[Notice. It is highly advised for the host to utilize the 'King Piece' immediately to exponentially increase the Demonic Power reserves within the host's body.]
Can I permanently increase my Demonic Power?
Despite his skeletal body actively regenerating from the excruciating, melting pain of the Holy Light, Finn spoke calmly within his mind to the Manager, focused entirely on optimizing his survival.
[Notice. At this exact moment, a permanent increase is not guaranteed. However, by temporarily overloading your magical circuits, there is a high probability of forcing an evolutionary expansion of your core.]
Really? Finn was genuinely surprised.
If there was one fundamental limitation that made him feel helpless in this universe, it was the hard biological cap on his Demonic Power. A Devil's magical capacity was largely determined at birth. Unless one resorted to suicidal methods—like permanently burning away their own lifeforce—or mastered Senjutsu (using ambient natural energy), the ceiling was essentially fixed.
To be completely honest, Finn had actively researched Senjutsu. But he lacked a proper master. During his eight years of corporate exile traversing China and Southeast Asia, he had never encountered a Youkai or Hermit willing to teach him. He also couldn't return to Japan—the primary hub of Senjutsu users in this region—because he was practically blacklisted by the Shinto Pantheon.
While he couldn't care less about the mortal Himejima Clan, he was incredibly wary of the actual Gods of the Land of the Rising Sun. Entities like Amaterasu were exponentially more powerful when fighting on Japanese soil due to the sheer density of native worship and leylines.
Unless he possessed world-breaking power comparable to Ajuka Beelzebub or Sirzechs Lucifer, Finn knew it was political suicide to play games in their backyard.
Yet, he had never stopped searching for ways to grow stronger.
The fastest way to acquire raw power in this era was to join the Khaos Brigade—the massive, multi-faction terrorist organization where Cao Cao and the Hero Faction currently originated. Frankly, Finn suspected the Khaos Brigade had deep, conspiratorial ties to multiple other Pantheons who simply wanted to eradicate the Devils and erase the remnants of the Christian Mythology from the geopolitical board.
It might sound controversial, but from a purely historical perspective, the Biblical God wasn't exactly forgiving. According to the old texts, that particular God was ruthlessly pragmatic, casually drowning the entire planet and wiping out entire civilizations when they failed to meet expectations.
Then again, none of that matters since the God of the Bible is already dead, Finn mused.
It was the ultimate, classified secret of the supernatural world. Even if the broader public found out, Finn knew it wouldn't change his immediate survival.
Refocusing on the present, Finn calculated his options. He had just acquired several mid-tier Sacred Gears by using his Improvised Armament (Scavenger) skill to rip them from the dying heroes. But he hadn't yet acquired a Longinus. Since Georg was cowardly hiding in another dimension, Finn locked his golden eyes squarely on Cao Cao.
What would happen if a Devil successfully wielded the True Longinus?
The theological irony alone would be hilarious.
Yet, at that exact moment, Cao Cao's composure completely broke.
"RUN!" Cao Cao roared, his voice cracking with sheer, unadulterated panic.
Georg, who had been watching in an absolute daze from his pocket dimension, frantically activated Dimension Lost to envelop the remaining heroes in teleportation mist.
What they had just witnessed was utterly incomprehensible. The Devil they assumed they had finally executed—whose flesh had been completely incinerated to cinders by the absolute power of the Holy Light—had simply stood there. And then, his charred skeleton had aggressively, terrifyingly regenerated!
No one understood the mechanics of what had just happened, but every single survival instinct screaming in their DNA told them to run!
Naturally, this was also the exact reason why Finn was calmly discussing power-scaling with his Manager. He had hit a wall. While his newly adapted body could now resist the Holy Light, his actual Demonic Power reserves were nearly empty from sustaining the rapid cellular regeneration.
He had many options, but the fastest, most efficient way to survive this critical moment was to use his trump card: The King Piece.
The King Piece was a mythical prototype, widely considered a mere rumor by the general Devil populace. It was an experimental Evil Piece created by Ajuka Beelzebub simply to see if he could. Its sole function? To forcefully multiply a High-Class Devil's Demonic Power by tens, or even hundreds of times, temporarily propelling them into the realm of Ultimate-Class Devils or beyond.
While joining the Khaos Brigade would have been political suicide and labeled him a traitor siding with the Old Satan warmongers, Finn had surprisingly secured the backing of the most powerful politician in the Underworld: Zekram Bael, the Great King and ancestor of the Bael Clan.
