108. Devil Slayer
Ben suddenly finds himself in a desert with red rocky ground. There's nothing here except the red rocky ground and a gigantic seed that float in the middle. The seed is glowing in golden color with red patches that move around as if they're alive.
"Where is this?" asks Ben while looking around confusedly.
[This is your subconscious space. You are conscious, but you can't control your body right now. Your mind & soul are drawn hereafter you ate that lacrima crystal.]
"Ah, that's right, I ate that crystal. Damn, I don't know what's gotten into me before. I can't believe I eat a crystal. Hmm? I think I've done it in the past too," says Ben while trying to remember it.
[Yes, you have eaten a small portion of a raw lacrima crystal because you are very curious about it. You don't like it though because it's hard and bitter.]
"Oh, that's right. I can't believe I ate a crystal again now. Furthermore, it's a crystal made of a corpse. Ugh, at least it's not the corpse itself, so it's safe," says Ben with a disgusted but relieved expression.
Ben then looks at the gigantic seed that almost grows a bud on it. The tip has come out, but it doesn't grow further. AI Chip explains that it is his Dragon Seed that has stopped growing, for now.
He sighs in relief because at least this thing won't be a problem for some years. But he still needs to find a permanent solution for it. This seed will eventually grow and that will be a big problem.
Suddenly, the red sky turns darker when Ben is inspecting the Dragon Seed. He looks up and sees black matter appear in the sky. The black matter spread on the sky above the seed before it falls to the ground.
Ben gets surprised and runs away from there. He doesn't know what is this black matter, so it's better to avoid contact with it. He is just a soul now, so there might be a big risk if something happens to him.
The black matter falls to the red ground like rain. Ben has got on a safe distance and watched as the black matter covered the red ground around the seed. It takes 5 minutes for the black matter to fall from the sky completely.
"What is that thing?" ponders Ben.
Ben wants to investigate the black matter, but then it moves again. The black matter moves toward the Dragon Seed and starts to cover it. It looks like the black matter wants to devour the Dragon Seed.
Ben is rather excited by it because if the black matter can destroy the Dragon Seed, then the Dragonization will never happen. But he's also worried about what will the black matter do after destroying the Dragon Seed.
However, the Dragon Seed also won't let itself get destroyed. It fights back by releasing its energy to repel the black matter. Now they are fighting each other for dominance.
[Ding! Sun Devil Slayer Magic has been obtained.]
Suddenly, Ben feels a sting on his right chest. He checks it and finds a black Sun Tattoo appears there. The tattoo is composed of a circle surrounded by flames.
"AI Chip, what is this?" asks Ben.
[The mark of Devil Slayer that you get as the result of learning Devil Slayer Magic in an instant. But it's not a problem because you won't get demonized like normal Devil Slayers.]
Just like Dragon Slayers, Devil Slayers get their magic by learning the Demons' Magic. They can be taught by a Demon or anyone who knows Demon's Magic. Then just like Dragon Slayers, their magic can turn them into Demons.
"WTF, NOW I WON'T JUST TURN INTO A DRAGON, BUT A DEMON TOO?" asks Ben with a frustrated tone.
[Don't worry, it won't happen to you. There is a good reason for me to suggest you eat the Sun Demon and gain his magic. It is because the Demonic power will suppress the Dragon power.]
The black matter is a materialization of the Sun Devil Slayer Magic. It doesn't look like a Sun's power with its black color. But the black color is the characteristic of Devil Slayer Magic that is caused by the demonic power.
Ben sighs in relief because he doesn't need to worry about being a demon too. The dragonization is troublesome enough for him. So he doesn't want to handle another problem. He's also happy because the Devil Slayer Magic can suppress the Dragon Seed.
"Hmm? It suppress the Dragon Seed? Does it means that I don't need to stop my growth from now on?" asks Ben to AI Chip.
[You still need to halt it until your Devil Slayer Magic stabilized. It is still struggling to merge completely with you because of the Dragon Slayer Magic.]
"How long?" asks Ben.
[I can't calculate it because it will depend on you. The Devil Slayer Magic will get stronger if you keep training & using it like other kinds of magic. If you can solidify your Sun Devil Slayer Magic faster, then it will suppress the Dragon Seed faster too.]
"Hmm, that makes sense. But shouldn't it start to suppress the Dragon Seed now? Then it should reduce my growth stopping time, right?" asks Ben.
[Yes, it reduced your time limit to 2,5 years.]
"Oh, half a year discount, not bad," says Ben happily.
With the demonic power suppressing the Dragon Seed, Ben won't need to worry about the Dragonization. Even if his physical powers grow fast, it won't trigger his Dragon Seed because it will be too busy fighting with the Demon Seed.
But Ben needs to solidify his Sun Devil Slayer Magic first. It is still weak because he just got it some minutes ago. While the Dragon Slayer Magic has been trained for 5 years.
It will be difficult to chase 5 years difference. But both magic types have the same base, the Sun. That means they have the same basics, like their elements. It will be easier for Ben to adapt to the Magic because he doesn't need to start from zero.
"Alright, so now I need to focus on the Sun Devil Slayer Magic, while still training the Dragon Slayer Magic. Sigh, I will be very busy from now on. But it will be interesting to try a new type of magic. Hehe, I can't wait to see the power of this Devil Slayer Magic," says Ben excitedly.
Ben always likes to learn new things in this world, especially magic. So getting this Sun Devil Slayer Magic really excites him. He wants to explore this new magic and find out what he can do with it.
"That must be very interesting, but how do I get out from here?" asks Ben while looking around.
[You will wake up automatically after half an hour. Your body needs to get used to the Sun Devil Slayer Magic that you've just got.]
"Oh, alright," says Ben.
With nothing to do, Ben decides to walk around the desert while looking at the battle between the demonic power and Dragon Seed.
"It looks like Venom trying to overtake Spiderman's body. Hmm, what movie is that? Spiderman 3? Sigh, forget it. I won't be able to watch movies anymore," says Ben while sighing.
As he watches the battle that happens there, Ben realizes that this place is getting hotter. He is immune to heat, but he still can feel it and know the temperature easily. So he can feel the rise of temperature in this desert.
It's easy to guess the reason though, the Sun Devil Slayer Magic. Both magic has the same power source, which is Sun. So their power complements each other while still clashing with each other because of their different nature.
"So their personalities are different and can't match each other. But their powers are complimenting each other and become stronger. If I can make them work together, then the result will be very strong," says Ben after analyzing the situation.
Ben keeps watching the 'battle' in his subconsciousness. He doesn't have anything to do, so he watches the 'battle'. The battle isn't interesting to watch, but it's the only thing for him to watch in this place. Then after 30 minutes, he finally wakes up.
"Finally, now let's try my new magic. But let's sleep first," says Ben while looking at the sky that has turned dark, so he decides to sleep.
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1. Chapter 138 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 149 of Transcended as Lord Buggy
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