When Helene had first heard Miss Angelica mention a "boon," she had assumed she would merely receive a Sealed Artifact related to the Demoness pathway to improve her fighting strength against the demonesses of the Demoness Sect.
She had never imagined that a ritual could grant her the powers of another pathway without her having to drink a potion.
Even if it was only a pathway adjacent to Hunter, this still far exceeded everything she had previously understood about Beyonder powers and potion pathways.
And she had experienced the power of a Sequence 5 Demoness of Affliction firsthand, both with Tracy and when she first met Angelica Zaki!
"I understand."
She answered respectfully, and information immediately appeared in her mind: the ritual for receiving the "boon," how to switch between the Demoness and Hunter pathways, and how to combine their abilities.
In the living room, William and Tia sat in separate corners. The former was still reading Principles of Sealing, occasionally writing or drawing on sheets of paper, while the latter yawned in boredom, her mind blank, almost slumped into an armchair.
Both of them, however, kept glancing at the door to Helene's bedroom. It had been locked from the inside for over half an hour, and a Wall of Spirituality prevented them from detecting any activity within. They kept wondering whether some accident had killed their captain inside.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Helene strode out. A wave of heat followed her, making them feel as though the room's temperature had risen considerably and leaving their bodies inexplicably flushed.
But once they saw what Helene looked like, they realized that the changes in their bodies were not simply caused by the rising temperature.
At some point, this Reaper had let down the red hair she usually tied