The immense power inside Simon did not settle quietly.
It tore through him.
His back arched as the energy taken from the Furnaceback Centipede rushed through his veins like molten metal. Muscles tightened beneath his skin, his bones creaked, and dark veins rose across his arms and neck.
Crack!
A fracture appeared along one of the bones in his forearm.
Before it could spread, Unholy Regeneration repaired it.
Then another part of his body broke.
The muscles across his shoulder tore from the pressure. Blood leaked through his skin, only for the wound to close a moment later. The same thing happened across his legs, ribs, and back as the physical essence of the Half-Step Abyssal Beast tried to force itself into a body that had almost reached its current limit.
Simon dropped to one knee.
The stone beneath him cracked.
’If I did not possess Unholy Regeneration, I would be completely fucked right now.’
That was not an exaggeration.
His physical body was already far stronger than a Minor Archfiend’s body should have been. It had been broken, rebuilt, and strengthened so many times that his Infernal Heart had become the main thing limiting further growth.
To become much stronger physically, he needed a stronger heart rank.
Devour, and quite literally, Simon... did not care about that limitation.
He had used Devour to extract physical strength, constitution, and vitality from the Furnaceback Centipede, then poured them all into him at once.
Simon gritted his teeth as another wave passed through his body.
’I definitely bit off more than I could chew.’
The Furnaceback Centipede was the strongest living creature he had ever devoured. The difference between its rank and his own was absurd.
He had killed it, but Simon understood the circumstances clearly.
If he had faced the beast from outside, where its armour, aura, earth, fire, and massive body could protect it, he would never have won. He succeeded because he entered its body, bypassed most of its defences, attacked its mind from within, and drove the Chaos Blade directly into its brain.
However, that did not make the power inside its corpse any weaker.
Another crack echoed through the cave.
Simon closed his eyes and stopped allowing the energy to move freely.
His Will pressed down on it.
First, he separated the raw demonic energy from the physical essence. The demonic energy was guided toward his Infernal Heart, where it gathered around the Chaos Flame instead of flooding his pathways.
Then he focused on the physical essence.
He divided it into hundreds of thinner streams and directed them through his muscles, bones, tendons, and organs. Every stream moved slowly and followed the natural structure of his body.
The pressure did not disappear, but it stopped striking him like a hammer.
His body absorbed what it could. The rest continued circulating under Simon’s control, waiting behind the limit created by his current heart rank.
Unholy Regeneration repaired the damage left behind.
Gradually, the cracking stopped, and Simon could not help but release a soft breath of relief. But he did not relax.
Something else remained within the energy Devour had extracted.
It felt heavy, dense, and immovable.
Simon drew it away from the remaining power, and a deep brown glow travelled through his pathways toward his Demon Heart.
The moment it reached the Chaos Flame, the entire cave seemed to become heavier.
’Earth.’
Simon recognised the element immediately.
The affinity settled inside him with far less violence than the physical essence, but its presence was unmistakable. It moved through his bones and muscles like a firm hand pressing every part of his body into place.
His bones became slightly denser and the trembling in his muscles reduced.
Even the repairs performed by Unholy Regeneration became more stable because the earth elemental energy strengthened the structures being restored and made them harder to tear apart again.
Simon studied the new affinity.
’High B grade.’
It was not close to his wind affinity, but it was far from weak.
Obtaining an earth affinity from the Furnaceback Centipede pleased him, however, there was a pressure gathering inside his chest.
Simon placed one hand over his heart, and he felt his Infernal Heart beat unevenly.
His Chaos Flame shifted as the new earth element settled beside the affinities already present within him. Wind remained the strongest and most active. Shadow moved beneath it. The weak trace of fire flickered at one side, while spatial energy caused faint distortions around the flame. As for the ice element, it remained as cold as ever.
However, the introduction of the earth element had broken the balance between all his previous affinities.
Simon felt the pressure of the broken balance and affinities spread through his heart and pathways. His expression could not help but become solemn.
He exhaled deeply, then he entered a state of complete focus.
His Will descended on the Chaos Flame, while his control divided each elemental presence and forced them into a stable arrangement. He adjusted their movements until each occupied its own space without colliding with the rest.
Eventually, the pressure slowly weakened and Simon’s heartbeat returned to normal.
However, he knew the problem had not truly been solved.
’This balance is temporary. My control is holding everything together, but control alone cannot remain the answer forever.’
Every additional affinity changed his Chaos Flame and placed more strain on his Demon Heart.
If he carelessly absorbed another element without properly addressing the imbalance, his pathways could tear, his Demon Heart could develop cracks, or the different forces inside his Chaos Flame could begin fighting one another whenever his concentration weakened.
Simon opened his eyes and the cave no longer felt the same.
He could feel the stone beneath his knee.
Not merely its rough surface.
He felt its weight, the thin cracks hidden inside it, and the pressure of the black hill resting above the cave. When a small stone fell near the blocked entrance, the impact travelled through the ground and reached him like a faint whisper.
Simon placed his palm against the floor and the sensation became clearer.
He was certain that he could not perceive the world through the earth the way Sonya did. His new affinity was not powerful enough, and he lacked her experience and natural senses.
Still, High B grade allowed him to feel far more than he expected.
’If this is what the earth feels like with a High B affinity, then Sonya’s absurd affinity must make the entire world shout through her feet. Feeling every footstep and every impact on the ground.’
A faint smile appeared on Simon’s face.
’She really is absurdly talented.’
His smile disappeared as he returned his attention to his body.
The earth affinity had helped him stabilise the physical essence, but it had not removed the true limitation.
His Infernal Heart was full.
The raw demonic energy taken from the centipede pressed around it, while the power waiting inside his body demanded a stronger foundation.
Simon rose slowly.
He exhaled and felt the cave respond faintly beneath his feet.
"It’s time for me to advance to the Prime stage and beyond."