Sisyphus' Exosia

"Then in what way can you make me powerful?" Liam looked at Azrael with his puppy eyes.

Azrael genuinely thought about it. While Liam patiently waited for the answer.

After ten minutes of silence, the demon opened his mouth.

"There are no ways. I'm sorry." Azrael sadly exclaimed.

Liam kept a straight face. "I order you to tell me the truth."

"I can only give you strength that your body can handle. That's why body limiter exists in the first place. I can remove it if you want." Azrael grinned.

"F*ck you. My body will be destroyed in the process. I may be an idiot but your idiocy exceeds mine." Liam thought about what Azrael said earlier.

Body limiters were there in the first place to protect your body. This was an obvious fact almost everyone knows. But some people really did possessed some knowledge to remove these limiters. However, they must train their bodies in the process to hold a large number of strength safely. They were famously known as Body Cultivators.

"Can I punch you?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh? Uhmm. Yeah sure. " Azrael was taken aback but agreed nonetheless. It's impossible for him to be hurt after all. His strength, endurance, agility, and power level were off the charts when compared to normal humans.

"Make sure to calculate it in pounds per square inch." He reminded.

"Come." Azrael beckoned.

Liam then prepared to punch the demon as if his whole life depended on it.

"ORA!" His fist exactly landed on Azrael's abdomen.

A loud punching sound echoed in the whole room. But Azrael simply smiled.

"Not bad for a human, child. That's 196 PSI. Slightly greater than a newbie striker."

But deep inside he was surprised. Liam's figure isn't muscular. Instead, it was lean. His arm wasn't large or something particular. His fist also looks normal. Generating that amount of power means he must be trained to punch or maybe something else...

"Woah. Seriously? I never really thought I can punch hard." Liam felt satisfied while blowing his fist.

'But you are still weak.' Azrael murmured.

"What?" Liam raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing. Anyways, what do you want to do this time?" Azrael sighed.

"Give me power. The exact amount that my body can handle."

"Understood." Azrael creepily laughed.

"I knew it, there are consequences, right?" Liam angrily stomped his foot. Azrael's smile was suspicious.

The demon didn't reply and simply waved his hands. Suddenly Liam started glowing.

"Hey, dingus! Stop this! What will happen to me after this? You old man!" Liam prepared for the worst.

But he wasn't prepared enough.

"Arghhhh!"

An unimaginable pain circled Liam's body. He laid limp in the ground convulsing. He teared up and snots freely run down his face. Continuous screams came from his mouth.

"This is nice. But it will be nicer if you die too!" Azrael set up a proper noise-canceling barrier this time and excitedly watch Liam from above. The sight of Liam being in extreme pain made him smile ear to ear.

While in Liam's head only six words were circling in his brain.

"This old man is a sadist!"

He wanted to give up fighting the pain but he felt that once he did so, everything will be over.

He endured the excruciating pain and gritted his teeth to the point where his gums started bleeding.

A second felt like a year of pain from his perspective.

After ten minutes...

"Awww... Too bad he didn't die." Azrael landed on the ground and frowned.

Liam didn't immediately stand up. The torture was over but he felt traumatized by the pain.

He slowly took off his shirt and showed his body to Azrael.

"What the actual f*ck!?" Azrael exclaimed.

The reason he was surprised was because of Liam's tattoo. It was a medium-sized crossed sword tattoo located on his chest. But what differs this from other tattoos was because it was not black like ordinary tattoos. Instead, it was golden and glowing.

"But... that's impossible. He isn't a demon, he is a purebred human! How could he have Sisyphus' Exosia!? I, Azrael Morningstar, should possess that tattoo and not this puny human." Azrael spat furiously. His anger towered up the sky. His flaming red eyes blazed abnormally and he grabbed Liam's body recklessly.

