Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Chapter 2016: Controlling the Fiendish Forms

The next day.

The sky above the White Raven Island was clear, a soft breeze passing through the open training grounds near the western cliffs.

The space had been cleared earlier by Eren's orders, large enough for battle drills and flight exercises. Today, however, it served another purpose.

Eren stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp as he looked over the twenty Root captains who now knelt in front of him.

Each of them had survived their S-Rank Calamity and completed their fiendish transformation. Their skin still bore signs of their altered nature—horns, glowing eyes, strange markings, and shifts in their auras—but their postures were stable.

Behind Eren stood Marina and Azurea, quietly watching with interest. Even the dragon sisters were impressed by how quickly things were developing.

"You've all made it this far," Eren said, his voice calm but commanding.

"But your journey doesn't end here. Your fiendish forms are powerful, but uncontrolled power is dangerous—to you, and to the people around you.

Think of the fiendish forms as a way to amplify your intent-based magic using your intentions as fuel. These forms will certainly help you cast more enhanced versions of the intent-based magic.

However, it also depletes your emotions constantly, putting pressure on your demon souls. When the emotions you have turn dry, your demonic souls get unstable, forcing you to lose control over them.

This is not the fault of the demon souls. Without demonic intentions, the demon souls' existence is threatened. They can lose possession of their bodies or lose rationality.

A demon with a body turns into a fiend. However, a fiend with lost rationality turns into a mere primal beast who can not even think for itself. Such beasts are hunted down by weaker but smarter hunters. All because they use the beasts' minimal intellect against them."

The twenty S-Rank Root members listened quietly. Though they were all S-Ranked elites now, their eyes carried respect. No one interrupted.

Eren raised his hand, and in the next moment, his own form began to shift. Horns grew from his temples. His eyes turned jet black, glowing with red light. Sin Series markings appeared across his skin, and his presence changed instantly—more primal, more commanding.

He had used his Oni form before altering it a bit using his Sin Series powers.

Eren didn't have a true demonic form. Since he was a true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline, his white-haired transformation indicated his lordship over the demons. However, it couldn't be considered a demonic form since God Aleph was not born a demon. He was an Elder God and as such his form was also god-like.

However, Eren had things in control. He could use the flexibility granted to him by Reen's bloodline abilities to gain access to a true demonic form in a different way.

Eren took a deep breath and continued.

"This is the power you've inherited. But it shouldn't define you. You define it."

With a flick of his wrist, his demonic features began to fade. Slowly, smoothly, his skin returned to its natural color, the markings vanished, and his eyes returned to their usual calm sharpness.

"You can do this too," he said. "Let your will take control. Start by focusing on your core. Then, reach into the demonic mana running through your body. Pull it back. Like smoke being drawn into a bottle."

He gestured to them.

"Try."

There was silence at first. Then, one by one, the Root captains followed his instructions. They focused on their cores. Their breathing steadied. They let the mana circulate, then attempted to draw the outer changes back in.

It wasn't easy.

Some of them grunted in pain. After all, undoing the fiend transformation was like altering the genetic makeup in real-time. It was painful on a cellular level. It also hurt their souls.

Others lost control halfway through. One warlock nearly fell to his knees when his horns began to fade but his skin started glowing with excess mana instead.

"Don't rush it," Eren said patiently. "One step at a time. You've already faced death. Don't let this small challenge stop you now."

Time passed slowly. Then, one of them succeeded. A tall witch, with markings across her neck and arms, slowly returned to her former appearance. She let out a breath and opened her eyes, smiling faintly.

Another followed. Then another.

An hour passed.

Eventually, all twenty Root elites managed to return to their human-like forms. The horns were gone. The claws had retracted. Their eyes were back to normal. To an outsider, they looked like they did before the Calamity.

But the air around them told a different story.

The mana they carried was dense and sharp. Their presence was overwhelming, like coiled storms barely held in check. They looked human. But no Ranker with any sense would mistake them for what they once were.

Eren smiled faintly.

"Well done," he said, nodding.

The Root members stood proudly now, more confident in themselves. They had learned to carry their new power quietly, like a sword sheathed but always ready.

"Your fiendish forms are your trump cards from this point on," Eren said, looking over them, "they can be used as your last resort or sudden power-up in order to overwhelm your enemies. Use these forms with a certain purpose in mind. The days ahead will test that purpose. Be ready."

The twenty fiends bowed deeply.

"Yes, my lord."

From the cliffs above, the wind carried their voices far across the island.

It was at that moment Eren sensed two familiar mana signatures approaching from the side. He turned slightly as Ivor and Hettie walked toward him, their steps steady, eyes filled with respect and pride.

Ivor offered a wide grin as he reached Eren. "That was something else," he said. "Turning twenty of our best into S-Rank fiends, and then teaching them how to carry their new forms like veterans... Honestly, you make it look too easy."

Hettie smiled as well, nodding in agreement. "They're stronger than I ever imagined they'd become. This is a big moment for the Root, and it's all thanks to you, my lord."

Eren gave a faint smirk and looked toward the horizon. "I just guided them. They did the work."