Chapter 771: The Conversion Pool
The Demon Lords helped Shien, claiming they had their own reasons and that the impact on them was minimal, telling him to accept it without worry, but it was still help. Even if they weren’t deliberately trying to do him a favor or win him over, Shien couldn’t accept it without feeling indebted.
This was different from the Inner Sanctum. Back then, he earned the opportunity to enter through his contribution in defeating the Assassination Branch, and it didn’t cost anyone anything, so he naturally accepted it without any guilt. But this time, the Six Demon Lords were using their own power to help him improve. He would definitely remember this favor, although there was no need to say it aloud.
So, he followed the six Demon Lords into the Demon King’s Pavilion.
This Demon King’s Pavilion, compared to the one in Leisha’s possession, wasn’t much different in appearance, except for some minor details that weren’t as refined, probably due to the lack of a certain overpowered maid’s care.
However, upon entering, the difference became apparent.
The Demon King’s Pavilion in Leisha’s possession was the Demon King’s personal residence, so it naturally had various rooms and facilities: a hall, a dining room, bedrooms, a reception room, even a bath and an open-air balcony for afternoon tea.
This Demon King’s Pavilion, however, had no such decorations, only a vast, empty space, reaching the ceiling, with a hot spring at the bottom and walls on all sides, resembling a large bathhouse more than a mansion.
Upon entering, Shien’s gaze immediately fell on the steaming hot spring. It was similar to the one he used in the Elven Homeland, its water rich in magic power, but it wasn’t a magic power source. Instead, some unknown force was at work, making the magic power flow and circulate mechanically.
“This is the Conversion Pool,” Sara explained.
“It can absorb the magic power released by those who enter and convert it into pure strength. People come here to absorb the sacrificed magic power and enhance their own strength.”
Saying this, she gave Shafney a look.
Shafney immediately stepped forward with a smile.
“What are you doing?” Shien asked, suddenly wary. This woman’s smile told him something was wrong.
“Nothing,” Shafney said, her tone as if she was being considerate, “I just want you to sleep for a bit.”
“Sleep?” Shien blinked.
But before he could react, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over him.
“You… you tricked me…?” he asked, pointing at Shafney, his face filled with disbelief, then, unable to resist the sleepiness, he collapsed.
Airi instinctively stepped forward, about to catch him. Among those present, besides the carefree Millu and the non-humanoid Lid, only she wouldn’t mind Shien leaning on her… right?
Just as she thought this, something unexpected happened.
“Oops,” Shafney said casually, catching Shien and letting him fall into her arms.
“Sister Shafney?” Airi was stunned.
The other Demon Lords also looked at Shafney.
“What?” Shafney asked, feigning innocence.
Sara didn’t speak, just looking at her meaningfully.
“Second Sister, you’re actually letting a man lean on you like this?” Lid asked, surprised, as if just realizing this, “This isn’t like you.”
“It’s not like you,” Kamina said bluntly.
“Hug! Millu wants a hug too!” Millu, still unaware of the situation’s seriousness, said, acting spoiled.
“Well, this guy is special, you know,” Shafney said with a casual smile.
But as her sisters, the other Demon Lords wouldn’t be so easily fooled.
“…Sister Shafney, you seem quite close to this guy,” Airi suddenly said, breaking the silence.
“Did something happen between you two in the Succubus Territory?” She had wanted to ask this for a long time. After all, she couldn’t miss the unusual closeness between Shien and Shafney. She hadn’t had a chance to ask before, but now, she felt she had to address this matter seriously.
However, Shafney simply teased,
“Don’t worry, little Airi, I won’t steal your man.”
Airi didn’t reply, just staring at her, as if trying to see through her.
Sara, however, spoke.
“Behave yourself,” she said to Shafney, “He’s Airi’s fiancé, after all.” The implication was that if Shafney tried to steal him, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter. Knowing Shafney well, Sara could tell she was feeling playful again and wanted to tease them. However, this girl, despite knowing her own charm, was still indulging her playful nature and teasing others. If she wasn’t careful and Shien truly fell for her, abandoning Airi, it would be a big problem. Considering this, Sara felt she had to warn Shafney.
