It would take a while for the citizens to complete their transformation.
Since about 30% of the humans could not handle the transformation, Exedra dismissed the Rabisu and allowed them to go and claim the homes of the fallen soldiers and citizens.
Naturally, Exedra’s group claimed the largest mansion in the city as their own for the time being.
Currently, he was standing in front of the ashes of father Donovan as well as her actual father, in the same underground cellar that the young girl was held in.
Both men had given him the complete story of the young girl’s unpleasant life.
Apparently, she was the child of a former war hero and the love of his life.
Her mother apparently died giving birth to her and the man blamed her unfairly.
He never even bothered to name her.
She was starved, beaten, and forced to endure every hellish torture imaginable until she was sold by her father to the priest.
The girl was supposedly the holder of the mythical divine element, a power said to be fatal to demon kind.
‘So that’s where those weapons and armor came from..’
Exedra sighed and let the ashes of the two disgusting men be swept by the wind.
If you asked Exedra if he thought of himself as a good man, the answer would be a resounding no.
His morals were altered along with his physiology when he came to this world in order to give him the strength needed to survive and make hard choices.
And yet, when he heard the tales of abuse the girl went through, he could not help but feel sympathy for someone he barely knew.
Even though there were some fundamental differences, her childhood was quite similar to his own.
It was a reminder that he was not always the being he lived today and his life used to be completely different.
It was easy for him to forget that he was once that weak child who was being abused by his own parents.
‘But still… there’s something that unsettles me about her.’
He didn’t know exactly what it was but he knew it wasn’t harmful.
Exedra briefly glanced inside one of the cells and saw that the angel was still unconscious and would likely remain that way for a few days.
‘I guess I’ll go play with my rewards while I wait.’
–
Currently, Exedra was standing in front of a large church in the center of the city.
With just one look, you could tell that this was where most of the city’s wealth was concentrated.
The church was the definition of extravagant, with large stained glass windows and intricately carved marble walls.
Everywhere you looked there were bright golden statues of what appeared to be the mother goddess Asherah.
While Exedra had no specific problem with Asherah per say, he did have a grudge against churches.
Spending everyday of your childhood praying for salvation only to receive more abuse has a way of leaving you with lingering grudges.
𝑜𝑣𝔩xt.𝗇t
As a result, he would lose no sleep over what he was about to do next.
‘Wait… let’s see if I can get anything good first.’
‘Activate lottery x 3’
[One moment…
[Congratulations! Host has gained space affinity!
-Because host has gained space affinity, he will also receive three skills as an added bonus.
– Host has learned skill : Warp!
– Host has learned skill : Black Hole Creation!
– Host has learned skill : Ruler of Gravity!
Exedra stared at the words in disbelief.
Only the first reward and he’d already gained such good things?
He couldn’t wait to see what else the system would bring him but he didn’t have to wait long.
[Congratulations! Host has learned the skill : Ultra speed regeneration.
– Details : Enhances your regeneration speed dramatically. Host will be comparable to high ranking vampires and slimes.
[Congratulations! Host has learned the skill : Hive mind!
– Details : Subordinates who submit to your command can be linked to you telepathically, allowing you to see what they see and communicate telepathically.
[Would you like to fuse these rewards?
‘Yes.’
As soon as Exedra accepted, he felt a searing warmth enter his body.
Knowledge about his new element as well as a sort of ‘connection’ to the Rabisu was created immediately.
Suddenly the heat concentrated on the stump that was his missing arm.
Within a few seconds, his arm had regenerated completely leaving no traces of his grievous wound.
While he was glad to have his arm back, Exedra was not bothered by its loss too much.
Part of his training with Seras was to raid dungeons one armed so he was actually still comfortable without it.
Now that he’d gotten that out of the way, he could finally finish his plan.
He opened his palm and a small black dot appeared.
Leisurely flicking the dot towards the church, Exedra watched as the tiny black dot grew bigger and bigger until it was a miniature black void that swallowed the entirety of the church and a bit of the land underneath.
He casually let out a whistle of approval as a 50 foot structure vanished from the face of the earth.
A quick mental command was all that was needed to halt the black hole’s growth and stop it from consuming the entire city.
He walked toward the center of the now cleared lands and took out an item from his pocket.
“I think I’m the only one in the world who’d use such a powerful skill for gardening.”
He chuckled to himself before he stared at the large black seed in his palm, his greatest reward from the system.
