Cradling the unconscious Hestia, Takumi stepped out of the bath and settled onto the sofa in the living room. The black of his eyes now carried a sovereign sheen of gold; all things in the world seemed to come into crisp relief before him.
"[Alchemy: Reconstruction]"
With a simple tap of his finger, vast magic streamed into every corner of the chapel. Places once shabby and dilapidated refit themselves at lightning speed. The hall widened and brightened; beds in the rooms became neat and soft.
"This sensation… it's like being inside the Time-Space World. Only, with my current power, I still can't interfere with this world at a deeper layer."
The gold faded from his eyes, the transcendent aura around him dispersing as if it had never been. He was now a god, yes—but still a man. He could exert perfect control over the power of his own word-traits; he would not be swayed by divinity, and not a flicker of his intent shifted.
"The growth across the board is beyond expectation, but it still hasn't truly broken the limit."
He felt over his altered state and allowed a slight, almost disappointed look to cross his face. It wasn't the take-off he had imagined—no instant leap to super-demon level, much less to the rank of a chief god, an existence beyond. Becoming divine was, more than anything, an elevation of life order and status.
Thinking it through, that made sense. Hestia and her ilk had lived for spans counted in hundreds of millions of years. Measured against that, his current rate of ascent was already faster than light. And the changes wrought by a divine body and true spirit were long-arc changes. He was like an ape that had in an instant crossed into being human; a single glance was now enough to read the essence of things.
Takumi took out the evil pieces again. One by one they rose and hovered; within his sight they became easy to deduce and parse.
"So that's it. There's no demon blood mixed into an evil piece itself, but it's infused with magic unique to demons. When fused into someone, that demon magic alters the person's bloodline, turning them into a kind of mixed-blood demon. Each piece carries demon magic with distinct properties. I can do the same—and on top of that, add a divine-blood blessing—so that whoever fuses one can undergo a second evolution…"
Step by step, with adjustments and grafting, the pieces in his hands changed into something new. A wisp of divinity unique to him seeped into each core; the master-servant contract array sank in like an engraved seal.
[Divine Envoy Piece]
[Quality: Purple]
[Traits: Godsworn Ascension (Purple), Level-Up Enlightenment (Blue), Master-Servant Contract (Blue)]
[Godsworn Ascension (Purple): Fuse this piece to receive Takumi's blessing; your life order will be washed and elevated by divine power.]
[Level-Up Enlightenment (Blue): The divinity housed in the piece further develops the user's talent; each level-up yields an additional boost.]
"Perfect."
Gazing at the great-work compilation in his palm, Takumi smiled in satisfaction. With a stock of Divine Envoy Pieces, he could select and raise a loyal host of divine envoys.
"Takumi-sama… Hestia-sama… she's fainted too."
Haruhime, who had been tidying only to discover the whole house made new, emerged bewildered. Seeing Hestia asleep, her cheeks flushed a soft pink. She knew exactly what that meant. She herself had keeled over back then—and in a state even worse than Hestia's.
But the instant Haruhime inhaled Takumi's scent, her tails began to sway, her breathing turned warm and heavy. "Takumi-sama~~ Haruhime—"
Biting her lip, she couldn't string a full sentence together. Takumi sent the newly formed Divine Envoy Piece into her body. In a flash, gold rippled across her skin. Along with that honey-sweet bloom within, a warmer current sped through her veins.
[Name: Haruhime Sanjouno]
[Class: Divine Envoy, Renard]
[Level: 5 (Intermediate)]
[Traits: Divine Envoy (Purple), Myriad-Treasure Mallet (Blue), Ninefold (Blue), Master-Servant Contract (Blue) …]
[Divine Envoy (Purple): Chosen by a god; your body and soul are bathed in divinity, granting extraordinary potential.]
[Ninefold (Blue): Your magic can target multiple people at once, up to nine; the mental strain is immense.]
Staring at Haruhime's now-gorgeous panel, Takumi could not keep the grin off his face. Born merely average, yet a single Divine Envoy Piece had pushed her potential to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Setsuna and Kureha.
"Perfect. Every girl gets an ascension pass."
He drew the soft, fox-tailed girl into his arms and kissed her. Hestia just now had been insufficient—without divinity engaged, her physique was actually less sturdy than Haruhime's. Not that he intended to spare Hestia; their own household goddess still had many traits he meant to shake loose.
…
[Ding! World-Crossing Gate progress +50%!]
[Ding! Hestia's favor has reached the mark. Defeated and copied trait: Ancient One (Purple).]
[Ding! Haruhime's favor has reached the mark. Defeated and copied trait: Irresistible Charm (Blue).]
[Irresistible Charm (Blue): Your allure is innately exceptional; others find it easy to take a liking to you.]
Dawn broke.
Takumi, not the least bit fatigued, let out a low growl. String after string of new traits—well worth a night of hard work. The price, of course, was that Hestia and Haruhime would want neither food nor walking today. But the anxiety gnawing Hestia's heart had, through his tangible assurances, transmuted into peace.
And thanks to joining the Astraea Familia's action yesterday, he had raked in a handsome haul of renown. His overall progress now sat at 300%!
He pinched Hestia's soft butt while she slept in his arms. No need to make breakfast—both of them were plenty full. After a wash and a glance at the even more handsome man in the mirror, he dressed. With his charm where it now stood, in a proper Hellenic myth he'd be the sort Zeus would chase down on sight. As for this world…
The goddesses would likely be even more intense; as for the gods—if any of them had weird ideas, he would simply cut them down.
Before stepping out, Takumi summoned Lili from the Time-Space World. After a night's rest she looked far better than yesterday.
"Master!"
Back in Orario, the moment she saw him she bowed deeply. After laying herself bare to him, she had spoken with Anna inside the realm as well. Lili had now fully acknowledged her identity; the earlier wavering and confusion were gone.
"Ahem—shouting that formally will take some getting used to. In front of others, don't call me Master."
"Understood, Takumi-sama~~"
Her brows arched with a smile; yet she was a little startled—who would have thought Takumi-sama had a shy side at all?
....
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.
Read 50+ chapters ahead on Patreon! [patreon.com/METARLN]