Chapter 38: Is my blood a melting pot of bloodlines?
'What have I done?'
It was the only thought going through Katharina's mind—what had she really done by turning Vergil into a Demon?
Initially, she thought she had just shared the girls' blood for nutrients and energy, after all, demonic blood is bathed in demonic energy, or rather, it is demonic energy itself, as the heart pumps blood while generating demonic energy.
However, it didn't just transform into energy, it completely became Vergil's Blood, which had absorbed its characteristics and enhanced itself.
She had already sensed that Vergil had a strong lineage, strong enough to deny her access to the contract they had made, the Master-Servant contract.
'It can't be possible, can it? He couldn't have been a Demon from the start... if he were, the contract would at least work, since I used runes that signified human... The contract would have failed...' She thought while placing her hand on her chin and making a face that made Vergil wonder what was going on.
"Dear?" Vergil called, interrupting Katharina's curious and thoughtful gaze. Though he enjoyed seeing her new reactions, it was hard to appreciate her expressions when she seemed so serious!
"O-oh, yes, sorry..." Katharina snapped back to herself, still looking at the man... 'I won't be able to help him... not as much as I'd like to...' Katharina thought.
"Darling... can you feel how many bloodline powers you have?" She asked. She at least needed a baseline.
"All together? Just these three. Those 'Cuts,' I don't feel them, I just know how to do them." Vergil replied calmly.
'We need tests... it's impossible to tell if this is a common ability or a bloodline one... 'Just knowing how to do' isn't normal.' She thought, analyzing...
"Could you create a sphere of cuts?" she asked. "Hm? Well, only one way to find out," he said, focusing his gaze on his hands, trying to create circulating cuts that could hold a spherical shape, but...
SWIN!
A cut shot out accidentally, hitting the living room television...
"Oh crap..." Vergil said, seeing the damage. "N-no, this is good..." Katharina said, seeing not only the TV sliced vertically but also part of the wall...
'Novah's going to kill me... she loved watching TV...' Katharina muttered.
The TV, cut in half, remained silent, and a crack in the wall showed the power Vergil had unintentionally unleashed.
The cut wasn't just sharp but precise. She sighed, crossing her arms and pondering what to do next.
"Well, this proves you don't have full control over this ability yet... and that it might be more powerful than we thought," Katharina said, trying to sound optimistic despite the evident damage around them.
"But the fact that you can use this technique without feeling it in yourself is... intriguing." She commented, "Can you do it without focusing?" she asked, and Vergil swung his arm, sending another cut, but much lighter this time, not causing any damage to the structure.
"Oh... when you do it unconsciously, it doesn't cause as much damage..." she noted.
Vergil scratched his head, a nervous smile appearing on his face. "Yeah, I guess I'll need to train more before trying this again."
Katharina continued observing the scene, her thoughts still turbulent. 'He's a mystery. An ability like this shouldn't exist without a corresponding demonic bloodline, but he acts as if it's instinctive, natural...'
"Don't worry about the TV," she said, stepping away from the wreckage with a forced smile.
"Novah's just going to have to get over it, somehow." She let out a nervous laugh, but inside she was still pondering what had truly happened to Vergil since his transformation.
'Maybe... I'll have to ask that monstrosity for help... damn...' Katharina muttered, "Vergil, I can't train you properly." Katharina admitted, "But what I can do is give you the foundation to understand the Agares clan's bloodline."
Vergil frowned, surprised by Katharina's sudden admission. "You can't train me?" He asked, with a slight tone of disappointment in his voice. He wanted his wife to train him!
Katharina shook her head slowly. "Not in what you're beginning to develop, no. What you're manifesting is far beyond what I expected. I can guide you in some areas, but there's a limit. Your bloodline... it doesn't match what I know or what the girls share."
She took a deep breath, and Vergil immediately noticed that she was genuinely disappointed in herself, actually, much more than that... Just the thought of having to ask someone else for help already made her quite angry, but in the end, it was just that... For her husband, she would do anything, even if it meant swallowing her pride and asking for help.
