AN: Hello my fellow readers, hope you are having a nice evening/day.

  It's been quite a while since I've written this chapter, and one thing that I absolutely love are Training Arcs; seeing the Mc Improve, how the Mc uses his skills/magic, the inventive ways established powers are trained and made better, new interesting skills etc... I knew that if I didn't stop myself I could've easily written chapters upon chapters of just training, but I know how that can be boring to read.

  So you may consider this chapter one of my favorites until now. (albeit I still think there are lots of stuff to improve.)

  Now, before we start the chapter, let me pose you guys a question to put on the back of your mind while you read. (Please answer it, I crave some interaction).

  Would you rather;

  Be a very feminine twink, curves and all, with a massive schlong. (You are supernaturally beautiful to both sexes and have the charisma of Artoria.).

  or

  A Space Marine, with a normal sized, for your physique, schlong?(Transhuman dread is a real thing and will make your life quite difficult)

  (For the sake of this question, both are at the peak of their health with everything working normally no matter what. And are as equally as powerful).

  Question of the day aside, Here is the chapter:

  ~ Razen Antares Gremory ~ Getting close to his room, Antares tried to hide a blush of shame. After his spell exploded on his face, earning him a beautiful bell-like ugh from Eu, the duo continued practicing their magic until they could not anymore.

  Exhausted from their training, both Devils couldn't help but feel happy. It was a short bit, but they felt like they improved massively, not only was their mana flowing a little more smoothly, the control over their main attribute was a few steps better as well. It was a visible improvement, something that made both of them eted.

  After that, they bought some fast food and went to take a bath, By the time they were freshened up and ready, the deliveryman arrived. They ate in tired silence, both simply enjoying each other's presence without any fanfare.

  Now it was time to sleep.

  But both Eu and Antares were at a conundrum, the moment they reached the door of the master bedroom they hesitated. As if the thought of splitting up for the night was something alien to them.

  The two stayed there awkwardly, not knowing what to do and too afraid to say what was necessary.

  The minutes drew on and on until Antares felt a sudden warmth touching his right arm, looking at its source; he saw Eu, who had subconsciously gotten closer to him.

  Taking a deep breath, Antares gathered his courage; "Want to sleep together?", he asked in a low voice.

  Eu let out an audible sigh of relief, blushed, and nodded her head enthusiastically. Her body visibly drew closer to the point where her soft yet perky breasts were pressing on Antares' right arm.

  The duo robotically entered the room, their gazes not once leaving each other. With slow steps they got closer and closer, their bodies pressing more and more against each other, while slowly approaching the bed.

  Reaching the bed, Antares swiftly removed the covers before he and Eu tucked themselves in.

  Hugging each other like their life depended on it, to the point Eu was even using her legs as well, the duo fell asleep. Their exhaustion, both mental and physical, coupled with the comfort of each other and the high-quality bed and covers, sent the exhausted duo straight into the realm of Morpheus.

  ~ Eu Lawrence ~ For Eu, the st year of her life was hell, even if not so literal.

  It all started with the Stormterror attacks, the storm dragon flipping an entire nation on its head by his might alone. Then came the strange traveler, who even if not from Mondstadt, absolutely despised her, something about 'These kinds of people shouldn't be allowed to exist'.

  Long accustomed to the Pariah treatment, Eu bore it no mind and continued her job as Captain of the Reconnaissance Company.

  Somehow, the Traveler resolved the Stormterror crisis, met Barbatos himself, and stopped a Fatui Harbinger from killing some strange androgynous bard. The entire city considered the Traveller a Hero, a Savior, and some even the chosen one of the Archons. Once again, Eu chose to not concern herself with such things, she had her job, the DUTY that she must uphold.

  Apparently, when she was on an extended expedition, the Lawrence cn with the help of the Fatui, tried to stage a coup on Mondstadt, only to have their pns foiled by the Traveler herself. The popution did not like that, not one bit.

  The whole cn was to be executed on the spot. For to act against the freedom of the nd of freedom was punishable by death.

  Thankfully, Acting Grandmaster Jean performed a few miracles and managed to save Eu and a few more innocent members' lives. But the Lawrence cn, and anyone even remotely reted to them was to be considered excommunicated from the nation, forbidden from ever setting foot on Mondstadt soil ever again.

