Into the Darkness: Devotion

Vincent and Artoria were discussing the academy and how excited they were about it.

From their conversation, I concluded that Vincent was definitely strong. 

He seemed fairly ordinary at first glance, but his words revealed a lot. 

He mentioned being selected to train at the academy and that he had managed to defeat a dragon.

He was from the archipelago but oricnally from Purline, and while he was there, he had killed over a thousand monsters, a feat most people could never hope to achieve.

Vincent might be more of a monster than I am.

I kept quiet as they continued.

"So, Vince, have you ever actually fought a demon?" Artoria asked.

"No. I've only seen one, but I think it was weaker than the one you fought," Vincent replied.

She shrugged. "All demons have the power to destroy the world. If not for the gods, they might even do so."

Vincent seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "I doubt that. The demons would rather take it over."

"Why?" Artoria asked.

"Simple. Hell is a realm beyond this one, and demons have already ruined the entire place.

They would logically want new land. Plus, Hell is an infinite realm in which the Demon King has full control."

He wasn't wrong. There had been ten Demon Kings, each one infamous because of the demons and their stories. 

The current one, based on the prayers of priests and the demons' own words, was terrible, though "current" was an odd term. 

Time moved over a hundred times faster in Hell, so by their reckoning, he should be well over ten thousand years old.

Demon Kings were born as adults, forged from the fire and darkness of Hell itself. 

Each concept had a founder: fire, Flogo, and darkness, Tenebra. 

Those two beings stood far beyond most gods. 

They were also the demons' most reliable allies, which was why fire magic was so overwhelmingly powerful when demons used it. 

They had the very concept of fire on their side. 

However, it wasn't as if Flogo could take fire magic away from others, even if he was not above the world.

"I see," Artoria said. "Though the demon I fought seemed... knowledgeable. He even knew my name."

I paused. For a moment, her words didn't fully register. It was only when I looked at Vincent that they truly sank in.

Artoria, it's almost certain she was cursed.

"Art… don't tell me," I said in a hushed tone. "Did he speak your name to you?"

She looked at me, confused. "Yeah?"

Vincent sucked in a sharp breath.

Demons, once they learn your name, they gain the ability to curse you if you kill them. 

This was why people avoided telling demons their names. 

But even then, it would take a very powerful demon to place a curse strong enough to persist.

The mark on her chest, it must be the sign. The cursed mark.

"Artoria, I'm afraid to say this, but you were most definitely cursed by that demon." I exhaled slowly. "By any chance, did he tell you his name?"

"No… I mean, I knew he did something to me, but a curse?" She clenched her jaw. "Damn it. No wonder my illness has gotten worse."

Vincent leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table between us.

Our bags shifted slightly from the movement, but none of us cared.

"If it's a curse, then can't the academy remove it?" he asked.

"I doubt it. The demon I fought was related to Castor; his curse is most likely unbreakable by their means." 

"I will break the curse; it doesn't matter. But still, this is bad. I don't like her being weak." 

"Art, you should refrain from fighting," I said, looking at her. 

She didn't really respond; she only sighed. "Well, I don't think it's weakening me any more than making my illness slightly worse. It's fine."

"Still," Vincent said. "Being cursed isn't something you should just ignore."

Artoria shrugged. "I'll break it eventually. I really just want to make it to Arkanis."

Vincent exhaled, shaking his head. "Well, at least once we're there, we'll have access to healers, scholars, maybe someone who actually knows how to deal with this kind of thing."

"Maybe," Artoria said, then grinned. "But honestly, I'm more excited about training. We're going to be knights."

Vincent smirked. "Yeah, that part's pretty amazing, isn't it?" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Arkanis. The academy of legends. We made it."

Artoria nodded eagerly. "We'll be training with the strongest of our generation. Every knight worth remembering came from there."

Vincent chuckled. "And soon, we'll be the ones people remember."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That confident?"

"Of course." He crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "You've heard of my power, haven't you?"

Artoria leaned forward. "Not really. You're strong, but I don't even know what kind of magic you use."

Vincent grinned. "Sound."

Artoria blinked. "Sound?"

"Sound waves are like lines of thread to me. I can see and control all sounds, even freely create new and empowered sounds."

That was actually pretty strong. My sister's water magic was limited to just creating and manipulating water, but Vincent's ability allowed him to reshape sound itself.

Artoria smiled. "As you know from my story, I have blood magic, but I can't control all blood. You're lucky."

Vincent chuckled. "Well, if you could, that would be a little scary."

"Eh, I doubt it. Simply being stronger than me would allow one to resist it."

Magic was only as strong as its user. It could never surpass the user, only draw upon their power and energy.

When I killed that dragon as a child, it had drained me completely. 

All my mana, all my energy, it was gone.

Even now, I still can't use mana. In truth, I would have died if not for the Aspect I gained after slaying it.

Dragons had incredibly powerful souls, and when I defeated that one, its death granted me an absurd boost in power. 

Enough to make me stronger than most knights, even without using my full strength.

And Gifts… Gifts were only aspects of their users. While one didn't necessarily have to scale to their Gift, they most likely did.

I was no exception.

My Gift allowed me to see into the future in the most standard way possible

It was as if I lived a few hours ahead, only to return to the past. 

I could apply this ability to specific events, peering forward to see what would happen.

Like with Artoria, I had looked ahead, glimpsed what she experienced, and understood the truth of it.

But now, thanks to the Aspect I gained after killing the Black Death, I no longer passed out from using my Gift. Instead, 

I simply went blind for a while. 

The strain still exhausted me, but it was limited to my sight.

Getting back while blind had been a nightmare. I was just glad Castor had been there.

Of course, I wouldn't tell Vincent about my Gift. It was unnatural to share such a thing.

"Even still, your blood magic is pretty strong, just very dangerous," Vincent said.

"Finally, someone who agrees with me," I said, glancing at Artoria.

She rolled her eyes. "Ah, what is it with people calling it dangerous? I can heal myself afterward, so what's the big deal?"

Vincent chuckled. "That's not the point. Just because you can heal yourself doesn't mean you should be reckless."

She huffed but didn't argue further.

Vincent turned to me. "What about you, Astrea? What kind of magic do you have?"

"Water magic."

Vincent blinked, then nodded. "That's actually really useful. Water magic has a lot of applications. Control, offense, healing, even battlefield manipulation."

"It does," I admitted. "But like any magic, it depends on how you use it."

Vincent grinned. "Right. And something tells me you know exactly how to use it."

I didn't respond, simply meeting his gaze.

He turned back to Artoria and sat back in his seat."I like magic, it feels good when you use mana."

Well, that confirms one thing, Vincent, he really is stronger than me.