Unlike the black flames of that sprite, Nether Flame was a flame of pure destruction that could burn down everything in the world. In terms of grade, it was innately more powerful than the sprite’s black flames.
“At first, I thought that the flames on you were Nether Flames.” Still bound up by the sprite, I was more than calm as I declared as such: “But now…I’ve realized that it’s not.”
“ROAARRR~~”
Seemingly unable to speak, the Demonic Fire Sprite’s words sounded more like the roaring of a beast instead. Not paying that roar any attention whatsoever, I immediately set about channeling my mana into Nether Flames that would coat my body.
The blackish-red Nether Flames immediately wrapped around my skin and, because of the contact with my skin, the sprite was covered in it as well. Having touched the deadly flames, the sprite was like a lighter that had been thrown into a barrel of oil…
“ROAAARRRRR….”
He immediately let go of me upon being burned. He wanted to escape, right there and then, but with the flames already stuck to him, it was too late. As the sprite frantically sped away, his pained howls would echo ominously behind him. Then, after a minute or so, the howling stopped and that cunning fellow finally fell to the ground as a pile of ashes.
“Wooo! ~~Mama’s the greatest!” Seeing me not only extricate myself but also kill off the baddie in an instant, Mo Na leapt into my arms and gave me a tight hug. As always, she shoved her tiny face into my own before saying: “Mama’s the best, Mo Na’s Mama is the bestest in the world!”
“Woof woof woof!~~” Cinderel came trotting over as well, happily barking while circling around me as if she was chasing her own tail.
“Sweetie, now’s not the time to be naughty, Papa needs to have a look at that fellow…” I had the two little scamps settle down for now before lowering Mo Na back down with her little playmate. Having done that, my eyes drifted over to the pile of ashes left by the sprite.
‘So he’s dead then? Hmph, that was rather abrupt…’
Just as I was wondering whether or not the sprite was faking his death, Ferti’nier came barging in with her usual teasing in my head: “Of course he’s dead, what do you think your Nether Flames are? Some kind of cabbage you find on the streets?”
‘Are they that rare? Why doesn’t it feel like that at all?’
In truth, I had already had a brief experience with those flames back when I was just a One-stars small fry. Back then, I used my Nether Flames to burn a Two-stars Head Imp to nothingness. After that, I had sporadically thrown out those flames as well but they weren’t all that strong.
“Nether Flames are flames that can only be found in the deepest reaches of Hell. It is a flame of Sin. Its biggest characteristic is that it grows with the user’s mana. In other words, the more mana the user have, the more deadly the flame becomes. Not only that, sins become fuel for the Nether Flames. By committing a variety of atrocities, the user can cultivate his flames. The more sinful the user is, the more powerful the flame becomes…”
As she explained that to me, I could feel the scorn dripping from her voice. At the very least however, I finally understood why my Nether Flames were so weak back then… ‘So it’s not that they are weak, it’s me…’
‘Since I have the same mana reserves as a Six-stars, does that mean my Nether Flames are at the level of a Six-stars as well? But aren’t those sprites born of two elements? For them to die just from a little Nether Flame…’
“Only when they evolve to the level of an Overlord will the Demonic Fire Sprites be able to become Nether Flame Sprites. In truth, the black flames they use are the original form of the Nether Flames. By coming into contact with Nether Flames, they are essentially forced to evolve. However, that Five-stars sprite hasn’t reached the requirements for evolution so it ended up being burnt to death instead.”
‘Forcing him to evolve? What if he actually succeeds?’
“In theory, it’s impossible for a Five-stars to evolve right away into a Nine-stars. Besides, the Nether Flames you just used were extremely powerful as well. Ever since you, my dear little brother, evolved into a Purple Winged Fallen Angel, you’ve also picked up a portion of the sins committed by Lucifer.”
‘A portion of Lucifer’s sins?’
“Ever since ancient times when Lucifer chose to willingly fall into depravity, he has committed all manners of atrocities like luring Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit…like luring men to Undead magicks and causing the first Great Flood. All those sins can be attributed to Lucifer and, as his direct descendent, you as well.”
‘What the potato…where’s customer support right now, I want to scold somebody…even though all that talk about Apocalypse and sins is really cool…I’ve already past the age of a middle schooler…can I just give back all the sins, no refund is fine as well. I don’t want to be some kind of world destroyer…’
“That’s rich, my dear little brother is acting all innocent even after reaping a massive benefit.” Her voice was clearly laced with envy right now as she said this: “Don’t forget, once you add in the previous Original Sins of Envy and Lust, Little Brother has THREE Original Sins.”
‘Ferti’nier once said that those who were blessed with an Original Sin had far greater potential than others. Since I have three Original Sins, doesn’t that mean my Devil Kinghood is guaranteed?’
“It’s not that easy to become a Devil King. How about my dear little brother stop fantasizing for a while to handle the problems in front of him right now?”
‘Well then, let’s put all that aside for now. Time to handle that fish…but both Nola and it are still in the lake right now…I wonder what’s going on down there.’
“Don’t worry about that big salamander, she should be able to handle that opponent of hers.” At that, her voice perked up. “Oh right. O little brother of mine, this one has suddenly thought of something.”
‘What thing?’
“You’re still too weak right now.”
‘I…is there even a need to say that? How about you then? Don’t you run around calling yourself Devil King. If that’s true, how about giving me some pointers once in a while!’
“I guess that’s true. This one is still in Little Brother’s body after all. If my dear little brother gets into trouble, this one would be troubled as well.” Having said that, she abandoned her usual frivolity and solemnly said as such: “And that’s why this one has decided to train you, my dear little brother.”
‘Train? How? Is she really saying that she will help me raise my power? That thick-skinned freeloader is finally going to pay her rental fee?’
Hearing her mention training, all the irritation from being addressed as her little brother instantly vanished.
“In truth, the majority of the skills you, my dear little brother, have been using are all learnt from this one. That’s why this one can’t help but find them child’s play.”
‘Hey, how about not making fun of me right away…I’ve done pretty well, don’t you know!’
As if she had never heard that last comment at all, she said as such: “Well then, let’s start off by summoning that shadow clone of yours.”
