After bidding farewell to Seekvaira, he immediately returned to the Häagenti family mansion. Vanelana was busy with matters concerning her own family, and Serafall did not come to visit him. Thus, he spent most of his time in the library. The unexpected revelation that that world might be a mixture of countless works he had known in his previous life awakened in him the need to investigate and understand more about it.
At that moment, night had already fallen.
Alear was seated in the vast library of the Häagenti mansion, illuminated only by soft lights and the faint glow of a few nearby candles. He wore only a white silk robe, half open at the chest, the fabric hanging loosely over his shoulders, revealing part of the defined torso he had regained in recent weeks. On the mahogany table before him, several books lay open. One of them, particularly thick, contained updated information about the "Hero Faction."
Alear flipped through the pages calmly, his eyes scanning the lines with focus.
He discovered that the "Hero Faction" was, in fact, more of a clan than a simple organization. A closed group of humans who had awakened supernatural powers over the centuries and isolated themselves from the common world. The most powerful among them was Jin Toujou, known as the "God of War." According to the book, he had neither retired nor left the clan's main village due to an incident involving his son, Basara, as had occurred in the original story...
In other words, he did not exist in that world. Even so, all the others who appeared in the "original story" were present, and some were already standing out as youths of great potential, such as Yuki Nonaka, Kurumi Nonaka, Takeshi Hayase, and Celis Reinhardt. The information contained in the book, by all indications, was up to date. And, considering that Devils and Heroes are natural enemies, it was only logical that they maintained constant surveillance over one another; that was why the level of detail was so high. He did not doubt that the same occurred within the Hero Clan...
He continued reading.
And then he found something even more unexpected.
Dulio. The second most powerful hero of the Hero Clan was currently working as an exorcist for the Church.
Alear leaned back in his chair, the robe slipping a little further off his left shoulder, completely surprised to discover this fact...
"So Dulio exists..."
He had assumed that, since the [Zenith Tempest] was in his possession, Dulio simply would not exist in that universe. However, reality was the complete opposite: Dulio was alive and following practically the same course as in the original story, with the only difference being that he did not possess the Longinus that originally belonged to him. Even so, his powers as a Hero remained formidable, to the point of being recognized as the "Strongest Exorcist." A title that, in practice, he shared with the "Heaven's Violence," Vasco Strada...
Speaking of which, the Hero Clan effectively operated in cooperation with the Vatican—that is, with the Church. Even so, it remained an independent organization, maintaining a rather delicate relationship. This was due to the fact that many believers viewed the clan with suspicion, since its members did not share the same faith in the so-called "Biblical God."
Ignoring the headache that arose when thinking about the name of the "guy up there," he continued reading for a while longer.
It was then that he found information about the so-called "Weapons of the Hero Clan," artifacts of various mythological origins. Among the examples was [Brynhildr], a sword of Norse origin that was said to have emerged when the most powerful of the Valkyries sacrificed herself to seal an S-Rank evil spirit. Later, this power was sealed into a sword bearing the same name, currently under the custody of the Hero Clan. Another case was that of [Byakko], one of the Four Divinities. It resided within a spiritual spear, governed the west, and, according to records, the very spirit of the White Tiger inhabited the weapon...
The most impressive aspect of these weapons was the fact that all of them granted various abilities to their users, being no inferior to a Sacred Gear in terms of power. For the most part, they were relics connected to heroes of the past, carrying fragments of their "spirits" or something equivalent.
According to the book, these weapons were forged through a process called "Völundr," an ancient technique that had been lost for centuries. Precisely because of this, the Hero Clan considered these weapons their most valuable assets, not only for the power they granted, but also because they were irreplaceable relics that could no longer be created.
Well, that was new, since it had not appeared in the original story. Even so, it was not exactly strange that various elements had changed to fit the logic of that "mixed" world, as in the case of Wilbert, for example, who had previously belonged to the Bael family and so on...
Speaking of "mixed worlds," he ended up discovering something surprising: the so-called Biblical God was not a single, absolute entity, but rather the first among the deities of the Divine Realm. In addition to him, there were nine others, a group that, in past eras, had become known as the Ten Gods.
That was, without a doubt, a concept clearly taken from Shinmai Maou no Testament, as he remembered that Chisato, one of the heroines of the work, was part of those gods. However, in that world, the idea had been reformulated to better fit its own logic, explaining the origin of the Abrahamic God. Originally part of the Divine Realm, he had, of his own will, distanced himself and begun to follow his own path; something that, from that point onward, aligned more closely with what was presented in High School DxD, with the emergence of the three Biblical Factions: Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils...
Somewhat more interested in this part that came from Shinmai Maou no Testament, he decided to take a look at a book about the Underworld.
Alear flipped through the pages calmly, his pink-magenta eyes scanning each line with meticulous attention. To his surprise, he found records about a race that also inhabited the Underworld, in addition to the Nekomata. These, in turn, had been exterminated in an incident that had occurred a few years earlier, a fact that had directly contributed to the deterioration of relations between Youkai and Devils. It was the Succubus race, which had likewise been nearly driven to extinction, with only a few individuals remaining. According to the records, they were considered "pure daughters" of Lilith, a figure regarded, in essence, as the progenitor of the Devils.
