"This plant here is called a night flower, Igor. It is used by the nekomata to train their young ones in senjutsu. It seems your vitality is compatible with it as well. As for whether you can train in senjutsu? Well, that remains to be seen."
He smiled and took back the plant.
"Until then, keep getting stronger, Igor. I truly look forward to seeing your growth."
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|DxD|- Chapter 52- A Clear Path
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Senjutsu, the power to harness the energy of the world. The promised power was tantalising just as it was immense. But the risks oftentimes far outweighed the benefits.
Igor crunched his way through the forest's leaf litter. The sun had almost disappeared over the horizon, and one thought lingered in his mind with each step he took.
"Senjutsu…"
It was not a foreign concept to him. Harnessing nature energy was a concept mentioned in the third advanced training manual. Trained vitality users who could harmonise with nature energy were known as sages in his clan's society.
Admittedly, becoming a sage was a power he envied. By becoming a sage, he could potentially become a high-class fighter on par with devil nobility. But the path for him was still far…and also, very dangerous. The world's energy was far too tainted to carelessly bond with.
[Did Diehauser find out something?]
Igor questioned himself. The alarm bells were ringing in his head. Diehauser was incredibly smart. For him to suddenly perform this experiment must mean he figured something out. Even Baraquiel was wary of him and his capabilities, and that was saying something.
"I shouldn't meet him alone from now on."
Igor shook his head and continued his way through the forest. He wasn't in a rush, and at his pace, it would take just short of thirty minutes to get back home.
Diehauser mentioning senjutsu brought him back to his path. He was firmly at mid-class in terms of power. He was above ordinary grunts but not quite strong enough to roam the world unrestrained. High-Class was where most powerhouses sat. Reaching that level would place him at the world's top percentile. He was in a rush to get there, but careful steps were important.
[Don't over-reach, Igor. Your current pace is still fine.]
'Training Manual II' took him two years to complete and master before Baraquiel let him fight his first stray devil. It covered more advanced energy control methods, the complete 'Instant Vanish', and how to change the nature of his vitality from destruction to restoration.
'Training Manual III' contained more theory than techniques. And the core tenet of the third manual was uniting the soul and body in the mind to strengthen the spirit.
This method was called 'Spirit Nurturing'. The mind was a pool that combined the energy of the soul and body. A strong and stable mind was needed for that, which is why he was finally introduced to the darker aspects of the world in order to temper himself.
Spirit Nurturing, funnily enough, required more life experience than physical training. His body was already growing stronger through continuous self-enrichment. His soul was strengthened by understanding himself, his philosophies, and his conviction.
Igor continued walking through. A few scattered animals and monkeys watched him from afar. Predators were rare on the outskirts and were concentrated further in.
He sometimes envied the life of a normal person. The more he ventured Earth and its realms, the more he understood the appeal of a normal slow life. Playing with friends, going to school, having a wife—all of it looked like nice things to experience.
[I can't have it. But as long as Akeno can, then it's fine.]
His job was only to grow stronger. Whether it was for vengeance or to protect his family, he would do everything he could to not fail them. He had his road to power. All he had to do was walk it, even if it meant burning his soles.
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|DxD|
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Blood and power ran the world. There was no justice, no karma, and no retribution. Consequences came only for a few. Perhaps afterlives would judge the evil, but from what he knew of gods, Igor never expected them to be fair.
Igor had seen much in four years, and soon in the coming months, scenes that promised to be much worse. Stray devils were only the tip of just how deep the rot in this world ran. Stray devils could be excused for their heinous crimes. They had the justification of being pushed forward by instinct. But some of the people he killed…they did it for sick pleasure.
Igor could never bring himself to understand just how these evil people thought. But as long as he had the power, he would eradicate them all—from mortal to god alike. That was his conviction and resolve; to bring a peaceful world through overwhelming violence against the parasites that leeched off of it.
[No. That's too wishful, Igor.]
He immediately suppressed those wild and naive thoughts. Clamouring to heal the world when he himself was gravely sick was nothing short of wanting to play hero.
[You have your own burdens. Sort them out before vying to be a savior.]
Igor opened his eyes. They rippled from their glowing yellow to dark blue. It was the middle of the night and a new day would soon dawn. Igor stood on the balcony, his eyes overlooking the forest.
For a moment, his eyes retraced that fateful day five years ago when he leaped over that fence and ran into the forest. Learning just how big the world was had been too much for him who'd believed Shuri was the strongest person.
"Edenfall…"
Igor muttered his third name. The wind whistled in response and brushed against his face. His father gave him that name when Ariya fell to the coalition of invaders. The gods were the driving force behind his clan's death, but other races just as happily carried out the massacre…and more.
The scope of his vengeance encompassed the entire supernatural world, and that alone often kept him awake on certain nights—for it was a simple reality. The gods were indeed the culprits, but many forces in the world would quickly kill and rip the time chamber from him the moment his existence was discovered. Knowing he had no safe haven no matter where he went made him hate the gods even more.
Igor closed his eyes to calm the bubbling rage and overwhelming indecision. His focus had to remain on the god responsible. Once he was strong enough to harvest that god into the time chamber, he could spend hundreds of years training to get stronger and once he did, he could start thinking about other gods and races. His naive ideals would have a strong fist backing them by then. He just had to be patient.
[One step, Igor. One step at a time.]
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AN: Big boy Igor is trudging on a very dangerous path right now. He's plotting godfather-style on what he wants to do. It's getting kinda hard to compare myself to him. At fifteen, my sleepless nights were if a smile meant a girl liked me or not. That and algebra.
Chapter 52
END