Chapter 71: Relief and Compensation

The feeling of waking up after everything felt like the worst hangover I had ever earned. The moment my consciousness returned, my head started throbbing like it was being hammered from the inside, and my body screamed at me for pushing it far past its limits.

Asura's Body didn't do shit about it either. There were practically no visible wounds.

But with my eyes open and fixed on the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder what was coming next.

Definitely a mountain of paperwork, meetings, and long hours of annoying formalities. The thought alone made me want to sink back into the bed and not move an inch.

However, I had to.

Turning my head, I found Ingvild asleep beside me, her head leaning against the frame. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

I had forcefully taken the energies from her and Bova, teleported them who knew where, and left them to deal with threats they hadn't properly trained for.

I was glad they were safe. Proud, too. These were the members of my peerage.

Not wanting to wake her, I slowly pushed myself up, almost groaning from the pain, and tried to get off the bed.

Everything was perfect. She was still asleep, and my feet had touched the ground. But before I could even straighten up fully, a certain someone decided to throw all my efforts straight into the trash.

"Boss?!"

My eyes immediately shot toward the dragon in his human form, staring at me with a face so bright it could've lit the room on its own.

"You're awake!"

I sighed. Of course Bova's yell was loud enough to wake the girl sleeping next to me.

"L-Lord Faiser?"

Ingvild stirred, her eyes cloudy with sleep. The moment she realized it was truly me, her eyes widened and her body jolted upright. She didn't hesitate for a second and practically threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around me.

Now, I was definitely happy about their reactions.

My exhausted body, however, was not.

"You a-are awake!" Her grip tightened, almost as if she were afraid I'd disappear again.

I felt a stab of guilt and gently wrapped my arms around her in return.

"I am," I answered softly. "And I'm sorry for making you two worry."

Bova looked like he wanted to dive into the hug as well, but the proud dragon was holding himself back with impressive restraint. That alone made me chuckle. Extending one arm, I motioned for him to join.

He didn't waste a second and practically launched himself at us.

"I'm sorry, boss!" he blurted. "If I was stronger than—"

"It's fine." I patted his back and eventually slipped out of the hug. As nice as it was, it was getting suffocating. "You two did far more than I could've asked for."

And I meant that.

They had faced enemies I hadn't prepared them for. At times, I'd been genuinely worried about them. Yet they had managed to surpass every expectation.

"How's Tannin?" The dragon devil had been more than just injured. He had nearly died. I almost felt bad about it, but then again, dragons would rather die than surrender.

"He's better," Bova answered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"You should be with him, shouldn't you?"

You'd expect a son to be tending to his father. Instead, he was here, guarding his peerage master.

"He kicked me out," Bova admitted awkwardly. Said it was my duty to guard my king while he recovered.

Dragons. Proud until the very end.

"So you've been guarding me this whole time?"

He nodded, then glanced at Ingvild, who was still clinging to my arm.

"Ingvild hasn't moved an inch since you lost consciousness. She's the one who's been tending to you," he said. "Compared to her, I've been doing nothing."

Ingvild.

I looked at the girl staring at me, worry still lingering in her eyes. Her gaze kept moving over my body, checking for injuries, then flicking back to my face as if she expected me to faint any second.

Ingvild was… a complicated case.

I didn't say much. I simply raised my hand and gently ruffled her perfect hair. She didn't even react to me messing it up. She didn't care about that right now. She only cared about me.

With a quiet sigh, I did my best to give her a sincere smile.

"Thank you, Ingvild." I meant it. "Thank you."

I wasn't blind. I wasn't stupid. I knew she depended on me. I knew she saw me as more than just her king. Even if she never said it out loud, I understood what she felt.

And yet… I couldn't say anything back.

For once, I wasn't sure of myself. I didn't want to hurt her by failing to give her what she needed. I wasn't confident enough yet to respond to feelings like that.

And the biggest reason was what I had gone through.