It happened years ago, right after Finn slaughtered the Himejima assassins.
The reformist Four Great Satans—specifically Sirzechs Lucifer—had demanded Finn formally apologize to Japan to maintain diplomatic peace (largely because Sirzechs' little sister, Rias, wanted to live in Kuoh without political friction). But Finn refused. Surprisingly, Zekram Bael had actively backed Finn's ruthless pragmatism.
Zekram had summoned Finn for a private meeting, highly amused by the young heir's utter lack of repentance and brilliant financial manipulation. Impressed, Zekram had gifted Finn the King Piece.
Finn had accepted it but had never actually used it. He believed relying on artificial power-ups would make his foundation weak, preferring to train his physical body like Sairaorg. He had kept it securely stored in his pocket dimension for years.
Until right now.
Why use it now? Because his Demonic Power was flatlining. While he could technically burn his own lifeforce to keep fighting, why risk permanent biological damage when he had a perfectly functional cheat item sitting in his inventory?
More importantly, according to the Manager's calculations, if he used the King Piece to forcefully overload his system, his magical circuits would temporarily expand to accommodate the Ultimate-Class power. Once the piece deactivated, his 'container' wouldn't fully shrink back to its original size. His body would biologically 'remember' the sheer volume of energy, permanently increasing his base Demonic Power capacity.
First goal: Acquire the True Longinus.
Finn mentally activated the King Piece. Instantly, an astronomical, suffocating wave of pure, condensed Demonic Power violently erupted from his core, flooding his exhausted muscles.
Now completely immune to the holy radiation, Finn calmly reached out and grabbed the thick iron bars of the cage trapping him. With a casual, terrifying flex of his newly overloaded strength, he pulled.
CRACK!
BOOOOOOOM!
The entire structural foundation of the iron cage was violently ripped straight out of the concrete street. Finn effortlessly hoisted the multi-ton cage over his head and casually hurled it directly at the man wielding the iron-manipulation Sacred Gear, instantly crushing him into the pavement.
Finn stepped out of the wreckage, smiling softly in the direction of Cao Cao and his retreating group.
"Where exactly are you going?" Finn asked, his voice echoing with demonic resonance. "It's far too early for you to leave. You almost killed me, after all. Isn't it incredibly rude to just abandon me like this?"
Cao Cao didn't even turn around. His face was pale with terror as Georg's dimensional mist rapidly swirled around him, pulling him toward safety. Finn slowly began walking toward them.
"It's fine. Go ahead and run," Finn called out smoothly, his tone conversational. "But understand this: I am going to hunt every single one of you down. I have remembered all of your faces and your magical signatures. I will place astronomical bounties on your heads in the Underworld. And don't worry, I won't stop with you. I will track down your extended families, your friends, your lovers, and anyone who has ever looked at you kindly."
Finn paused, his smile widening into something truly monstrous.
"So, try your absolute best to run. Live in absolute, suffocating despair, always looking over your shoulders. Make the hunt fun for me. Or... you can simply bow your heads and submit right now. At least if you submit, I promise you won't see it coming when I kill you."
Hearing that cold, absolute promise of genocide, several of the younger Hero Faction members felt their legs entirely give out.
The psychological terror, combined with the knowledge of Finn's primary ability—Invisibility—shattered their minds. True to his word, Finn's body instantly vanished from sight right before their eyes.
Panic completely overrode their loyalty. While Cao Cao and his most fanatical inner circle sprinted toward Georg's dimensional portal, several of the newer recruits simply collapsed onto the pavement. Weeping in sheer terror, they aggressively crawled away from Georg's mist, slamming their foreheads against the concrete in desperate, frantic kowtows, actively surrendering to the invisible Devil.
Why did anyone still follow Cao Cao at this point?
Because the True Longinus wasn't just a holy spear. Its divine radiance carried a subtle, subconscious brainwashing effect that compelled absolute loyalty from normal humans.
While Cao Cao and the core members managed to slip through the portal just as it closed, Finn didn't particularly care. He materialized directly behind one of the surrendering teenagers kneeling on the ground.
He casually placed his hand on the back of the man's head.
Cao Cao might have escaped, but Finn had just successfully acquired a highly interesting, immensely valuable Sacred Gear from the surrendered boy.
[Notice. Sacred Gear 'Unknown Dictator' (the Imperial Child of Machine World ) has been successfully extracted and acquired.]