too fake.
"Please sit down" she said while pointing at a nearby sofa. "Would you like something? Coffee? Tea? A soft drink?"
Kaito sat down before answering.
"How about you?"
"Haha, you're direct, aren't you?" Yukinoshita complained irritably, keeping her anger to herself because she knew she had no other option.
Even so, without wasting any time she opened her system and surrendered to Kaito on her own.
Upon receiving the surrender notification, Kaito smiled in satisfaction and accepted.
It had been a long time since he had personally subordinated someone, so he had almost forgotten the reward. This time it was an ice control skill that was added to his elemental control, along with a bit of gold.
"Satisfied with the reward?" Yukinoshita asked sarcastically, correctly guessing he was reviewing the rewards for subordinating her.
"Not really, it's pretty little" Kaito shrugged. "But let's leave that aside. Why don't we talk for a bit?"
Yukinoshita sighed.
"What do you want to know?"
"How did you get the Darkfrost Clan on your side?"
"After a previous mission, I evolved into a race related to cold.
The Darkfrost are a clan dedicated to ice magic, and they worship blood and lineage above all else, not in the sense of arrogance and nobility, but more like faith. Once they learned about me, they submitted on their own" Yukinoshita explained.
"That easily?"
"They saw benefits and followed them, it's not that hard to understand" Yukinoshita shrugged.
"I suppose. One less noble family is one less problem" Kaito muttered. "I need you to ask them everything they know about the other clans and report it to me."
Kaito didn't really believe they knew more than Luna or even knew anything at all considering the relationship between them, but he decided to try anyway.
"Understood. Do you need anything else?"
"What skills did you obtain from the trial? Did you pass it?"
"Of course I passed it" Yukinoshita said indignantly at the doubt. "It was the Trial of Greed. I obtained a new skill and an upgrade to another skill I already had.
As for the upgrade, it concerns my ice ability. Right now my ice magic is level 5.
I am immune to any type of slowing effect and possess a special weapon capable of freezing absolutely anything or anyone it touches."
"Anything?" Kaito doubted.
"Yes... more or less. Apparently something called a concept can prevent it, but I still don't know what that is."
'I figured as much' Kaito nodded.
Even so, someone with level 5 magic was already at Gaia's limit, making her quite powerful. In fact, he would say this servant might be one of the most powerful people in the world even without counting him. Even someone who barely entered the top ten was already this powerful.
"As for the skill, it's a Domain of Greed. Within a radius of ten kilometers I can increase the greed of everyone there, turning them against each other. It's an ability that's almost impossible to resist."
'Megumi also said she got one skill and an upgrade to another existing skill, so I imagine everyone gets a domain based on their sin' Kaito analyzed.
While thinking about that, Kaito felt something, or rather, stopped feeling it, causing him to frown.
"What happened?"
"Someone is dead."
"Someone important to you?"
"No, not to me" Kaito shook his head, but quickly changed the subject. "By the way, aren't you being a little too cooperative?"
"Do I have a choice?" Yukinoshita replied through gritted teeth.
Seeing this, Kaito simply smiled.
"True."
It was the last thing he said before leaving at full speed, creating nothing more than an annoying gust of wind that lifted Yukinoshita's hair and removed her supposed hood.
"Remember to do what I told you and then come to my territory so we can talk more later" Kaito made sure to say as he left.
"What an annoying man" Yukinoshita muttered before picking up her hood and placing it back over her head.
Plop. Plop.
"Huh?" Yukinoshita looked at the ice table in front of her in confusion.
When she noticed the drops of water, she touched her cheeks and realized.
"I'm crying? Why?"
"Is it because I refused to go to the Sacred Forest just because I didn't want to follow my family? Is it because despite believing I was strong, I couldn't do anything at all against Lucifer? Or because he didn't even see me as an enemy, treating me with the same casualness he would show any random person?
Is it because of all that? I don't know."
That day, for the first time in a very long time, Yukinoshita cried.
Despite her usual distant appearance, Yukinoshita hid many internal problems. Since childhood she had felt like nothing more than her family's puppet and longed for true freedom.
When the Sin of Greed chose her, she truly didn't understand why, but after going through a long trial she finally understood.