Unfortunately, she only thought Shafney was teasing Airi, deliberately acting close to Shien, completely ignoring the fact that Shafney’s posture while holding him wasn’t unnatural at all. She even let Shien rest his head on her chest, an incredibly suggestive pose.
Airi saw this and wanted to say, “Who doesn’t have those?”
But her embarrassment stopped her.
“Stop playing around, Sister Shafney. Let’s get down to business,” she said coldly.
“Alright, alright, down to business,” Shafney rolled her eyes and complained, “If it weren’t for me, it wouldn’t have been so easy to knock this guy out, and now you’re blaming me.”
Indeed, currently, only Shafney could knock Shien out so easily. With their connection, using [Ripple Heart Demon], she could bypass the protection of his Holy Sword, blessing, and skills, directly affecting him.
As for the reason for doing this, it was simple.
“Just in case, let’s blindfold him,” Sara said, still worried.
“Already prepared,” Kamina said, waving her hand, and a steel blindfold flew out and attached itself to Shien’s face.
“Remember to block his senses, in case he suddenly wakes up or subconsciously tries to sense something,” Lid instructed Millu.
“Okay~~~” Millu immediately obeyed, releasing her ghostly energy, filling the space and blocking all perception. This way, even if Shien woke up, he wouldn’t be able to see or sense anything.
“Good.” Sara was slightly relieved, then looked at her sisters and said in a low voice, “Then, let’s begin.”
The Demon Lords nodded.
In the next second, rustling sounds came from them as they began to remove their equipment.
Since they were entering the hot spring for the ritual, they naturally had to be naked!
Under such circumstances, how could these six Demon Lords, the apex beings of the Demon Race, let Shien take advantage of them?
Well, Lid probably didn’t mind, as she was just a small, fluffy beast.
Millu likely didn’t mind either, probably not having developed any sense of modesty towards men yet.
Shafney… probably wouldn’t mind either, if necessary?
Airi… same as above?
In the end, only Sara and Kamina cared about this.
And Shafney, to avoid revealing anything, had to follow suit.
Airi wasn’t shameless enough to be naked before her sisters with Shien, and their relationship hadn’t reached that point yet.
Millu herself didn’t mind, but her sisters wouldn’t allow it.
Therefore, a plan to knock Shien out and take extra precautions was born.
If Shien were awake and knew about this, what would he think?
He would probably think… it was better for him to stay unconscious.
There was no helping it.
“Since we’re taking off our clothes, he should too, right?”
“Little Airi, it’s time to test your skills as a wife.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Wait! Let me turn around first!”
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”
“…All of you, get away from me!”
Such a conversation occurred among the six sisters.
If Shien were awake and heard this, he would probably faint from embarrassment.
…
Soon, the sound of water came from the Conversion Pool.
The seven of them were now in the pool, immersed in the magic-infused water.
Shien, blindfolded, sat in the center, fast asleep, unaware of what was happening.
The six Demon Lords each stood in a corner, forming a hexagon around him.
Their playful mood vanished, replaced by seriousness.
“This moment has finally arrived,” Kamina said, seemingly impatient, as if she had been waiting for this for a long time.
“Whether he’s the one big sister suspects, we’ll know if the Conversion Pool works on him,” Lid said in a deep voice.
The other Demon Lords remained silent. There was one thing they hadn’t told Shien.
“The Conversion Pool in the Demon King’s Pavilion can enhance a specific person’s power by absorbing the magic power of others, but it only works on demons,” Shafney revealed.
“Logically, as a human, he shouldn’t be able to use it,” Airi said, looking at Shien, her tone complex.
“But if he can, then my guess is correct,” Sara said, her eyes flickering.
The Demon Lords decided to use this place to enhance Shien’s power, to confirm this very thing.
