The Gamer's POV

Chapter 337: New Summon

It was general knowledge that only the soul of a Grade Three could visit their inner sanctuary. Their physical body would remain in the real world for the entirety of the time they were away.

It was not until a Dominant reached Grade Five that they could visit their own sanctuary or invade the sanctuaries of others with their physical avatar. Those in the higher grades could even take others with them into their sanctuaries.

Since Cedric was a Grade Three, he made his way to his room, then dropped down onto his bed with a sigh.

Slowly, he raised and tilted his arm to study the tattoo which showed that Aika had taken her dormant form. When he finally dropped his hand back down, he shut his eyes and muttered the name of his temple:

"The Temple of Perpetual Equilibrium."

The change was instant. He opened his eyes to see that he was no longer in his bedroom but was now in the ruined temple. The light of dusk filtered through the large fissures in the ceiling, and even at this moment, cracks were still running along the stone pillars.

He straightened, then saw that instead of the casual linen shirt and trousers that he was wearing back in the townhouse, he was wearing his long, black mantle and his obsidian ring was gleaming darkly on his finger.

"I should make a routine of visiting this place more frequently to stop the temple from completely reaching this dilapidated state," he thought as he stretched out both hands, then he visualized the temple returning to its original state.

Suddenly, a wind blew across the space and the entire ground began to rumble. The shattered debris began to lift from the ground, and the cracks along the pillars slowly knit back together as if time was being reversed. Within seconds, what looked like a ruined obsidian temple had returned to being a white, magnificent building.

Once that was done, Cedric looked around the space, feeling elated. Then without wasting much time, he began making his way toward his inner sanctum.

He reached the wall and touched the carving of the heart and almost instantly, the wall divided revealing the hidden passage. As he walked inside it, the candles on the walls lit up revealing the statues that lined the perimeter of the round sanctum.

Cedric sighed when his eyes fell on the Seraphid. But he quickly looked away and took a few steps to the Akuma-Oni.

He folded his hands as he spent a few seconds studying the tall statue and ruminating over his choice. While he was still doing so, he suddenly heard Aika’s voice beside him:

"Can I name him?"

He turned to his side to see her looking at him with puppy eyes and pouted lips. She clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Please, Pleaseeeee.~"

Cedric blinked.

’What’s it to her?’

His eyes traveled to the statue, then back to Aika who was blinking at him expectantly.

’I remember the last time we were here, she took a lot of interest in this creature.’

He narrowed his eyes before arching a brow. Eventually, he exhaled, scratched his head and looked away.

"Fine."

Aika smiled brightly. "Thanks. And... don’t worry," she punched his arm, "you know I’ve got really good naming skills." She turned toward the creature. "I’ve got just the right name for it."

If Cedric was not worried before, he definitely was now.

He swallowed and wiped sweat from his brow as he turned his attention back to the Oni, hoping that he would not regret giving her creative freedom.

Now ready and certain of his choice, he took a few steps closer to the creature, then placed a hand on its broad chest and focused his intention.

Not long after, the ring on his finger began to shine faintly. In the seconds that followed, Cedric felt mana surge out from his core into the creature.

Just like the last time he was doing this, this process did not stop until his core felt empty.

’I don’t think I’d ever get used to this,’ he thought as his mana drained completely, spurring his essence core into action.

Only then did the process finally stop.

As mana began to trickle back into Cedric’s core, the few seconds of silence in the room shattered. A sudden gust of wind swept through the sanctum, followed by audible cracks that began to run along the stone surface of the statue. Then, the stone began to dissolve from the creature revealing its true form.

Aside from the fact that its entire body was a deep, crimson red and two horns crowned its head, the ogre-like demon really looked like the definition of the perfect warrior.

His physique was lean, and his torso revealed hard, perfectly defined abs. He wore a pair of ragtag trousers that were cut haphazardly just before the ankles, and a few bone daggers rested on his belt. He also held a large wooden club in his right hand.

His long hair was tied in a traditional topknot, and he had a beard that made him look a bit wild yet strangely sophisticated.

It was really weird how he managed to look both handsome and deeply annoying at the same time.

Cedric narrowed his eyes on the creature’s chest as he could feel the new mana core forming within the him. It seemed that the more mana a creature took from him, the larger the mana core formed.

If he were to compare the mana core of the current Oni to that of the high elf the moment he gave life to her, he could easily see that the Oni’s was much bigger.

When the stone fully vanished, the space fell silent again... until a low, rumbling growl escaped the Oni’s mouth.

Then, it cocked its head back and opened its red eyes.

***

For a few moments, the Oni just remained standing where he was, staring at Cedric in a condescending manner.

It was tall... taller than Cedric by a short gap, so he had to look up at the creature who was looking down at him.

Of course, he couldn’t tell what the creature was thinking. But then, one didn’t need to have the power to read minds to know that this creature was weighing him.

And from the way the creature’s face kept contorting into a grimace as the seconds went by, it was obvious that the demon was entirely unimpressed by what he saw.

It looked at Cedric’s chest, and then, its eyes slowly traveled to his ring. When they settled on the insignia of authority, the expression on its face shifted into something mildly different.

...Anger?

It lifted its club and rested the weapon on its shoulder as its gaze shifted over to Aika. After a few seconds of studying her, the corner of its lips curled up into a small, almost imperceptible smile.

His gaze returned to Cedric’s ring, and before anyone could react, he swung his club at Cedric with a force that sent dust exploding across the sanctum.