"You've become quite soft and small, John. Did you lose your muscle?" Iblis slowly morphed.
Its sphere body grew bigger and took on the appearance of a girl, a head shorter than Atsuku. Its white shadow was in the right place, forming something like a mouth.
"You know about me?" Atsuku asked, still shocked by Iblis' words.
Atsuku had never expected the Devil to be able to speak and know about him. More specifically, he called him John, his name back in Fantasia.
But, if Gaia knew about him, then what made a Devil that stayed in his body for more than a decade not know about it? When he thought about it again, it wasn't strange that Iblis knew him.
"Of course," Iblis answered, putting its shadowy hand on its hip. Its white shadow moved, forming a grin.
"We've been together for 15 years. Of course, I recognize your soul. And I must say, I quite like our time together more than my other hosts. If you are wondering, I do remember our time together."
"That's new to me."
"Of course. Somehow I was able to speak after I was separated from you. Quite a beautiful world, this one." Iblis praised it as it moved its head around, looking at the scenery.
Its wings were rolled around its back, shrinking a little.
If what Iblis said was true, then those Devils were the same ones from Fantasia. They moved from the destroyed Fantasia to Earth alongside the countdown.
'They are the same Devils. This… isn't this easy then?'
Iblis knew about him and said that it remembered him from his time in Fantasia. His chance to get Iblis increased drastically.
The oldest Devil, the worst one. The same Devil gave him the power to become the Depraved Hero.
This Devil could make people go crazy just by looking at it. In front of such a being, Atsuku could still stand calmly due to his experience and the fact it was the Devil he once assimilated with.
His chance to make a contract with Iblis was high, so he took the chance at that moment without wasting time.
"Iblis. I want your power again. Will you assimilate with me? I want to destroy that fucking countdown for good this time. I won't let it screw me over for the second time." He said with resolution.
Honestly, the chance of Iblis agreeing to his proposal was close to zero. The Devil was known to be a proud one, not bending to anyone.
When Atsuku was in Fantasia, he subjugated Iblis after preparing himself for over five years at the young age of 15. The preparation included Arcane Items from Fantasia, which couldn't be secured on the current Earth.
At first, he planned to have Yamada and Rio's help as reassurance to subjugate Iblis the next day, but the Devil showed itself before Yamada could even get Abaddon.
The plan went awry, but Iblis knew him, which was unexpected. So this was a gamble. Whether Iblis was willing to assimilate with him again or not depended on the Devil's answer.
"Sure, let's do that. You have passed my test before, so you don't need to retake it." Iblis answered easily.
Atsuku beamed a happy smile for the first time. His heart was beating fast just by standing in front of Iblis and thinking about how he should finish Iblis' test.
Even if Iblis couldn't harm him directly, it could still prank him. And if it played its prank, then Atsuku was as good as dead. Iblis' prank was that dangerous.
Because Iblis had given its answer, he impatiently reached his hand toward Iblis' head, but the Devil's next word put him to stop.
"But, I have a condition."
He immediately stiffened, stopping his movement. Then he asked, "What is it?"
"As you see, I also grew after we assimilated back in Fantasia. So I expect you to have a faster growth rate this time and get to your previous level, which was the Ninth Stage in 5 years."
That was an unreasonable thing. Atsuku grimaced as he lowered his hand slowly.
'Getting back to my top in just 5 years? Can I do it?' He was a bit skeptical. His strength was not something that could be gained just by working hard.
It needed hard work and determination to get his hand dirty. It also required luck and a lot of sacrifices on his part. It should be an impossible task. But once again, Iblis cut him off.
"Don't use that expression. I am only stating the facts. You will reach your previous level in 5 years and grow more than that. I gained 5 new horns just by entering this world. The Arcane in this place is thick. So you will get stronger faster than before."
'I see.'
Now he understood. What Iblis stated was only a fact. It was not the condition of their contract that it talked about before.
"So, what is the condition? Is it a gamble like before?"
"Yes. As you know, I will grow in your body. I have 60 horns now, and I need 6 more horns to evolve and get a physical body, which will be reached in 6 years if my calculation is correct. My condition is to fully make my power yours before I gain a physical body. If you can't do that…"
Iblis paused for a second, but Atsuku already knew the answer to that. After all, it was a proposition that Atsuku proposed to Iblis when they reached an agreement in Fantasia.
"You will take over my body."
"Correct. How is it? Instead of the 30 years that you promised last time, it is only 6 years this time. I will also promise to help you when I get a physical body if you can clear this condition." Iblis' smile got deranged to the point it became creepy.
It bent its neck to the side to an impossible point. As it was made from a shadow, it had no bone that stopped it from doing that.
Atsuku smirked. The condition was still the same as what he proposed. He already had the knowledge and technique to make use of Iblis' power, so he was confident he could make Iblis' power his in just 6 years.
"Interesting. It is crazy, but that doesn't seem impossible. I accept the condition, Iblis."
"Good. Feeble John, tell me your name in this world before I assimilate into your body."
"Fujiwara Atsuku, that is my name." Atsuku answered. His hand moved toward Iblis' head as the other party leaned closer to him.
"Atsuku, huh? I will remember that. I look forward to getting your body. Rather than creating a new physical one, I think taking over your body is easier."
"Try it, but don't forget our promises."
"Devil never tells any lies," Iblis replied.
"I know. I don't too."
At that moment, Atsuku's hand touched Iblis' head, where the core was located, and a surge of black cloud entered his body. It created a strong gust of wind in the area and blew the trees around him.
"Guh!" Atsuku grunted in pain.
Pain attacked his body as Iblis' power was forcefully reconstructing it. He felt something hot entering his vein and going toward his heart. It settled around his chest, creating some kind of power source, a core.
Usually, this happened after someone fell asleep, but Atsuku was different. He and Iblis knew that they couldn't wait until Atsuku fell asleep to reconstruct his body. Every second matters for them, as they could get slightly stronger in seconds.
Abbadon realized his presence, but it stayed silent, protecting the flowers from the wind with its big body. It was unexpectedly kind for something that personifies destruction.
The wind lasted for more than 30 seconds before it subsided. Atsuku felt the familiar feeling that he had lost for the last week. Clenching his fist, he basked in this nostalgic sensation for a while, moving it around as he pleased.
A warm feeling filled his body, making him feel stronger than before. The warm feeling came from his newly created core. His body was immediately gotten used to it and he could feel power from it.
Grinning, Atsuku looked at his balled fist as he happily grinned, "A First Stage Core is successfully created. I can finally feel Arcane again. This is great."