Death Heir’s Devouring System

"Wait."

Before she could snatch him off the scene, Azrael stopped her.

Wordlessly he went towards Victor to exchange contact information.

The man had proved to be powerful, a potential ally in the future. Plus, with Arthur's words about how he was 'courting maidens.' Azrael realized up until now he only had three contacts—all women.

Once he was done, Azrael instantly vanished from the ruined base, appearing in another place a beat later.

A pristine room, decorated with brown wood around the walls and an obsidian table in front of him.

He sat in a chair woven from a marvelous fabric. At the other side of the table sat Seyra, her crimson eyes looking at him with unknown intent.

"Coffee or tea?" She asked, surprising him with her hospitality.

"Tea." He answered a moment later.

With a nod, she stood up and went towards the counter to brew it. Her movements were elegant and precise.

Azrael made use of the moment to glance at the things he had gained after killing the Death Knight.

Of course he first glanced at his favorite skill—the one that grew with him.

Skill: [Blood Manipulation]

Skill Rank: [Tainted (Tied)]

He would have to dig into it deeper at a later date, but its effects were clear; he was able to feel the vitality coursing through his veins with ease. Making weapons, even ones as big as scythes, using his own blood shouldn't be an impossible task now.

Next he studied the new things.

Skill: [Ghostwalk]

Skill Rank: [Cleansed]

Skill Description: [A soul tormented by its own family. Over time, it learned to move in complete silence, allowing it to slip away toward freedom.]

Azrael noted that the skill was of the Purity Ranks, not of the Corrupted ones, meaning that he didn't just get Corrupted skills when he killed monsters.

'No surprise the name basically spelled out its effects. All noise I make when moving is reduced drastically. And from the looks of it, the effect is passive without taking any of my energy.'

Already he was happy; this was the perfect skill for him. Ambushes were going to become easier now.

Next he glanced at the item.

Item: [Ring of Eternal Vengeance]

Item Type: [Equippable]

Item Rank: [Profane]

Item Description: [Once worn by a Death Knight who yielded to madness. Should one dare to inflict harm on the bearer, they should be prepared to be judged by their next attack with two times the might.]

'So in short, if one is to harm me, my next hit against them would deal double the harm it normally would?' Azrael mused, calling forth the ring.

It was meticulously crafted from both silver and gold. With a crimson skull at its crown.

Wordlessly he put it on his index finger.

As expected, it fit perfectly as if being made specially for him. The design was to Azrael's liking, plus the fact that it was an equippable item, meaning its effect was passive, would mean he could only gain from wearing it. So, he left it on.

Lastly, he glanced at the Death Knight's Remembrance.

Just like the Ashfeather, there were three options. He could select Purification, Absorption, and Submission Ritual.

Purification was a waste. If he wanted to raise his progression, he could simply kill things, not to mention that he wasn't sure if purifying the Remembrance would grant him Purity or Corruption.

Absorption wasn't a bad choice overall, but the fact that his soul could be damaged during the process was something he didn't like. He would stay away from the option unless he was in desperate need of power.

Finally there was the Submission Ritual, the option he wanted to choose. Cinder was already of tremendous help, and the bird was a simple Feral creature. The Death Knight, meanwhile, would be able to increase his fighting capabilities severalfold.

'The only problem is that I have to beat it… without any outside aid or items.'

He had barely managed to beat the abomination with Victor's help, all his items, and making use of the terrain. On top of that, before their fight even started, the knight had already been missing its dominant hand.

Even with his Proven status, victory seemed far-fetched. At the very least Azrael would have to learn how to control his newfound powers before he could even think about facing the monster in a fair duel for the right to command it.

"Done checking your gains?" Seyra spoke, bringing him back to reality.

She had finished brewing the tea a long time ago and had placed it before him. Still seeing the way he had been staring at empty space, she figured she should wait until he was done.

Azrael blinked slowly. "Yes."

He took a sip of the delicious tea. Whatever leaves and honey had been used for its creation, he didn't know, but its refreshing taste made it clear it was of the most premium stuff.

"Now that you have taken a breather." Seyra began resting her back against the chair.

"You can start from the beginning."

With a sigh, Azrael parted his lips.

"When I opened my eyes—"

"Stop." He was immediately cut off.

"I mean from the beginning, not from when you entered the Rift but from when you left my side and joined the Moon Breakers."

'She must want to get my point of view to figure out who was behind the attack.' He figured.

It took him several hours to convey all the things he had been through. It was a lot after all.

Naturally everything that had to do with his powers or the way he had relied on Seraphina several times to cleanse him was kept secret.

He didn't know if the so-called angel would really keep his secret, but he figured that the fewer people who know about it, the better.

Seyra showed great interest when Azrael mentioned that the place he had been sent to was already inhabited by Proven, not to mention that there had been two of the Radiant Purity Rank.

Her crimson eyes glimmered, and lips curved upwards menacingly when he mentioned how he had gone against them and even killed one of them.

Once he concluded his retelling of the tale, there were several empty teacups before him. Night had embraced the lands.

"That is a lot to take in…" Seyra sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"And honestly certain parts are really hard to believe. Two Proven with the Radiant Purity Rank? You killing one of them? You creating an Apex monster and being cornered by two Calamities at your first Rift?"

Her eyes narrowed momentarily.

"Well, you are indeed of the Cleansed Rank just after becoming Proven, so that must mean you have been that Rank even when you were Marked… Killing a Radiant Proven should indeed be possible even if hardly feasible."

The fact that he was Cleansed was because he had devoured Raven's Purity upon killing her. In other words, at the time of the kill, he had just been Blessed. But Azrael didn't correct her; if he did, that would just spell out that his Inborn Trait was even more powerful than Seyra suspected it to be.

"So what do you think?" He asked, growing impatient with how long she was taking for his assessment.

"You did exceptionally well. If what you say is true, then you have topped pretty much every heroic tale that is told as a form of propaganda."

By the unexpected praise, especially coming from someone so high up, he felt a pride building up in his chest.

"Though." She added with a cold expression.

"Because of that, from now on your life will get difficult, much more than before."