Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light

"I can't believe you actually did it, and on top of that, you have the nerve to smile? Are you some kind of sadomasochist? Look at your soul—just look at it! It's a complete disaster. Luckily, this time your soul didn't fracture, though it was consumed by the blue flames. What kind of lunatic throws away years of life for a meaningless duel?"

At first, Arthur frowned as he stared at the curvaceous figure of Lilith—her snow-white hair and blood-red eyes, wearing a one-piece black dress that revealed one of her long legs. Then he remembered she could enter his soul if he allowed her. Maybe she'd taken the chance while he was unconscious. But honestly, Arthur couldn't care less. He was in a good mood. In the end, it had all been worth it. Definitely.

Still, he was surprised. It was the first time he'd ever seen Lilith so upset. Her beautiful face was tense as she stared at him in frustration.

I scratched my head, unsure what to say. To anyone else, what I had done would seem like complete suicide—but to me, it had been worth it. After all, I met the system's requirement, and in fact, I had even surpassed it. For some reason, something had gone wrong... or at least, that's what I believed.

[Corruption Level 2] [0/100]

In fact, my unique ability had leveled up. Apparently, I had exceeded the system's expectations by far, and it rewarded me for it.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Lilith pursed her lips, watching Arthur, who seemed lost in thought. She was still very angry. If it hadn't been for Seraphine's intervention, Arthur's soul would have been devoured by the blue flame within seconds—and with it, his entire existence would've vanished, beyond any hope of salvation. His death would've meant the extinction of the flame of life for hundreds more years—a total loss for her.

Arthur smiled and glanced at his own soul."Is it really that bad?" he asked, looking at her.

Lilith let out a long sigh and gazed at his soul."No, but it's complicated. This is the first time I've seen something like this. Your soul was already a mess, even for me. Human, demon, vampire, angel... and now there's another shade."

Arthur's soul was the combination of four types of souls. A demon's soul was black, an angel's was a pure, pristine white that could blind anyone at a glance, a human's was a soft gray, and a vampire's was reddish. But now, there was a new color: a beautiful blue.

"I still can't understand how you even exist. Before this happened, the four colors were in a fragile balance. But now, with this new shade, the balance seems to have become even more stable," Lilith frowned, watching the blue flames slowly flicker and dance within his soul.

"Then what's the problem?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, I only said it because I was mad," Lilith sighed and shook her head, just as she was about to speak again...

Arthur felt someone requesting permission to enter his soul. After a moment of thought, he allowed them in.

Particles of pure light began to gather, shaping the holy Seraphine. She blinked a few times before turning to face Arthur.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good," Arthur replied, still in a cheerful mood.

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to the moment you open your eyes," Seraphine said with a cold smile before shifting her gaze to Lilith.

Arthur's smile froze and his expression paled—he'd completely forgotten about the upcoming violent reaction."Oh no…"

Both Seraphine and Lilith felt satisfied upon seeing the look of despair on Arthur's face.

"Sin of Lust," Seraphine greeted her with a smile.

"Seraph of Mercy," Lilith replied in kind.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Seraphine turned her attention to Arthur's soul.

"Interesting. What do you think, Lilith?" Seraphine asked with a mocking smile.

Lilith groaned in frustration and shook her head."Why even ask me? You obviously know more than I do. Without a doubt, you know exactly what those blue tattoos are."

Seraphine went silent for a moment."It's a state, you could say. The blue flames aren't just any ordinary fire. They're malleable and adaptable. One of their traits is that the flames can merge with your flesh and fuse with your soul itself. Of course, the price for this is burning your soul—essentially killing you. Just like Arthur did."

Lilith tilted her head slightly."I don't fully understand."

"The blue flame is the flame of life. To function properly, it requires vital energy. To strengthen its abilities, it consumes life force. To mold it to your will, it also requires life force. And along with it come the so-called 'states.' The first state allows you to use the blue flame, with your flesh serving as fuel. The second one is the one I mentioned earlier, only this time your soul becomes the fuel. But this goes far deeper than it seems." She pointed at Arthur's soul.

"If it were you or me in the second state, our life force would be devoured at a monstrous rate. To put it into perspective—just one second would cost us about 100,000 years of life. For beings who aren't immortal, it would basically be suicide. And that's without even factoring in the abilities that require life force to activate." Seraphine fell silent.

"The second state is quite deep. Arthur only managed to make the blue flames embed themselves into his body in the form of tattoos. In this state, normal wounds wouldn't harm him. The only way to kill him would be to attack his soul directly. On the other hand, while in this state, he was even able to activate the domain of life, albeit only at a superficial level. If I hadn't intervened in time, the life force of the young dragon would have been drained to feed his domain further."

"Heh, to create life, you first have to destroy what already exists," Lilith mocked.

Seraphine stared at her."You're right," she nodded."After all, you were created in the same way."

Lilith fell silent and glanced back at Arthur's soul."Four types of souls in a single existence... it's an impressive foundation. I suppose that's the only reason he didn't die on the spot."

"You're right. But if he had stayed in the second state just three seconds longer, he would've died," Seraphine said seriously.

Lilith thought about everything Seraphine had told her and smiled, pleased by the new information."It was nice talking to you, Seventh of Mercy. I hope we meet again." Lilith gave a graceful gesture as she bid farewell.

When she tried to say goodbye to Arthur, she realized he was no longer there—his figure had vanished into pink particles.

Seraphine watched as Lilith left. She remained there for a few more seconds before also disappearing."I hope so too," were her last words.