Kael took off the ring.

The moment it left his finger, the suppression holding back the Demon Seed disappeared.

A violent surge of mana burst out of his body.

Dark crimson mana flooded the room, causing the air itself to feel heavier. Strange symbols appeared once more across his forehead, glowing faintly beneath his skin.

Lilith watched the transformation with a fond smile.

"So?" Kael asked. "What feels different?"

He opened his eyes.

The whites of his eyes had turned pitch black, leaving only two white pupils staring back at her.

Lilith blinked.

For a brief moment, she looked smaller than before.

Then she nodded.

"So you really are demon royalty."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you so sure?"

Lilith crossed her arms.

"Your appearance."

She stepped closer.

"Most demons undergo obvious changes when they release their demonic mana. Their skin tone shifts depending on which of the Seven Thrones their bloodline originated from."

Kael listened quietly.

The Seven Thrones were the seven royal bloodlines that ruled Demonkind.

Each bloodline possessed distinct traits and affinities that separated them from ordinary demons.

"Normally, even low-ranking demons show signs of their heritage," Lilith continued. "Horns, skin color changes, altered eyes, or other physical mutations."

She stared directly at him.

"But your skin hasn’t changed at all."

Kael glanced down at his hands.

She was right.

Aside from the symbols on his forehead and his eyes, nothing about him looked different.

"That’s unusual?"

"It’s extremely unusual."

Lilith sat beside him.

"You’re also stable."

"Stable?"

"I expected your first full release to affect your emotions more."

Kael thought about it.

Honestly, he felt lighter.

Freer.

Like a pressure that had been sitting on his chest for weeks had finally disappeared.

But he wasn’t overwhelmed by bloodlust.

Nor did he feel a desire to destroy everything around him.

"I feel free," Kael admitted.

"But the influence isn’t as strong as I thought it would be."

Lilith looked genuinely surprised.

"That is surprising."

She paused before smiling mischievously.

"I expected you to immediately rush me."

Kael grinned.

"Well, we’re already alone in a room."

Lilith’s face instantly reddened.

"You idiot."

Kael laughed.

Lilith bumped his forehead with a finger.

"Focus."

Kael sighed dramatically.

"Fine."

Lilith nodded.

"Now, before your demonic mana causes problems, let’s form a proper demonic core."

Kael immediately agreed.

"Let’s do that first."

The Demon Seed inside him had already become troublesome enough.

Allowing it to continue growing without control sounded like a terrible idea.

"Good choice."

Lilith moved behind him.

"Sit down."

Kael entered the Lotus Position.

"Take your shirt off."

Kael glanced back.

Lilith avoided his gaze.

"Direct skin contact helps with mana circulation."

A grin appeared on Kael’s face.

"Are you sure that’s the only reason?"

Lilith immediately smacked the back of his head.

"Idiot."

Her ears had turned red.

Chuckling, Kael removed his shirt and settled back into position.

Lilith placed both palms against his back.

A stream of mana flowed into his body.

Kael immediately felt the difference.

Her mana wasn’t trying to dominate his.

Instead, it acted like a guide, helping him circulate the enormous amount of demonic mana flooding through his body.

"Compress everything toward the Demon Seed," Lilith instructed.

"All of it?"

"All of it."

Kael nodded.

The demonic mana inside his body immediately responded.

Like water flowing toward a drain, countless strands of mana converged toward the Demon Seed.

The reaction was immediate.

The seed greedily absorbed everything.

Mana disappeared at an alarming rate.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

The enormous amount of demonic mana he had released was rapidly pulled back into the seed.

"That was fast," Kael muttered.

Then something unexpected happened.

The Demon Seed continued absorbing.

It began pulling at his Darkness Mana.

Kael’s eyes snapped open.

"Is that supposed to happen?"

Lilith frowned.

"No."

The answer came far too quickly.

"No?"

Lilith looked annoyed.

"I’m not exactly an expert on human-demon hybrids."

Kael couldn’t argue with that.

She was still learning as they went.

The Demon Seed continued absorbing his Darkness Mana.

Neither of them could stop it.

Eventually, the absorption slowed.

Then stopped.

For a split second, everything became silent.

BOOM.

Mana exploded outward from Kael’s body.

A powerful shockwave swept through the room.

The symbols on his forehead faded.

His eyes gradually returned to normal, although his irises retained a faint crimson glow.

Lilith stared at him.

Kael stared back.

Neither knew what had happened.

"What exactly did I just create?"

Lilith closed her eyes briefly.

Then she sighed.

"I think your Demonic Core and Darkness Affinity fused together."

Kael blinked.

"They can do that?"

"They aren’t supposed to."

Kael immediately tested it.

Darkness Mana gathered in his left hand.

Demonic Mana gathered in his right.

A grin spread across his face.

"I can control both separately."

Lilith’s eyes widened.

Kael dismissed the mana.

