"...If you invite the devil in, be prepared to entertain him." - The face-sized maw said with a pleasant and androgynous voice.

As I heard his words, I felt a chill and a sense of dread. The dissonance between the pleasant voice and his horrible visage was horrifying. Not only did his words give me a sense of foreboding, but they also gave me the impression that everything was under his control.

"What do you mean?!" - I asked while taking a few weary steps back.

"The sheep fears the visage of a hungry wolf, a valid reaction." - Grith didn't answer my question and instead said to me with the same pleasant voice.

"Answer me!" - I demanded, in a mixture of fear and anger.

"You want to know why I am not fearful of you? Try and eat me, and see if you can." - Grith mocked provocatively.

With fear and anger clouding my judgment, I decided to try and eat him like last time.

"Haaaaaah*! Cough* Cough*!" - However, after I inhaled like last time, it didn't work. I just made my lungs hurt.

"I'm waiting...~" - Grith mocked in a sing-song voice as he turned back to his music box and continued playing. This time, the music sounded carefree, cheerful, and funny, but I had a feeling that he was mocking me through the music.¹https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTMvB4qb0As That made me angrier, which drove me to try it again and again.

After failing a few more times, I stopped and asked in disbelief, "Why doesn't it work!?"

Grith changed his playing style to a more relaxed tone as he explained, "Because I am not invading your soul. I am not attempting to possess you, either. I am a talent seed that you have willingly assimilated into yourself. In other words, I am part of you now, and you cant unroot me anymore. I am you, and you are you. A harmless occupant of a small part of your soul."

"Harmless?! You said you are tainting my soul yourself!" - I screamed in anger.

"Not in the eyes of your ridiculous talent. In its terms, I am part of you, and I cant possess you anymore since a talent seed doesn't have the power to turn itself into an independent entity again. We are now in a co-existent, symbiotic relationship, you see." - Grith patiently explained.

"Symbiotic relationship?" - I asked back.

"Yes, a symbiotic relationship. I provide you with my everything, and you provide me with a continuation of my existence through you. A fair bargain."

"How is that fair?! You're trying to turn me into another you!" - I screamed in anger. My fear of him gradually dissipated as I realized we couldn't harm each other directly.

"Correct, I am trying to do that. I am trying to paint you in my beautiful colors, to mold you in my awe-inspiring visage. I am trying to make you my successor in the truest of senses. A continuation of my existence. Alas..."

Grith's tone changed to a sad one, and the music he played turned gloomy. It was as if I could feel his emotions through the music.

"I can't turn you into a perfect copy of myself. Your Golden Will reduces my influence on you to a minimum. If you were any normal child, within a few short days, you would already be an inferior copy of me." - Grith said as he kept playing his sad tone.

"However, now, I can only turn a small part of your soul into a copy of me even if eons pass, so you don't have to worry. Much." - Grith sighed and returned his playing tone to a normal one.

"How small?" - I asked with squinted eyes.

"Oh, nothing much. The upper limit is a third of your soul. Anything beyond that is impossible." - Grith said after contemplating for a bit.

"A third?! That's horrible! I don't want to turn into a freak like you!" - I retorted with a disgusted expression.

Clang* - Grith suddenly slammed his hands on the music box, producing an unpleasant noise.

"I don't care if you call me a glutton, a coward, a horrible monster, useless, or a bully, but call me a freak one more time, and I am kicking you out." - Grith said in a cold tone and returned to play his music.

"Shit, he heard my comments about him, and I seem to have said something he is sensitive about." - I figured.

"Originally, I wanted to chat with my successor, perhaps tell him a story or two about my life. However, my patience runs thin now, so no chatter, only business." - Grith added in a slightly angry tone.

"Fine." - I spat back, trying to swallow down my anger and disgust.

"Now, ask your query." - Grith's tone returned to normal as he played the music box.

"Why did you want me to reveal that I have a unique talent to the mistress? Doesn't that put me in danger?" - I asked.

"Hardly. Those two inexperienced babies, Veona and Ximjun, already knew about you. Telling that so-called mistress of yours that you don't have a unique talent would raise their suspicion of you to the maximum since they know that you know that you have one." - Grith said.

Swallowing my anger at Grith calling my gods inexperienced babies, I asked, "How do they know about it?"