Her expression soon shifted from serious to a mix of resignation and concern. "But what I can do is teach you the basics of the Agares clan's bloodline. This power you're manifesting may be connected to it."
Vergil fell silent, thinking about what Katharina had said.
He knew something strange had been happening to him since he was transformed, but he had no idea his abilities were so anomalous.
"So... which of the three is your bloodline?" Vergil asked. She had only shouted about the Techniques of Roxanne and Ada, so he was a bit confused.
Katharina took a deep breath, adjusting her words to clarify the confusion. "Sorry, dear, I should have started with the basics. The primary ability of the Agares clan is fire manipulation. But it's not just any ordinary fire; our clan controls the Fiery Flame, a demonic flame that burns not only the body but also the energy of the being.
It's a fire that can consume even other forms of power if sufficiently refined."
She paused, observing Vergil's expressions. "What surprises me, however, is that you've manifested other bloodline abilities, from the Sitri and Baal clans." She said... "Oh damn..." Katharina thought again about how absurd what she was trying to say was.
Katharina closed her eyes for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts. Everything had seemed chaotic since Vergil was transformed, and the confusion about his abilities only added to her frustrations.
She opened her eyes slowly, looking at Vergil. "What I mean is that, somehow, you've manifested abilities from three different bloodlines. Besides the Fiery Flame of the Agares clan, you have traits from the Sitri and Baal clans, which... doesn't make sense. Each demonic bloodline should be unique and specific. It's as if you're a receptacle for multiple bloodlines."
Vergil, surprised, raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm using abilities from all my wives..."
Katharina shook her head with a slight sigh. "I'm not sure. This goes beyond what I understand about demonic transformation. Normally, when we transform someone into a demon, they inherit the bloodline of a single clan. But you... not only have manifested the power of the Agares clan, but it also seems like you have the Air Current Control of the Sitri and the Hemomancy, the blood control of the Baal.
It's as if your body is absorbing and adapting these bloodlines instinctively."
"Well... that makes some sense then." Vergil said, pulling Katharina's attention quickly. "Huh? How does it make sense?!" She questioned, not understanding, and even a bit agitated...
"As you said, the Fiery Flame consumes the energy of a being. Upon contact during the transformation, it tried to consume the bloodlines to burn them, but probably, with the help of Hemomancy, the Fiery Flame was adapted within my blood, thus establishing this possibility." His explanation was so calm and seemed so precise that Katharina blinked several times...
"B-but I said it burned." "Consume and Burn are similar. I'm sure you don't see the fire literally burning the energy of the one being attacked, do you?" He questioned, and Katharina was left speechless...
'How does he know more about my power than I do?!' She screamed internally.
"How... how did you come to this conclusion?" She asked, her voice still choked with surprise.
Vergil shrugged, as if the answer was obvious to him. "I just thought about what you said. If the Fiery Flame consumes the energy of a being, it makes sense that, at the moment of transformation, it tried to do the same with the bloodlines.
Only, instead of destroying them, my body adapted and integrated them, probably with the help of the Hemomancy you mentioned." He repeated his thoughts in a clearer way, and she continued to observe him.
Katharina watched him, still incredulous. She had always known Vergil had a sharp intellect, but seeing him apply it to something as complex as demonic bloodlines was... unexpected.
Vergil chuckled slightly, realizing how surreal everything seemed. "So, basically, my blood is a cauldron of demonic bloodlines now?"
"In a way, yes." Katharina replied, still processing it all. "But there's one thing that worries me... What will happen when your body tries to absorb more? The Fiery Flame is unpredictable, and Hemomancy... well, manipulating blood is always dangerous."
"I'll need to be cautious," Vergil agreed, his tone growing more serious. "If my body can do this instinctively, it might also overload or lose control if I don't know how to handle it."
Katharina nodded, still with a hint of concern in her eyes. "Exactly. What you're dealing with is a unique fusion of demonic powers. We'll need time, patience, and... perhaps external help to fully understand what you've become."
"If necessary, Katharina, we can seek that help. But let's start here, with what you know. I trust you."
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<Author's Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!
Tomorrow I will add 25 chapters for the privilege