She was nothing more than a spoiled and greedy girl who already had everything but wanted more.
After all, if she wanted freedom, she only needed to leave her family. Unlike Kaguya, her family would have allowed her to do so without issue. But she never tried, because she didn't want to abandon all the benefits that came with being part of that family.
In the end, it was only when her family decided to flee to the Sacred Forest that Yukinoshita dared to leave them and thought she had achieved true freedom.
"They always gave me everything I wanted and I... wanted more" Yukinoshita muttered. "...I miss them."
"What's the point of leaving them anyway? Now I'm just someone else's subordinate and have to follow their orders."
She laughed bitterly to herself.
After spending a while longer letting out her feelings, Yukinoshita finally wiped away her tears, determination filling her eyes.
"No, I don't have time to think about things we can't change. Let's think about the future. Even if I was ungrateful in the past, at least I can repay them in the future. I made sure to secure a good position in Lucifer's territory so they won't suffer hardships when they join.
Now that I think about it, rumors have started spreading recently that Lucifer treats his Lords well and that joining him is the best option. Most people dismissed it as nonsense, but judging by his personality, I can see that at least he isn't some domineering tyrant.
Alright, let's get moving."
After organizing her thoughts, Yukinoshita called several of her sub-lords to handle the tasks Kaito had assigned her.
Many of her subordinates noticed that their Lord seemed different, that instead of running away from something she finally seemed to be moving toward a goal, but out of respect, nobody dared ask why.
...
[You have completed the Demon King's Trial]
[You already possessed the title 'Demon King', therefore its effect is multiplied by two]
[Rewards:
Skill: Future Sight
Skill: Demon King's Domain]
[It has been detected that you already possessed the title 'Demon King' and already have a more powerful domain whose effects overlap. Since this one is of a lower level, the reward will be changed]
[Rewards:
Skill: Future Sight
Skill: Domain of Sin]
[Future Sight
Type: Skill
Description: Let's prevent regret before it happens.
Effect: Allows you to see up to 5 seconds into the general future once per day, or up to one hour into the specific future of something or someone once per day.
Note: The use of both effects is counted separately.]
"Useful, useful. The next time I encounter something like Yukinoshita's strange barrier, I can simply observe its future and know what will happen when I touch it" Kaito said with satisfaction.
But as for the other reward...
[Domain of Sin
Type: Skill
Description: Your sins, their sins.
Effect: Expands a domain with a radius of 10 kilometers where you may increase any of the seven deadly sins in everyone inside it. The strength depends on your level of that sin.
Note: These are your levels:
Lust: 75%
Greed: 10%
Pride: 5%
Sloth: 4%
Wrath: 3%
Gluttony: 2%
Envy: 1%]
"This is basically a weakened version of the individuals Sin's Domain, right? But how does the increase work? Can I only increase someone's envy by 1%?" Kaito asked, somewhat confused by the skill's function.
[No. The original skill's effect, the one possessed by the Seven Deadly Sins, increases the chosen sin by approximately ten times. You can apply a percentage equal to half of that.
In other words, you can increase someone's lust by 75% of five times their original lust, 10% of five times their original greed, and so on...]
"Wait, my lust is 75%? Isn't that way too high?"
[Are you seriously asking that after sleeping with two girls you had met only minutes earlier less than a day ago?]
"Aren't you supposed to be something like a copy of my conscience? Why do you always seem to be against me?" Kaito complained.
[First of all, I am a copy of your conscience from over a month ago or, from your perspective, about eight years ago, during which your personality has changed quite a bit, so don't expect us to think the same way.
Second, I merely stated facts. I never expressed an opinion on whether I think it's right or wrong] the system explained.
"Fine. Anyway, that skill seems useless. Can you turn it into synchronization points before I accept it?"
[Not directly. I can't convert it into usable points for you. But I can convert it into its base form as divinity fragments and have them absorbed by the Mysterious Orb.]
"That thing you did before and said would help me? Fine, do it."
Unlike in other stories, Kaito had quite a bit of trust in his system, so he decided to let it do as it wished.
The skill turned into roughly 100,000 points that were absorbed, surprising Kaito with the amount.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)