Moreover…
“The Conversion Pool was created by Mother, along with the Rainbow Demon Diamond, sacred artifacts of our Demon Race,” Sara said.
“By using the Conversion Pool to channel our power into Shien, and having him sense our magic power and the power Mother left behind, her consciousness within the Demon King’s gem might awaken.”
This way, they might have a chance to talk to their mother.
Thinking of this, the sisters couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotions: excitement, anxiety, unease, and anticipation. They missed her dearly, especially the younger three, Kamina, Millu, and Airi, who had lost control and almost caused a catastrophe after her death. If not for their older sisters, Sara, Shafney, and Lid, stopping them, perhaps half of the Demon Race would have perished along with them in a final, desperate battle against the God Race and the Human Race a thousand years ago.
Now, a thousand years had passed.
For the Demon Lords, it wasn’t a long time. Even the youngest, Airi, had lived for over ten thousand years, let alone Sara, the eldest. But during this millennium, losing the Demon King, their mother, the king of the Demon Race, the pain they felt was unimaginable. Therefore, this millennium was the longest they had ever experienced.
They thought such a long and lonely time would continue.
Who knew that their mother, whom they thought they would never see again, might have a chance to return?
Despite the many mysteries surrounding this, the six sisters still hoped to see her again, the mother who always looked out at the distance from the highest tower of the castle, lost in thought, often shedding tears of sadness.
“Let’s begin,” Sara said, taking a deep breath, her tone determined.
“Yes!” Shafney, Lid, Kamina, Airi, and even Millu nodded firmly.
“Boom!” Sara was the first to release her magic power.
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!” The other Demon Lords followed, their terrifying magic power creating shockwaves and gusts of wind that lingered in the air.
If they wanted to, they could easily release enough power to shatter the ceiling, even destroy the entire Demon King’s Pavilion.
But they didn’t, only releasing a portion of their magic power, letting it merge with the water.
Instantly, the magic power in the water began to circulate, intertwining with the Demon Lords’ magic power, pulling it towards a certain direction. During this process, the magic power’s nature seemed to change, turning into rainbow-colored streams of energy that flowed towards Shien and entered his body.
Chapter 772: Emergence! All Sides Mobilize!
“Boom!”
As the six rainbow-colored streams of energy entered Shien’s body, his magic power ignited, not a controlled release like the Demon Lords’, but an explosive outburst. All of his vast magic power, as immense as the ocean, ignited at this moment. The terrifying magic power created shockwaves that shook the entire Demon King’s Pavilion.
“Holy moly…!” Sara’s expression turned serious.
“Such powerful magic power…” Kamina’s face was also grim. Having briefly clashed with Shien during their first meeting, she knew his magic power was extraordinary, beyond what a being bound by the limits of life should possess. But now, it seemed even stronger than she had witnessed before, its raw power, even without any specific application, enough to cause destruction comparable to a large-scale High-Level magic spell.
“Millu!” Lid, having transformed into a beast the size of a human, shouted at Millu, seeing the terrifying magic power shaking the entire pavilion.
“Sister Shafney!” Airi also couldn’t help but cry out.
“Okay!” Millu, understanding, spread her small hands, and ghostly energy, like a gale, swept through the Demon King’s Pavilion, intercepting the erupting magic power.
“They really are a handful,” Shafney said, raising her hand and using [Ripple Heart Demon] to borrow the power of some admirer, causing spatial fluctuations that locked down the space within the pavilion.
Thanks to this, although the magic power erupting from Shien was terrifying, its aftershocks were first intercepted by the dense ghostly energy, then contained within the locked-down space, preventing it from spreading.
“Reinforce it further!” Sara said, not letting her guard down, “He’s about to level up continuously, his power will only grow stronger!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shien’s magic power surged again with a boom, the flames burning even fiercer, even trying to break through the ceiling.
“He leveled up!” Kamina shouted.
