Tobey looked at his dagger... and got dumbfounded once he saw huge amounts of Dark Energy coming from it. His dagger was glowing in a red light emitted by the runes carved on it. The runes carved on the black cable were emitting a dark gray faint glow. Meanwhile, the Dark Energy, which seemed a black dense fog, was surrounding it.
Tobey felt like his dagger was weighing more than one ton as he struggled to still hold it firmly. He didn't know why such a thing was happening, it was strange that the weight of the dagger increased so much, but he guessed that it was due to the high amount of energy concentrating there.
'Is this energy condensing and turning into matter? That's the only thing I can think of. Indeed, the weight of my dagger seems to be increasing and decreasing from time to time. It seems like it is adjusting. Sometimes, it feels incredibly light, others it weighs more than my own body.'
The detective couldn't understand what was happening at all. Maybe, a scientific explanation wouldn't be the best way to go. After all, he was dealing with an entirely different kind of energy there, something that was unknown even to science; one could call it magic or miracles. The laws of physics or the standard rules of that universe didn't apply to that.
Things like that made Tobey remember that he wasn't dealing with his common human world anymore, but a world in which he was yet to discover many things.
[Don't worry about it. It's just part of the process. Of course, I didn't say it to you before, most likely because I didn't feel like it, but your Soul Mirror will change every time you go up by a grade. You see, as I explained before, Soul Mirror is a direct reflex of your own soul. When leveling up grades, you are basically ascending your soul to another level of power and shaping it differently. The same will happen with your Soul Mirror, of course.]
'You didn't tell me about grades at all. What are they?'
[There is F to SSS grade. For humans, these letters might only seem like the standard grading scheme that they use in schools or fantasy books, but for us demons and paladins they represent the 9 Gates of the different realms of power. There are the 9 gates of hell, also as there are the 9 gates of heaven. The former is opened by demons and the latter, by paladins, as you might have noticed.
[Right now, you broke through the second gate of hell, thus evolving into an E-grade demon.]
Tobey nodded his head. That was a brand new thing for him, but it was good to know. Now, not only he had the knowledge to measure the power of paladins and demons, but also to know how far he was going with his development.
The detective felt good about receiving more power. He was glad that he wouldn't be a good-for-nothing anymore when it comes to fighting against other paladins. However, he was still wary.
'Will I be dominated by my demonic side once it starts to get more powerful? I mean, while my soul and Demon Form keep developing, my human body always remains the same. How much will this power affect my mind? For how long will the sharp mindset I built as a human last against my inborn demonic mindset? When will instinct surpass logic and reasoning?'
Mask didn't respond to that question. Even so, Tobey had the feeling that he didn't do so because he wanted to hide something from him, but rather he knew not the answer to that question as well.
Both sides were constantly trying to take control over that body, and they were using everything they could not depend on each other. However, any time soon, Tobey would need Mask and the latter would need Tobey as well. In the end, it was a paradoxical question. Maybe, both sides would ever coexist, independently who took control over the body.
'Anyway, it's not time to think about it,' Tobey thought with a solemn expression on his face.
'Right now, I need to focus and unleash this new power!'
Once he had that thought, the dagger burst with Dark Energy intensely, getting completely covered. The air around had a different smell as if the environment was changing together with Tobey's Soul Mirror. The pressure around was great enough to make Lancelot and Mark stay still in the same spot without moving a finger.
'So, that's the potential of his Soul Mirror? Open the second gate to the E-grade realm is something so great to him? What will happen if he doesn't know any bounds as many people theorized? What will happen if he enters the S-grade realms? Will he turn into a God or something?' Lancelot thought.
He himself was an A-grade paladin. He couldn't develop any further as his body didn't have what was necessary to open another gate and withstand ascending to a higher realm of power. In truth, if he did so, he would die.
Even Mark was amazed by just how much potential his brother had. He, who was always labeled as the strongest demon in that city, always wondered why they took his brother away from him instead of taking him first. For Mark, Tobey wouldn't have as much potential as he had. Mark, as the older brother, was the one to be chosen as the prodigy of the Foster family, thus getting taken away from his parents.
'I was blind by my own potential all this time. I have been struggling every day to get stronger and make a name for myself as a way of protest so that the paladins would always regret not having taken me in place of my brother. I used it as an excuse to prove myself and show that I had what it takes to have been the chosen one.
'It was not out of pride. I just wanted to prove that I could have saved my brother. I just wanted to prove that my parents didn't need to go through all that pain. I wanted to show that the paladins were the ones to blame for everything, not the demons who agreed with that peace treaty.
'However, I was blinded. Even after years of training, killing, and fighting, I wasn't able to ascend any realm with this much Dark Energy pouring from my soul. That's a level or two higher than mine...'
Both Lancelot and Mark were curious to know what would be Tobey's Soul Mirror after that transformation. The shape of one's Soul Mirror defined the person forever, also as their strength.
After all that Dark Energy dissipated and Tobey's left hand was finally displayed, what showed in his hand was a weapon very similar to a falchion. Its blade was slightly curved at the end, was twenty centimeters long, and three large. Its handle was longer as well, which made Tobey's grip get more comfortable and steady. Compared to the dimensions of his previous weapon, that one was quite an upgrade.
The only difference between that falchion to a standard one was the serrated side of the blade, similar to the teeth of a shark. This, and the usual red color of the blade, which was a shade darker than before, and the black handle.
Of course, the runes were still there, emitting a strong glow that slowly was getting weaker until it disappeared completely. This time, there were more of those, different patterns, and stronger lines, but the idea was the same.
'Wow...' Tobey thought.
[Well, be glad that, although you are an unfortunate bastard, sometimes you have one or two fortunes that are really worth it. Getting a weapon of this size after breaking through E-grade isn't something that everyone can brag about. Also, there is the fact that this serrated blade surely fits your skill Mirror Shattering... And, please, change this name.]
'Thank you. And, no! I won't change it. You can say something different when you are controlling the body, but until then I am the one who decides the names!'
Mark looked at Tobey with the same expression as a father proud of his son scoring at a soccer match.
Now that things were settled and Tobey had a new power, both felt more confident that they could fight against that paladin. That fight wouldn't be easier for sure, but they would pull through somehow.
Lancelot Yoder looked at the two brothers with a deep frown on his face, showing just how much angry he was. He never expected such a turn of events.
'Can my Blessing really beat these two together? One of them has the Mirror Shattering Curse. The other has the feared Bloodseeker Curse. While fighting one-on-one against these guys wouldn't be a problem, when there are two of them, things are different.'
Lancelot Yoder sighed, ignoring the pain he was feeling from the deep wound on his chest. He positioned his spear beside his body, pointing it at both the demons.
'But, you are already used to situations that are unfavorable to you, right?' He asked himself, a faint smile appearing on his face.