Demons and Angels powered up using each other. When a Demon killed an Angel, the Angel's power will become theirs and vice versa. When the demon dies, the angel will have a red tattoo that symbolizes the demon they've killed. And when an angel dies, the demon will have a golden tattoo that symbolizes the angel they've killed. And these tattoos were called Exosia, meaning power.

In all history, no human gained an Exosia after killing an angel or demon.

"Who are you?!" He loudly questioned Liam.

No answer came.

Liam was already unconscious. Him, removing his shirt was the last ounce of his strength.

Azrael wanted to kill him right here, right now. But Liam possessing the mark of Sisyphus means that he might be a fellow demon although he didn't have the smell nor the aura of a demon. He must first know the identity of this strange human.

He snapped his hands and the wet ground where Liam was before, dried up. He also made clothes for Liam and throw him in his bed.

"Sisyphus' Exosia. I thought his Exosia was already marked in my body. I didn't expect a lot of problems to arise after finally kill him."

He also took off his clothes and 36 tattoos all over his body in different engravings and designs were in full display.

"I've slaughtered 36 archangels but yesterday I became a slave. What a failure I've become. After this brat dies, I'll be finally free. So while I'm still on Earth, I must use this human to help me hunt other Angels for me.' He devilishly laughed and snapped his fingers.

A black portal appeared and Azrael entered it.

***

After four hours, Liam opened his eyes. He couldn't help but shudder after remembering what he just went through.

The pain was unimaginable. The pain was like being beaten up by pro wrestlers non-stop. His insides were being twisted and it felt like millions of six inches needles were being pierced right through his body.

"That as*hole! He didn't warn me. I could have wished for a powerful endurance if that was so." Lian cursed out loud.

"Where the fuck are you Azrael!" He shouted angrily.

A portal appeared and Azrael stepped out of it.

"What's the matter, child?"

"Shut up son of a dog! Why did you do that! You should have warned me first for God's sake!" Liam complained like a little boy.

"I have no business explaining a bunch of things to an idiot like you." Azrael snorted.

"Shut up nincompoop! I order you to tell, explain and warn me in-depth about the consequences of my wish." Liam crossed his arm.

Azrael can't help but grit his teeth. "You little sh*t!"

"Don't you dare call me little sh*t, little sh*t. That was a traumatic experience! You might be an archdemon but I bet you'll piss yourself when you're in my shoes!" Liam really wanted to vent out a lot of anger and stress.

"By the way, can you explain why I need to experience that pain just to be stronger?" Nevertheless, he was eager to know the reason.

"Because gaining sudden power from external force is not beneficial nor recommended. Just imagine putting a filling inside a donut. Then after that imagine if the donut can feel pain. Do you think it wouldn't die from extreme agony? But if you bit by bit put a small amount of filling then the pain might be reduced. Same logic from what I've done. I suddenly put power inside you. But if you worked out and gain strength the old way, then you won't suffer like what happened earlier. Your spirit is quite durable, that's why you're still alive for now." Azrael snickered.

Liam's fingers almost dug out his hands. What an idiot he was. He should have asked for more information before wishing random stuff.

But he couldn't help looking at Azrael in a strange light.

'Why use donuts as an analogy?'

"Nevermind. Let bygones be bygones. Can I punch you again though? I wanna test my strength." He breathed out all his anger and prepared his fist.

"And I wanted to vent out some rage I felt because of you" He added in a whisper.

"What did you sa-" Before Azrael could finish his question, Liam's fist has already punched his stomach.

"Not bad. You're PSI improve for almost one fold! Your punches can literally break an ordinary human's face and you can damage some lesser demon" Azrael was strangely proud for some reason. It may be because of the pride he felt because Liam's power became possible because of him.

After realizing that, he cleared his throat and spoke once more in a deep voice.

"Too weak, child."

"So what's my PSI now?" Liam excitedly asked. He already forgot what happened earlier and all anger he felt suddenly disappeared.

"387 PSI. Congrats." He clapped while keeping a straight face.