"They know about it from the first moment you have gained that talent watched by Veona. The moment you got it, that baby can use that so-called perfect status analysis on you, letting her view your talents, which you can confirm later if you want. Since then, they were plotting on you, wanting to turn you into a tool of theirs. That so-called paragon potion is an inferior unique talent awakener potion. There is no such thing as a paragon potion in this world." - He explained.

As he said that, a chill ran down my spine, "N-No way! My goddess is trying to turn me into a tool?!"

I wanted to deny his words, but my gut was telling me that Grith was telling the truth from the moment we met as if he saw the concept of lying to me as beneath him.

"Yes, way. You are underestimating the value of a unique talent. Those with a properly nurtured unique talent, even the crappiest of them, have a high chance of ascending into godhood. You are a worthy pawn in their eyes. Besides, all they needed to give up was some dry god spark that they accidentally found in some ruins and a bit of divine power to your little mistress. A worthy and logical exchange and investment." - He said as he continued playing the music box.

As much as I wanted to reject his words, they made sense. I couldn't refute them outright. The religious doctrines of Veona state that investing is also part of luck, and Ximjun is a god of alchemy, with few taboos involved in his doctrine. For them to invest in me is not impossible.

"I sense that you are struggling with believing my words. Allow me to give you another piece of wisdom. "Believe the truth even if said by a Devil. Do not believe lies even if said by a God."²T C Jose. I am a devil, and I see lying as beneath me, unlike those scheming lying gods of yours." - Grith gave me his advice.

"Fine, I'll believe you, for now." - I conceded and accepted his words for the time being.

"Good, that is for the best for both of us, now, your next query." - Grith asked.

"Why did you give me that hint a few days ago? From what I observed so far, you don't contact me unless it is important." - This bothered me to a great extent.

"Oh, that? I was saving you." - Grith said.

"Saving me? From what?" - I asked on instinct.

"You already know, don't you? What happens if that Aulus fellow dies is that your mistress will be oppressed, and that can lead to them taking you away by force. What would follow is uncertainty, possibly ending in the hands of a lunatic who likes to play with lives. I don't take chances, which is why I took care of the problem by the bud." - Grith said while he kept playing the music box.

"Well, that makes sense."

"Now then, Little Mog, my patience has almost run out. I will give you a final question. Think wisely." - Grith said, his playing pace slowing down.

I thought for a moment before asking, "How do I devour the seals on my bloodlines?"

For the moment, I could tell that my two bloodlines, if unsealed, will increase my physical body's strength and talent greatly. Unsealing them was of great importance. Also, if I devour them, I can gain access to grade-8 soul energy!

"Normally, to digest grade-8 soul energy, I would need to reach lvl 8. However, I can lower it to lvl 4 if we cooperate." - Grith said.

"Cooperate?" - I asked back.

"Yes, cooperate. with your high willpower and golden will, I can lower the standard to devour the seals. All I want is a guaranteed share of half of the energy we get from it. Fair, right?" - Grith offered.

"That... Sounds fair. Fine." - I thought for a moment and acceded.

Although I didn't like having to bargain with him or the thought of him growing stronger inside me, it is better than needing to wait for years until I can unseal them.

"Excellent, we reached a deal, then. My first deal in such a long time." - Grith said with a hint of joy in his voice.

"Now then, regarding that plight of yours that we talked about before. That plight about not being able to digest food or bite through tough materials. I can give you a solution now." - Grith said as he stopped playing his music box.

"Okay, what is the solution?" - I asked in anticipation.

"You will learn my trademark aura technique, my creation, a technique that shook the multiverse at the time." - Grith said as he stood up from the chair in front of the music box and turned to face me again.

This time, however, to my surprise, his face wasn't a horrifying maw, but an inhumanely handsome yet feminine and beautiful human face, more beautiful than even Menvi Kiadurnac. I failed to distinguish his gender at all.

"Surprised at my face?" - Grith asked with a proud smile.

I silently nodded, a bit stunned at his beauty and handsomeness.

"Ah, this face belongs to a powerful god of the angel race I ate. The god didn't have a gender, but he is one of the topmost appealing to enlightened races like you." - Grith smiled brightly.

I paled a few shades after the revelation. I did not need to know that.

"Now, then, my little successor, I shall teach you my Aura technique. I call it, the Primordial Devourer Aura Art."