Training with Akashic was steadily getting harder over time. With 170 mana, Brivaria now had a lot of room to experiment and practice her shapeshifting. Gone were the days of just changing her eye color, now she was practicing adding and moving entire limbs. That wasn’t to say she was good at any of it. No, she made a lot of mistakes and Akashic laughed at her more than once. She was okay with that. It got her mind off her new unholy affinity and her rather mixed feelings toward it.

  The angel also learned an awful lot. For example, her base form mattered much more than she previously realized. If she was using shapeshifting to go from angel to demon then she had to find a particular shape that the System recognized as a demon before it would let her gain the traits from such a creature. If she then deviated too far away from the System-recognized demon form then she would lose those traits. That made sense but where it got interesting was what happened when she started with a given form.

  Using Twisted Reflection or even Alternative Form seemed to change her base form. If she went from angel to demon then tried to start drastically changing things then she would quickly lose the Traits (Demon) feature. If she used Alternative Form to swap to the demonic form then did all the same things, she would keep those traits giving her vastly more customization. It was as though the System was nudging her toward finding base forms with different traits and marking those as her alternate forms then using shapeshifting for customization beyond that.

  Next was the realization that different demonic castes had different traits. She’d assumed that all creatures had the same benefits from the Traits skill but that turned out to be incorrect. In fact, the wider multiverse was full of races with the same name but different traits according to Akashic. Humans across different universes usually had different traits. Demons tended to forcibly evolve themselves to create new castes so it was very common for the different factions of demons or even lesser tribes to have different traits even if they all read Traits (Demon) on the System screen.

  Learning about the differing traits came when they were discussing the pros and cons of her normal demon form with the modified gaunt form. The demoness speculated that Brivaria was really close to becoming a hell gaunt in that modified form. Akashic had never transformed into one herself and, according to the demoness, it was significantly harder to gain alternative traits for one’s own race so Akashic was somewhat limited in the advice she could provide for achieving a hell gaunt form.

  That didn’t remain an obstacle for long as Akashic’s speculation proved correct. Gaunt lacked a lot of physiological parts that angels, demons, humans, and other races possessed. As natives of the Between, they were truly alien in a way few races were. Achieving the hell gaunt form was simply a matter of making them less alien. Upon gaining it, the angel and Akashic both made a face. It wouldn’t replace her demon form.

  Brivaria’s demon form had the Demon Hide passive among its traits which made her more difficult to injure. It wasn’t as good as enchanted armor but it was on par with unenchanted armor and maybe a little better. The demon-gaunt hybrid lacked that feature. Even though it effectively had four arms, multiple tentacles, and a much stronger tail, that one trait being missing made her extremely fragile. It was all offense and no defense whereas her demon form was a blend of each. Despite that shortcoming, both Brivaria and Akashic agreed that keeping it as one of her Alternative Form selections was a good idea.

  In her haste to change back to normal, Brivaria had replaced her miniature wing form with the hybrid demon-gaunt form. It was the easiest to recreate if she wanted it back. Brivaria now saved the hell gaunt form over the hybrid. That meant her three available forms were demon, catfolk, and hell gaunt. The angel was pretty certain Alternative Form gave her an additional form for every 25 points in spirit. That meant she’d have another form available in seven to ten levels. That felt like an eternity away. The more she experimented, the more of those she wanted.

  After that was done, Akashic had to steer Brivaria away from a flesh spear idea. The angel had nearly died to a chimera demon making a lance of its own flesh to pierce her through what it thought was her heart. Emotionally, Brivaria balked at the idea of doing that herself. Logically, it was likely a good trick to have. Akashic disagreed. She argued that the attack would require a lot of mana and be weak unless Brivaria took a skill for it.

  Akashic likened the idea of a flesh to extending a long finger and then asking opponents not to cut it off or do worse things to it. It would cost a lot of mana to create and then it would cost yet more mana to retract. Shapeshifting was fundamentally about eliminating weaknesses and creating natural weapons that could be reused without expending more mana. Essentially this was doing the reverse on both counts. All in all, it was a dead end as far as the demoness was concerned.

  Brivaria acquiesced to the demon’s points and moved on. She was soon reminded of yet another thing Akashic forbade—transforming into animals and other “lesser creatures.” Those were the demon’s words as Brivaria would never describe Trixie as lesser anything.

  “As I said back when you selected Mimicry of the Flesh and it changed into Twisted Reflection—never ever, do that,” Akashic said for the third time.

  “But imagine if I could turn into that oversized bear—the Dread Paw or whatever Giselle called it. How much better would that be than this?” the angel gestured at her demonic body. She was very aware that insinuating the demon body was inferior would bother the literal demon and considered that a bonus to the topic at hand.

  “Ignoring the fact that you and it already fought and it ran away, you lack skills for that sort of shapeshifting,” the demoness countered.

  “What skills do I need? My shapeshifting is upgraded twice over. That’s fairly significant for this level and I’ve heard of people around my level taking animal forms.” The angel had seen mortal shifters before but their abilities never evoked the same primal horror that demonic shapeshifting did among her people. Mortal shifters were never growing arms or eyes in strange places. They simply chose creatures and transformed into those creatures often becoming cute things like birds, squirrels, and fish.

  “They use some kind of natural shape skill which allows them to retain their consciousness and personality. When they transform into a squirrel, they don’t become a true squirrel with squirrel instincts. They become a person shaped like a squirrel. They retain their personality, their drive, their instincts,” the demoness explained. Brivaria had a moment of dawning horror.

