“So there is a way, right? For us to change our assimilation degree,” he asked Rio.
“H-Hey, didn’t you just hear what Haruto said? It’s dangerous to raise the assimilation degree!” Satsuki scolded Hiroaki in a panic.
“Of course I heard that. But I don’t want to lose to him if I ever fight him again, you know?”
“That’s...” Satsuki was well aware of what it was like to be completely helpless in an emergency. That was why she struggled to find her words.
“There’s also a risk that only the heroes have,” Rio added with a sigh.
“What?” Hiroaki asked.
“If the degree of assimilation is too high, control of your body will be stolen by the upper high rank spirit within you.”
The heroes all gasped in shock.
“Saint Erica is an example of this. She raised her degree of assimilation so high, the earth spirit inside her took over her body. Satsuki, you should know what happened to her as a result.”
Satsuki’s expression turned grim.
“What happened to her?” Hiroaki asked.
“She created a natural disaster. The ground—no, the entire earth flipped over and rushed at us like a tsunami reaching all the way to the sky...” Satsuki recalled the scene she witnessed back then with a bitter look.
“Seriously...?” Hiroaki muttered in a daze.
“Because of the limit, the spirit should only be able to take over for a short period of time. But there’s no telling what the upper high rank spirit will do in that time. If they use more power than a human body can withstand, the hero will weaken and die. Do you still want to increase your assimilation knowing that?”
Hiroaki fell silent.
“As long as you keep the degree low, you’re no different from a regular human. If you want to gain strength, train properly and improve yourself the old fashioned way. You may learn how to control your assimilation safely too,” Rio advised.
“Hold up. That makes it sound like there’s an unsafe way?” Hiroaki asked with a questioning look.
“There is. It’s an extremely dangerous and drastic method. It’s the method Saint Erica used. The ice hero may have used it too. But I do not wish for you to use it—no, I do not want you to fall into such a state. Which is why I will explain what it is.”
In a way, this was the main topic he wanted to discuss.
“Heroes can force their assimilation degree to increase by suffering a fatal wound.”
For the umpteenth time, a pained silence fell over the meeting.
“Heroes cannot die easily even if they’re mortally wounded. This is because of the regenerative abilities they gain through assimilation healing their wounds. However, recovering from a fatal wound requires powerful assimilation. So by suffering a wound that requires powerful assimilation to heal, you’ll be able to force the degree of assimilation to increase.”
Satsuki turned pale with a gasp, realizing something.
“Yesterday, Satsuki suffered a fatal wound in the battle with the golem. The reason she didn’t die was because of her self-regeneration from her assimilation,” Rio pointed out. He gave Satsuki a worried look.
“I knew something was weird... I was sure I felt it go through my chest. I was also in strangely good form during this morning’s training...” Satsuki smiled, distressed.
“Are you feeling okay, Satsuki?” Masato asked, worrying about any changes to her body.
“Yeah, I just said I was in good form.” She kept up the best smile she could manage to ease his worries.
“Breaking through the limit just once shouldn’t increase the degree of assimilation. As long as you don’t repeatedly suffer fatal wounds over a short period of time like Saint Erica...”
“Yeah...”
“You should be able to maintain a low degree while living normally, but if you feel like anything changes, let me know.”
“Thank you,” Satsuki said with a fleeting smile.
“I get what you’re saying about not using fatal wounds to strengthen the assimilation. But being able to control the degree of assimilation is still essential. Am I wrong?” Hiroaki asked with a dead serious expression.
“Hey now, Hiroaki. That can be discussed later,” Masato said with a conflicted look, but Hiroaki kept making his point about the core of the matter.
“I’m saying we need enough power to avoid getting fatally wounded if something happens. Like yesterday, if we’d had more power... If we had been able to use the hero power better, Satsuki might have avoided her wound.”
“That’s true,” Masato agreed reluctantly.
“Yesterday’s attack was my fault—I shouldn’t have left the castle. I didn’t know monsters like that would appear, so I was one step behind. Without Lina, the situation would have been doomed,” Rio said with deep regret.
“That’s not right,” Satsuki pointed out with a pout. “Although it vexes me a little to say this, I don’t think Hiroaki is wrong. It’s reassuring to have you protect us, but it’s not healthy for us to be completely dependent on you either. That’s why I agree with Hiroaki in wanting to become stronger. Not only to protect myself, but everyone else too.”
Hiroaki snorted to hide his embarrassment. “Hmph.”
“Besides, you shouldn’t be assimilating recklessly either, Haruto. It’s wrong to make you stand alone in the line of fire, don’t you think?” Satsuki stood up from her chair to lash out at Rio with force.
“Huh? Uh...”
“And in your case, it’s not only assimilation, no?”
Bound by the restrictions of the transcendent ones, he couldn’t even fight without a mask. His situation meant he wasn’t only at risk of being forgotten by others, but of losing his own memories too. Satsuki pouted in disapproval at him worrying about others.
“I only gathered you all today to explain the risks of assimilation...”
Rio grimaced, eyes darting about with guilt.
“Hee hee. Their positions are reversed now,” Charlotte said with an amused laugh, seeing Satsuki scolding Rio. Christina and Lilianna were also giggling to themselves.
“Well, at least the original goal was accomplished. And Haruto should worry about himself a little more.”
Francois watched over Rio and Satsuki with a cheerful smile on his face.