Currently, only one stood out significantly: a High-Class Devil named Sheila. Famous for her overwhelming beauty, her magical seduction abilities, and her mastery over the manipulation of life energy, she was described in the book as one of the most powerful Succubi in all of history...
Another character from Shinmai Maou no Testament...? By all indications, yes.
Just like in the original work, in that world she had also been Wilbert's lover. In addition, she had two daughters: one of them was Lucia, who served directly as one of Mephisto Pheles' assistants; the other was Maria Naruse, who lived in the human world and had been seen some time ago alongside the wanted Mio Naruse, Wilbert's daughter...
Well, setting that aside, he continued reading for about twenty more minutes. When he finally finished, he closed the book with a smooth motion; the dry sound echoed through the silent library.
Alear stretched in his chair, extending his arms above his head as the white silk robe slipped slightly over his shoulders.
"That's enough for today..." he murmured to himself.
His studies of that "mixed" world had been productive, but his body now demanded movement. Training a bit before sleep seemed like the ideal way to organize his thoughts, in addition to being necessary. The assassination attempt earlier had made it clear that his life was in greater danger than he had presumed... Thinking about it, it was quite likely that Serafall would show up the next day... and that alone already promised another headache. After all, she would certainly be "too worried" about him after what had happened...
Shaking his head with an ironic smile on his lips, he stood up and activated his [Innovate Clear].
The world around him dissolved into particles of light, and he entered his private domain, the place he fondly liked to call [The World Where I Can Personify God].
When the light dissipated, Alear found himself in vast desert dunes under a scorching sun.
The sky was an unforgiving blue, without a single cloud, and the hot air shimmered over the golden sand that stretched to the horizon. The heat was intense, almost suffocating, but for him it was just another perfect training scenario.
Before beginning, he placed a hand on his chin as he pondered.
His [Innovate Clear] was a support-type Sacred Gear and, originally, he had still been undecided on how to explore its full potential. Deep down, his idea was to accelerate the flow of time within it relative to the real world—in other words, to "personify God." He believed that he could, eventually, manipulate the time and space of that world at will.
However, it was much easier to think about it than to actually execute it. He soon realized that the more complex the manipulation of his world became, the greater the energy consumption. At times, he even felt that his Longinus did not respond as it should.
Perhaps... the fault was his. After all, he was treating it as nothing more than a simple training ground. Considering that most Longinus possessed some kind of "spirit" or consciousness—something he had remembered while studying the weapons of the Hero Clan earlier—it would not be strange to think that it was reacting negatively to the way it had been used.
"...Sorry about that. I promise I will create an extremely powerful Balance Breaker..." he murmured to himself.
For a moment, he could perceive a kind of "hesitation" coming from his Longinus. Then, like a sulking child who had finally gotten what it wanted, something seemed to give way—a kind of restraint unraveled in his control over that world.
The change was immediate.
Now, he could feel the structure of his domain much more clearly, as if everything were within his reach. Space, time, and matter responded with a far more natural, almost intuitive fluidity.
His heart quickened as he realized it had worked, while at the same time cursing himself for not having tried it earlier.
Eager to test the new level of control he had over his world, he immediately focused on manipulating "time."
The Longinus responded almost instantly to his desire. He could feel his [Demonic Power] burn subtly within his body, flowing into the very world around him. Fortunately, his control over energy output was extremely precise due to his [Mystic Eyes], allowing him to achieve the desired result without waste.
And indeed... he had succeeded.
The flow of time within his world was accelerated at a ratio of 24:1—that is, twenty-four hours there corresponded to only one hour in the real world.
However, the limitation soon became evident. Even with his refined control, maintaining this acceleration required a considerable amount of energy consumption. In his current state, he would only be able to sustain this pace for about two hours before completely exhausting his reserves.
Alear let out a short, almost satisfied sigh.
"Even if I can only maintain it for two hours, that still amounts to forty-eight hours of effective training. Not bad for a start."
With a fluid motion, he removed the white silk robe, remaining only in light pants. His defined torso, still marked by faint residual bruises, was exposed to the scorching sun of the artificial desert. He took a deep breath, feeling the hot air fill his lungs, and then began...
The training was brutal as always.
When he finally reached physical exhaustion—muscles trembling, breathing irregular, sweat running down his body—he knelt for a moment while catching his breath.
He did not want to interrupt the training rhythm, but he also could not allow accumulated fatigue to compromise his performance. It was then that he decided to test his manipulation over the "matter" of that world. With a clear and precise thought, he condensed the ambient energy around him, "personifying God" to create a substance similar to a "vital potion." With his knowledge of alchemy, this was relatively easy to produce in conjunction with his Longinus. A fine, silvery mist enveloped his body.
Unlike direct healing, that mist did not restore injuries artificially, which could compromise training progress. Instead, it acted on the body's natural processes: it balanced electrolyte levels, eliminated the buildup of lactic acid, restored cellular energy reserves, and reduced both muscular and mental fatigue—all without interfering with the gains achieved through effort...
A few minutes later, the mist dissipated.
Alear felt his body lighter. The pain remained—a truthful reminder of real effort—but the crushing weight of exhaustion had vanished.
He slowly stood up, rolling his shoulders with satisfaction.
"Perfect... I'll call this ability [Status Recovery]..."
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he prepared to train [Bajiquan] for the next hour.
___________________
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