  “Wait, don’t I have that with the things I’m transforming into?” the angel asked. Her spaded tail swished behind her nervously and she looked across the table at Akashic with wide eyes.

  “No, you don’t. If you transformed into a bug then you would have the brain of a bug and likely never transform back.” Akashic paused to let the other girl think about that for a moment before continuing. “There are skills to allow more flexible forms such as Form Independent Thought but until you get one of those then you should stick to sentient, sapient creatures. The System will generally ensure that anything in between two of those will be safe enough. For now, stick with demons that I advise and inhabitants of this planet. That will still give you hundreds of options.”

  “Does that mean that when I used Twisted Reflection to become a gaunt…” Brivaria trailed off. That could have gone so much worse than it did and she had no idea.

  “If their way of thinking had been totally and completely alien to anything we knew then it could have been bad, yes. That was a calculated risk which paid off.” The demoness’ nails drummed the table impatiently though they made no sound.

  “What about my turning into this? Is it affecting me?” asked the angel, finally reaching the last and potentially most important question on the subject.

  “Yes. It’s part of why it’s easier to talk to you in this form. Your thoughts and inclinations are naturally more demonic. That’s not to say all demons have exactly the same instincts or behave the same way but there are subtle commonalities the same way there are among all races and species. You will adopt those behaviors and instincts from whatever form you take on.”

  “Is it permanent?”

  Over the last month, Brivaria had gotten a sense for Akashic’s facial expressions which only became better as the demon’s form gradually transitioned from a shadowy blur to something with distinctive features and body language. The look the angel was now receiving was the “you just asked a supremely stupid question” look. Brivaria was very, very familiar with it. She mentally sighed and awaited the firing squad.

  “If it was permanent,” Akashic began, speaking very slowly as if to a child, “then would you not be permanently thinking like an angel and not have this problem?”

  “It could be both?” Brivaria ventured. Akashic sighed dramatically.

  “No, the instincts are merely instincts and nothing more. Let’s use a less worrying example. Say you transform into a catfolk and find yourself with an intense desire to chase something. You will not retain that urge when you shift back to your natural form. If you chase that something and enjoy it then you can decide you want to do that in the future without the instinct guiding you to do so.”

  “So what are demonic instincts? You say it makes it easier for you to work with me but how so?”

  “The desire to be strong and willingness to push boundaries for starters. As an angel you are more resistant to trying certain things, I find. In this form you are more open to new things and even eager,” the demon gave Brivaria a fanged smile which then became more serious. “However you are also more violent and have a stronger inclination toward it. Among my kind, that’s an important survival trait. It can also be a problem if you don’t work to control it.”

  “I don’t feel like that’s been a problem so far,” the angel said while considering things. She’d used her demon form against the bear, against the wasps in the castle, and against the Ogramites. Nothing bad happened in those instances.

  “When you have immediate and obvious threats then it works out in your favor. Also the dog seems to have a calming effect on you, I find.”

  “Trixie has a calming effect?” she questioned.

  “Of a sort. You seem happier and more at ease when the dog is present. When you pet the dog, you instantly calm down.” Brivaria thought about what to say to that and decided to be honest.

  “I was scared and terrified when I woke up down here at a measly level three. I don’t know if I’d have made it this far without her. I can’t go home. I may never go home. When I die, that might be it. When those thoughts become too much for me, I can pet Trixie and feel better.” The empty common room of the inn was quiet after that. Akashic said nothing for a long time.

  “That is acceptable, for now. These mental barriers are things that you will eventually need to overcome on your own,” Akashic finally replied.

  “Is that the demon way?” The angel studied the demons while she asked the question.

  “There are many different castes of demons but broadly yes. Ours is a deadly, unforgiving world. No one reaches adulthood without dipping their claws in the blood of another. Self-reliance is a necessity. This world is softer but the same holds true here. You seem to have once relied on that Balthazar to make your decisions for you. While you are more willing to make decisions on your own now, it is obvious that you crave approval from him. You need to realize that you don’t answer to him, to the snake, to the cat, to anyone. If you want to save the spirit from the hunt then do it regardless of what others will say or do.”

  “And if that decision gets me killed? What then?” Brivaria challenged.

  “You are not stupid. If you see a choice that will get you killed then choose to live and grow stronger so that you may make a more satisfying choice in the future. You and I must live with the results of your decisions, not that Balthazar angel. You can’t simply go back to Heaven no more than I can return to Hell. You must make decisions with consequences that you can live with, that we can live with.”

  “It’s hard to tell what those are sometimes. What would you do in my shoes?” the angel asked. She was looking down at the table. She could still see the nick in the wood her horns had scratched it previously. She rubbed absently at that spot.

  “I would kill that idiot Count for trying to make a fool of us. I would kill those insect mages for attempting to kill us. I would find and kill whoever is tampering with the Between. After I did all of that…” Akashic paused and smiled before finishing, “I would pet your dog.” Brivaria looked up from the table.

  “You would pet Trixie?” the angel asked. Her tail lifted in surprise as her eyebrows rose.

  “As you said earlier, you wouldn’t have made it this far without her. That dog has done far more than most animals ever will. Even I can acknowledge that.”

  Brivaria’s heart rose to hear those words. Akashic was a demon who had done terrible things, the angel was certain. Kindness to Trixie did not absolve her of any crimes, toward Brivaria or anyone else. Still, the angel wanted to believe that there was good in everyone. She wasn’t naive enough to think reforming a decades or centuries old demoness could be easily done, let alone in a couple short months, but she wondered. She wondered if some part of their shared bond went the other way. If the demon could influence her then what if she could influence the demon?