  Gathering everything of value they could, the cn hastily made its way towards Liyue. Sadly, their egos quickly proved too much; internal disputes, conflicts of ideas, and many other small miscelneous problems quickly split the Lawrence cn into many small parties. Eu's effort to make them into a cohesive unit was completely ignored, to the point the members of her family started to outright act hostile to her, heck, some even accused her of being the reason they were banned from Mondstadt.

  Eu was devastated. But she pushed on.

  She wanted to still try her luck at Liyue, liking it or not, it was the closest neighborhood nation, and it was not like she had any surplus of resources to travel far. She then became an adventurer, using the skills she learned as a Knight of Favonious to quickly climb through the ranks.

  She led a retively good, albeit dangerous life for a few months, her new work as an adventurer was more than enough to pay for her living expenses, and it gave her more than enough time to process the recent changes to her life. Sadly, such a blissful life was coming to an end.

  The traveler arrived at Liyue.

  Rex Lapis died.

  Being one of the few 'suspicious' foreigners at the ceremony, Eu was instantly detained by Millelith and accused of Killing a God.

  The Cryo user didn't know where she should ugh or cry, once again the traveler destroyed her life without even being aware she was there, not to mention she was being accused of killing a God, her of all people. She was strong for a vision user sure, but she would willingly bet all her savings she couldn't even scratch one of Rex Lapis' scales.

  After that, not much happened on her st days in Teyvat, she just stayed in a Solitary Containment cell awaiting the day of her judgment. But such a day never came, as roughly a month after her imprisonment, an enormous tsunami-like wave destroyed her prison, killing her in the process.

  She would then ter wake up and look at the most handsome man she ever saw in her life. He was in her humble, and totally unbiased opinion, perfect. A strong and chiseled jawline, sharp and firm eyes, broad shoulders, and a dashing smile that coupled with his short crimson hair and supernatural charm… hmmm, the girl mentally licked her lips… it felt like he was born solely to make her swoon.

  Not to mention his voice was vibrant and extremely attractive, and his personality honestly fit Eu's tastes very well. He literally checked all the boxes for her preferences, is this what Lisa talked about when she said she would know when she found her man? Eu isn't certain, but it surely does feel like it.

  Then, they went on a date, and while none of them explicitly said it was a date, what would you call when a couple goes to the mall together to buy a bunch of stuff and eat good food? A date obviously.

  The house tour ter was honestly a little shameful for Eu, she fully admits she didn't pay much attention to the house, her focus was on someone else. Did becoming a devil make her hornier perchance? She should ask Antares ter, preferably after they make out.

  The training after the tour was quite nice, and while she has gotten quite a bit weaker, casting magic felt honestly awesome to Eu, she loved it.

  Seeing Antares Spell explode in his face was quite funny, Eu fully admits she was extremely worried at first, but when she saw he was barely scuffed, she couldn't hold back her ughter anymore. Antares then went and praised her ugh, making her feel quite a bit bashful for the rest of the day.

  By the time they were exhausted enough to go to sleep, Eu felt extremely reluctant to part with Antares even if just for a while. And then it happened, he asked the question she wanted to her so much, she was so delighted, so happy she couldn't even speak, so she just nodded her head. She was not shy, definitely not it, no sir.

  Sadly, by the time they tucked themselves to sleep while hugging each other tightly, exhaustion caught up to her, and Eu could do nothing besides fall asleep, much to her charging, she wanted to at least exchange a little bit of saliva first. But she will settle for the best sleep of her life.

  Damn, it felt good, warm and comfy. Just perfect.

  Even after waking up she just stayed there, basking in his presence, enjoying his warm and tight embrace. Eu wouldn't mind spending the day like this, it felt way too good.

  ~ Razen Antares Gremory ~ Even after waking up he just stayed there, basking in her presence, enjoying her warm and soft body pressing and him. Razen wouldn't mind spending the day like this, it felt way too good.

  But life loves to throw a few curveballs at everyone's pns.

  * We're no strangers to love

  You know the rules and so do I

  A full commitment is what I'm thinking of

  You wouldn't get this from any other guy

  I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling

  Gotta make you understand

  Never gonna give you up-*

  Groaning to hide the bout of annoyance he was feeling, Antares picked up his phone; "Hello, Antares speaking.", he spoke while, as much as it pained him, stealthily detached himself from Eu and exited their nest.

  "Little Bro!", an extremely enthusiastic voice echoed, someone who Antares instantly recognized as his brother Sirzechs; "You finally got your first peerage member! You have no idea how proud of you I am! Dad and Mom are CRAZY to meet her, when are you going to introduce her to us?".

