“A part of the body, the whole body, or finally—the soul.”
Now that I thought about it, the Alicia from the game world had sold her soul to a demon during the final stages of the story.
How had the protagonists won back then? I wondered if some kind of Alicia Survival Route had actually existed within the game’s original programming. Those were the types of thoughts that crossed my mind as I considered the nature of demons in this world.
“W-what happens if you surrender your soul...?”
“Your personality and your very being are consumed, and you become a demon,” Sebas answered casually to Mariana, who asked the question with a nervous gulp.
“If it's that easy, you'd think the world would be crawling with demons.”
People with grudges were everywhere. There were quite a few people who would view even the smallest slight as a blood feud worthy of a lifetime of hatred. It was one aspect of this world that I found even more twisted than the game’s setting.
“Normal humans cannot withstand the strain,” Sebas continued, responding to my murmur. “Usually, a demon will run wild for a very brief period before the host simply vanishes. Nobles, who possess high Magic Power inherited from the Ancient Sages, can host a demon slightly longer than ordinary commoners.”
“And what happens with people who aren't normal?”
Like Jelasis, for instance.
“Well, on rare occasions, there are individuals with a specific aptitude—an aptitude for the boundless Power of Darkness. Such people can coexist with a demon and remain perfectly fine even if they offer up their entire physical form. If they surrender their soul, however, they will inevitably lose their sense of self.”
“I see.”
In Jelasis’s case, he was a Whole-body Type because his ego had remained intact. If his entire body was composed of Magic Power, then it stood to reason that he could reconstruct himself even after being reduced to ash. The logic was sound, but I still didn't understand how one actually pulled that off.
“I still don't get how he can come back after turning to ash.”
“For them, it is as natural as breathing is for us,” Sebas explained.
Thanks to the Mana that filled this world, even we humans could cling to life after sustaining injuries that should have been fatal. Demons, whose bodies were constructed entirely of Magic Power, possessed an incredible healing—or rather, a Regenerative Power—that far exceeded anything a human was capable of.
It was definitely regeneration rather than healing. It felt similar to the Saint's Power. If the Saint represented the Zenith of the Holy Attribute, then a demon was the Zenith of the Dark Attribute. The destinations were different, but I had a feeling their fundamental essence was much the same.
“Now, as for the method of defeating them: demons possess a specific region that stores the 'memory' of their physical composition. If you inflict a wound there using a Holy-attribute or something similar, you can deal genuine damage.”
“Hmm.”
“The reason you cannot do it yet, Young Master, is that you lack the technique to strike that spot with precision. You still have much to learn.”
“I’ve never even fought someone who had reached that level before. Why do you have to kill the mood just to point that out?”
He really did have a nasty personality.
“Because that is their only weakness, they naturally hide it quite cleverly. The key is how one goes about finding it.”
“I see, I see! Is there a way to find it? Can you see it with your eyes?” Mariana asked excitedly.
“It is extremely difficult to see it just by being told where it is,” Sebas replied. “However, once you understand the concept, you should be able to grasp it—albeit vaguely—through raw intuition.”
“It’s like how people in the Royal Capital won't eat monsters and look disgusted if you mention it, but they’re actually quite tasty once you try them. Once you recognize them as food, you can eat them from then on.”
Back in my old world, there were people who could convince themselves a grasshopper was basically a shrimp, and there were people who insisted a bug was just a bug.
“Wait, you just made the story more confusing,” Alicia scolded.
I didn't see the problem.
“Did your ancestor defeat demons that way too, Ragna-san? I see, I see, this is such a valuable lesson!”
“No,” Sebas corrected. “He obliterated them by blasting them with ultra-high-density Holy-attribute Magic Power. He was an exception.”
“Fuee!?”
“But it is the quickest way, is it not?” Sebas added.
Despite the technical method he had gone through the trouble of explaining, the ultimate conclusion was that you could just vaporize a demon with overwhelming Holy-attribute power. All that time spent lecturing felt a bit wasted now.
“Since it is vital to understand the nature of demons, I want you both to keep what we just discussed in mind while you watch the Young Master actually fight.”
“Y-yes!”
“I understand... though I’m not sure I’ll be able to see anything...” Unlike the enthusiastic Mariana, Alicia nodded with a noticeable lack of confidence.
Noticing this, Sebas spoke kindly. “Alicia-sama, even if you do not grasp it immediately, the experience itself is what matters.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best. I was losing a bit of confidence because I couldn't keep up with the level of the conversation. Thank you, Sebas.”
“Not at all. In House Brave, what is important is not raw strength, but the will to move forward.”
Sebas smiled gently. He was always remarkably kind to Alicia. I supposed it made sense, given that she was the daughter of the House of the Duke and a major supporter of our family.
“Well then, let’s pull ourselves together and get on with the Resummoning.”
“Indeed, Young Master. We still have monster carcasses, so let us start with a weak one.”
A goblin’s severed head tumbled out.
“...Alicia, where is he even keeping those?”
“Who knows? I’ve stopped questioning it. It’s Sebas, after all.”
Both Mariana and Alicia had reached the point where the sight of a goblin’s severed head didn't bother them in the slightest. They were becoming desensitized to monsters in the best way possible. If they could get used to demons too, it wouldn't be a problem even if some other rival sold their soul to a demon to attack us later.
“This time, I shall perform the ritual. If the Young Master does it, there is a chance something too powerful will appear.”
“You might be even stronger than me, Sebas.”
“You flatter me.”
Inside the newly drawn Magic Circle, the goblin head began to dissolve with a bubbling sound.
Now then, how should I go about killing a demon? When I had fought Jelasis, I’d been so focused on managing his flames that I hadn't been able to transition to a counterattack. I suspected the reason he feared Onyx—and dragons in general—was that he couldn't stand the sheer density of their mana.
In that case, the simplest answer was the best. I just had to become something similar.