"Yes...this is exactly what I was hoping for! Come on, let’s go another round!" Exclaimed Izzy enthusiastically, as she got back onto her feet.

"H-huh? No way...give me a break, I’m completely wiped out here, we’ve sparred for six whole rounds today, I’m done for the day," I responded wearily, collapsing onto my hands and knees.

"Come on, you can’t be done already! I’m just getting warmed up here! Okay, in that case, switch with Uncle Azazel," She replied without hesitation.

"Not happening...even if I’m not the one in control, it’s still my body, so the exhaustion will hit me regardless of who’s in control. Challenge someone else," I shook my head dryly.

"Hmph, party pooper...," She grumbled with a pout, letting out a huff as she finally relented and walked away.

I let out a sigh of relief as I sat on the ground, before leaning back and laying down, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

Today’s the 4th of Aprilis, 2020, two weeks have passed since I regained consciousness following my Contract with the Demon General of Rage, Azazel.

And in about a week’s time, our time in the Haven will come to an end, and we’ll have to get back to the surface. Yeah, really not looking forward to that.

I’ve been keeping in touch with our allies on the surface, namely Rosary, Ilex and Gior, getting regular updates on the situation up there.

At the same time, we’ve all been training hard in preparation for whatever we might come up against once we leave this place, I’ve been working tirelessly at trying to improve my mastery over my new powers, but it’s been fairly slow progress.

Right now, Izzy is the only one who can put up a real fight against me when I go all out, so I’ve been sparring with her pretty frequently. And every now and then, I switch with Azazel, who trains her in using her Demonic powers.

When he’s in control, he can use the full extent of my body’s current capabilities. When I’m in control, I’m still weaker than Izzy, but when he’s in control, she’s the one at a disadvantage.

However, we soon realized that we had a problem...Azazel can only stay in control of my body for about a couple of minutes a day, after that control automatically reverts back to me.

We’d be so focused on regulating the increase in my body’s power that we kinda neglected to analyze all of my new capabilities in detail, so yeah. Still, a couple of minutes where I’m basically unstoppable is still a pretty good deal.

In my base form, I can now use the weakened versions of his abilities like Exploding Fists and Negative Energy pretty well, but I can’t use them at their fullest, since I can only maintain the transformed state of the Contract for about ten seconds on my own.

As for Soul Weapon Ascension, which Ilex had informed us on how to achieve...yeah, no real progress on that front. Even with Azazel helping me channel the flow of my Mana, it’s way too tricky and difficult to get right away. I’ve gotten close to triggering it a couple of times, but it’ll be a while before I can actually pull it off, let alone do so reliably.

Ilex’s Mana Armament Soul Weapon required constantly channeling his Mana into it in order to be used, so it’s no wonder he figured it out. But the three of us, Argent, Prysm and myself, are struggling with it.

Extending my whip and Prysm’s increasing of her axe’s gravitational pull hardly use any Mana whatsoever, and Argent’s twin blades don’t have a special power, so we basically have to start from scratch.

"Don’t forget to fix the arena before you go," Came Sinia’s voice, as I heard footsteps approaching.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I replied with a tired sigh, sitting up as I began to use an Elemental Earth Spell to repair the damage caused by my bouts against Izzy, "I’ve made sure to clean up any mess we make every time, so you don’t need to remind me."

"Mhm, I know...I was actually hoping to talk to you about something else. But maybe it can wait till you’re rested up, you look like you’ll keel over if you even try to stand up right now," She remarked, as I fixed the arena.

"Well, I am basically running empty in terms of Mana right now, and my stamina is spent too...so, yeah, I’d say that’s an accurate assessment. But if whatever you wanted to talk about is something that won’t take too long, then go ahead," I replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, it shouldn’t take too long...the other Elders are I were discussing this, and we came to a consensus...we know that the situation on the surface isn’t safe right now, so if the four of you would rather not return and get caught up in the battle up there, we’re willing to let you stay here for a while longer, instead of leaving in a week from now," She informed me.

"Wait, really?" I responded in surprise.

"Well, yes...you’ve more than proven yourselves to be worthy of our trust and respect. It’s as simple as that, really."

"Hm...I’ll run it by the others later, but you know, I think we probably will leave by next week. I don’t want to overstay our welcome, and there’s also the possibility that us staying here could end up dragging all of you into the human conflicts on the surface. And besides...we’ve each got our own goals to achieve, so we can’t stay here forever. I do really appreciate the offer though...I’m glad I met all of you," I remarked with a smile, as I shakily got back onto my feet.

"Likewise, you four haven’t been here long, but all of us have enjoyed your company," She smiled in response.

"If you’re not opposed to it, we can visit...with Prysm’s Teleportation Skill, we can do so without risking anyone else finding this place," I suggested, stretching my arms up wearily.

"I’m sure none of us would be against that. I for one, would welcome it. Plus, considering how powerful you all are, especially you and Izzozon, it’s in our best interest to have you as friends instead of enemies," She pointed out as she nudged me with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I’d be inclined to agree with that notion if I were in your shoes."

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