Part One Hundred Four — What I Actually Gained

　I told Ignivar the full account properly, finally, once things had settled enough to actually sit with him and go through it――Cassmoor, the confession, the loss of control, and the girl who'd healed us both afterward without explanation.

　"If I remember correctly," I said, "her name was No.5."

　Ignivar's entire expression changed the instant the number left my mouth.

　The calm, unhurried composure I'd come to rely on from him simply vanished, replaced by something I hadn't seen from him before.

　"You said No.5," he said, slow and careful.

　"Yeah," I said. "Why? What's wrong?"

　"What is she doing here, of all places..."

　He said it mostly to himself, but there was something genuinely unsettled beneath the question.

　"I woke up on the ground," I said. "That's all I remember. Healed, apparently, along with Sophia. Whatever she actually wanted, she didn't stay to explain it."

　"You're fortunate," Ignivar said quietly. "More fortunate than I think you currently understand."

　"How fortunate are we actually talking about?"

　Something cold settled in my stomach at his tone.

　"She's one of five primordial demons currently known to exist," Ignivar said.

　"No.2, also called Demon Lord Aeliana. No.3. No.5, whom you apparently met――also known as Demon Lord Nyxara. No.7. And No.8."

　He paused.

　Something old and careful entered his voice.

　"No.3, No.7, and No.8 are currently unaccounted for. Missing, by most records. No.5 is the oldest of them all."

Oldest.

Of an entire category of being I only learned existed a few days ago.

　"I'm a high-rank wind dragon," Ignivar continued. "That's the only reason I'm even capable of speaking their names properly without consequence. Most beings who attempt it pay a price simply for the attempt."

　"How strong is she?"

　I was already dreading the answer.

　"Even ten of me could not stand against her," Ignivar said.

　His tone was flat, entirely without exaggeration.

　"You are lucky she did not kill you, Kai. Genuinely, deeply lucky."

Are you kidding me.

Are you actually kidding me right now?

　"There are Demon Lords too?" I asked, mostly to Anti-Subconsciousness at this point, still trying to properly process the scale of what I'd apparently survived without understanding it.

"Affirmative."

　It confirmed the answer without hesitation.

"A recognized rank, below primordial demons but above ordinary demon hierarchy. No.5 and No.2 both hold that title in addition to their primordial classification."

　"I feel like I'm still a complete stranger in this world," I said, mostly to myself.

　"Every time I think I've got some grip on how things actually work, something like this shows up to prove me wrong."

　Anti-Subconsciousness, once Ignivar had gone, walked me through something else entirely――the full shape of what I'd actually gained from Cassmoor's assimilation, laid out properly for the first time.

"You did not simply kill and consume an archdemon."

"You absorbed his body, soul, memories, and abilities in full. This has produced a genuine evolution, not a minor addition."

Okay.

Lay it on me.

"Your Ultimate Skill, Assimilate, now includes: Soul Devour, permanently absorbing souls to increase your mana core and spiritual strength. Memory Inheritance, granting combat experience, languages, knowledge, and techniques from what you absorb. Skill Extraction, copying and evolving absorbed abilities into stronger versions. Abyssal Regeneration, allowing near-instant recovery from almost any wound so long as your soul remains intact. Anti-Aura, releasing killing intent capable of weakening enemies and terrifying weaker beings outright."

That's――that's a lot.

That's genuinely a lot.

　"Anything else," I said, already bracing for more.

"Passive additions: Mana Core Overload, which has multiplied your total mana capacity several times over――this is the direct cause of the barrier's current instability. Soul Resistance, granting near-immunity to curses, soul-based attacks, and possession. Abyssal Rift, a teleportation capability."

Explains the barrier issue, at least.

Explains a lot, actually.

"Combat additions: Hellfire Cataclysm, a black demonic flame capable of burning both body and soul simultaneously. Your physical capabilities have multiplied considerably. Certain spells now cast instantly rather than requiring preparation. Soul-based attacks, whether offensive or defensive, are now nearly impossible for opponents to resist."

　I sat with all of it for a long moment, the sheer scale settling in slowly.

　"If I keep doing this," I said carefully, "absorbing stronger beings――where does it actually end?"

"Theoretically," Anti-Subconsciousness said, "continued absorption of sufficiently powerful beings could evolve Assimilate further, into something called Primordial Assimilation. At that threshold, Demon Lords, dragons, even divine beings would become viable targets. It would represent one of the greatest authorities achievable in this world."

That's an unsettling amount of power to be casually informed I might eventually have access to.

　"I don't love how casually you just said that," I told it.

"I am simply reporting accurate information," it replied, flat as ever. "Whether you find it comfortable is not a factor in the analysis."

Fair, I guess.

Still unsettling, though.