  Still shaking off the st vestiges of sleep, Razen took a moment to answer; "As soon as possible I guess.", Razen sighed; "But she still getting used to being a devil, getting a grip on her Demonic Mana and all that stuff that comes with changing your species.".

  "I guess it sort of makes sense, I remember Okita taking quite a while back them... hmm… How about Saturday Evening?".

  "I have no choice in the matter, do I?", asked Razen with deadpan.

  "Nope~", Razen could almost see Sirzechs amused grin through the call. "So… See you guys Saturday at 6?", asked the Force user tentatively.

  "4~", Sirzechs instantly corrected, making Antares sight; "Understood… just… please don't show my baby photos to Eu.".

  "I promise I won't show her anything.", Sirzechs then grinned evilly; "But it's not like I can say the same about Mom, can I?", Antares groaned.

  "Can we negotiate about this, I have this super cool-", before he could even finish his offer, his brother quickly cut him off; "No can do Lil Bro~, for that one, you are on your own. Now, as much as I want to talk to you, some Idiot thought it was a wise idea to Ban Nekoshou from buying Golden Cow Milk, and now the Yakuza somehow got involved, which normally would still be manageable, But since the Sosai Oyabun of the Yakuza married the Yokai Queen, wherever one of them enter a mess, the other follows soon after, so Sera-tan needs my help to sort through this mess.".

  "I understand brother.", Razen sighed, trying to not panic at the slew of revetions a single sentence of his brother brought him; "See you Saturday. Good luck.".

  "See ya~.", there was silence for a moment before Sirzechs voice soon returned, this time the seriousness permeating his voice was clear even through the phone; "Oh, one st thing before I hang up. In three days, a contract will come to exterminate a Stray Devil. Take it.".

  A little surprised at his brother's sudden seriousness, Antares hesitated for a bit; "I… ok. I will.".

  "Good.", Sirzechs tone went back to normal; "See you on Saturday ~"

  Taking a deep breath, Antares sighed, it was the first time in a long while since he heard his brother sounding so serious, it was kind of unnerving actually. He almost forgot how ruthless he can be when the need arises.

  "Three days, huh…", Razen swallowed dryly, his throat feeling quite a bit coarse; "Do you think we can do it, Eu?"

  Eu, who since a while back was following him, nodded with determination, albeit her pretty face supported a slight frown.

  "I hope so as well. Guess we have three days to become as deadly as we can reasonably be, huh.", said the crimson-haired man a little depressively.

  Eu harrumphed coldly; "Don't be so down Antares, I don't think your brother would ask you to go on a suicide mission.", her expression turned sharp and her eyes narrowed; "This stray will not know what hit him, Vengeance will be ours.".

  Razen felt a shiver go down his spine, to the point he had to make a herculean effort to not pop a boner. Eu saying 'Vengeance will be ours is simply way too damn sexy', he thought honestly.

  "Well, I was pnning to take things a little bit easier at the start and slowly increase the intensity as the days went on, but I guess we do not have this luxury.", Razen's eyes bzed with the fires of determination; "5th Gear from day one baby, let's go.".

  With powerful and purposeful steps, the boy started powerwalking towards the kitchen, his mind already sending a bunch of messages, requests and buying a few more essential supplies on the Devilnet. Having a HUD is really convenient.

  "Worse comes to worst, we can use one of the Phoenix Tears I have in stock.", Razen added while scrunching his nose at the name of Phoenix. "But just to be safe, I will try to buy some minor recovery potions from one of the Alchemy Guilds, they generally don't sell in bulk, but nothing a little bit more money can't solve.".

  "The Agares Farm just answered my request, they are willing to sell us their products at a premium if I sign an exclusivity contract for one year with them.", that was an absolutely no-brainer for Razen; "Their products, while made using Time Acceleration, are of an incredible quality, they have one of the best mana rich food providers of the underworld. I already signed the contract and bought a few kilos of meat, cereals, eggs, milk and a few other things I think will help us with our diet. From now on, we only eat and drink mana-rich food during training.".

  "Oh, the Alchemy guild just answered my request, it has been approved as long as I pay 60% upfront and give them 10% more. Already agreed and purchased it.".

  By the time they arrived at the gym basement, a teleportation sigil with the Gremory symbol was shining in the middle of the Kitchen, it exploded in red light for a moment, before all the stuff Razen purchased appeared on the ground.