Then summoned it again.

No resistance.

No instability.

The fusion had somehow made control easier.

"Well," Lilith muttered.

"That was definitely not normal."

Kael stood up.

"Let’s ignore that minor detail."

Lilith rolled her eyes.

Only Kael would call something like that a minor detail.

After putting his shirt back on, Kael finally focused on the second reason he had come.

Illusion Magic.

While playing Abyssal Chronos, illusion users had always been annoying opponents.

The stronger they became, the harder they were to deal with.

Unfortunately, Leon had never learned illusion magic.

He usually solved problems by hitting them harder.

That meant Kael had almost no practical knowledge regarding the subject.

"Alright."

Lilith sat opposite him.

"Let’s start from the beginning."

Kael nodded.

"What exactly is illusion magic?"

Lilith thought for a moment.

Then she pointed at his chest.

"Most people think illusion magic is about creating fake images."

"It isn’t?"

"Not really."

Kael remained silent.

"An illusion isn’t something you create."

Lilith continued.

"It’s something you convince another person to perceive."

That immediately caught Kael’s attention.

"Meaning?"

"You’re not creating a fake reality."

She tapped her temple.

"You’re influencing their perception of reality."

Kael finally understood where she was going.

"Let’s say I show you a tree."

Lilith raised a finger.

"If I simply create an image, you can eventually realize it’s fake."

A second finger.

"But if I influence your senses directly, your eyes, hearing, smell, touch, and even instincts will all tell you the tree is real."

Kael nodded slowly.

"Then the illusion becomes much harder to break."

"Exactly."

Lilith smiled.

"That’s why illusionists are dangerous."

She leaned back.

"For demons, illusion magic comes naturally because our mana is highly compatible with mental interference."

Kael listened carefully.

"However, we still need something called a conduit."

"A conduit?"

Lilith pointed toward her eyes.

"This."

Kael blinked.

"Your eyes?"

She nodded.

"For low and mid-level illusionists, a conduit serves as the bridge between your mana and your target’s mind."

"So eye contact."

"That’s the easiest method."

Lilith smiled.

"Eye contact creates a direct connection."

She continued.

"Other illusionists use sound, touch, scent, or even ambient mana as conduits."

Kael absorbed every word.

"And at higher ranks?"

Lilith’s expression turned serious.

"At S-Rank, the need for a conduit disappears."

Kael immediately understood why that was terrifying.

An illusionist capable of affecting someone without a connection was practically impossible to predict.

"Watch carefully."

Lilith’s eyes met his.

The world vanished.

Kael found himself standing in a forest.

Trees surrounded him.

Wind brushed against his skin.

Birds chirped overhead.

Everything felt real.

"Welcome to my Mental Realm."

Lilith’s voice echoed behind him.

Kael turned.

She stood there smiling.

"This illusion was created through eye contact."

She stepped forward.

"At a basic level, illusionists alter perception."

The forest changed.

Day became night.

The temperature dropped.

Kael could even feel the cold.

"At an intermediate level, they manipulate multiple senses simultaneously."

The sound of wolves appeared.

The scent of blood followed.

The ground beneath his feet felt different.

"At an advanced level, they can influence emotions."

Lilith suddenly appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Fear."

The forest darkened.

"Anger."

The air became heavy.

"Joy."

The atmosphere brightened.

"Despair."

The world seemed to collapse.

Then everything disappeared.

They returned to Lilith’s room.

Kael sat silently.

Then he nodded.

"I understand it now."

Lilith frowned.

"What do you mean you understand?"

Her words stopped abruptly.

The room disappeared.

Lilith froze.

She found herself standing inside the same forest she had created moments ago.

Her eyes widened.

"What?"

Kael stood several meters away.

The illusion wasn’t perfect.

But it worked.

Lilith stared at him.

"How did you do that?"

Kael turned his head.

"I’m a genius."

Lilith nearly threw a chair at him.

Over the next several hours, she continued teaching.

Visual distortions.

False sounds.

Sensory interference.

Mental anchors.

Every single technique she demonstrated.

Kael copied.

Every single one.

By sunset, Lilith was beginning to question reality itself.

The worst part wasn’t that he learned quickly.

It was that he adapted.

After experiencing her illusions a few times, his resistance rapidly increased.

Techniques that had worked perfectly during the morning became significantly weaker by evening.

"This doesn’t make any sense."

Lilith sat on her bed in disbelief.

Kael smiled.

Of course it didn’t.

Both Infinite Adaptation and Perfect Copy were broken abilities

Stretching his arms, Kael stood up.

He felt satisfied.

His control over demonic mana had improved.

His core had stabilized.

And he had successfully learned the fundamentals of illusion magic.

"Guess I’m skipping the training montage entirely."

Lilith stared at him.

Then sighed.

At this point, she was starting to believe that Kael Draven wasn’t normal even among Demon King Candidates.