A/N: The new season hasn't started on my p*treon yet, I just released an omake on p*treon and felt it's only fair to release a chapter here as well.
~Also check out my new fanfiction: My Hero Academia: Restless Gambler~
"Wow, so this is your Family's summer house? Looks pretty snazzy to me."
I said, my eyes looking over the mansion in front of me, it was one of the, if not the biggest house I have ever seen personally with my own two fleshy eyeballs. It had a lake and everything.
Personally, I was extremely jealous. I needed to have a house like this. I was still living in a small house meant for a small family. Thankfully before coming here, I sent my blueprint to Azazel and he said he would take care of the construction for me.
Speaking of before coming here, I sent Grayfia on an annoying fetch quest before I came here, first to avoid an annoying conversation explaining her presence and to exploit the utility of an ultimate class under my belt.
I may have sent her across the 4 corners of the underworld to hunt down obscure beasts for me so I could use them as materials for my alchemy but that's what a maid is for.
I had plans to elixir up the Rias peerage to the best of my abilities. Elixirs may not obey game logic so I will have to be careful in consideration of that.
If I give someone too many elixirs it may disturb their biology, even I in my peerless knowledge don't know what the fuck I can do about that. The body is a very complicated machine, so unless you are me who is built different, drinking too many elixirs without taking to adjust can end in unforeseen circumstances.
Shaking my head to clear up my thoughts I turned to Rias' peerage, they were all dressed in gym outfits. Rias and Akeno wore red and white tracksuits while Koneko wore her usual bloomers gym outfit.
...Oh and Kiba was there too. He wore a grey and white tracksuit.
"So, Rias, do you have any plans for training?" I faced her and asked while Rias nodded.
"Yep, I was thinking you could train with us and help us train in order Takumi. While you are not completely used to your devil body and abilities I know you can help us train with your speciality. But for now, I was thinking you could train with Akeno to get a handle on your demonic power since she is the best mage among us while the rest of us trained separately. Is that okay with you?" Rias presented her idea which was logical, at least I had no gripes with it.
I flashed her a thumbs-up.
"Yep, sounds fine to me. When do we start?" I was rather eager to learn more about the fabled demonic power and its application.
Akeno stepped forward giggling to herself.
"Ufufu~ How eager. We can start soon Takumi-kun, meet me by the lake." Akeno said, her wings unfurling from her back, through her clothes apparently as she took off toward the lake.
Likewise, I too unfurled my wings from my back, I have no idea how I felt no resistance from my clothes. I should study that in further detail when I have the chance, right now however, I have to catch up to the flying Akeno.
✧—•✦•—✧—•✦•—✧—•✦•—✧
We both sat in front of the lake near Rias's summer home. I still wasn't very good with Devil flight so it took me a minute to reach her. It was less flying with wings and more controlling the direction of your movement with a controller. I have not the slightest idea how these wings work still.
Regardless, as we stood in front of the lake Akeno turned to me, the ray of morning light shining behind her framing her beauty, it was almost like a painting with the crystal blue lake glittering behind her.
"Takumi-kun? Are you there?" Akeno's soft caring voice snapped me out of my semi-trance.
"Yeah, sorry, was just lost in your beauty, what is it?" Akeno seemed taken aback by my statement as she blushed and gave me a smile.
"Mou~ that was bad for the heart Takumi-kun. I asked you what you knew about Demonic Power." I replied to her honestly.
"Basically nothing. I know it's vaguely related to imagination but that is where my wisdom meets its end."
Hearing my words Akeno nodded sagely and turned to the glittering lake and raised her hand while making sure I was watching. She motioned with her hand, making water rise from the lake like a blob before with a twist of her hand turning into a spiky ball of ice.
"You see Takumi-kun, demonic power is all about imagination and visualization. Imagination is about knowing what you want to do and how to do it and visualisation to actualize its effects onto the world." As she explained to me she turned the icicles back to water, letting it back to the lake.
Well, that answered only a few of my questions and raised many more.
"But what are the limits to it? For example, why doesn't every devil imagine the power of destruction?" Akeno dutifully listened to my complaints before giggling to herself.
"Nope, if that were the case the bloodline powers of the devil houses would not be nearly as valued. Demonic Power cannot do what you aren't capable of. Why don't you try to do what I did first? It would be easier to understand if you had a feel for it first."
Well, that was reasonable. I guess I should give it a try.
I raised my hand toward the water while I heard Akeno talk to me from the side.
"Now, imagine the shape you want the water to take, and how you would want it to take that shape, then focus on that image." She gently instructed me from behind as I focused.
I had a picture of the lake in my mind, the water from it rising up in the shape of a sphere and collapsing into a smooth icicle.
I focused on that image and the power inside my body and I felt it, I felt the water rise up and collapse into itself.
I felt the power within me assert itself onto the world around me. Forcing the world around to bend to its will and follow its direction, like the touch of a dominator.
My mana turned into a direct influence on the world, like an authority I held over the world around me.
The feeling was... intoxicating.
I felt like I was pressing onto the world, crushing and oppressing the will of the world around me, bound in chains, unable to refute my desire. My very hands crushing all resistance around me.