[ Seed of The Qlipoth : False God grade
– The fruit of the qlipoth when ripe creates arch demons modeled after the bound one.
– The demon who is bound to the qlipoth is provided with life energy from the lands it is planted on.
– The tree will alter the surrounding environment to fit the hosts tastes.
– Humans within 500 yards of the qlipoth will have an 80% debuff while angels have 30%.
– Sealed!
– Sealed!
– Sealed!
– Sealed!
Even with the last four abilities of the seed sealed, this was still an overwhelmingly powerful item.
His fortune was simply unbelievable!
A false god grade item!
Even if it wasn’t combat oriented most people would never see something this rare in a hundred lifetimes.
Exedra pushed aside the fertile soil and placed the seed down.
After covering it up he slashed his claws across his wrist and let his blood water the seed, effectively binding him to it.
He suddenly heard the pitter patter of little feet and turned around to see the two young girls approaching.
He took one look at the two and knew that they had been raiding stores like bandits.
Mira had an armful of cookies and baked goods while the girl who had yet to be named was wearing brand new clothes and shoes.
“Daddy what happened to the building? Ah, your arm grew back!”
Mira’s sudden query made him realize his display may have been more showy than he originally thought.
“I destroyed it.” Exedra answered without much thought. “And of course, did you think a little injury like that would stop your father?”
“No because daddy is the strongest of all!” Mira cheered.
Exedra found children to be truly strange.
Even though she’d clearly seen him lose, she was still proclaiming him the strongest.
‘But still, it’s not a bad feeling.’
“Where are your mothers?”
Mira handed the mute girl a cookie and answered with a childish smile. “They said they needed to interrogate Megumin and told us to go play!”
The dragon offered a silent prayer for the vampire before remembering none of his wives had the firepower necessary to kill her.
‘She’ll probably be fine…physically at least.’
“Remember Mira her name is Audrina.”
“Ah..Mira forgot.”
The mute girl looked at the cookie in her hand and at the man in front of her for a while before she seemingly made a decision.
She broke the cookie in half before timidly walking up to Exedra and offering him a piece.
That one simple action made the gears in Exedra’s head turn and he finally understood what left him so unsettled about this child.
Everyone thinks those who grow up in terrible environments can only become colder, more unfeeling people.
But in truth there are a rare class of people who, despite their lack of a kind environment, become the most gentle beings imaginable.
When Exedra was still Carter, his upbringing was undoubtedly one of the key factors that led to him hating humans in entirety.
He couldn’t fathom how this child could’ve grown up virtually the same as him, yet still maintained such a pure heart.
The fact of the matter was that in terms of character, this young girl was unfathomably stronger than he.
‘Is it because she has the divine element? Or does she have the divine element because her heart is pure?’
Exedra accepted her gift and kneeled down in front of her.
“You.. do you want to be my daughter?”
The girls eyes widened at his sudden question and her hands began to shake.
Something about the word daughter just made her remember all the terrible things her ‘father’ had done to her.
She almost refused immediately before Exedra continued.
“I know your life has been unfair, and you undoubtedly have gone through more heartache than you should have. But if you become my child then just like Mira you will never have to worry about anyone harming you ever again.”
The young girl listened to his words and faltered.
She remembered the way this man’s entire family had weeped when they saw him injured.
Would they react that way if he was truly a bad person?
She’d seen him fight against the humans and while she didn’t necessarily like it, she knew that he was only doing so because he had to.
But above all she looked into his eyes and found they were unlike any she’d ever seen.
Not like father Donovan’s whose were greedy and deceptive.
Not like her father’s whose were brimming with hate and drunkenness.
They had a unique kindness that was all their own.
With that in mind the girl nodded her head shyly, indicating her acceptance.
“Yay, sister!!” Mira was so excited she threw her arms around her new sister and gave her as big a hug as she could muster.
Exedra’s cold heart melted at the sight of the two young girls smiling and hugging each other.
He didnt think of himself as a soft man but his daughters were too adorable not to love.
“Alright… my daughter needs a name right?”
As he stared at the young girl, only one name was consistently coming up in his mind.
“I’ve decided.”
The young girl waited to hear her name with baited breath.
Exedra could swear he even saw sparkles in her eyes.
“Your name is…”
_________________
Ahem, umm please go check out my other book blessed by night and leave a review.
Thank you 😀