87- Magic, Divinity and a sleepless night.

When fighting against Zeus, I felt… horrible

Especially in his last attack when he used his Thunderbolt…

Yes, I managed to redirect his attention and the attack but it doesn't change the fact that I felt that anything that I could create in its way would be useless, and that the Thunderbolt would reach its end no matter what I do, making me feel powerless

It won't kill me but it would definitely leave a bad taste in my mouth if I 'run' from it, making me have this desire to at least change that outcome and, in a way, win against him

A useless and dumb feeling to have during a fight of that calibre but it's what I felt and it definetly worked to push myself, that attack from the dragon I made was so close to the real Power of Destruction that it actually made God like Zeus feel threatened, even if for a moment.

Knowing that I made a thousand years plus God feel like that while being barely passing the thirty if we count both lives made me a little proud.

But, in the end, that's all there is to it; the Dragon's attack only feels like the real thing and nothing more, which made me realize that firepower was my biggest weakness right now.

Although it was to be expected given that there are very few things that are without flaws, while heavy firepower is one of my weaknesses, few people can straight ignore most of the damage from attacks like I do, let alone create an endless supply of allies like I do.

But that's why I took the risk of allowing Zeus' lightning to strike my mind; a room in my Mindscape with no flow of time did the rest to ensure that it wouldn't cause any problems.

So, knowing how much stronger the Divine counterparts of the basic elements are, Divinity is the only way to overcome this weakness, Zeus' lightning being a great example.

And, while I could obtain Divinity by simply purchasing it from the system's shop, there is a catch... According to the System, it should only be used as a last resort.

Divinity is something that is personal and essential to each individual, something that is so much a part of your own 'being' that forcing or artificially activating it can lead to problems as a result.

The most common is 'Anchoring,' in which your Divinity loses power while being outside the location to which it is tied.

Many stories exist of Gods and the like being tied to an object or some place

One just needs to look at Artoria's Excalibur or Rhongomyniad, they lost some of their power while adapting to this new world.

Many people are 'overpowered' in their own environment but become significantly weaker everywhere else, and I have a feeling the Goddess is planning something for me that will require me in various places at my best.

Not that I mind; I was given this opportunity and will gladly repay it; I know that many, many people would kill for such a chance.

And, once again, I don't need divinity right now, we weren't even supposed to fight for real...

That being said, I've been tinkering with it for the last month with little progress aside from a couple of answers about the nature of Divinity itself

So, to begin explaining it, I must explain... What exactly is magic?

It's strange how the explanation from my previous life worked perfectly here.

Magic used to refer to this type of Magical Energy that allowed you to do magical things... simple and dumb, yes. But remember at the time mercury was considered a divine medicine and numerous things such as making a hole in people's head to relieve headaches and… bloodletting…

…How did we survive till now again?

People back then may never leave their villages and meet fewer than 100 people in their entire life, so it's a very simplistic explanation, but also an accurate one compared with what we have now in modern times.

Now that I think about it, thank Goddess I didn't reincarnate in a medieval fantasy world.

Anyway, magic is something that roams the world freely, and it is only through a strong will or specific means such as magic circles that people can make it do what they want it to do.

Like calling your dog with food... The only difference is that this dog is not yours and it's free to roam wherever it pleases.

Returning to Divinity, this magical energy becomes a personal and integrated part of the person, even acquiring his personality and traits in many cases.

Gods are real owners of the Dogs, if that makes sense…

The ones you see on videos, of course… mine would barely come If I called him, and that's if I had food or it wanted to be scratched, I didn't make a job raising him.

Anyway, this could be why 8th circle mages and others were regarded and acted as Gods in some stories, as they gained much better and more solid control over that wild magical energy.

And, while it may be foolish to consider those fictions to be real, that is what I thought of this world as well, so better safe than sorry.

There's a lot more to it, but that's the general idea.

The most powerful aspect of Divinity is the user's freedom to do whatever they want, its versatility because it is no longer limited by what the energy itself is interested in, and finally, you no longer need to waste most of your energy on communication, which solves a lot of problems.

There's definitely more to it, but I didn't have time to try everything. Divinity, for example, may become stronger alongside their host, but I don't have the means to prove it right now.