  Nodding in appreciation, the Heir Gremory started organizing everything as meticulously as possible in the underground facility kitchen.

  Eu, for her part, felt a little bit dizzy, so much happened in so little time that she was feeling quite a bit confused.

  Her mind still spinning, she couldn't help but ask; "Do you fear for your life so much Antares?"

  Antares paused, his mind instantly coming to a halt; "No, I do not", he answered curtly; "I fear for yours'.".

  Eu paused, Instantly regretting asking that question, but still feeling butterflies fluttering in her stomach from Antares' response.

  "Sorry.", She apologized; "I shouldn't have asked that…".

  Antares smiled a little weakly; "I know you didn't mean it, but even then, I refuse to lose you. If that means I need to break my body to the point of needing a Phoenix tear every day to be able to protect you, so be it, it will be more than worth it.".

  Eu frowned, her gaze hardening; "You are not alone. I feel the same for you, I do not want to see you hurt, much less suffering. If that means I need to break my body to the point of needing a Phoenix tear every day to be able to be at your side, so be it, it will be more than worth it.".

  Razen ughed; "Right back at me, huh? Almost the exact same words as well… Guess I walked into that one, huh?".

  Eu nodded smugly; "You did.".

  "Good to see you are determined.", Antares nodded with a smile; "Hope you are ready to start training."

  Eu huffed; "I was born ready Antares, bring it on.".

  Antares put his diet pn on his phone screen and showed it to Eu, making the girl pale instantly; "What?!", she excimed a little scared, but above all, confused.

  "This is Surtr, he is the best bodybuilder that I know. So I asked him for some advice and tips, and this is what he sent me.".

  "But… how can we possibly eat this much… and so many times… not to mention this kind of exercise… Is he trying to kill us?".

  Antares ughed; "Don't worry, we aren't humans, we can handle it. Devils are made of sterner stuff.".

  Eu thought deeply about it, her face paled once again; "Won't we turn into some hulking abomination of muscles if we do this thought?".

  "Don't need to worry about that one as well, Devil physique will always make you look supernaturally beautiful, even if you exercise 24/7. Not to mention our Body Tune-Up Talent.".

  "Oh, that is right. If I am not mistaken, the exact words were: Your body is now in perfect fitness and health, with significant muscle growth and healthy standards for your species. For most humanoids, if your natural height was less, you are now between 170 and 210 cm tall - or will be, if you aren't yet fully grown. All unwanted pre-existing medical conditions, from skin blemishes and unwanted body hair to chronic disease, missing limbs, detrimental genetic irregurities, and physical transformations are erased. You are immune to further minor illnesses, but not diseases or injuries. All healing or medical operations performed on you will be completed without complications, residual pain, or unwanted scars.".

  Razen nodded; "It has been slowly applied to us, improving our bodies bit by bit toward our desired Ideal forms. You must've noticed a few differences already, right?".

  "I did, but I thought they were just part of the Devil package.", pondered Eu.

  "A few of them are, don't get me wrong. But Body Tune-Up is something else. And now that we are going to exercise following Surtr instructions, you will see how quickly our body will improve.".

  "So I won't be turning into a muscle monster, got it.", Eu summarized everything in a single phrase, earning a chuckle from Razen.

  "Few people notice the best functionality of the Body Tune Up, do you know what it is?", asked Antares with a hidden smile.

  "Hmm, I could waste time specuting, but I think it is better to let you tell me.", answered Eu pyfully.

  Razen nodded; "Its best function is to get rid of the hidden stuff; A small bone fracture that never healed properly, Improper nutrition in core development periods, genetically predisposed diseases, and many more. It makes sure your body becomes the best version of itself, a version that grew in the perfect most suitable environment for it, with perfect diet and nutrition, no hidden wounds or diseases, or anything remotely unbeneficial happening to it.".

  "It gives you the best base, the best starting point one could expect from their body…", Eu mumbled, doing little to hide her surprise; "That is incredible.".

  "It is indeed.", Razen nodded while putting a crate of recovery potions on the table; "But it's not as good as it may sound for some more magical species. For example, as a pure-blooded Devil, there is little the Body Tune Up can do for me, perhaps just a few centimeters in height, and maybe make me a little broader, or a little unblemished or other on my skin, but the effects are fairly minimal.".