Things were different now. I knew the people here were real. She was real. Not a character. Not some convenient existence shaped for my benefit.

She had always been real.

And that made me feel guilty about how I had used her and Bova so far.

I needed to sort out my own mind and heart before I could even think about helping her with hers.

So for now, I just pulled her into a soft hug and hoped it would be enough. At least for now.

Maybe it was selfish. But being selfish was still better than being fake. Better than offering something uncertain.

Ingvild deserved certainty.

"Don't… push yourself so much again," she mumbled, pressing her forehead against my chest.

Bova, not the sharpest tool in the shed, still understood the mood and stayed quiet. I didn't say much either. For the most part, I just nodded. We stayed like that for several long minutes until her breathing evened out and the tension in her shoulders eased.

"Both of you," I finally spoke after a while. "I'm sorry about what happened. I think you can guess parts of it."

Bova looked confused. Ingvild just remained close to me.

"Did you feel weaker after your battles? When you were teleported?"

Bova paused, then nodded firmly. "Yeah, I did feel my energy getting drained. Wait—"

"Yes." I gave him a slightly guilty smirk. "That was me. Or rather, a new power I awakened. It lets me borrow the energy of people I've shared my blood with."

Bova blinked at the mention of blood. Ingvild answered for him.

"You mean the blood that healed us, don't you?" she asked, still leaning against me as she tilted her head up.

"Yes," I said honestly. "It created a connection between us. One that allows me to draw on your energy when I absolutely need it. So… I'm sorry for taking it back then. Without asking."

"Heh, that's it?" Bova laughed. "Why are you apologizing for, Boss? We're your peerage."

"He's right," Ingvild added, finally stepping back just a little. "I'm glad you did it. If we cannot help you physically, at least our energy can."

I had expected that response.

Still, the guilt didn't disappear that easily.

Thankfully, I now had something that could ease it a little.

Pushing through the ache in my body, I stood up on my own two feet and took a deep breath before flashing them a bright smile.

"But with that ability… I gained something else as well. Something that'll help you two too."

Seeing their confused expressions, my eyes drifted to the floating text that had been there since the moment I woke up.

[Asura's Blessing: Grant up to three specific abilities of yours to individuals imprinted with the Asura Mark.

Asura's skills cannot be granted, nor abilities that require advanced mastery and perfect bloodline control.]

At first, I thought that meant all my abilities.

It didn't.

[Wield (Time), Wield (Space), and Cognition cannot be granted.]

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected.

[Abilities you share can be withdrawn at any moment you desire.]

[Abilities you share will consume the specific form of energy the individual possesses to activate.]

After everything they had gone through, they deserved at least this much. So I decided to do exactly that.

"Just like I can borrow your energies and… well, your abilities," I said.

That immediately shocked both of them. I hadn't mentioned that part before.

"I can also share some of my abilities with you two."

"Wait!" Bova's eyes widened. "Really?" He looked genuinely stunned. "We can use each other's abilities?"

Ingvild wasn't any calmer. "My abilities can be helpful to you?"

This girl…

"Yes," I nodded. "For now, I can let each of you borrow three of my abilities. They can be the same ones or different ones. It'll help us cover our weaknesses and function as a proper peerage, even if we aren't fighting side by side."

It was the perfect way to patch gaps in our formation or strengthen what we already had.

"Are you sure?" Ingvild asked softly. "Is it really alright for us to borrow your abilities?"

It didn't cost me anything significant. I wasn't losing my demonic power or weakening myself.

So why wouldn't it be?

"Absolutely," I nodded firmly. "So at least take them and make me feel a little less guilty."

With that, I extended my hand.

The system had already informed me I could grant the abilities with a mere thought. But this felt more… intentional. More real.

Ingvild hesitated only briefly before placing her hand over mine.