To summarize, if wild magical energy is like using a stick to pick up something, Divinity is like using your own arm instead.

The last thing I can't figure out is which came first, just like the chicken or the egg, because both can be transformed into the other...

And then the final question is how to make this energy your own, to which the answer is...

well…

…

Yeah…

The simplest option would be to corrupt the energy to make it mine, but that sounds more like an Evil God thing than a normal one, so I'm cautious of the consequences of using such a forceful method.

This also makes Kei's approach to her friends far more amazing; she literally has to do nothing extra to gain a similar level of control as Divinity, though the difference is that they aren't a part of her, leaving her in an odd position for this logic I discovered.

I might as well be wrong, and Shishou doesn't want to explain anything, leaving it all up to me to figure out.

But what can I say, it only took me a month to learn all of this as my Mindscape made things a lot easier while observing Magic, whereas it would take years and years if I were a normal human doing it the usual way.

So, enough of this, I'm not used to doing this investigation stuff for so long that I think I only went out with the girls twice this month if I include the time spent keeping an eye on the Greeks...

Let 's go home…

…

The sun was still standing when I entered the house, and the first person I saw was Jalter, who was watching TV and appeared to be about to fall asleep; she didn't realize I was there until I hugged her from behind, waking her up.

"Eh, Ahm ?... Did you finish studying your magical stuff? " Jeanne quickly realized it was me, but it's odd that she's alone and not with Jeanne or Mordred at this hour.

Well, I made sure to take some time to be with them and we had some nights together, which somehow became common for us three.

I think they already realized that I like it when they are together, not that I was trying to hide it.

"Yeah, for now," I replied, helping her sit on my lap. Looking around, I couldn't find Jeanne in the house. "Bored because there isn't anyone in the house?"

"Yeah... nothing much to do since no one is dropping some bags of bones at us out of nowhere, and Jeanne... she wanted to go help the church or something like that," She explained while making herself comfortable, still a little sleepy.

It's not every day that a God of Death appears in your home out of nowhere. "Shishou must have her reasons," I told her, as I believed she had something in mind.

At the end, we talked and pretty much did nothing but get to know each other, which may have been Shishou's intentions in the first place, as Hades is said to be one of those attempting to destroy the Sacred Gears and get them out of the reincarnation system.

Still, I'm completely sure that this isn't the last time we hear about him.

I didn't feel anything wrong from him, so I have no idea if it's true or not

As for Jeanne visiting the church… I do have an idea of why but I better ask Jalter "Any idea why she wants to help the church? "

"You know her... something about not helping the church but the people who do good things in the name of the church... they deserve better and... something like that," Jalter rolled her eyes.

"That's to be expected of her... " It's strange how her religion turned on after learning Alaya was her religion's God, strengthening it because it's noble to deify humanity's will to survive as Alaya is, her faith somehow became stronger.

I'm surprised she didn't do something like this sooner, even if she does go around helping people or hunting those who kill people with Mordred or Jalter.

"Oh, she also talked with the old man from the church about it and I think he is going to help her" Jalter added.

Masaomi? I guess he wants to get his name cleared before his son is born…

Seems like I need to give Jeanne something so she can be safe… a pet maybe? I will create something for her.

"I'll have to get her something special later... " When I looked at Jalter and saw those expectant eyes on her, I knew she wanted something too, even if she wasn't saying it.

We have free time, there is no pressure, and it is still early in the day... "Do you want to see a... movie?" We haven't had a date in a long time.

And who doesn't want to take a beauty like her on a date?

Perhaps she also noticed it herself. "Who wants to watch a stupid movie...?" But she is too embarrassed to admit how eager she is for a date.

It does make me feel bad for her…

But!

"Ok. No movie then. " I said as I stand up and started leaving

…I can't pass up the chance to tease her a little bit.

"Ha!? Common you idiot! You know I want to!"

I began laughing because we both knew she wanted to go, and she realized I was teasing her and began whispering to herself while following after me. "Dammit. If it's empty we are definitely going to have some fu-... "

"...What?"

"I said nothing!"

"Don't worry, I will buy you some drinks as soon as we get there"

"Ha? Why? I'm not thirst– Oh, Fuck you!"

"I mean... "

"Shut up."

I don't think I will be sleeping tonight…