  "And turning into a Devil also made me go through a simir process…", seeing Razen nod, Eu then slowly walked towards one of the mirrors in the gym and took a good look at herself. She did indeed change quite a bit, Elemental Power almost universally made its users beautiful, but she was still human. Now? she could see some sort of Supernatural beauty growing on her visage, something that made her even more beautiful, even more curvaceous, she was simply more, better.

  "Now that I look at it…. Yeah, I've definitely got an improvement on my appearance.". Razen had to wholeheartedly agree, that before Eu was already immensely beautiful, easily a 10/10, now she definitely is an 11/10, perhaps even a 12/10. So supernaturally beautiful and attractive that she broke the scales.

  Razen also has nothing to compin about in terms of appearance, he is basically a male version of Rias, so he is perfectly aware he is supernaturally beautiful and handsome, sadly his ziness in the past earned him a somewhat scrawny build, something akin to one of those Korean Singers, or sickly young masters. But nothing he cannot improve upon.

  He much rather have an Adeptus Astartes' physique than anything else, not impossible considering his current supernatural nature, and definitely something worth aiming towards.

  Putting the st box of recovery potions on the table, Razen finally remembered something extremely important; "Before I forget!", Razen quickly walked towards the Gym central and only pilr, pressing his hand on it he sent a pulse of his mana, making the Gremory sigil appear; "This is where we stash our Phoenix Tears, if some kind of emergency were I am indisposed happens, you know where they are. A single drop is more than enough to heal most injuries instantaneously, but be aware they do not heal blood loss and organ loss, though they may be used to reattach severed limbs.".

  Eu nodded her head seriously, such a miracle-like medicine sounds incredibly useful, but it is far from being perfect, she looked at the strange liquid filling the vial when suddenly, she had an idea; "Why don't we carry one with us always? You said one drop is more than enough to heal most injuries, so…".

  Razen eyes widened; "That is a fantastic idea.", the boy excimed before putting two vials in his Pocket Space, having a Phoenix tear on demand is perfect.

  "Wait, so why did you buy that many Recovery Potions from the Alchemy association then?", asked Eu curiously, if they have the magical Phoenix Tears why use the inferior version?

  "Eu, we are extremely rich…", Razen massaged his temples; "Be we aren't THAT rich, Phoenix tears are very rare and expensive, and that is from my perspective, someone who is Rich enough to buy most countries in the mundane world.".

  "Oh, I didn't think of it that way… The Phenex are really rich, huh.", Razen tried to suppress the sudden bout of annoyance at the mention of that name, seeing as Eu didn't know about it yet; "Yes, they are one of, if not the richest Pilr Houses in the Underworld, and that is a feat in itself.".

  "Recovery Potions have a very simple yet useful effect; They accelerate your rate of recovery, you won't be regenerating any limbs unless your species already does so, but you can heal from even broken bones in a few days by drinking those. And considering Devils already have a higher rate of recovery, drinking one of those can heal most minor stuff in record time. Oh, when it comes to side effects, a Recovery Potion has the side effect of speeding up your digestion time.".

  "Dumbing down Surtr training; we are basically going to eat/ingest as much mana-rich protein and nutrients as possible, drink a Recovery Potion, and exercise as if our life depends on it, to the point our bones will start to crack, our muscles tear, and our eyes and mouth to spit blood. When we simply can't go on anymore, we either spar or practice our magic.", a small part of Razen winced at the sheer effort and will such a training demands.

  "Antares… Not that I don't want to train or anything…", started Eu while trying to hide her awkwardness; "But wouldn't be more efficient to try to recover my strength first?".

  "You have a point.", Antares cupped his chin in thought; "You have years of practice with your usual skills, so being able to use them, even in a somewhat reduced form will make you way stronger than whatever 3 days of training can do."

  "That is what I was thinking about. I reduce my physical training to something around 3-4 hours daily, and the remaining 15 hours I can spend trying to recover my skills.".

  "Sounds like an excellent pn.", Antares agreed, before summoning a small box from his pocket space; "I know exercising can get pretty mindless sometimes, so I suggest you listen to an audiobook, music, or whatever strikes your fancy while you exercise.".

  Eu eyes shone in appreciation, thanking Antares and picking up the headphone box.

  "Just be careful if you are not used to the exercise, hurting yourself because you weren't paying attention sounds like a good way to fail miserably at this.", advised the Gremory Heir while picking his own headphones. Thanks to Athletic talent and his own personal experiences he wasn't worried about hurting himself with gym equipment, his talent all but dictated he would be alright. Heck, perhaps he could even improve his form further beyond.

