Chapter 661 - Angels And Devils [Part 2]

'This is amazing,' William thought. As he looked at the various skills that came along with the Familiamancer Job Class. All of these skills boosted the power of his two Familiars, so he was very keen on upgrading all of them by using the Beastcores in his possession.

< There's something that I need to tell you, Will. >

'Yes?'

< Perhaps you didn't notice, but when you were creating your familiars, the two dungeon cores that had remained dormant inside your body merged with your soul, which gave birth to Elliot and Conan. >

'What?!' 

William was genuinely shocked by the information that the System had shared with him. Due to the pain that he suffered after half of his soul was torn off from his body, he didn't notice that the two Dungeon Cores that he had saved long ago had now been reborn as his Familiars.

< Will, how are you feeling right now? Do you still feel any pain? >

'Of course I still feel pa– wait.' William closed his eyes and expanded his senses to every part of his body. Earlier, he was in such intense pain that he felt like dying. Now, that painful sensation had completely disappeared as if it had never happened.

< I see. Now I understand why the second subclass has been unlocked. Basically, since you lost half of your soul, you should feel very unstable right now. However, that is not the case. It seems that the CPU Core has decided to add this new feature, to compensate for the loss you received. 

As long as Elliot and Conan are with you, the imbalance in your Sea of Consciousness will maintain its stability.

'Are there any side-effects of having half of my soul taken from me?' William inquired.

< I already ran a diagnostic scan on your Physical and Spiritual Body. So far, I don't see any problems. But, I will continue to monitor your Spiritual World just in case there is a side-effect that we are not aware of. 

For now, you should ask Celeste for more information about your condition. If I'm not mistaken, she also used her soul to give birth to Chloee and Claire. >

William nodded his head in understanding. Soul injuries were a serious business. He knew because he had personally faced this problem a few years ago. He thought that there was no problem sacrificing a part of his soul to create his Familiars, because it was one of the methods that was available to him.

"So, your name is Chloee, such a beautiful name indeed," Elliot's flowery words reached William's ears. "Why don't the two of us take a stroll and see… what you and I have in common."

"T-This. I-I still need to teach my Disciple about being a Familiamancer," Chloee stuttered. Elliot's persistent, yet charming attacks were slowly corroding her defenses. She wasn't used to being approached by others and talked to in this manner.

Usually, everyone that met her either ran away, or collapsed on the floor in tears. Because of this, she wasn't sure how to react to Elliot's advances, and the latter's angelic smile was making her feel weird.

Conan, on the other hand, was standing stiffly as Claire circled his body with a serious expression. Chloee's twin would sometimes touch, and pat Conan's body as if she was taking notes of an endangered animal.

"Y-You, why are you being so touchy?" Conan shuddered as Claire caressed his stomach. "Don't you know about giving others personal space? Why are you touching me without my permission?"

"Shut up and don't move," Claire ordered. "I'm busy taking mental notes. Move and I'll burn you alive."

"H-Hiiiie!" Conan's body shuddered, but he didn't dare to move away. For some reason, Claire was able to suppress him to a degree where he couldn't resist. He then turned to his Master and decided to use his Trump Card. "W-Will, help me!"

William massaged his face with his hands as he looked at the pitiful little Devil who was under Claire's complete mercy. 

'Bruh, you're making us look bad,' William said through telepathy. 'Go grit your teeth and show her who's boss! Aren't you a man? Why are you letting yourself get henpecked?'

'T-That's right! Why am I letting myself get bullied? I am the great Conan! I don't bow down to anyone!"

'That's the spirit! Knock her silly!'

'Okay! I will knock her silly!'

Emboldened by William's words, Conan grabbed Claire's hand who was busy caressing his face.

"You, who do you think you're touching?" Conan asked with a glare. "I am the mighty Conan. Do you think that I am so easy to bully?"

Claire looked at the hand that was holding her own in place before looking at Conan who was glaring at her. 

Suddenly, a resounding crack was heard followed by a scream.

Claire had gripped Conan's hand tightly until the bones in his hand broke. 

"W-Why are you being so barbaric?" Conan asked while tears and snot ran down his face. "Can't we discuss this like proper, civilized familiars?"

Claire smiled sweetly, and yet, her smile made Conan and William shudder uncontrollably. 

"I learned from my sister that violence solves most problems," Claire replied. "It seems that she is right. Sometimes, we have to hurt people in order to ensure that they don't get out of line."

Her hand glowed and the injury that Conan received was healed completely.

"Are you going to stay still and let me examine you, or are we going to do this the hard way?"

"Ma'am, please do whatever you like. I will not resist."

"Good. I like good boys," Claire said as she caressed the side of Conan's face. "I'll treat you to a meal later."

William covered his face with his hand as he averted his gaze. His Familiar that specialized in defense was now acting like a henpecked husband, unable to defy the orders of his wife.

