Chapter 612: Reborn

Chapter 612: Reborn

For a short while, all versions of Eiro were completely focused on a single spot. Of course, there wasn’t a need for the others to stop what they were doing, since for them, it was practically like they were there anyway, but for a moment of importance like this, they didn’t want to hold off for long. Even the duplicate Eiros that only existed in the mental library stopped their work for a little while, so that just in case, they could help out with whatever issue could come up.

“Are you ready?” The Demon asked, looking deep into the eyes of the man in front of him. Slowly, he nodded, “I think I am. But… I’ll be alright, right? You said you’ve done this before?”

“…” Eiro silently looked in front of him, and slowly averted his gaze. Nervously, the frog, who was set to become Eiro’s first truly living servant, swam over to where he was looking to catch his gaze again, “Wh-Why are you so quiet..? I’m going to be alright, right?”

Slowly, Eiro let out a sigh, before looking back at the frog, “You should be alright, yes. I’ve had a lot of practice with this ability, but you are the first Servant that I’m going to create from a living being. Until now, I made them from objects, or materials, using magic to bring them under my control before fully turning them into mine. And yes, I did try it with other people before, but…”

The frog looked at Eiro with a wry smile, “What happened to them..?”

“Their bodies became disfigured because they weren’t able to take the physical changes, and they died because of that extreme pain and stress.” Eiro pointed out bluntly, something that certainly didn’t help the frog’s nerves. However, he had already agreed, and knew that he wasn’t able to back out anymore, at least not if he valued his own life. However, seeing the frog’s behaviour, Eiro figured he should try and calm him down a bit more again, “But really, you should be fine. No, you will be fine. There are two factors that will decide the outcome of this ability. One, the base that is used, and two, the status I’m willing to give. For objects and materials, since they are turned into servants through the help of my magic, there is no way for the transformation to fail. But for people, monsters, or animals, it depends on how powerful and adaptive they naturally are. And the more status I give, the more powerful they have to be.”

The frog listened to the explanation, soon realizing that there was little need for him to be worried, if that was the case. While he stood no chance against Eiro himself, he was rather confident in his own power, generally speaking. And, being a ‘Magical Person’, he was probably more physically adaptive than the beings in the central material plane, the beings that Eiro most likely tried this out on before. But there was still something that the frog wanted to know, “Then… how much status do you want to give me?”

Eiro thought about it for a moment, and soon decided on a good way to put it into words, “There are different tiers amongst servants.” The Demon explained, watching as a fist-sized, slightly impish being swam through the room. It was something that was created with the original Eiro’s authority, a servant to help him out here in this realm, “This is the lowest tier. They’re basically just puppets that do exactly what their master wants. They have no will on their own, and little thought to come along with it. Of course, their will and thought still depends on the being they’re made from, but… most royals use this sort of thing to make others completely subservient to them. Those that can create servants, at least.”

“Not all royals can create servants?”

“…Most of them can, but yes, not all. At least not in the same way I can. There are three royals that excell in creating servants in this way. ‘The Emperor’, a being of dominating authority that leads their people. ‘The Chariot’, a being that takes full control of their servants. And ‘The World’, a being that includes all and can make everything its own.” Eiro explained, “Of course, all royals can make servants to some extent, but for most, it’s not as overbearing as for me, ‘The World’. But that’s not what’s important right now.” The Demon continued, pointing at the frog in front of him, “You? I’m going to make you the next tier of servant for now. A ‘named’ servant. I give you power, and a new ‘true name’ that will be yours forever. You have to discard your former life, as if dying and resurrecting under my regime. But of course, this name allows you to fully carry over your will and thought into your new life as a servant.”

The frog let out a calm breath of relief, “I see… so I don’t need to worry about becoming too different?”

“Oh… no, you will change. You certainly will. But you will still stay you, at the end of the day. I’m a Demon, and originally, a demon is a being of desire. Considering your personality, you will most likely start to feel an overbearing greed for knowledge for a while, until you can get used to your new life.”

To Eiro’s surprise, instead of becoming even more nervous, the frog simply let out a loud laugh, “I already am greedy enough for knowledge, trust me. But if it becomes even more… I guess we’re in the perfect place for that, aren’t we?”

Thinking that Eiro made the perfect choice in picking out a servant, he smiled a bit, “Well, good to know that, then. If you want to see the end of this tower, you better endure your rebirth.”

“I guess I have no other choice, do I? Now, where do we do this, and how? Do I need to prepare myself more? Meditate, or something?” The frog asked, and Eiro shrugged immediately, “Nope, no need for any of that. Here we go.” He said, looking the frog deep into his eyes. And then, it was as if time had stopped for a short while. It wasn’t actually visible, but a hand seemed to reach out from the center of Eiro’s chest, stretching forward until the thick, long fingers enveloped the frog’s heart. This was Eiro’s influence. Of course, this referred to the original Eiro. The one that was actually sitting here in this realm didn’t have the authority to create servants himself, that was something that was handled by the original through and through. With his power, he reached through the gateway and into the elemental plane of water to go through with the transformation.

The frog tried to hit Eiro’s hand away, startled and in fear, looking down at himself where he could have been sure a hole had been pierced into his own chest, “W-What the- What the hell was that? Did you do it already?!” He exclaimed, but felt taken aback when he saw the face of the being sitting in front of him. Eiro was just… smiling, excitedly. And then, the moment he realized this, the frog started to feel something happening inside of him. At first, it was nothing but a tingling, something that he had confused for what nervosity and general anxiety felt like, but when the tingling became stronger, instead turning into a stinging, piercingly sharp pain, he realized that something was really happening inside of him right now. It felt like his internal organs were turning to liquid, just to reform and liquify again. His muscles became stiff like a shell, and then turned into sludge that didn’t allow him to move. It was an agonizing pain, but the frog wasn’t even able to let out a scream to express that.

Soon, his insides seemed to calm down, and it was the turn for the rest of his body to change. His skin seemed to peel off of his muscles in some parts of his body, soon being replaced by a strong carapace. His head split open, making way for two horns sprouting atop his head. The frog’s senses became sharper, allowing him to feel every tiny strand of his muscles tearing and regrowing as he became more muscular. Something that in reality only took a minute or two, felt like hours were needed to finish up. Even if this succeeded, and to an extent, the frog sort of wished for it not to succeed and for him to die right here so that this pain could simply stop, this was a pain that he was going to be able to remember for the rest of his life, whether he looked back at this moment fondly or in regret. But then, something dragged the frog out of this feeling of suffering, and the instant he heard that voice, it was like everything was finally over.

“Anura, that will be your name from today onward.” The voice said, but it didn’t come from the being sitting in front of him. No, it came from whatever stretched out and reached for his heart. Even if they were technically supposed to be the same being, the voice of the Eiro sitting in front of him and the one whose word cut through that pain felt completely different. To this newborn servant, it felt like he was hearing the voice of a grander, superior being, while looking at the body he took to walk this earth, his real form too magnificent for a mortal to lay their eyes on. From now on, this frog, Anura, was dedicated to two things. The seeking out of never-ending knowledge, and Eiro.