The Hatred was the solitary weapon in Xain's arsenal that could potentially provide him with an advantage against literal demons and battle-hardened mercenaries. Everyone possessed a trump card, a unique skill or ability, and for Xain, in Ercale's absence, the Hatred assumed that role. It was his skill, his edge, his power. However, the mere thought of using it willingly made him sick, stirring a deep sense of moral discomfort. The Hatred felt like a stain on his very core, a darkness he would never willingly unleash.
Clenching his fists, Xain resolutely decided, *No, I can't. Not willingly. Never willingly.* The prospect of consciously tapping into the Hatred clashed with his principles, a line he couldn't bring himself to cross. Despite its potential power, using the Hatred willingly felt like a betrayal to everyone he knew and, more importantly, to himself. He couldn't compromise his ideals willingly.
However, beneath this steadfast resolve lingered an unspoken truth—if it came down to a choice between saving lives or clinging to his ideals, Xain knew he would discard his principles without hesitation. For now, however, he remained silent about it, opting to continue portraying himself as a mere thief with no extraordinary abilities.
"I feel like you guys should go first; I don't have much of anything to show off," Xain quipped with a fake self-deprecating chuckle. Grace shot him a knowing side-eye, having overheard Xain's internal struggles with the Hatred and his ideals. Despite her awareness, she chose to remain silent, respecting his choice to keep his inner turmoil hidden. If he wanted to hide the truth, she would respect that choice.
"Well, I'll go first then," Grace volunteered, raising her hand. The angel nodded, "You're the one I was most curious bout' anyways, so go on." Grace launched into an explanation of her abilities, "You already know the basics of my magic. I'm a caster and technically an enhancer. My affinity is light magic." Zee's eyes widened at the mention of light magic. "Light magic? That's super rare. What do you mean by 'technically an enhancer'?" she asked.
Grace turned to Zee, responding, "I'm getting to that," before turning back to the angel. "Light magic can be used to enhance yourself and others. That's what I was doing back at the church when my and the priest's bodies glowed slightly," she elaborated, and the angel recalled seeing her touch the demon, causing its body to emit a faint glow afterward.
"So that's why your punches hurt so bad," the angel said, holding his jaw and shivering at the memory of getting hit by Grace. She nodded in affirmation, saying, "Yup, and I can choose how much of an enhancement to give myself or someone else. Though, it's not as precise as enhancers. I have a set amount that I can apply to either myself or others."
Zee looked at her with confusion, asking, "What do you mean?" She scratched her head, trying to find a way to explain. "Think of it like this: enhancers can fine-tune their enhancements on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. They can choose specific body parts and organs, adjusting the enhancement to a precise level, like 4 or even 3.7 if they wanted. On the other hand, my light magic enhances the entire body, and I can only go from 1 to 5 to 10 with no in-between," Grace explained.
Xain understood basically nothing, and the angel was in a similar boat, struggling to grasp most of what she said. Zee, on the other hand, comprehended the information but raised a concern, "Is that bad, though?" From Grace's explanation, it didn't sound like there were any real downsides, except for high mana consumption.
"It depends. Let me put it this way: if your body suddenly became significantly stronger than what you're accustomed to, wouldn't you be disoriented? You wouldn't know how much force to put into your strikes, your hand-to-eye coordination would suffer, and the sudden change in agility would cause severe disorientation," Grace elaborated, hoping to convey the potential challenges of her ability.
"I see," Zee understood the potential challenges of Grace's enhancement ability in the midst of a battle. The angel, intrigued by the revelation, shifted his attention to Grace's teleportation-like skill. "What about you teleporting yourself all over the place? What was that about?" he asked. Both Zee and Xain looked at Grace in shock, their surprise evident. "You can teleport!" they exclaimed simultaneously. Grace quickly raised her hands, motioning for them to calm down. "Not exactly. I can create points to travel to at the speed of light. It's more of a blink than a teleport," she clarified.
The angel raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Wait, what? Then how did you keep getting behind me if it isn't teleportation? In fact, how the hell did ya keep blinking me and the demon?" he pressed on. Grace sighed, preparing to shed light on her unique ability. "I don't stay as solid matter when I blink. If I did, I'd be ripped apart from the sudden acceleration and deceleration. Also, the human body cannot survive moving at light speed. So, my body temporarily turns into a beam of light when I do blink. As for how I kept blinking you and the priest, I can blink anything or anyone I mark or enhance," she explained.
"If that's the case, then when did you mark me?" the angel asked. He couldn't remember her ever doing much else, then beating the shit out of him when she touched him. "Remember that beam of light I shot at you that you blocked with your wings? That's when I marked you," Grace explained. The angel thought back and remembered the moment when he was flying at the demon with his sword, and Grace shot a beam of light from her palm. "I thought that was an attack," he remarked. Grace clarified with a hint of mischief, "It was. If it had hit you, your face would have melted off." The angel shivered at the gruesome image. *As expected of a girl loved by the ones from above and below,* he mused.
"You know what, Grace? You're pretty scary, and I fought a vampire," Xain commented. Grace smirked, puffing her chest out proudly at the compliment.
The angel then turned to Zee and said, "Well, I guess it's your turn now if the kid doesn't want to go." Zee had noticed that, once again, the angel was avoiding eye contact with her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "I will, but can I ask why you're avoiding eye contact?" Grace and Xain also picked up on this, and both of them had a good idea why—Xain from his conversation with Ercale, and Grace from her ability to read the angel's thoughts.
The angel awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh. "Damn, was hoping to keep that under wraps a bit longer. Whatever, I guess it was bound to happen sooner rather than later," he admitted. Finally, he looked into Zee's eyes, revealing a gaze filled with the same emotion that almost every human and demi-human harbored, fear.