"Ingvild, you already have incredible support skills, and your attacks hit ridiculously hard," I began. "The problem is that your offensive abilities take time to activate. So to support you during that window, I'm granting you the Valefar ability <Bind>. It allows you to freeze enemies who are equal to or weaker than you, and slow down those stronger."

[You have granted the ability <Bind> to Ingvild Leviathan.]

A pale golden Valefar aura wrapped around her, sinking into her body. Her eyes shimmered faintly as the knowledge of the skill and its activation flowed into her.

"Your ability to protect and support others is one of your greatest strengths," I continued. "To enhance that, I'm granting you , <Transit>, the Barbatos ability that allows you to teleport objects and individuals."

This time, a different light enveloped her. The distinct glow of Barbatos.

[You have granted the ability <Transit> to Ingvild Leviathan.]

"And finally," I added, "since your skills burn through demonic power like wildfire, I'm granting you the Valefar ability <Absorb>. It lets you absorb your opponent's energy. Just be careful. If the energy is far stronger than yours, the backlash will be severe."

Once again, the golden Valefar light flared and settled into her.

[You have granted the ability <Absorb> to Ingvild Leviathan.]

With that, her three slots were filled.

Judging by her expression, she was both stunned and overwhelmed.

"I… don't know how to explain it," she murmured, staring at her hands. "But it feels like I've always had these abilities."

"That's the thing," I said with a small smile at her reaction. "This ability lets you use the powers without any backlash. It'll feel almost like they were always yours."

These two were my peerage. I needed them strong. It was only right that I shared what I had.

Not to mention, I was borrowing her Longinus abilities. Compared to that, what I gave her wasn't all that outrageous.

"Now, Bova."

The dragon was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Your turn."

I extended my hand again, and he grabbed it firmly, almost like we were sealing a deal with a handshake.

"You're my Rook. A powerhouse who prefers close combat."

He grinned and nodded. "I like fighting with my fists."

No kidding.

The ability he had developed was insane. He was someone who could knock out a High Class devil, even weaker Ultimate Class enemies, with a single punch.

"Then it's only fair I give you abilities that help you punch harder. And faster."

With that, I granted him the first one.

"The first ability is my Barbatos skill, <Blink>. It lets you teleport in close quarters at high speed, faster than most opponents can react. You'll be able to strike from angles they won't even see coming."

[You have granted the ability <Blink> to Bova Tannin.]

For a brief second, I wondered if his dragon pride would consider teleporting mid fight dishonorable.

Apparently not.

"Great!"

Seeing that grin widen, I continued.

"The next skill is my Barbatos ability, <Sever> . As long as you make physical contact with someone, you can sever any part of their body using this skill. If they're stronger than you, it won't fully cut through, but it'll still leave serious damage."

[You have granted the ability <Sever> to Bova Tannin.]

While Ingvild balanced between Valefar and Barbatos, Bova leaned completely toward Barbatos. So his final ability followed the same path.

"Lastly, I grant you the Barbatos ability, <Penetrate>. It's a superior version of the dragon skill with the same name. It works similarly, but it's far more potent than the average draconic version. And if you combine this with your own one… who knows? You might create something absurd."

[You have granted the ability <Penetrate> to Bova Tannin.]

The Barbatos light wrapped around him as the three abilities settled into place.

I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he layered Draconic with Barbatos <Penetrate>. Would it tear through defenses that were never meant to be touched?

I genuinely wanted to find out.

"This… feels amazing!"

For now, though, their reactions were more than enough.

Still, something tugged at the back of my mind.

If they received this much… What did I get?

After all, I didn't walk through hell for nothing.

My eyes shifted to the remaining floating texts, the two things that I could use immediately.

[Asura's Flesh: A fragment of Asura. Can only be consumed by the one possessing the Asura Heart.

Upon consumption, all of Asura's Basic Skill will be upgraded.]

[Asura's Blood Droplet: A single drop of Asura's blood. Can be used on an item to evolve it.]

So… Should I do it now?

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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters + Other Stories. }