"Umm, Takumi-kun? I think that's enough?" I heard the voice of Akeno call from the side snapping me out of my thoughts.
...Why is it so chilly all of a sudden? And when did become night?
"I... don't know whether I would call this a success or not." Akeno looked with slight worry as I looked up following her gaze.
The lake had vanished, instead, a titanic chunk of spiky iceberg was floating above us. I could see the edges were jagged and cracked, I could still feel my influence over it.
...Holy fuck.
Ow. Fucking devil weakness.
What the hell happened?
"O-okay, Takumi-kun, how about you try to put the lake back in the lake? Don't worry, I will help you with it." She said, raising her hand, I felt another influence come over my iceberg in the sky, I had to let it, I slowly and steadily put the iceberg back into the small lake and melted it back to water.
"Haah, what was that just now?" I released a breath I didn't I had been holding as I looked over to Akeno for advice.
"Well, that was probably your demonic power. What you can and can't do with it is largely influenced by who you are. For me, while I am good with all elements, I am largely best at lightning. The Phenex family are the best at Wind and Flame yet have little to no power over ice and water."
I see, so the demonic power was basically an expression of your natural affinity. It is like all other abilities, not everyone can do the same thing with demonic power because, in the end, it is about their affinity.
It is a natural manipulation of the world instead of magic which relies on calculations to manipulate the world around it.
This raised a theory in my mind.
"Is this also how bloodline powers work then? It is still based on their demonic power but they have a special affinity that allows them to use them in ways others cannot without said level of specialization and affinity?" Akeno smiled and looked at me weirdly.
"I... maybe? I didn't really think about it that way but you might be right Takumi-kun. Say, did you get a feel for how to use your demonic power?"
Akeno asked me as I noticed a notification pop up in front of me.
____________________________
~{Path of Domination}~
[Demonic Power] has been changed to [Dominator's Touch Lv.1] by the {Principle of Domination}
[Dominators Touch Lv.1]
Assert your dominion of the world around you. Allows you to control the world around you by consuming your mana.
____________________________
Now wasn't that interesting? It seems because of my jailbreaking of the Boosted Gear I have limited access to the Principle of Domination Ddraig stole from God of the Bible.
I guess this can be equated to how Issei does it. Because of him being frankly a simple idiot with nothing but breasts on his mind the only things he was capable of were weird breast magic and the simplest magic blast and literally nothing else.
While on the other hand, my demonic power was completely transformed by the principle of domination. And by the description it resembled telekinesis more than anything.
"Yeah, I think I got a feel for it."
I decided to test it out, this time putting some more restraint on myself to not end up last time. I reached out toward a large rock, and imagined my mana wrapping around it.
But nothing happened.
'Assert your authority...'
Forgoing all logic I decided to just obey the instructions on the can. I extended my hand toward a boulder and focused on it.
Domination.
I focused on asserting my control over the rock. I wasn't grabbing the rock, I wasn't even doing what I did with catalysts, I wasn't manipulating them by interfacing my mana with the material.
I was bending it to my will, forcing the rock to adhere to my will.
*Crack!*
The rock cracked under the pressure.
Manipulate it as if it were an extension of your very will, like a loyal subject.
A peasant dancing in the palm of the king.
*Boom!*
Unable to withstand the sheer pressure the rock shattered completely as I slumped over slightly.
*Huff* *Huff*
This... ability was rather taxing. More so on the mind. It feels like it is stronger the stronger my will to dominate is, and the more I focus on it the more negative seem to emerge from me.
It is hard to control.
And I think I know why. The negative energy inside of the Boosted Gear was influencing me, and so was the principle of domination. The more I pulled on Dominators Touch the more I was pulling on the collection of negative energy left by dozens of the Boosted Gear users who were also influenced and perished.
I need to learn how to properly use this power first. It has the potential to become very powerful, because duh, it's telekinesis, what else do you expect? But I needed to solve the Boosted Gear better first.
Seeing me exhausted, Akeno walked up to me and put a hand on my back.
"Are you alright Takumi-kun? Want to take a break for a bit?" She asked with some concern in her voice, and I appreciated her concern.
Well, people never really gave a shit about me before. Maybe that's why I care about this so much. It was simple really.
They cared about me, so I cared about them.
I wanted to bring my A-game here. And to do that I had to be at peak performance, that included mentally. I guess this is as good time as any to listen to Ddraig's advice.
"...Yeah, I could use a break."
A/N: I put my own take forward about Demonic Power, you can call it Au or whatever but it may as well be Cannon since all the explanation we do get in Cannon is "Imagination" and a shrug of Ishibumi's shoulders. This way, it allows everything that has happened in canon to happen while providing a concrete limit and explanation of it.
Also, for a little explanation, Dominator's Touch is basically a bloodline ability that Takumi spontaneously developed due to the Principle of Domination. It is a type of kinesis that Takumi can't fully use just yet due to his inability to control the dark urges from the Boosted Gear.
The Boosted Gear is not all good, especially when you start jailbreaking it and find all the corruption inside.
The training camp won't last long, it's mostly for Takumi to get used to becoming a devil and to give the Rias peerage a little boost while building relationships.
What did you guys think about this chapter? I would love to know.