Zoe seemed to know more about this energy than I did. After all, they had probably researched it quite a lot since Phoebe was affected by it.
“Come with me. We have to tell the chief about your new power.”
“W-Wait. I’m too weak to stand up just yet. It hasn’t been a long time since I lost over 50% of my strength by losing my soul.”
Zoe didn’t seem to care as she just grabbed my arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, basically dragging me to the chief’s house.
As she did so, we heard a distinct voice coming from behind us; it was Ariella’s, who just watched with a frown.
“P-Professor, what happened to you? Why aren’t you able to stand straight?”
I smiled. “Don’t worry, everything is fine. The training was just a little too rough, and I pushed myself too hard. I’ll be in top shape tomorrow. Go back to sleep…”
Zoe nodded as if acknowledging what I had just said.
Then, Ariella continued to look at us from far away, clearly worried about the state of my body. After all, it was the first time in her life that she was seeing me in such a weakened state. She might have thought that I was invincible in her mind.
Nevertheless, a few more moments passed by, and we arrived at the house of the chief, entering without even knocking.
The chief was sitting in the same chair as when I had met him for the first time, not even sleeping, and he smiled as we walked inside.
“I was waiting for you, young one.”
I frowned.
I was mad over what I had just gone through.
“Did you know that something like this would happen?!” I roared angrily. “Why didn’t you warm me beforehand if you knew?”
“Calm down and sit. I know you are frustrated, but this was the only way, young one. If I had warned you about it, then you wouldn’t have done something like this in the first place.”
“Damn right, I wouldn’t have. As far as I know, everything you told me in the past was just a lie.”
The old man just smiled at those words, not getting angry. “I know you verified if I was telling the truth back then with your skill. I didn’t say a single lie. I know you know that.”
I didn’t say anything because he was right. I had used my skill, and he hadn’t uttered a single lie. He really had been telling the truth. He truly thought this whole thing was necessary.
“I know you might think that this was a bad deal. However, it’s quite the opposite. You might have lost some of your strength. However, your potential has now gotten a lot higher, and now, you actually have a chance at defeating the Sons of the Demon King. Without this energy, you would have just died if you had fought against Zero. Well, it would have been close, but now, you will defeat him as long as you get strong enough. It will no longer be a close fight.”
I knew that he was telling the truth, but I was still frustrated with everything that had just happened. I had just lost 50% of my strength. I was so much weaker than in the past.
I felt my body being all slow and weak when it wasn’t…even with 50% of my strength, I was very strong. But…it was still a strong hit against my ego.
“If I may, can he cure Phoebe right now if he absorbs the energy hurting her body?”
Zale, however, shook his head. “If he did it right now, then a lot of danger would be involved. We should wait until he’s able to control this energy perfectly. Only then will I allow it.”
Zoe just nodded her head. There was no need to rush things. She knew that Phoebe was still far away from dying.
“Still, now that Caedrel has awakened this power. Zoe, you will have to help him control it.”
This time, she was the one who was very confused. “And how would I do that? I don’t have access to it.”
“Our God said that this power was related to the one we possess and that to learn how to use, he should use our knowledge.”
I wasn’t even surprised that he said information about my meeting with God since it was clear that Zale had already gone through all the memories from my conversation with that God.
Then, after uttering those words, he turned to look in my direction.
“Don’t worry. You will regain your strength fast. Your talent is unlike anything I have seen before in my life. You will reach even greater heights with this power in due time.”
I nodded as I knew that he was once again telling the truth. However, what worried me was the amount of time that I would have to wait for such a thing to happen. Getting as powerful as before was bound to take a lot of time. I didn’t believe that it would be possible in three months.
“Do you still believe that I will be able to win against Zero in three months of training?”
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, most likely looking into the future.
“Yes, I believe so. There is no reason why you wouldn’t be able to.”
Those words did give me some confidence; however, I was still worried that something would go wrong and that I wouldn’t be able to fight him during that time.
“I’m curious, still,” I suddenly said. “Now that I have this power, the blood from Zero isn’t needed to treat Phoebe anymore, right?”
Zale nodded. “As long as you master this energy fast enough, no, it won’t be needed. However, if you don’t, then yes, we will need some of his blood to create a certain potion.”
“And that potion of yours, could it heal those who are affected with demonic energy? For example, monsters.”
Zale closed his eyes again.
“Probably, however, nothing is certain.”
