Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The flying weapon attacks of a certain green-eyed ranker created a storm around him.

Eren was refining his weapon comprehension skills in the dedicated space of his rented villa. He erected a barrier and practiced handling various weapons, one after the other.

Although he preferred practicing his ranking technique, the butcher had to deal with the fact that his Rootless technique did not cover anything related to his current rank. Practicing a lower-ranked technique would be a waste of time for him now.

Fortunately, Eren could rely on his slime bloodline powers to progress in his ranking status. This was as long as he had the necessary "nutrients" after a set interval. And quite frankly, absorbing those "nutrients" was the fastest way for him to progress in any aspect of his life. Thus, he was not desperate to find a suitable technique for himself and stuck to the Rootless technique even if it was practically useless for him.

Of course, Eren had plans to create a custom Rootless technique for himself based on his previous experiments and experiences. He wanted to create a ranking technique he could practice anywhere, anytime. The same as Steve's Body Strengthening Art. But he knew it would require a lot of time, so he put that thought on the back burner for now.

Eren was practicing weapon comprehension because he had spent the last few hours studying a runic stele given to him by Sage Lufthansa. He really liked using Unlimited Knife Works while he was inside the Sansara Sage.

The runic stele did not contain weapon comprehension for knives and daggers alone. Rather, one could call it the most comprehensive book on Anfang that covered almost every weapon type, making it Unlimited Weapon Works.

The runic stele offered by Sage Lufthansa would unlock an ability for Eren, provided he practiced the weapon comprehensions dictated by the runic stele. Though the ability he unlocks might differ from Sage Lufthansa's ability, as long as Eren follows the runic stele's directions, he could make the most of the various comprehensions he had robbed from multiple enemies.

Eren remembered how Demonmir overpowered him using his Dual Axe Art. He was not narrow-minded and recognized his enemies' exceptional skills, such as Demonmir's axe mastery.

Eren saw Demonmir fight Crimson Ghost, Altair Argas. The fact that Ottoman could survive against a Grandmaster ranker like Altar spoke a lot about his caliber as a demonic ranker.

Eren's current weapon of choice was a double-bitted broadaxeâ€" a transcendent-grade labrys. It had two blades on either side. The runes on the weapons exuded a faint light from time to time as the butcher operated on his weapon.

'Intent!'

A word sprang into Eren's mind as he kept swooshing his axe around him like a juggler who wanted to get paid handsomely for his performance. Even though he had sealed most of his ranking powers, the weapon itself was so heavy and magically enhanced that it cut through the air with sharp sounds.

The flying wind slashes he generated around himself carried heavy wind pressure and threatening piercing power. All this while, Eren encouraged his thoughts to go astray on their own.

'Developing an intent is key. I need my own Intents. An Intent for each weapon type in the future. Something that will help me maximize my moves' lethality.'

If the ghosts of Eren's previous enemies were here, they would have been mad at Eren for wanting to level up his deadly weapon-handling skills even further. They would have been more scared of him at this point watching him handle a variety of weapons than if they were alive. And lastly, they would lament his future victims, thinking they had it easy in their prime.

Eren's Labrys disappeared from his hand.

In its place appeared a pair of swords - Rigor Mortis set. This set was a gift from his army days. The swords released waves of Purple Reaver all around him as soon as they appeared in his hands. They generated such potent and compressed lightning slash attacks that the walls of the isolated space and the erected barrier struggled to prevent any damage to the surroundings.

'A person's emotions play a significant role in developing an Intent. A man who lacks emotional depth cannot wield any form of Intent to its fullest potential.

The fire and foremost requirement for intent-driven magic is that one must feel. One has to feel a wide variety of emotions and then learn to harness them in such a way that they seep into their magic.'

The next weapon to appear was Anduril. It was a pair of swords he received from the Titus tournament. Alephee went above and beyond to up their rank and quality to match Eren's current needs.

A sea of Invi Blaze was summoned when Eren operated with these swords. The flying weapon slashes burned everything they touched. The attacks couldn't be seen with the naked eye and generated flames when they hit the target. As such, only orange and yellow flames could be seen flourishing around the butcher.

'Even demon magic requires emotions. The demonic rankers need to cultivate their emotions in such a way that they become the rules of their emotions and not the other way around.

Mastering control over their emotions, keeping them on a tight leash when you don't want them to wander off. It's also about letting them run free when you want them to.

The rules of Intent-driven magic are easy to explain and understand. However, they are difficult to implement.

Can one truly control their emotions?'

Eren asked himself this as he continued his practice. The water-element-infused red flames also appeared in the surroundings when Eren incorporated them into his attacks.

These red flames immediately devoured all the other flames and dominated them. It was clear that they had a much higher damage potential than normal flames. They were also difficult to douse with common water element spells.

Eren was the sole witness to the isolated destruction caused by him. He watched his attacks manifest around him with the eyes of a passerby, his thoughts wandering off somewhere.

'My Sin Series Abilities are not an exception to these rules either. The more emotions I harness, the better my Abilities' effects are if I added my Intent to them. And the worse control I have over my emotions, the more I will suffer in using them.'