Indeed, Shien leveled up. Under the Conversion Pool’s effect, he ascended another level, from ninety-five to ninety-six.
“Just one level, and his power increased this much…!?” Lid looked at Shien’s burning magic power and felt its immense aura, her expression filled with shock. Although each level gained at Legendary Level brought significant growth, Shien’s growth rate was still exaggerated.
And not just his growth after leveling up.
“His magic power absorption rate has increased!” Shafney exclaimed. The rainbow streams of light flowing from the water into Shien’s body had become much thicker, showing that he was absorbing a large amount of power, even more of the Demon Lords’ magic power.
This trend made the Demon Lords realize that Shien might break through several levels today.
Although the Conversion Pool could enhance one’s power by absorbing sacrificed magic power, it had its limits. If a person’s potential was limited, then no matter how much magic power was sacrificed, they couldn’t absorb it all. If someone was only meant to reach a certain level, their potential exhausted and unable to grow further, then that was their limit, and no amount of sacrificed magic power could break it. Otherwise, many tribes in the Demon Race would be willing to sacrifice their elderly, injured, sick, or even ordinary members, using their power to forcibly create Limit Level experts, and those tribes without Legendary-level experts would also be willing to do anything to create one, raising their clan’s status.
The reason this didn’t happen was because the Conversion Pool couldn’t create experts without limit. It depended on the individual’s potential. In other words, the Conversion Pool simply accelerated one’s growth, activating their potential earlier. If someone didn’t have the potential to become a Legendary-level expert, then even using the Conversion Pool wouldn’t make them one. The same applied to Limit Level.
Because of this, although many demons had used the Conversion Pool throughout history, most only reached Legendary Level, and those who reached Limit Level with its help were fewer than three in the entire Demon Race’s history. This was why Limit Level experts were still incredibly rare in the Demon Race, only three of them.
But Shien’s potential was undeniable. Even the weakest Hero in history could reach top-tier Legendary Level, many even reaching Limit Level, some even Transcendence. Shien, although perhaps not a Hero, his potential, judging by his growth in the past six months, was definitely no less than past Heroes, perhaps even greater if he was truly special.
Therefore, the Demon Lords didn’t doubt that he could reach Limit Level here.
However, the amount of magic power required for him to reach Limit Level might be more than they anticipated.
“His growth rate is extremely high, each level gained bringing significant improvement,” Sara explained.
“So he needs more magic power to continue breaking through, right?” Shafney said, stating the obvious.
The price for using the Conversion Pool was the sacrificed magic power. The greater the power gained, the more magic power required.
This caught the Demon Lords off guard. Based on their original plan, the six of them sacrificing together, just a small amount of magic power from each, would be enough for Shien to reach Limit Level, the impact on them negligible.
But now, it seemed this “small amount” might become a “huge amount.”
Thinking of this, the Demon Lords felt uneasy.
Only Airi, after a moment of silence, released even more magic power, the magic transforming into rainbow-colored streams of light that entered Shien’s body.
“Airi!?” Kamina’s expression changed.
“…This guy is truly my bane,” Shafney sighed, then, like Airi, released more magic power.
“Second Sister!” Lid also couldn’t help but cry out.
And Millu, seeing this, also increased her magic power output, following Airi and Shafney.
“You guys…” Kamina didn’t know what to say.
Sara, looking at this scene, smiled wryly.
“Since things have come to this, let’s go all out,” she said.
What else could Lid and Kamina do? If they didn’t join in, the loss for Airi, Shafney, and Millu would be even greater. The six sisters had to share the burden to minimize the impact.
“You’re lucky, kid,” Kamina said, increasing her magic power output.
“Hopefully, the result won’t disappoint us,” Lid said, her body expanding again to over three meters tall, occupying a large portion of the Conversion Pool, her magic power output also increasing.
Sara naturally wouldn’t let her sisters bear the burden alone and immediately joined in.
Streams of rainbow-colored light surged into Shien’s body, his aura growing stronger and stronger.