The Half-Elf then glanced at Elliot who was currently having a lively conversation with Chloee. William's SIxth Master's face was still as red as an apple. Clearly, the Playboy Familiar was on his A-Game and managed to subdue the monstrous little girl that had defeated William even after using all of his powers.

William then glanced at Celeste and the latter nodded her head. The two of them left the scene, and allowed their familiars to interact with each other. 

Chiffon followed William while carrying Bacon in her hands. She was still not comfortable letting one of the Seven Virtues talk with her husband alone. Although Celeste wasn't being hostile to them, her natural instinct prevented her from trusting the beautiful Elf completely.

—---

"Half of your soul was taken away from you?" Celeste frowned after hearing William's explanation. 

William nodded his head. "Yes."

"This is strange. It shouldn't have taken that much to create your Familiars." Celeste shook her head. "I had to pay that kind of price because I am the Progenitor of this Profession. However, for you to do the same is unnatural. Did you feel or see anything strange while you were in the midst of creating your Familiar?"

William didn't know how to answer Celeste's question. He hid the fact that there were two dungeon core spirits that were resting in his body. He thought that if he divulged this information, the beautiful Elf would press him for answers, and he was not comfortable answering these kinds of questions.

Especially from someone that he had just met for a day, even if she was the twin sister of his Master, Celine.

< Will, I think it will be best if you spill the beans. Since she is the progenitor of the Familiamancer Class, she might be able to answer the doubts we have. Perhaps there is a hidden danger that we cannot see at this point in time. It is best to be safe than sorry. >

'You're right.' William sighed. 'I'll trust her just this once.'

After resolving himself, the Half-Elf told Celeste the truth. He didn't tell her how he was able to acquire the spirits of two dungeon cores, because he thought that this was not important.

Celeste listened to William's explanation and made a mental review of what happened during the creation process.

"This is unprecedented," Celeste said after a few minutes of silence. "William, you already know that dungeon cores hold almost infinite energy, right?"

William nodded. "Yes."

Celeste paced around the room with her hands behind her back. "Your soul merged with two dungeon cores spirits that were residing in your body. Right now, it is safe to say that your soul was divided in half in order to accommodate the great powers that they possess.

"Right now, both of your familiars are still in the Infancy Stage. Meaning, they still couldn't bring out their full potential. However, as you advance the power of this Job Class, you will understand what they are capable of."

Celeste paused and stared at William with a serious expression.

"If my calculation is right, your Familiars will be just as strong as mine when they reach their full potential," Celeste stated. "Meaning, Elliot and Connan will have the strength of Progenitors, which means that you will also become a Progenitor."

Celeste walked towards William and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

"I thought that I would be the only one that could bestow this class to other people, but it seems that is not the case," Celeste said. "Do your best, William. Let us spread the profession of Familiamancers together! 

"Ah! But before that happens, you need to reach the highest rank of Familiamancer, which is called the Familiar Sovereign. I look forward to what you can do in the future!"

A refreshing smile appeared on Celeste's face which made William's heart race. 

'She really looks like Master, especially when she smiles,' William thought as he did his best to control his beating heart. 

Although he didn't fully understand how he was able to become a Progenitor of the Familiamancer Class, he had previous experience with bestowing Job Classes to his subordinates.

Back then, he had given the members of the Angorian War Sovereign, Cavalier Classes, with the help of his spear, Rhongomyniad. For William, reaching the highest rank of the Familiamancer Class was not a problem.

As long as he was willing to use all of the Best Cores in his possession, or grind in the Dungeon of Atlantis for experience, he believed that it was only a matter of time before Elliot and Conan reached the same heights as Chloee and Claire.

When that happened, William would truly be equal to the Powerhouses of the World, but until then, he would explore the full potential of this Job Class that he had acquired through touching the Divine Artifact, Enuma Elish.

From on top of the Tower of Babylon, an old man looked at William and Celeste with a smile on his face. He himself didn't expect that William would be able to summon two Lazarus Class Familiars with so much potential.

'We need all the help that we can get,' the old man thought. 

He then looked in the distance.

His gaze landed on a beautiful world that was similar to Earth. 

On its surface, flames were starting to spread across the land. 

A great battle was being waged, but the old man was sure that the ending had already been set in stone. The end had already come for that beautiful world, and only a miracle could save it from destruction.

Inside the Temple of the Gods…

In the place of the Cycle of Reincarnation…

A red portal glowed brightly. However, if one were to look closely, several cracks had started to appear on its surface. This portal led to the world that the old man saw.

It was only a matter of time before that beautiful world, and the red portal, would cease to exist. Such was the fate of a world that was nearing its end.

An end that was brought about by the Gods of Destruction, whose sole purpose was to usher an eternal rest to Gods and mortals alike.