  Eu agreed, she could understand where Antares was coming from.

  "Oh, I almost forgot. Surtr recommended we cycle our mana throughout our body while we exercise, he said it boosts the Recovery Potion recovery speed, while also increasing our gains, even if by a minuscule amount. It also has the good side effect of making us closer to and more familiar with our mana, that while not anything significant for someone who has centuries to feel his own mana, it's definitely a boost to younglings like us.".

  With most of the brainy stuff out of the way, the duo went to prepare their meals. And while neither of them are great or even a good cook, they both have some minor ability in cooking, Eu mostly due to her previous profession as a Reconnaissance Captain and Razen mainly because he used to help his dad on barbecues. It was nothing great, but good enough to make the food patable. And that is more than enough for the duo.

  Razen first ate the Golden Nutrition Bars; a bar filled with condensed and concentrated mana-rich nutrients and vitamins, made especially for Devils who will do hard and grueling physical training, these bars will literally kill your average Devil if he doesn't start exercising soon.

  He then proceeded to eat the mana-rich food, drink the Agares' Protein and Herb shake, and drink a lot of mana-rich Spring Water.

  It was difficult, unironically one of the most difficult things Razen ever did, due to the amount of food the training required, he had to overeat well past his limits, and he could not afford to throw up, so he had to literally push the food down his throat. It was an extremely unpleasant experience, thankfully the Spring Water helped quite a lot.

  Suppressing the urge to vomit, Razen drank a recovery potion, put on his gym clothes, and went to the treadmill, while Eu did the same but instead of the treadmill, she went towards the Arena.

  Spoiler

  [colpse]Putting the treadmill speed on automatic, meaning its speed will always be a little faster than the one he is currently running, the crimson-haired devil started to run. He started a little awkwardly, constantly wanting to puke or stumble, but Athletic talent quickly paid its dividends, helping him adjust his running form bit by bit, by the time half an hour had passed, he was running as well as your average Olympic athlete.

  He started to feel tired, his legs failing, he thought to himself; 'You do indeed deserve rest, you ran for 30 minutes straight at your full speed. Rest a bit and do a little bit more ter, it won't cost you anything, just a few seconds…'.

  Unconsciously, Antares slowly reduced his speed, his sweaty body making his gym clothes stick to his pitiful form.

  When he was almost running at normal human speeds, he remembered the first thing Surtr wrote to him, the very first line of his training pn.

  " - This training pn is as effective as the number of times you break your limits, So Go! Do the impossible, push against tiredness, against foreign contempt, and against everything life throws at you - Push and continue pushing, lit the fire of your inner ember into a bze of glory! -".

  Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward, reaching his top speed in seconds, and going even further beyond. His tendons creaked, his legs screamed, and his lungs felt smaller by the second, as if breathing became a challenge in itself. Ohhhh…. and his blood, his blood felt like scalding water reddening his skin with the effort.

  But he pushed forward, for Antares refused to be weak.

  He pushed forward, for Antares was not dead anymore, he has a Dream, a Dream he could dedicate his whole being towards. That vile, purposeless, and deeming existence is no more, he has a goal, an objective. And NOTHING, absolutely nothing stops a determined man with a goal.

  He would break and rebuild his body as many times as it took, cast spells till his soul felt raw, and study even the most difficult subject to perfection, if that would help him reach his dream.

  So even when his vision turned blurry, and darkness encroached from the corner, he persisted. By now 47 minutes had passed, and Antares had almost reached double what he previously thought was his "Maximum Speed".

  He pushed more, more and more. Until his body stopped responding, he couldn't push it anymore, no matter how much he wanted, his body simply refused to answer. His Aethermorph Devil body was a literal marvel that was ever closer to achieving perfection via magical means, and even then it refused to move.

  It reached a point that even the Honkai Genes, now Devil Honkai Genes after being assimited by his Aethermorph body, started to protest and work in conjunction with it to simply shut him down.

  Barely holding on to his consciousness, Antares had an idea, likely a culmination of his Soul Talent, Athletic Talent, and Core Goetia working together.

  He used the Hypnosis Spell on himself. And by either a stroke of luck, fate, or simply his talents and heritage being pushed to their veritable limits, he managed to succeed.

  Antares created a Self-Hypnosis Spell.

