Sinner System

"Nope, too predictable. Try again," Remarked Aria, as she evaded a punch from Baraqiel before slamming her palm against his back, sending him stumbling forward.

"I see, it’s no wonder I lost the battle during the trial. Throughout the course of that fight, the gap in skill was abundantly clear. Even so, I didn’t fully realize the extent of that gap," He sighed wistfully.

"Well, on the bright side, you’re clearly improving at a pretty remarkable rate. Your movements are getting sharper and more efficient. Once you’ve got your basics in line, you can gradually start refining and improving your technique," I responded encouragingly.

"Yeah, that’s true. You’re still below average in terms of skill, you’ve got a lot of room for improvement. But that said, you’re powerful enough that you can just brute force your way to victory against most opponents. Only us X-Aces have enough power to expose your current low skill level," Added Aria thoughtfully.

Today’s the 25th of April, 2172, it’s been about a week and a half since our Quests. Aria’s been helping me train Baraqiel, who’s making pretty good progress.

As it turns out, he’s a pretty chill guy, now that he isn’t trying to kill us anymore. Aria was awkward around him initially, thanks to her false memories of him. But with each passing day, she’s been able to separate the false memories from her real ones more easily, same with Jaden.

According to them, at this point, those memories feel more like a movie they watched or something, rather that real experiences they went through.

"By the way, how come the other two Angels turned out to be easier to defeat that you were? With you, it took all of us, including my Apostles, to take you down. But with the other two, I took down one by myself, and the other was defeated by Cleo and Ciel," I remarked curiously.

"Hm? Was it really that much easier? I believe I was only granted about two thirds of the amount of power they had. Maybe they were too dependant and reliant on that power? Also, when I first fought you, I had a little bit of time to gather my thoughts when you retreated, think it was a couple of minutes or so. Having that time to think made me realize that I was outclassed, and accept that fact," He replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, makes sense. Also, you caught Matriel off-guard when you fought her, with Command, Pilfer and Shuffle, and then finished her off before she could recover," Pointed out Aria.

True. But that wasn’t the case with the one Ciel and Cleo fought, Kerubiel, I think it was.

"Based on what Ciel and Cleo told me, the Angel they fought froze and panicked every time he sustained serious damage. So, they were able to pin him down and keep him from fully regenerating. And despite having way more Mana than you, the two of them were able to extinguish his Mana, even though it took all of us to drain you," I recalled.

"Kerubiel, huh? He was always rigid and inflexible, even among us Angels. Or, Heralds, as we’re known in the Divine Realm. He also sees mortals as inferior...I mean, we all do, but his view was particularly extreme. So, he probably couldn’t fathom the fact that mortals had the upper hand on him, and it broke his brain, metaphorically speaking," Surmised Baraqiel in fascination.

"Huh. So, you’re saying you see us as inferior too? Let’s get back to it, I’ll fix that for ya," Suggested Aria, cracking her knuckles.

"W-Well, my viewpoint is changing now that I’m living among you. But, you have to understand, we Heralds are quite literally on another level. The power I possess in this physical form is only a fraction of my full divine power. It’s impossible for us to descend to the mortal realm without destroying it just from our presence, divine energy is like poison to mortal worlds.

So, if a Herald is to descend into a mortal realm, they have to assume a physical vessel like this one and retain only a small fraction of their power. And the divinity in that fraction of power is heavily diluted with Mana. And the Gods can’t descend no matter what, even with a vessel. It’d be like a human trying to fit into an ant tunnel, it’s just not possible," He informed us.

"Huh, good to know. Guess that explains why the Gods assigned you and the other two Heralds to execute the trial instead of doing it themselves. And why we were pulled into the Divine Realm when they wanted to speak to us, I’m assuming that’s the only way they can communicate with humans?" I asked him.

"Yes, that’s right. But you needn’t worry. You’ve cleared the trial and earned the right to keep living. Divine intervention like what you experienced is extremely rare, completely unheard of in most worlds. That’s why Lord Samsara’s actions had to be penalized, divine intervention is an extremely serious matter."

"Here’s hoping she doesn’t reincarnate anyone else and trigger another trial. Even if you and the others won’t be subject to it, having reality warped while being completely unaware to the changes is seriously terrifying," Frowned Aria uneasily.

"Agreed," I nodded with a grimace.

"Hm, speaking of the trial, on another note...what of the other two who were subjected to it? The chemistry girl and the death guy?" Inquired Baraqiel, before adding, "I never actually got to see the latter since you didn’t include him in the fight against me, so I’m a bit curious."

"Well, the HUC is on the lookout for Leto, but he’s been laying low, there hasn’t been any sign of him yet. As for Alkimia, I don’t plan on contacting her until or unless she becomes a Hunter. Regardless of intent, it’s probably not the best idea to reach out to an underage girl," I replied with a wry smile.

"Then, just have Cleo or Ciel do it. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ciel already has, didn’t you say that she was begging that poor girl to blast her with nuclear material?" Aria reminded me.

"Oh, right...I forgot about that. Yeah, now that you mention it, it’d be weird if she hadn’t reached out."