As it always did, Zyel slowly opened his eyes, greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling, lying on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room.
But this time, something was different.
He wasn't alone.
Two dark purple haired beauties were clinging to him, dressed in thin, delicate pajamas that let him clearly feel the softness of their pristine skin.
A deeper, more mysterious connection flowed between him and the two of them.
He had only ever sensed that bond with Amelia before, but now he could feel the same connection with Aria as well.
That could only mean one thing.
She had performed the soul marriage ritual while he was unconscious, without his consent, once again.
Zyel let out a quiet sigh. It was not as if he did not want them.
They were beautiful, noble, and utterly devoted to him.
Their obsession, that intense and almost overwhelming love, was something he was beginning to enjoy.
"Darling? You're awake?" Amelia asked softly, sensing his movement.
"What happened?"
The moment the question left his lips, the memories rushed back.
Everything he had done.
The brutal way he had killed those three heroes, the activation of the blessed ability he had awakened in that moment, and the eventual collapse into unconsciousness from the strain of pushing his body far beyond its limits.
"So... I killed those heroes," Zyel muttered, letting out another sigh.
"Oh? You remember everything, darling?" Aria asked, her voice filled with surprise.
"I do. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I acted with full awareness and intent. I did not lose control, if that is what you were thinking," Zyel replied, gently rubbing Aria's head.
"Then how did you do it, darling? Was that the ability you awakened? Whatever it was, it raised your power enough to nearly close the massive gap between you and those three heroes, letting you fight them on almost equal footing," Amelia asked, her curiosity clearly visible.
"It is an ability called [Battle Instincts]. Let me explain how it works."
Zyel calmly began explaining the nature of his ability.
Every ability a person awakened was instinctively understood by them, and Zyel was no exception.
The moment he awakened it, he knew exactly what it was and how it functioned.
It was as familiar to him as the back of his hand.
After hearing the effects of his ability, both Amelia and Aria showed clear expressions of shock and surprise at how powerful and dangerous it sounded.
"So your body can move on its own, like Ultra Instinct from that anime?" Aria asked with a smile.
She was somewhat of a weeb, deeply interested in pop culture, especially anime, games, and comic conventions.
The moment Zyel described something similar to what she had seen before, her curiosity was instantly piqued.
"It is a little more complicated than that. The ability does not consume energy, and my body cannot simply move, dodge, or attack on its own. It is more like my mind and instincts merge into one, existing in perfect harmony and balance. In that state, my body can act without my mind having to consciously issue commands. However, if my mind lacks the knowledge of how to act, then my body will not know what to do either."
Zyel stopped when he noticed the confused expressions on their faces. Clearly, they were struggling to fully understand.
"It is like putting a plane on autopilot. The plane can fly and react on its own, but only based on pre-programmed routes and instructions. If something completely new happens that was never programmed, it will not know how to respond."
He simplified it further.
"Oh, I get it now. So if you do not know a fighting technique or move in your mind, then even if your body can act on its own, it would not be able to perform those moves," Aria said, nodding in understanding.
"That also means that as long as you watch someone fight and remember how they move, you can replicate their fighting style, movements, even their swordsmanship instantly, right?" Amelia asked, her eyes widening as she realized just how absurdly powerful this ability was.
"Yes, I can. But I would still try not to rely on it. By default, every time I use this ability, my body enters an overdrive state. Every action and every function is pushed to its absolute limit. I can only stay in that state for so long before it starts destroying my body. Though I suppose I do not have to worry about permanent damage since I have regeneration. The pain, however, is still very real," Zyel said casually.
He then turned to look at his wives, only to notice that they had suddenly gone silent and were staring at him strangely.
"What is with that look?" Zyel asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable under their piercing gazes, as if they were staring at his naked body like shameless perverts.
"Regeneration, darling. We demons do not have innate regeneration like vampires do," Amelia said slowly.
"So demons cannot regenerate?" Zyel asked, confused.
"We can, but not naturally like them. We have to force our bodies to accelerate regeneration using demonic energy. It consumes a great deal of energy, and the faster we regenerate, the higher the cost."
"Vampires, on the other hand, possess innate regeneration. It is a racial trait. Their bodies continuously regenerate from any injuries, even amputations, without conscious effort or significant energy. Higher ranking vampires can even regenerate entire limbs within moments," Amelia explained.
Then she glanced at him again, gesturing slightly. "I watched your fight with the heroes, darling. I saw how your destroyed arm regenerated in just a few seconds. That is far from normal."
"Is that so? Well, when my consciousness merged with my instincts through my [Battle Instincts] ability, I became aware of all the abilities I possess. I simply knew I could regenerate. I assumed it was something I had always been capable of since becoming a demon, so I thought all demons were the same," Zyel said with a shrug.
"You assumed wrong, darling. Only vampires have innate regeneration. We demons have to intentionally force our bodies to regenerate quickly, or severe injuries like amputations will take days to heal naturally. Our regeneration is more like a lizard's. We can regenerate, but it is not instantaneous. But you have something close to instantaneous regeneration, similar to high ranking vampires,"
Amelia sighed.
"I wonder if your regeneration is another ability you awakened."
"It is quite shocking, darling, that you awakened more than one demonic ability," Aria added with a chuckle.
Zyel had not told them about the system he possessed, nor that it was overseen by a spirit living within his soul known as Aylin, whose purpose was to regulate the hundreds of blessings sealed inside him.
He also had not revealed that the [Battle Instincts] ability was not demonic at all, but a blessed ability, one obtained when the [Divine Blessing of War] responded to his emotions.
As for his seemingly innate regeneration, even Zyel himself did not know why he could regenerate like that.
Perhaps his life force was naturally powerful.
He wanted to ask Aylin about it, but with his wives beside him, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now.
"Actually, my wives, [Battle Instincts] is not a demonic ability, but my innate ability. I have always had it since birth, but I only managed to awaken it when I was fighting the heroes."
Zyel lied.
He was simply not ready to talk about the circumstances of his reincarnation or the blessings he had received from numerous gods.
For now, he decided that any blessed abilities he awakened would be presented as innate abilities to his wives.
Innate abilities were powers people were born with.
Most of the time, they were unique, meaning only one individual possessed them.
Even humans had the potential to awaken such abilities, so passing off his blessed abilities as innate ones was the simplest explanation.
"Wait, so that was not your demonic ability? So you did not awaken a personal demonic ability then?" Amelia asked.
"I did. It is an optic ability, which I came to call [Mystic World]."
Zyel began explaining the ability he had awakened.
Unlike [Battle Instincts] and his innate regeneration, [Mystic World] was a pure demonic ability that manifested during his transformation into a lesser demon.
[Mystic World] was an extremely powerful optic ability.
When activated, his eyes turned a deep purple, the same shade as Amelia and Aria's hair.
His entire field of vision would be tinted in a purple hue, but more importantly, his perception would change completely.
Instead of seeing only what was in front of him, his vision would expand into omnivision.
He could perceive everything within a fifty meter radius, in all directions at once, with himself at the center, without needing to focus on a single point.
After finishing his explanation, he watched their reaction.
They were completely flabbergasted, staring at him even more strangely than before.
"Another broken ability. Three abilities, darling? Three abilities, and each one more absurd than the last. Is that all, or do you still have more surprises for us?" Amelia asked tiredly, rubbing her forehead.
In response, Zyel simply gave a sly grin, as if he was about to reveal something far more shocking.