  Like flipping a switch, all those pesky little natural limits his body imposed on him, for his own safety, evaporated. He could suddenly run trice, almost four times his supposed "top speed".

  But such a boost came with a cost.

  His muscles shredded, his tendons ruptured, and a few of his veins and capilries exploded.

  Desperate to ensure their own body's survival, his CHIMERA DEVIL MANTIS genes, his ICHOR woke up, excavating as much potential and power as they could, and going even further beyond, to try to save their own body from itself.

  A small freezing Aura from Parvati's genes cooled his body back into manageable temperatures, while his own Honkai energy mixed and melded with his Demonic Mana. And like a veritable miracle guided by Soul Talent the two melded energies started following the lead of his Aethermorph Heritage and tried to reach perfection via magical means.

  This meant the two energies tried to reach a higher and more perfect state by permanently fusing with each other. And thus become one better whole, a rise not only in quality and density of mana but in its conceptual weight as well. A first step into being able to match divine energy.

  His heart stopped. Antares suffered a heart attack.

  His DEVIL CHIMERIC ICHOR almost entered a state of panic, it desperately excavated more potential and power to save him. Strengthening and boosting his body leagues more than any kind of exercise ever could.

  His heart started beating again. This time stronger and more powerful, to the point Razen even started hearing it inside his skull, like a weird march of death that kept following his rhythm.

  Even while dancing on the edge of unconsciousness, Antares persisted, knowing that with each second that passed more and more of his potential was unraveled.

  Seven more heart attacks ter, and now almost running at six times his initial "Top Speed", he finally decided to stop. Sadly, he could not abruptly stop, as that would simply kill him, he had to gradually reduce his speed bit by bit, which took him another fifteen minutes.

  When he finally managed to stop, his legs were a mangled mess, all their muscles had been repeatedly torn and rebuilt over and over again, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times, his tendons and veins going through a simir process. Many weak Devils would rush to get Phoenix Tears and instantly heal from such ailments, but Antares had a better alternative.

  Following the sensation he just experienced while running, Antares ignited his inner DEVIL CHIMERIC ICHOR and willed his body to heal.

  In instants, he was already in full health, the only proof of his horrific training regimen being the few new muscles spotted on his body. They were small and almost imperceptible, but it was a visible change to a magnifying gss, and that single visual change, as minuscule as it was, managed to stoke Razen's bze of motivation to even higher heights.

  Razen knew that being an Aethermorph DEVIL CHIMERA MANTIS all but guaranteed he would have absurd regeneration, he just had to guarantee his body had enough "fuel", to sustain so much healing. He just didn't expect to work like this, it kind of reminded him of Kratos' healing abilities in the new games in a way, yes he does heal passively at superhuman rates, but when he focuses and wills his body so, his self-healing becomes way stronger.

  Feeling a pang of hunger, Antares rushed towards the kitchen once more.

  The cycle restarted, he would eat and drink as much as physically possible, break his body with some new exercise for a few hours, will his body to heal itself, and then rinse and repeat.

  Cracked bones, torn tendons, shredded muscles, colpsed lungs, heart attacks, and so many more wounds. He literally drenched in blood whatever equipment he used. Luckily, it was nothing some basic cleaning spells couldn't solve, so no harm was done.

  At the end of one of his cycles, Eu stopped to eat with him.

  "So… I've finished training for today. I am going to eat dinner and then go to sleep…", she then whispered in a very low voice; "care to join me?".

  "Sorry Eu, but I can't.", Antares answered with great heaviness in his heart, a great part of him just wanted to drop everything and join the beautiful woman who invited him to bed, but he knew now it was not time.

  Eu suddenly stopped, worry and questions started growing inside of her. Did she do something wrong? Did something happen to Antares when she wasn't looking?

  It was then that she finally noticed it, Razen's gym uniform which fitted his form quite comfortably in the morning, was now almost a tight fit on him. Eu's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but blurt out loud; "HOW? How did you change so much in just 16 hours…".

  Razen smiled a little tightly; "I remade myself, with every single exercise that I did.".

  Eu suddenly felt extremely guilty. What kind of monstrous and torturous pressure had Razen subjected himself to for him to change so much? Was the highest level of Sutr training this heavy? She knew the gym was massive and she was training on its other side to not disturb Razen, but how couldn't she notice such a thing?

  She almost felt like a zy piece of rd in comparison. Suddenly her desire to be by his side sounded way more difficult than she first thought it to be.