“Boom!” Soon, Shien broke through another level.
“Boom!” And another.
“Boom!” After a while, the magic power burning from Shien surged again, creating the most powerful shockwave yet, a shockwave that even Millu’s ghostly energy could barely contain, only Shafney’s spatial lockdown preventing it from spreading.
“Level ninety-nine!” Kamina’s voice also grew louder.
Within the Demon King’s Pavilion, Shien’s magic power created a gale, like a typhoon, and the Demon Lords had to shout to be heard.
The other Demon Lords also perked up, unconsciously increasing their magic power output.
By now, the magic power they had lost was far greater than they initially anticipated. Although it wouldn’t cripple them, the impact on their strength was noticeable. If they fought their past selves, they would be at a disadvantage after a few thousand exchanges.
“This is a huge loss,” Shafney complained.
“If only we had known…” Kamina started to say something, then stopped and sighed.
Even if they had known, they would still have done it without hesitation. This was something they couldn’t ignore. As long as they could succeed and see that person again, any sacrifice was worth it.
Among them, Airi was the most straightforward. As long as it benefited Shien, even without any other motives, she would willingly sacrifice this small portion of her power for him.
Shafney felt the same. Although her relationship with Shien was still undefined, she was still willing to do this for him. After all, they had a connection, and she should bear some responsibility. Just like those infatuated with her, they would willingly offer her their power. Now, she was simply doing the same for someone else. Although she wasn’t in love with this man yet, there was a saying: the first one to fall in love loses.
So, with their various thoughts, the Demon Lords exchanged glances, as if seeing each other’s emotions, then simultaneously unleashed a massive amount of magic power.
The rainbow-colored streams of light turned into beams, surging into Shien’s body, washing over him and transforming him.
“Bang!” The ghostly energy around Shien, meant to block his senses, was blown away.
“Clang!” The steel blindfold on his face shattered.
And his aura surged.
Finally, he broke through that boundary.
“Boom!”
As a Limit Level aura erupted from Shien, his body trembled.
“Clang!”
The Holy Sword by the poolside shone brilliantly, instantly shattering its three seals, the steel blades turning into fragments, revealing its true radiance and splendor.
At the same time, a light also shone from Shien’s body.
It wasn’t just a brilliant light like the Holy Sword’s.
No, it was more than that.
At this moment, three lights shone from Shien.
One was as brilliant and divine as the Holy Sword.
One was as blue and transcendent as a gem.
One was as crimson as blood, captivating and alluring.
Three lights, three power fluctuations, intertwined around Shien.
“That is…!?” Airi, Shafney, Lid, Kamina, and Millu’s eyes widened.
“As expected…” Sara stared intently at this scene, sensing the three familiar power fluctuations, finally confirming her unbelievable guess.
Of course, she didn’t have time to think too much now.
Because the scene they had been waiting for finally appeared.
“Weng!” With a tremor, a red gem emerged from above Shien’s head, slowly floating into the air, spinning and emitting a crimson light.
“Mother!” Kamina stood up excitedly.
The other Demon Lords also stood up, their faces filled with excitement.
Even the innocent Millu and Shafney, who had seen this before, were the same.
Airi was no exception.
“The gem… it really is on him…” She suppressed her surging emotions, her small hands clenching tightly.
The six Demon Lords stared at this scene, their faces filled with excitement.
Completely unaware of how many this scene had affected.
…
“So it finally appeared?”
In the temple, Nien looked at the scene reflected in the spatial ripples before her, the scene in the Demon King’s Pavilion’s Conversion Pool, a complex expression on her face.
“This feeling…?” In an unknown mansion on the outskirts of the Royal Capital, the demon young lady, still enjoying her afternoon tea, seemed to sense something, clutching her chest and looking towards the horizon.
“…” Her maid stood silently beside her, her heart pounding.
And in an unreachable flower field, a goddess sleeping amidst the flowers finally stirred, then opened her eyes.
