Hiro stood in the now faintly lit hall, the source of light wasn't anywhere to be seen. Still, he was unable to see the height of the hall when everything above him was pitch black.
Nothing was here except for the black orb in front of him, it appeared out of thin air and just floated there. A white gooey liquid enclosed the orb or it was made from the very liquid, he didn't know. Something inside him was very attracted to touch it, it was like an instinct.
[Touch the Seed of Ortus to finish the transfer]
"This is the seed of Ortus?"
[Affirmative]
Someone or something replied to his question.
"Who are you? What is this place and why am I here?"
[You're currently talking to the main interface of Ortus. Touch the Seed of Ortus to receive the answer of every question]
'What should I do? What is this Ortus anyway?'
"Can I deny it?"
[You have full rights to accept or deny it. But, keep in mind that you won't be able to grow strong without Seed of Ortus]
His brows furrowed in a deep frown. "What do you mean by that?"
He knew about his own body condition, even with half devil bloodline and putting his body through hell every single day, he wasn't able to grow stronger than low class. His demonic power reserves were barely able to match the low class devils. Half of his discrimination stemmed from his lineage as a half-devil while the other half was him being unable to even fight Low-class devils on even footing as he had no inherent abilities from his devil or human parents.
"I want power… Power to help Sona in achieving her dream."
He raised his hand and touched the black orb. A cool and warm sensation enveloped his hand.
[Transferring Ortus to new Host]
This time he heard the voice directly inside his mind.
[Detected seals inside the body… Removing all status effects]
[Task complete… Rebuilding Host's body from Origin energy]
"Aaargh!!!"
He held his aching head, his face twisted from the sudden sharp pain in his head.
Memories too painful to remember rushed inside his mind, the memories of his childhood… and memories of some unknown being.
Several minutes later…
Hiro stood up from the ground, his blue eyes gleaming in the darkness.
"Those devils, just how can they even do this?"
He whispered as his eyes gazed into the deep darkness.
"I hope you guys don't disturb her clan because of me."
He whispered and scanned his body for any changes. But he felt different from before, he sensed something inside his body that wasn't demonic power. It was dense and pure unlike demonic power. His reserves also increased by a margin, now he was somewhere between Low class and Middle class Devils.
[It is Origin energy, the creation of Seed of Ortus. The 'Origin' of all elements, able to overwhelm any element, while also capable of changing into any form of energy, but Host is too weak to utilize its complete potential.]
He flipped his palms while directing his energy, a pure white ball of Origin energy appeared above his palms. He willed it to transform, as expected the ball turned black then golden.
"Fascinating indeed, to be able to wield holy energy as a half-devil. Unfortunately, I'll be hunted down by every faction if I use it in front of anybody."
Devils, Fallen-Angels and Angels, even Gods will hunt someone like him when all factions are currently in a deep stalemate. He was fine with it but Underworld higher ups will target Sona's clan since he was considered a part of her clan.
Sadly, this power came with a heavy responsibility. He felt no obligation to fulfill it but he had no choice...
"Should I call you like the last Host said? Aux-san?"
[Host is free to call me whatever he likes.]
The same artificial voice sounded inside his mind.
"Remove the barrier. I just want to go home now."
[Task completed]
In the blink of an eye he found himself back in the same street. For some reason, the sun seemed brighter than before. But the completely packed street showed he was back to Underworld.
He walked inside the shop and bought the items. He created a magic circle to teleport to the Castle.
***
Meanwhile, the whole territory of the Sitri clan was on full-alert. The princess poked the Elders of clan to search for her friend who didn't return after sixteen hours. She herself stood at the Mansion front door and waited for him.
Her expression was calm but the purple eyes behind her specs had a hint of worry inside them.
Hiro teleported outside the gate of Sitri Territory. He verified his identity by touching the magic circle set up near the gate.
*Shiing*
The gate made of strengthened metal slid open. He walked through the path in the garden and reached the Front door and noticed a black-haired girl standing at the front door, the devilish smirk on her face reminded him of the past suffering.
He gulped down his dry saliva and braced himself. He knew his fate when this girl made that face, it never ended well for him.
"Sona. I'm deeply sorry for worrying you."
Without any reply, she clasped his wrist and dragged him inside the Mansion.
"Son—"
A silver haired old man in a butler outfit tried to ask something, but was coldly sent away by Sona.
"What happ—"
"Shut up! Do you know how worried I was when you didn't return after sixteen hours? I thought you ran because of the devils mistreating you for your lineage."
His eyes opened wide. "Sixteen hours?"
She pulled him inside her room, it was a tidy room with a bookshelf filled with Grimoire and knowledge about rating games.
"What happened to you? I need a detailed story."
He nodded his head and slowly explained what transpired today while omitting some information about Seed of Ortus.