Returning the wound I just inflicted wouldn't do much against Grendel. Honestly, who was I kidding? I have Verg Avesta, Falsely Transcribed Creation!
More precisely, I have Samael, the being sealed within it.
If I could just unleash his full power, Grendel would be down in seconds. But all that's happened since my last awakening is that my Divinity stat increased, giving me resistance to time-freeze abilities like Gasper's—and that's it!
Aside from that, the rest of my power's still tied up dealing with divine malice. But hold on a second...
My Forbidden Balance Breaker of Verg Avesta—the way I've developed it—has always prioritized synchronizing with Divinity. If that's the case... maybe I shouldn't stop at being divine. Maybe I should pierce right through it altogether.
"Hey, Samael! Can you hear me? You once said you'd help control divine malice, right? Well, forget that—I don't need it anymore. Give me something else in return!"
I focused my awareness on the Sacred Gear in my hand as I barely dodged Grendel's barrage.
I wasn't expecting a direct response—Samael rarely answers—but I could feel my voice reaching the depths where he lurked.
Man, if only I had a direct link like Issei and Ddraig. Would make this a whole lot easier.
I know I'm being completely unreasonable here, but come on—if I die, the shock might boot Samael's consciousness right back into my body. So obviously, he'll help me out, right?
He used to be a high-ranking angel, after all. Even if it's just a coincidence, if he's managed to bury himself this deep inside my Sacred Gear, he should be able to manifest a Divine nature akin to Angra Mainyu if I push hard enough.
Come on, already! I'm out here getting pummeled by a freaking legendary evil dragon!
"What the hell are you mumbling about over there, huh? Don't tell me you're done already! If you're calling it quits, then just lie down and die already, you useless sack of crap!!"
"You're so damn impatient! I'm about to power up, so just shut up and wait!"
"Oho! Now that's what I wanted to hear! In that case, I'll push you until you're forced to power up!"
Yeah, no. Thought so. No reasoning with this guy. He's a textbook Berserker—like, Mad Enhancement EX level.
Absolutely the worst kind of enemy.
I pushed my irritation with him aside and focused on the real issue: Divinity.
Up until now, I've only ever tapped into Divinity when I triggered my Forbidden Balance Breaker—never actively tried to raise it otherwise. Why? Simple. It never seemed worth it.
Just passively gaining Divinity had always been more than enough.
But now, I consciously reached toward the Divinity within my Sacred Gear—toward the source that connects to my very soul.
Bit by bit, I narrowed in on its core. Then, finally—I felt it. A shift. My Divinity A rank rose to Divinity A+.
Yes! Just as expected from a Divinity-specialized Forbidden Balance Breaker!
Grinning inwardly, I activated Mirage in rapid succession to create distance again.
If this doesn't work, I'll just have to call in Kuroka.
Carefully gauging the amount I could handle, I began to wrap myself in dark energy—malice.
Senjutsu is notoriously difficult to wield. One of the biggest reasons? Anyone trained in its basics can absorb the malice drifting through the world. But once that malice takes root, it warps your spirit—driving you to become savage, ruthless... inhuman.
But what if... I've already got a vessel for malice inside me?
So far, I've only drawn upon the righteous side of Senjutsu. But what if I reached for the other half?
Wouldn't that just double my power output?
And let's be real—malice is probably stronger in combat anyway.
I took in a small amount—no issues.
Took in more—still fine.
I ramped up the output sharply. But this time, I could clearly sense the limit—thanks to the capacity I felt when I first absorbed Samael's essence.
Then Grendel's face changed—his eyes widened in genuine shock.
"Whoa whoa whoa... What the hell is that?! Your aura didn't just get stronger—it's gone full-on demonic! Curses, hexes, hatred—I can see them swirling around you! You're human, right?! How the hell are you still alive!?"
"N-No, Senpai! Don't! You'll lose yourself to the malice!" Shirone shouted.
As another Senjutsu user, she knew how dangerous it was. She'd once been told that Kuroka herself had lost control to malice in the past.
But I gave her a casual wave, trying to reassure her.
"Sorry—I should've said something sooner. But I'm not going berserk or anything. It's all under control."
Yeah... I should've been more thoughtful about Shirone. She's probably got trauma from all this. I'll apologize properly later.
Anyway! The malice floating through the world is now my second power source.
At this point, I'm practically a human version of Zazelgar, the giant robot Professor Azazel built!
People of the world! Lend me your malice! …Wait, wrong series.
With that, my aura surged—far stronger than before. Definitely beyond even Jabberwocky Shalba-level.
Grendel grinned with a twisted joy as he saw the change.
"Ku-ku-ku-ku! I don't know what the hell just happened—and I don't need to! I'm strong! You're strong! That's all that matters! LET'S KILL EACH OTHER 'TIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!!"
As a test, he launched his biggest breath attack yet—clearly gauging my new strength.
Its area of effect was huge, wide enough to endanger Shirone and the others too.
"All right... fire against fire, then!"
Up to now, my foxfire couldn't cancel out his breath—just push it off-course. But now?
I fired it head-on.
"Eeeeeek! Evil flame versus evil flame! The corrupted fire of an evil dragon clashing with the corrupted fire of a cursed human! This is like some kind of final boss showdown!!" Gasper squealed, peeking out from his cardboard box and trembling.
"If I didn't know the situation, I'd run away on sight," Shirone muttered.
"Or wait until the battle's over, then strike from the shadows to secure victory and interrogate the survivor," Ravel added coolly.
Hey! Can we not tank my reputation here, guys?
Nearly in tears on the inside, I rushed Grendel.
Maybe it was the sudden change in my speed, but he was caught off-guard. I slipped into his guard and slammed a Rider Kick straight into his chest, sending his massive body flying backward.
Yes! If I can control the range, I can go back to my hit-and-run tactics!
"Bwahaha! Nice kick!! More! MORE! COME AT ME!!"
He coughed up blue blood but still came swinging. But listen—your punch from earlier cracked a few of my ribs, split my forehead, and now my blood's covering my left eye. I've taken plenty of damage myself!
Time to end this.
"First Secret Sword—Rhino Strike!"
I slammed the base of the hilt with all my strength and launched the greatsword like a spear.
What's "artillery toss" again? Who cares! I gave up on that logic ages ago!
The blade slammed into Grendel's gut and pierced straight through, sticking out his back.
Nice! His belly's softer than his back, so it went all the way through. Good enough.
As he doubled over in pain, I drew another blade and slashed upward under his arm—nearly severing his entire left arm.
"OH HELL YEAH!! That hurts! THIS is what it means to be alive!! Beat me! Break me! Tear each other to bits until we're nothing but ash!!"
Taking real damage only got him more excited. But as he raised that same arm to strike...
It fell off.
"GAAAH!? My arm! No way in hell that weak-ass cut should've taken it off! SOMETHING'S OFF!!"
He turned his rage toward the robed man.
"No, Grendel. Take a closer look at the wounds you received—after he started wielding malice."