--
"Phew! Damn, thank you. I really needed that laugh."
Cedric could do nothing but blink at Charles. The kid laughed for about 10 minutes straight, by Cedric's estimation, all because he found his prank too funny. Even now, Charles is still wiping away his tears from laughing so much, but he does seem calmer now.
The young sage didn't know whether to be offended or pleased that the Tech God finds him hillarious.
"Shall we move on with our official business?" Gabriel chimed in from the side. "I'm afraid that if we delve into more pleansantries, we'd be here all day."
He sounds as if he doesn't want to be here, but in truth, he's just saving the Holy Son from further embarrassment because he personally knew Charles' personality.
"I agree." Lissandra supported his proposal. She then turned to Cedric and said, "We came here to notify you that your request has been approved, but only with a few conditions."
Cedric thought for a bit before asking, "The Demon Lord Soul, right? What are the conditions?"
He did place a request to get his hands on a Demon Lord Soul, though he did it through the system. He didn't expect his request to reach these people, but in hindsight, he should've. Especially Charles, if he's really the tech god.
"It's nothing much. We just want to guard you as you use it," Lissandra stated. "We know the risks of using a lord soul, and we just want to make sure that we can do something in case of emergency."
"This isn't us doubting your skills or your willpower, Young Sage," Gabriel added. "We do this for additional insurance. Your status is, after all, incredibly important to us."
Cedric nodded at their statement. This much should be expected, at least.
"I understand. When can we begin?" he asked.
Lissandra and Gabriel then turned to Charles, who's pouting on his seat. He grumbled and took something out of his inventory.
"Here."
He then handed a small, sealed box to Cedric. It looked innocuous, but Cedric could see through it at first glance. He knew that the Demon Lord Soul was inside, and it's sealed shut so that it won't spread corruption everywhere.
As he touched the box, his professional skills and his unparalleled insight immediately informed him of everything he needed to know about how this box was created: its composition, how it was forged and where, its durability, and more importantly, how to use it.
Snap!
Cedric snapped his fingers, and instantly, several runes shimmered around them. Charles, Gabriel, and Lissandra immediately felt the room being isolated from the outside.
He then looked at Lissandra and said, "He's got to be doing his thing on purpose, right? Like some kind of revenge because I laughed at him earlier?"
"Well, I'm not sure. I personally don't think he's that petty." She replied, "Just look at him; I don't think he even remembers that we're here."
Charles could see it, and he's extremely familiar with it since he too had his fair share of extreme focus like this. He huffed and decided to keep watching. That said, he had certainly learned a thing or two from Cedric's display so far.
Cedric remained deaf and uncaring about their presence because he's in 'work mode'. His concentration and focus were so sharp that they could almost cut steel.
He panned through the data he received. Analyzing and comparing it to other data he previously had. He then bit his lips and ran simulations mentally.
"Well, that's no good." He muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What is?"
Cedric nearly dropped his quill from surprise as he heard Charles' voice right next to him. He took a deep breath to recover before saying,
"It's, uh, well, I don't think it's possible to purify Demon Lord Souls as is with the tools we currently have...for the forseeable future at least," Cedric explained. His eyes then focused on the particular data display and continued: "Even the most time-consuming and gentlest purification process will reduce it to nothingness."
"Demon Lord Souls are corrupted beyond saving." Cedric sighed. "The corrupted has penetrated deep into the root of the soul. There's just no available equipment we could use to get rid of it without damaging the core structure of the soul. And even if there is, I don't think it would be worth it to use those for the simple act of purifying a Demon Lord Soul, I imagine."
"..." The elders looked at each other knowingly.
"Does this mean that Essence Souls would only be an option during the Superhuman Realm for the forseeable future too?" Gabriel asked curiously.
"Fortunately, no," Cedric replied with a sigh. "This thing has given me enough data to improve the altar."
"Well, why are you sighing then? The problem was solved, wasn't it?" Charles was confused.
"Because it's a temporary solution," Cedric replied. "I will improve the altar in a way that it could increase the concentration of Essence Souls to reach the level of Demon Lord Souls. But in the end, this method still relies on the existence of Purgatory."
"The Demon Lord Souls we gather by killing Demon Lords in Purgatory and the real world are, regrattably, useless to us for the foreseeable future. We can't expect the status quo to remain forever. Sooner or later, Purgatory will disappear. What happens then? How do we progress past that point?"
"I was hoping to see clues from this thing; it's a shame I can't." Cedric sighed again. He then huffed almost petulantly and said, "Eh, whatever. I'll let future me handle that if I'm still alive by then."
Charles gaped at the ridiculousness of this boy. He even turned to Gabriel and Lissandra, giving them a look that said, 'Did you hear what he said just now? '
The two just shurgged at him, though, even smiling helplessly because of how far Cedric's vision stretches.