  But no matter, Eu knows what she wants, and his name is Razen Antares Gremory.

  Finishing her food, the Spindrift Knight got up and started walking towards the arena.

  "Hoh?", Antares tilted his head; "I thought you were going to sleep right now?"

  Eu scoffed in her adorable way; "As if I could ever be so zy after seeing your efforts.".

  Razen smiled; "It would be hypocritical of me to try to stop you. But take care.", he then got up and gave her another vial of Phoenix Tears; "For emergencies.", Eu nodded and put the vial away; "I should be the one saying that to you.", Eu expression softened a bit; "Take care of yourself Antares.".

  Hearing the door of the arena closing, Antares did a few stretches; "Heh, I better get going. The Space Marine physique will not build itself.".

  And so, Antares' exercises continued, without even taking a single break, he broke his body over and over again. For two and Half days he persevered with this hellish training, a total of 60 uninterrupted hours of constant self-imposed torture.

  By the end of his physical training; his gym uniform barely fit him, he grew a few centimeters more and finally settled at an impressive 195cm tall. He had actual muscles now, his ICHOR developed quite a bit, and he grew a small margin as an Aethermorph. Not counting his Core Goetia, his first Goetia was halfway formed now, which means he was well on his way to truly becoming a High-Css Devil(T5).

  Sadly, his Power of Destruction was well and truly gone by now, he couldn't summon it even if he tried. But looking on the positive side, it evolved into a completely new trait; Power of Force, which is just a familiar way for his body to manifest Razen's chosen element.

  Another positive note is that his Demonic Mana finally finished fusing with his Honkai Energy. "Should I call it Honkai Demonic Mana or Demonic Honkai Mana? hmmm decisions, decisions.", thought the Gremory Heir out loud while walking towards a weapon rack.

  While Razen's main focus in this training montage was to better his body as much as possible, he decided to stop for now and focus on some combat skills. And while the strength boost is beyond great, without the necessary skill to back it up, its effectiveness drops immensely.

  Like everything in this training facility, the weapon rack was extremely rich in options, from the simplest sword, spear, and shield, to a dragonsyer bow that made Antares feel quite small. They were all training weapons of course, but it didn't make their sheer variety and quantity any less impressive.

  Right now he was searching for a Greatsword, something that closely resembles the Cleaver of Shamash as much as possible. It took him a few minutes but he eventually found something suitable. Stashing the training weapon on his Pocket Space, Razen approached the arena.

  Entering the pce, his gaze immediately went to Eu. The blue-haired girl was repeatedly summoning one or more Ice-Swords while swinging her Song of Broken Pines left and right.

  Razen stood there almost hypnotized by the dance-like movements of his crush, her movements were so smooth and flowed so well together that he had to pinch himself to see if he wasn't dreaming.

  It seemed that whatever training Eu had been doing this past two and half days was more than worth it. If Rasen is sensing her Mana fluctuations correctly, she should be very close to Tier 5.

  Shaking his head, the crimson-haired man went to the other corner of the arena, his mind already opening the YouTube app on his Hud. You see, while Razen could completely rely on Kevin's memories for Martial arts training, he at least wanted to watch a few videos of martial arts masters on YouTube first so he gets a feeling for his Martial Talent first before diving heads up.

  Thankfully, he could connect to the Devilnet version of YouTube, aka Deviltube, which had even a 10x speed option on videos. Which considering the speed of thought of the stronger beings, more than made sense.

  Putting the videos on 5x, Razen attentively watched them, slowly he started mimicking the movements; it was very awkward at first, but bit by bit he began improving, to the point he could almost follow the Master's motions perfectly.

  In record time he learned many Katas, Personal Defense moves, and much more. He was no expert, far from that, but he knew enough to at least use some of these moves. Then he started to actively use Kevin's memories to train in his Martial Arts.

  If before he could somewhat replicate the masters' moves after a few tries, using Kevin's Martial Arts moves was like second nature to him, as if he had known them all along but ended up forgetting them due to disuse and was now slowly remembering.

  It was a weird sensation to be sure, but not an unwelcome one.

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  AN: Hello fellow readers, I hope you all liked the chapter.

  Now to the important question from before, I, of course, choose to be a Space Marine. Transhuman Dread troubles aside, I don't think I would ever feel comfortable as a shota/twink.

  Now, I will see if I can write a little more and then go to sleep, it's literally midnight right now where I live and I had a long day at work today.

  ~ClearSkySage