Divine Emperor of Death

"... I do..." Fallen Heaven answered, "But killing entities such as humans, magical beasts, and every other race in this world suddenly feels inappropriate..."

"... Killing and slaughtering are wrong! Isn't that why I'm only killing who are evil or people who have offended me!?" Davis yelled, "It's not like I'm wantonly using your powers to kill people left and right!"

"But killing is killing... Even though all lives are not equal, a weak life is still a life..." Fallen Heaven uttered in a confident and convincing tone.

Davis became exasperated with its retorts as he almost turned angry.

"What's with you quickly!? Weren't you the one who was berating me for not killing Ellia in the past!? Are you going to say that I should not kill her now!?" 

"... Yes, I was wrong..."

Davis became stunned at its quick answer.

"Judging by the quality of her soul, her life is precious than any other soul I've ever seen other than that existence who sealed me..."

Davis's lips twitched while his eyelids quivered. His arms shivered as he clenched his fists, wanting to punch Fallen Heaven into oblivion, but he preferably calmed down the next second.

Hearing its opinion about Ellia, he felt both glad and discontent.

On the one hand, he was glad that Fallen Heaven finally acknowledged that Ellia's life was important for some other reason, and felt discontent on the other since Fallen Heaven seemed as if it were not going to kill living beings anymore.

Davis increasingly felt that he was out of options, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Don't you want to get stronger?"

"I do..." Fallen Heaven replied in a deep and strong tone.

Davis's eyes lit up, seeing that its ambition hadn't been abandoned from its change.

"Then, you can solely obtain souls essences for that endeavor instead of just killing!"

It wasn't anything different than what he was doing, but when he emphasized that it was precisely to gain Soul Essences and not to kill, he felt that Fallen Heaven would accept.

"No need... I'll wait for you to experience breakthroughs in Soul Forging Cultivation slowly..." 

Veins erupted in Davis's forehead as he heard its witty reply and clenched his fists again.

What went wrong?

At this point, he suddenly doubted if Fallen Heaven was mocking him or not, but abruptly, his tightened fists relaxed as he heaved a breath, exhaling his anger out and focusing on the matter at hand.

To this Death Book that has become a saint, he felt no use in trying to convince it.

In any case, so what if it didn't allow him to kill with its death-like energy? The karma threads were still in its developing stages, and the newly emerged pure yet problematic white tendrils whose potential and uses are still unearthed.

The only use he knew that it was somehow able to heal his Soul Essence, which is shocking in its own way.

But feeling restless and unreconciled, he thought that he should confirm about this matter of not killing entities anymore while using its death-like energy one last time. 

"So, you won't let me kill living beings by using your powers anymore?"

"I've never said that..." Fallen Heaven uttered in a confused tone.

Davis blinked as he became dumbfounded. He became unable to process its words for a moment in his short-circuited mind. He couldn't help but say.

"Repeat that again..."

"I said that I've never specifically told you to refrain from using me to kill as it's just my opinion... Unless my life is threatened, I think I individually won't resort to killing anyone..."

Davis blinked as he felt like an idiot. He couldn't even tell if it were truly serious, or it was just playing him a for a fool, but hearing that he wasn't barred from using its powers to kill, he subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief.

'If this were a prank, Fallen Heaven, you really got me there...' Davis finally felt comfortable.

If Fallen Heaven were to really do a complete flip and become an absolute saint, then he felt that he really would have to change his plans for the future, taking an even more cautious approach, treading on the cultivation path in a level slower.

He could afford to take it slow; after all, he's just around 22 years old, an age where even geniuses from the so-called large territories were still at the Fourth Stage and below. 

There might be rare cases which reached the Fifth Stage and even extraordinary cases which might've reached the Sixth Stage at 22 years old, but he was the one who had gotten a head start instead and could afford to take it slowly.

At least in this First Layer, he felt that there shouldn't be any cases like him except Ellia. Even Drake Blackburn fell short of his standards.

'However, that's right... When Fallen Heaven was apathetic, it never forced me to kill and only berated. Now that it's acting like a saint, becoming sympathetic towards all lives, it still didn't force me to stop killing...'

'It's as if it is mostly passive... like an observer...'

However... There were some times when it was active...

The few instances where he saw it making a move was when it fused with his soul essence, and absorbed a little bit of his soul essence, hiding its intentions from him.

The latter could be seen as hostile intent, but since Fallen Heaven seemed to value its life, it was merely curious about what would happen if it absorbed a bit of his soul essence.

It resulted in its strengthening for a short period of time.

Nevertheless...

'I don't need to worry about Fallen Heaven anymore...'

Instead, he moved his attention back to the white tendrils.

"What are these white tendrils? Have you found what uses it has? I already found that it can passively heal my Soul Essence..." Davis asked in curiosity.

"Yes, I can feel it too. The moment the bright white light descended on me, I comprehended the mysteries relevant to my powers; however, I still don't know what category of laws they belong to..." Fallen Heaven expressed its opinion.

"If you invoke the white tendrils and use its power, you should be able to heal a person of any illness or injuries completely..."

"I see..." Davis nodded his head as he felt that it wasn't a mediocre power. Instead, it was just a little short of Fallen Heaven's killing prowess and more significant than its karma threads.

After all, it could heal his Soul Essence!

"... Even from near death."

"Mn..." Davis nodded his head again, but his eyes abruptly shot wide open!

"What!?"

"I said that you could heal living beings before they die. In other words, as long as they don't die, even if they are crippled, they can be completely healed..." Fallen Heaven reiterated.

Davis's whole body wildly shivered! However, his expression that possessed a broad grin on his lips revealed his excitement over this fact.

"Fallen Heaven, are you speaking the truth!?"

"I don't have a reason to lie... At least, that's what I comprehended... Of course, there are always limitations since our strength is weak..."

"Good! Good!" Davis excitedly repeated the words that came from his heart and soul.

The power to heal a cripple! Perhaps, even completely depending on the stage!

Normally, this is possible but remained truly difficult since the resources to restore meridians, and other important organs for cultivation aren't easily obtained or even found in the first place. Each ingredient differs for different stages, so to heal a crippled person is difficult than ascending the mountains filled with magical beasts!

However, he was precisely able to do this, at least according to Fallen Heaven!

'Mother, perhaps I can heal your father with this power...' Davis grinned as he felt that his mother would feel ecstatic.

Then, there was also the power of healing people from near death!? That was as good as reviving people!

As long as his loved ones don't get instakilled, he would have a chance to save their lives, and not to mention his own ass if he ever were to be critically injured!

This was as good as gaining a second chance to live... 

'Or in my case, a third chance to live...' Davis simultaneously felt his confidence boost several times when facing the threat of danger.

He was no longer afraid of facing the Alstreim Family! His inhibitions in getting screwed over by the Alstreim Family disappeared, and what replaced it was overwhelming confidence!

For what reason?

Now that his Soul Essence could be healed in a passive state, what is there to fear about a Ninth Stage Powerhouse in the Alstreim Family!?

Davis's lips curved as he felt that he could take down that Ancestor anytime he wanted!